+ the books topping my TBR pile this summer | #123
Big news from Joe Pulizzi this week – Lulu has acquired The Tilt and its Creator Economy Expo (CEX) event.
Lulu is a leading self-publishing platform that allows creators to publish and distribute books globally. They have been The Tilt’s biggest supporter over the last two years – sponsoring their newsletter, CEX, and third annual content entrepreneur research.
They are on a mission to teach authors about the business model of content entrepreneurship (beyond books!). Loads of educational material on their site – toolkit, guides, Lulu University and more. You can even make a magazine!
Good synergies between the two, and this move positions them perfectly as a leader in the creator space.
I’m blown away by this news. Wow. It’s a much faster exit than I expected – just two years since The Tilt launched, still a toddler—a speedy trip from Part 1 to Part 8 of Content Inc.
Congratulations to Joe and Pam, and the team. I’m excited to see how this will evolve and what opportunities it will bring with combined audience power. Lulu has come a long way since they published their first book in 2002.
Fascinating to see that a content business has acquired a content business!
It gives The Tilt resources to expand on education, research and networking opportunities (yes, please!). They’ve built an audience of 25k+ newsletter subscribers, which is important for an exit plan.
Just shows it’s never too soon to start thinking about exit strategies, even if you haven’t made much money yet. Because how you exit will affect how you build your business.
This is Joe’s third official sale of a company, and he says his goal is to continue doing what he loves and is good at and leave the business side to someone else. I get that. No more payroll!! Having employees can get complicated and expensive. I didn’t enjoy putting myself on the payroll when I had a limited company.
The Tilt & Lulu are launching a new imprint for content entrepreneurs – a hands-on service to publish your print book, ebook or audiobook.
If you’re thinking about self-publishing, you can express your interest here.
🔥 WATCH/READ/LISTEN
I’ve been to see three films this week – British Summer!! Barbie and Mission Impossible are both excellent. Barbie is a masterclass in marketing. MI – a warning about the dangers of rogue AI…
I loved Talk To Me, the new indie horror from Danny & Michael Philippou, the daredevil twins from Down Under.
Something different. Gory, fast-paced fun. Wild punk energy and passion, with a great soundtrack.
I love how this movie came to be – read the backstory in The Ringer. They’ve racked up over a billion views on YouTube, and leveraged that to transition from social media to Hollywood. “We don’t want to be chasing the algorithm our whole lives.” [NYT]
Or have their work censored by a tech platform 👏
Another reason not to build your content home on rented land.
Nicky Blewitt is an author who runs a freelance collective of writers & publishers that supports new writers. They’ve launched a bursary scheme to support low-income authors. “We offer a free two-hour self-publishing and book marketing consultation.” Details here.
Sophie Rhone started her Digital PR business last year and has a podcast covering the creative industry – advertisers, marketers, and influencers. The first episode: The Art of Personal Branding, is now on Spotify. Send her some love and leave a review if you want to be a future guest.
Jennifer Phan, Co-founder & CEO at Passionfroot, is rocking Carousel posts on LinkedIn. I appreciate the time and research that goes into these and keep saving them to return to. Great resource. Here are 30 books EVERY creator should read to build strong content systems.
Tons of inspo here for your TBR pile this summer.
Recommendations for fiction welcome too – I need to lose myself in a good book.
Happy reading… 🍉 ⛱ 🌴
Nika 🙂
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