8 BEA SHOW DAILY ■ DAY 1

P U B L I S H E R S

WHAT MAKES

GUYS READ?

Get in on a discussion about publishing, bookselling, and hooking young boys on reading with these contributors to the GUYS READ series (and certified experts on all things “guy”):

JON SCIESZKA • MAC BARNETT EOIN COLFER • MATT DE LA PEÑA JACK GANTOS • JARRETT J. KROSOCZKA

THIS MORNING!

GUYS READ Panel Discussion

Midtown Stage Tuesday, May 24th

11:00 AM – 11:30 AM

BUT FIRST! GUYS READ: THRILLER

ARC Signing with Jon Scieszka, Matt de la Peña,

and Jarrett J. Krosoczka

TICKETED EVENT Autographing Area, Table 15

Tuesday, May 24th

9:30 AM – 10:30 AM

THE GUYS READ LIBRARY

OF GREAT READING

Available now www.bookexpoamerica.com

Coming September 20, 2011

Follow us on Twitter @WaldenPondPress www.walden.com www.harpercollinschildrens.com

W E E K L Y

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

printing. Publishers, he continued, take control of quality, and a handful of them still control most books sales, both in print and digital form.

Coker countered with a lyric from a song: “a message of hope for those who will listen, and a warning for those who will not.” He argued that authors and publishers have inherently contrary interests, and that writers are now winning a battle that has been waged for centuries. Slamming inefficient and inequitable traditional publishing conventions, he predicted the downfall of big publishers—except those who embrace a completely new paradigm for publishing in the 21st century.

Nash closed in favor of publishers, citing 18 million creative writers today who want to reach the 65 million consumers who spend five hours a week reading. He concluded that publishers are the essential link between readers and writers, especially independent publishers.

Not surprisingly, in the postdebate balloting (with a larger portion of the audience participating), the publishers in the audience voted for themselves again—but in smaller proportion: 68 voted for publishers; 33 voted against publishers; 9 were undecided. —Danny O. Snow

DIY Up, but Not Yet Overtaking

In the weekend runup to the official beginning of BEA today, the Javits Center was home to the second DIY conference on Saturday and the “Great Debate” Sunday, part of the Independent Book Publishers Association’s Publishing University.

Attendance at the DIY conference was up slightly from 2010, approaching 300 registrations, according to conference organizers. More than a dozen presentations by experts in various aspects of self-publishing were offered. Mainstream publishing veteran Alan Rinzler of John Wiley & Sons set the tone in his keynote with his conviction that there has been a true shift of power in the book world in 2010 and 2011, and that “this is the best time for writers” in history, although not without pitfalls.

Leading service providers to the booming DIY market, such as Amazon (with its CreateSpace and Kindle Direct units), Barnes & Noble’s new PubIt service, Lulu. com, and others that cater to writers who self-publish, had a strong presence.

Following its May 19 announcement that e-books outsold their printed counterparts in April 2011, Amazon showcased two successful DIY authors. B.V. Larson and Ray Sabini shared savvy tips and tricks for attracting readers and ways to wring more revenue from self-published books, in both printed and digital form.

Two common threads among many presentations were the growing role of the author as book publicist, and the use of online social networking media as tools to achieve the publicity needed for success. Several panelists stressed the necessity of almost daily online activity on a diversity of platforms such as Facebook, Goodreads, Shelfari, Twitter, and even YouTube, as well as relentless blogging, outreach by e-mail, utilizing search engines, and getting reviews. In her panel on “Twitter for DIY Authors,” Kathleen Matthews Schmidt, of

KMSPR, opines that some writers can cultivate a burgeoning following by sending “only” 10 to 20 tweets per day.

Success stories abounded, though many involved considerable technical expertise and dogged persistence—qualities sometimes rare among writers who publish their own books. For example, in his informative panel, “Building Community,” Dan Blank, of We Grow Media, advocated devoting two to three years for social networking before and after publication of a book. “Build a career, don’t just publish a book,” he said.

Some other panels oversimplified the tough realities of what it takes to successfully develop a grassroots readership today, or suggested that there are easy ways for writers to attract mainstream publishers. While some presentations were geared for newcomers to the book world, and therefore elementary by design, others raised issues of equal interest to seasoned professionals. One standout was the “Emerging DIY Opportunities” panel by longtime publishing industry futurist Richard Nash of Cursor and his new redlemona.de book community. Nash holds that while the production side of book publishing has changed, the consumption side (that is, discoverability, or how writers reach readers) remains daunting for both authors and publishers. He delivered an overview of factors that are now changing the book world, peppered with caustic wit. “Mainstream publishers still have some advantages, such as the ability to get books into bookstores,” he said, adding “Bookstores are places where people who like to read books are known to be found.”

Overall, this year’s DIY conference reinforced a growing sense among industry observers that self-publishing has become a permanent part of the publishing landscape. —Danny O. Snow Visit the Harlequin booth and meet your favorite authors!

Tuesday, May 24 • Booth 4638 IN-BOOTH SIGNINGS Time Event Author Title 10:00-10:45 am Linda Lael Miller Hour Linda Lael Miller A Creed in Stone Creek

11:00-11:45 am Paranormal Hour Heather Graham

Phantom Evil

Laura Anne Gilman Pack of Lies

Stephanie Chong

Sophie Littlefield

Rachel Vincent

Amanda Stevens

Gena Showalter

Where Demons Fear to Tread

Aftertime

Blood Bound

The Restorer

The Darkest Secret

12:00-12:45 pm Harlequin Young Adult Celeste O. Norfleet Getting Played Artist Arthur Mystify Earl Sewell Myself and I Rachel Vincent If I Die Cara Lynn Shultz Spellbound

1:00-1:45 pm Series

2:00-2:45 pm Kimani

Gena Showalter

Lord of the Vampires

Kathleen O’Reilly

Just Surrender

Michelle Willingham Claimed by the Highland Warrior

B.J. Daniels

Arlene James

Tracy Kelleher

Kate Hewitt

Branded

An Unlikely Match

Family Be Mine

The Undoing of de Luca

Gwynne Forster

Passion’s Price

Rochelle Alers

Sweet Persuasions

Gwyneth Bolton

At First Kiss

Celeste O. Norfleet Come Away with Me

A.C. Arthur

Adrianne Byrd

Summer Heat

My Only Desire

OFFICIAL BEA AUTHOR AUTOGRAPH SESSIONS Time Table Author Title 9:30-10:30 am 21 Kristan Higgins Until There Was You 10:00-11:00 am 22 Andrea Kane The Girl Who Disappeared Twice 10:30-11:30 pm 21 Lori Foster Trace of Fever 11:00-12:00 pm 22 Susan Mallery Only Mine 11:30-12:30 pm 19 Rochelle Alers Butterfly 11:30-12:30 pm 21 Rebecca Coleman The Kingdom of Childhood 1:00-2:00 pm 22 Heather Graham Heart of Evil www.Harlequin.com • www.HarlequinforLibraries.com