Welcome to the 2017 Epic BookExpo Recap episode. If you don’t already what BookExpo is, it’s the big industry trade show that takes place in the United States every year. This year, things at BookExpo were a little bit new and different so I wanted to give you a rundown of what’s new, what’s still the same, and what I think all these things say about the book industry as a whole.

In this episode, I give you an inside look at:

• The new vibe at BookExpo, and why I’m really digging the new, smaller, industry focus.
• What really happens at BookExpo and what this trade show is all about.
• Why I attend BookExpo, and what I look for as I walk the show.

Plus a teaser about the types of books I was most excited to check out, and why.

There’s a new vibe BookExpo…

…and I LOVE it!

In general, the publisher booths were smaller, and overall the show felt less crowded. There were wider aisles and more open space, plus, it seemed like there were fewer book bloggers and general fans, and there was a stronger industry focus overall. I think BookExpo organizers may have been more selective in terms of which press passes they approved. Also, blogger passes were priced at a much higher premium this year, which I think cut down on the number of people attending the show just to get a lot of “free books.” (For the record, ARCs—or advance reader copies—are not “free books” but that’s a topic or another episode.)

Overall, this tighter industry focus made for a much less crowded and hectic show, and made it a much more pleasant and productive experience.

What happens at BookExpo, exactly?

BookExpo is an industry trade show where the focus is for publishers to connect with booksellers and librarians. Basically it’s about getting books into the hands of the readers, but this year the focus has shifted to emphasize more the industry avenues for how that happens, rather than having it be a more direct channel to the readers themselves (as with BookCon). At BookExpo, publishes showcase the books on their fall and winter lists, and connect with booksellers and librarians who might champion those books.

There were still plenty of signings and author events at the show this year, but again, it felt more contained and less sprawling and chaotic than years past. There were still ticketed author signings, though I noticed that several didn’t get “sold out” very early in the day.

Plus there seemed to be fewer signings going on overall. My guess is that with the author badge being the highest priced category, publishers may have been more selective about which authors to have at the show. I also didn’t see some of the familiar author faces I usually see just walking the show, again most likely because of this shift to more of an industry focus.

Finally, there were still many book reviewers and members of the press and I certainly saw reporters with video cameras filming some of the celebrity authors. I did notice, though, that many of these celebrities were on panels on the various stages, and I didn’t notice quite as many long lines for celebrity book signings. I did spot James Patterson signing books side-by-side with his wife, and got a signed copy of Princesses Wear Pants and a quick photo op with Today Show host Savannah Guthrie and her co-author Allison Oppenheim.

Why I Attend BookExpo

There are four main reasons why I try to attend BookExpo each year, but really they all have to do with this podcast. I attend BookExpo to…

1. Discover new authors to feature on this show. At DIY MFA Radio, we try not to feature the same authors over and over because we want to showcase as many different voices as possible. This means I’m on a constant hunt for great interviews. With so many publishers all in one place at the same time, BookExpo allows me to connect with potential interview subjects (or their publicists) in a compressed amount of time.
2. Reconnect with publicists whom I’ve worked with in the past. Like any business, publishing is all about building relationships, and from my perspective building relationships with publicists can be very important. I’m lucky to have some great contacts whose taste and insight I’ve grown to trust over the years, so now when they send me a pitch for an author (even an unknown debut) I know they’ve taken the time to vet that interview and make sure it’s a fit for my show. While I love scouting out new connections, it’s as important (if not more so) to nurture those existing relationships.
3. Check out the trends and see which books publishers are really getting behind. This was perhaps the most difficult thing for me to do this year because of the compressed timeline. When I walk a show and do trendspotting, I like to take my time and let the overall vibe sink into my bones. Because this year’s show was shorter and I had limited time, I didn’t get to do my whole “trendspotting ritual” that I do each year. If I go back next year, my hope is to attend both BookExpo and BookCon.
4. Collect nifty swag and other bits of marketing inspiration. I could do an entire podcast episode on swag. (Maybe I will for Patreon fans!) Overall, though, I like to see what other types of swag booths are handing out aside from ARCs, buttons, bookmarks, and all the things we would expect to see at a book industry trade show. You can also draw a lot of inferences from swag and freebies, like how much thought, energy, and money a marketing department has invested for promoting a particular book. The subtext of the swag is almost more interesting than the things themselves.

Links and Resources

Learn more about BookExpo and BookCon by visiting the websites. Next year’s dates will be May 31 & June 1 for BookExpo (with the conference portion opening on May 30) and June 2 & 3 for BookCon.

Also, you can check out videos from some of the BookCon panels via the links below.

• The Handmaid’s Tale: Margaret Atwood and showrunner Bruce Miller (full panel) | BookCon 2017
• Girling Up: Mayim Bialik spotlight (full panel) | BookCon 2017
• Krysten Ritter spotlight (full panel) | BookCon 2017
• The Book to Film Experience (R.J. Palacio, Nicola Yoon, Stephen Chbosky, Lauren Oliver) | BookCon 2017

Link to Episode 150

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio or Google Play and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 150: Epic BookExpo Recap — 2017 Edition appeared first on DIY MFA.

Today, I’ll be sharing a recap of all the exciting things I discovered at Digital Book World (or DBW) last week.

2017 marks the eighth year of this industry-focused event, with a shift toward solution-focused strategies paired with insightful in-depth programming. This year was also the the first time DBW has run a segment of the conference exclusively for indie authors.

While this event is intended for the members of the publishing community—it truly is an industry event—there are a lot of things author can learn from DBW in order to thrive in today’s evolving landscape. And this doesn’t mean you need to be an indie author; even if writers planning to go the traditional route, there were a lot of important takeaways I got from digital book world this year. Listen in to the podcast recap below.

