Steven Spatz
Steven Spatz is a writer, marketer, and the President of BookBaby, the nation’s leading self publishing services company. Spatz’s professional writing career began at age 13, paid by the word to bang out little league baseball game stories on an ancient manual typewriter for southern Oregon weekly newspapers. His journalism career continued after graduation from the University of Oregon at several daily newspapers in Oregon. When his family took over a direct marketing food business, Spatz redirected his writing and design skills into producing catalogs. The Pinnacle Orchards catalog was named "Best Food Catalog," received dozens of other national awards, and the business grew into one of the nation’s largest gourmet fruit gift businesses. After the company was sold, Spatz continued his direct marketing career with Fortune 500 companies including Mattel and Hasbro. He joined AVL Digital in 2004 to lead the direct-to-consumer marketing teams for music industry-leading brands Disc Makers, Oasis, and CD Baby. After serving as Chief Marketing Officer, Spatz was tapped to lead the company’s new publishing division in late 2014. In 2019, the AVL Digital Management team purchased the New Jersey brands, including BookBaby. The company is headquartered in Pennsauken, NJ (just outside Philadelphia, PA) and meets the printed book and eBook needs of thousands of self-publishing authors around the globe. Spatz lives in Glenside, PA with his two children, a demented cat, and some well-used bicycles. Steven loves to hear from authors, editors, and publishers in the BookBaby community with tales of publishing trials and triumphs. To tell him your story, write to steven@bookbaby.com.
How Crowdfunding Helped Tell The Story Of Little Roo
When embarking on his Kickstarter campaign, author Chuck Miller spent a lot of time looking at other campaigns for ideas. He checked all the boxes, from producing videos to getting creative with donor rewards, on his way to achieving his goal.
Five Self-Publishing Mistakes You Need To Avoid
The first step toward success as an independent author is educating yourself about everything involved with self-publishing. It’s what your book — this project to which you’ve invested so much emotion and time — undoubtedly deserves.
Why You Should Set A Reading Goal For 2020
The health and emotional benefits of reading are reason enough to read more, but there are plenty of others... so set a reading goal and get to it!
The Lessons Of John Locke’s Self-Publishing Career
John Locke's story of success selling his self-published books, and the scandal it kicked up, provides multiple lessons on why the best way to long-term success is writing quality books and putting in good, honest hard work.
How To Make The Most Of Your Holiday Book Sales
Ready to get your book sales cranking this holiday? Your book cover, storefront, metadata, and marketing plan should all work together to make your holidays bright.
Defining Self-Publishing Success: Ryan Aslesen and the Crucible Book Series
I think as human beings we all have something of value to share with the world and we shouldn’t be afraid to share our stories.
Self-published Authors Are Empowered Authors
Self-publishing used to mean forgoing the resources of traditional publishing and running your entire independent enterprise by yourself. Thanks to technology and the increased connectedness allowed by the Internet, indie authors now have access to experts, marketplaces, and readers. What's not to like?
