Recently I had the opportunity to attend Book Expo America, which is the premier publishing industry trade show in the US. Because the industry is undergoing such amazing transformation, it makes this show very interesting as trade shows go. This year was no different. Here’s what I heard or saw that I thought you might find interesting.
Hugh Howey, author of the best selling book, Wool.
Hugh Howey told people how hard it is to be a successful author. Hugh Howey has become well-known for his book Wool, both for his sales and his publishing strategy. He retained his digital rights for Wool, but signed a publishing deal with Simon and Schuster for his print rights. That makes him a great example of a hybrid author.
What I found most interesting was what Hugh said in a session I attended where he was a panelist. He shared that Wool was actually his 8th book and that he had committed to a 10 year writing plan. He also shared how he would work a job and devote a large part of the rest of his time to writing. So to get where he is now required sacrifice, commitment and perseverance. Not every author is willing to invest what he has, but I really appreciated his honesty.
Subscription services are acquiring content, but not sure if they are attracting readers yet. There were a number of announcements from Scribd and Oyster about adding content from select publishers, which made news. What we have not heard yet is how many people are signing up to take advantage of these services. So I think the jury is still out as to how this will impact publishers and benefit readers and authors. Michael Shatzkin provides some insightful thoughts on this topic in his latest blog post.
Archway Publishing authors enjoy BEA reception.
Archway Publishing authors were very happy. One of the benefits for Archway authors is the opportunity to attend a reception with people from the Simon and Schuster team. It was one of my highlights of the event. It is always great to meet authors in person and have them meet the great people at S&S.
There are still individuals who think they speak for every author. Even though there are more choices and ways to get published today than ever before, there are still some people out there who believe the way that they published is the only way to get a book to market. I continue to be fascinated by that point of view. There are different authors with different goals and different needs and so there are different paths to getting published. I have written and spoken about this topic quite extensively. Here’s a white paper that I have mentioned before that outlines the 4 Paths to Publishing.
BookCon will go to two days next year.
Amazon: Friend or Foe? Depending on your pov, Amazon is either horrendous for the book business or a great asset. Too much to say about that in this blog post, but suffice it to say Amazon is disruptive and even destructive at times.
BookCon drew big crowds. BookCon was the consumer day on Saturday which allowed readers to come face-to-face with their favorite authors at book signings and Q&A sessions. Big lines. Big hit. Next year it will be two days. Great move by the publishing industry to cultivate readers.
Did you attend BEA? If so, use the comment section to let readers know what you learned at the event.
Filed under: Author Solutions, authors, book marketing, Indie book publishing, Publishing, self publishing Tagged: 4 Paths to Publishing, Archway Publishing, author solutions., authors, Book Expo America, Book publishing, book selling, Book Subscription Services, Hugh Howey, Keith Ogorek, Mike Shatzkin, self publishing, Wool, writing
