Nate Hoffelder, The Digital Reader

Backmatter: The Leanpub Publishing Industry Podcast

Nate Hoffelder is the force behind The Digital Reader, one of the best sources online for up-to-date information and analysis about the book publishing industry and innovation in book publishing and reading technology. In this interview, Leanpub co-founder Len Epp talks with Nate about changes in ebook technology and e-readers over time, about why some devices and approaches have failed, what Amazon is up to with its physical bookstores, and other important issues in the industry, including the choice every self-published author has to make, about whether or not to put all their eggs in one ebook distribution basket. This interview was recorded on December 11, 2017. The full audio for the interview is here. You can subscribe to the Backmatter podcast in iTunes or add the podcast URL directly. This interview has been edited for conciseness and clarity. A Note About the Leanpub Backmatter Podcast In the summer of 2017 we split the old Leanpub podcast into two distinct podcasts: Frontmatter, which is a general interest podcast where you can listen to Leanpub authors talk with Leanpub co-founder Len Epp about their books and their areas of expertise, from data science to molecular biology, to the history of labor and management. And for those interested in the nitty-gritty of what it takes to be a successful self-published author, at the end of each episode Len asks the author about how they made their book and how they are spreading the word, and other publishing shop talk. Backmatter, a new podcast focused specifically on the publishing industry and its latest trends. In each episode Len interviews a professional from the publishing world about their background and their insider's perspective on what's happening in the huge and evolving world of book publishing.