As the newly-appointed executive director for the Independent Book Publishers Association, Angela Bole sees an opportunity to grow the organization in the midst of dramatic change across the industry. “Recently, IBPA has really embraced the self-published author,” Bole says. “It means a broadening of our potential membership.”

The nation’s largest independent book publishers trade association, IBPA is highly-regarded for its professional programming and member services. The organization’s longstanding constituency is publishers of less-than-large size. As Bole told CCC’s Chris Kenneally at the recent Frankfurt Book Fair, however, the definition of “publisher” has been redrawn, and IBPA is changing with the times.

“With self-publishing, you still need to know all of the things that an independent publisher needs to know— from editorial straight through distribution,” Bole explains. “What is your pricing model?  What are the channels that you push into?  And what is your product about?  These three things are true for independent publishers, just as they’re true for self-published authors.”

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