A Crash Course on the Crash Course: The Creation of Ooligan’s First High School Workshop

When this blog post is uploaded, Ooligan Press will have taught its first ever workshop aimed at high school students. Our course “A Publishing Crash Course for Teens” was on February 22, 2025, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Forest Grove Library in Washington County. Washington County is about a half-hour drive from Portland, and before this workshop, the librarians had never heard of Ooligan Press. So, how did we get here?

How Self-Publishing Authors Utilize Freelance Editors

Have you ever Googled “How to be a self-published author”? If you have, you’ve probably seen several blogs and websites that advertise a step-by-step process to be self-published. One of the most important steps, in both self-publishing and traditional publishing, is editing. Author’s going the self-publishing route typically find a freelance editor to perform these necessary editorial tasks.

A Basic Introduction to Publishing for New Writers

The publishing process normally takes anywhere between nine months to two years (not including the time it takes to write the manuscript), and it can take longer in some cases. There are a plethora of steps that are taken behind the scenes in order for a book to launch successfully.

Solarpunk: A Bright Future in 2025

Solarpunk sits at the nexus of several current reading trends. As readers increasingly gravitate toward niche subgenres and climate concerns remain pressing, solarpunk is well positioned to capture a growing readership of the cli-fi audience.

Current Trends in Audiobooks

Due to the immense popularity of this format, the audiobooks category is rapidly changing, with publishers and companies experimenting with new ways of creating and delivering these stories. Here are just a few exciting audiobook trends to keep an eye out for in the future.

Look Who’s Listening: Understanding the “Why” of Audiobook Consumption

If you search for articles about the audiobook industry, the first thing that most include is the outstanding growth of the medium. Publisher’s Weekly articles mention the eleven years of […]

Reorganizing 101 . . . 102 . . . 103

I can safely say that storage rooms are a black hole of fruitless despair. Perhaps you, dear reader, live in a world where storage rooms are idyllic, organized paradises of serenity and calm. Good for you.

What is a MSWL?

A manuscript wish list (MSWL) is a curated list created by literary agents, editors, and publishers that outlines the specific types of manuscripts or book projects they are currently interested in acquiring. By creating or viewing MSWLs, both authors and publishing professionals can streamline the process, ensuring that the right stories find their way to the right hands.

The Importance of Neutral Colors in Graphic Design: a Process Reflection

“In most of our lives, for most of our days—especially here in the rainy, gray Pacific Northwest—we are surrounded by neutral shades. These are important. They make up most of our color landscape. So why shouldn’t they make up more of our compositions as designers?”

Awards 101

As a small indie press, we need to focus our efforts on applying for awards that are within the realm of possibility. Each book has a budget, for starters, which definitely prompts us to prioritize. A few awards we typically apply to include the Pacific Northwest Book Awards (PNBA), Foreword Indies, and Oregon Book Awards (OBA).

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