Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the technology gizmos and gadgets at BEA because they are the rock stars of publishing. If publishing is a room, technology is the elephant.
What did I learn at BEA? One item exhibited at the convention was the Espresso Book Machine. As the name suggests, “its something made to order, one at a time, at point of sale, quickly.” That’s the way the machine’s brochure defines espresso. You put in a few “ingredients” (content with four-color book design on software created for the machine), and with much grinding, out of its other end, pops a book–yes, a physical book, in the matter of four minutes. Essentially, it’s an ATM machine that delivers a book rather than cash. The size of a large copier (think Kinkos’ fancy copiers), it prints, binds, and trims a book on demand at the point of sale.
If that doesn’t blow your mind, Cool-er is an e-reader that works in eight languages and can fit in your jacket pocket. (And had cool Samba dancers sashaying to the loud beat of drums on the convention floor as the fancy-stepping and colorfully-costumed women handed out brochures announcing the new reader.) And, by the way, Cool-er was developed in Britain, hence the variety of languages.
Stanza, which is an e-reader available only on iPhones, has 21 fonts the reader can choose from as well as a variety of backgrounds. The makers of the reader found that reading at night is easier on the eyes if you have white print on a black background, but black print on a white background is better during daylight. If you want to create a “mood” background for a book, you can have a wavy black background or something in red for a really hot read. Stanza released in July 2008, and has 1.8 million users and 8 million downloads. Who knew? It was news to me.
What does this mean for the physical book? Books are alive and well, thank you.
The one item I’ve danced around in these reports from BEA is that which brought more than 12,000 people to the show–books. A couple of my observations during the convention were:
- the surprising number of children’s picture books. After years of everyone in the industry proclaiming this a dead zone, I was stunned by the number of releases on display in the booths. I don’t even know what to think about that.
- strong titles on display for the fall season, including plenty of huge banners proclaiming new releases from Debbie Macomber. As a matter of fact, Debbie seemed to have the biggest presence as an author, with lots of ads in the daily paper, lighted posters with her new books, and several signings by her. Dan Brown has a new thriller releasing, and a posthumously published thriller by Michael Crichton is scheduled. Add to that new books by Pat Conroy, Audrey Niffenegger, Patricia Cornwell, John Grisham, Stephen King, and Ted Kennedy. ‘Twill be a very big fall for publishing.
- the migration to publishers’ using e-catalogs and e-galleys. Moody scores as the most innovative deliverer of a catalog. A bookmark with the details of how to access their catalog was all they handed out–and the bookmark was so green, if you planted it in soil, the flower seeds embedded in it would sprout and blossom.
- fewer advance reader copies being handed out from the publishers’ booths. I only had a few books to bring back to the office, and most of those were given out after the editor buzz panel. Although, when I stopped by the Moody booth, I was told that they quickly gave away 300 copies of Latayne Scott’s novel, Latter-Day Cipher, which, as her agent, made me very happy. Fewer ARCs seemed to be a cost-cutting measure by many publishers. HarperCollins decided to give out gift cards that were redeemable for electronic galleys of two titles.
- many publishers had small booths and therefore a small presence on the exhibit floor.
- while the economy clearly dampened enthusiasm among publishers to participate in such an expensive convention, the aisles were crowded and hard to make one’s way down.
- long lines formed quickly to meet authors and receive autographed copies.
That’s the report from the show, folks. All in all, it had plenty of spark and plenty to talk about.
What are your thoughts?
I wonder about the number and quality of books being written for the teen market. Enter the teen section of any Borders or Barnes & Noble these days and you’ll be surrounded by stories of vampires, werewolves and teen sex. It’s really difficult to find quality reads for this age group. And the darkness seems to be growing. Where is the light? At a local Borders I found the good stuff on a separate table labeled “School Selections.” Grrr…
I am so glad to hear that printed books are not going anywhere anytime soon. There is nothing in this world like the smell of a new book or the crackling sound that the spine makes when you break it open to reveal the first page.
I had not heard of Stanza and I’m a Mac lover. I just bought my iPhone last week, so I imagine that my first use of a reader will be on it, rather than another device. Admittedly, I’d prefer something larger, but since my iPhone is all-in-one (with my music and pictures and movies there) it makes more sense to have at least a couple books on it as well (then I’ll never be caught bookless!)
I’m curious to see how use on the iPhone affects the other readers as time passes. Look how quickly cameras and MP3 players merged with cell phones. The majority of consumers like all their technologies in one place.
Boy, if I could get my teen sons’ favorite books on their cell phones, how cool would hat be?
I’m so thrilled to hear the news about children’s picture books. I purchase books for a private homeschool library, and have noticed the lack of new items in that area. Here’s hoping for a revival of children’s picture book.
Were the picture books coming back in the CBA market as well?
All of those new gizmos sound interesting. The creative minds buzzing around this world amaze me! Maybe if I’m extra good, I’ll get a Kindle for my birthday this year.
Thanks for sharing with us.
Teri, regarding whether the number of children’s picture books will grow in the Christian market, I’m sad to say I haven’t seen renewed interest among Christian publishers. Please understand that it isn’t that they wouldn’t like to do more children’s books, but they are so expensive to create that most publishers can’t figure out how to make them profitable.
Eileen, I too share your concern about the types of books being offered to teens. At BEA I did receive some review copies for books that weren’t all about fangs and blood or sex; so hopefully some balance is in the offing.
I too am VERY concerned about the trend in teen books. I am thrilled to see teenagers reading but I hate that authors had to write books about gore and sex to get them to read.
Hooray for the picture books! And I love the idea of a plantable book mark – a picture immediately popped into my head at the thought. The Espresso Book Machine sounds like a remarkable bit of imagination, too.
Thank you, Janet (and Etta), for the updates from BEA. It’s been interesting and insightful to hear your impressions and information from the show.
I found this post very helpful and informative–thank you!
You’re welcome, Beth. I’m glad this post was helpful to you.
Thanks Janet for the walk-along-tour of the BEA. The information you brought back to those of us who could not attend is valuable.
As a fiction writer, I am optimistic. Whether the format is eBooks or paper books, I believe people will sill want a good story occasionally.
A J
ajhawke.blogspot.com
Janet,
Thanks for letting us slip into the BEA convention through your reports. It was eye-opening and helpful. I’m glad that picture books are holding their own in the market place. With so many things grabbing a family’s attention, children and parents still want to read what is short, visual and pleasingly literary.