Three Main Themes at DBW

While I heard a lot of fascinating statistics and gained so many new insights into publishing, there were three main themes that rose to the top.

• Innovation: Cool new stuff that both publishers and authors are doing to connect with their audience and enhance the reading experience.

• Efficiency: To succeed in this business, it’s not just about working harder, it’s about working smarter, and this conference was brimming with awesome strategies and cool new tools I can’t wait to try.

• Sales: Let’s face it, if we want to create a sustainable career as writers, we have to understand sales. This means both knowing what the trends are now, and where the next opportunities might be.

This last piece is extremely important. It’s only when we understand the money piece that we can develop creative new ideas for earning a sustainable living from our writing. If we don’t know what’s going on in the industry around us, then we’re operating in a vacuum.

As I go through each of these three themes from DBW, I’m also going to give you a little piece of homework—an assignment with each one—so you can implement these concepts with concrete, actionable steps. Let’s get started!

Innovation

What cool new stuff is the industry up to?

Hands down, one of the places where I saw the most creative thinking was in platforms, and I don’t mean your author platform, but social media and other tech platforms where both authors and publishers are doing cool creative things. Trends include…

• Audio! By far the biggest buzz at DBW is around audiobooks.
• Using Facebook ads to build your email list as well as to sell directly.
• Platforms that are offering unique reading experiences (like Crave) or increasing authors’ reach (like Wattpad).

Efficiency

How can you work smarter?

The two big areas of focus when it comes to efficiency focus creation and promotion.

• Finding new opportunities for your intellectual property (e.g. branded stories on Wattpad, capitalizing on audio rights, etc.).
• Agents play a huge part in helping authors make smart choices with their IP. While the query process can be tough, agents are still hungry to discover great talent.

“Any given Thursday, you can walk into a bar and hear people singing karaoke who are pretty decent. But as agents, we’re not looking for ‘pretty good,’ we’re looking for someone who can sing at the Met or who can sell out Madison Square Garden.”

—Regina Brooks, Lead Agent and President of Serendipity Literary Agency

• Understanding how to reach out to the media for publicity, and developing a multi-faceted PR approach.
• Take a “sniper rifle approach” to marketing and promotion, instead of a shotgun.
• Patience and persistence were common themes, especially at DBW Indie. You need to try different approaches but give them time to build traction (especially with SEO and digital tools).

Sales

What’s happening in our industry and what does this mean for authors?

Perhaps my favorite session was given by Peter Hildick-Smith, Codex Group founder and president. He broke down the sales process into three steps, then talked about different strategies pertaining to each one. These steps are: Discover, conversion, and sourcing.

• Discovery: Do readers know the book exists? How can we make potential readers more aware of books? Readers need two or more “exposures” to the book before they want to buy it, and that number goes up if the price of the book is higher. The good news is that the author’s connection to his/her audience can be a big influencer at this stage.

• Conversion: Now that readers are aware the book exists, do they want to read it? This is where cues like the cover and messaging around the book can make a big difference at this stage. Price and reviews/recommendations can also be a big influencer here.

• Sourcing: Readers know about the book, they want to read it, but will they buy it? Here is where things vary based on the specific book. Delivering a varied mosaic of information about the book (and where to buy it) from day one improves chances of sales.

About Digital Book World

Starting with the only conference designed to address the radically changing commercial publishing environment, Digital Book World has evolved into a year-round platform offering educational and networking resources for consumer publishing professionals and their partners — including agents, booksellers and technology vendors — online and in person.

You can keep up with Digital Book World and what they’re up to by following them on Twitter as @DigiBookWorld or be part of the online discussion via the hashtags #DBW2017 and #DBWIndie, for Digital Book World and Digital Book World Indie Author respectively.

Link to Episode 131

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, leave a review, and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available. Also, if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please share!

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 131: Epic Digital Book World Recap Episode – 2017 Edition appeared first on DIY MFA.

If you haven’t already subscribed to Porter Anderson’s twitter feed, let me take a minute to explain why it’s one of the most important twitter accounts to follow in the publishing realm. Porter is certainly prolific–between 50 and a 100 tweets every day. He also live-tweets from several conferences each year, and following his Twitter feed can be the next-best-thing to being there yourself.

These are both good reasons, but the most important one is this: if you want current information from an objective source, then Porter Anderson is the person you need to follow. His tweets are about the world of publishing, and the future of publishing, but they’re written with a focus on writers, not industry folks. He tweets links to blog posts on writing, book release news, key conference information and much more.

He also shares where to find his own writing online, because his articles could be on any number of websites. And trust me, if you think his tweets are useful, you don’t want to miss his posts and articles. Reading them is like the online equivalent of sitting down with Porter over a glass of wine (or Campari) and having a smart–sometimes even heated–discussion about publishing.

Porter says his favorite part of his job “is keeping a constant stream of information going out–and by traveling and appearing at conferences and other events in many parts of the world in publishing–I’m able to synthesize a highly focused look at just what’s working, what isn’t, and who’s leading at any moment.” I’m so glad he does this job because when he shares this information in articles and on social media, we all win.

This is why, when I was looking for someone to speak about the publishing industry at Lit Loft, I knew it had to be Porter. I go to a lot of conferences and at each one I hear at least two or three talks about what’s new in our industry. The problem is that these talks are usually given editors, agents, publishers or other people who have a vested interest in the system. After all, wouldn’t these people have a stake in the matter that might lend a certain bias?

Porter Anderson navigates the industry without being of the industry. This means he can look at the issues from multiple angles and give a comprehensive perspective. And don’t get me wrong, Porter certainly shares his opinions from time to time, but what I love about his writing is that he presents the facts and lets the readers decide for themselves. And just because his reporting is detailed and evenhanded doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining too. Have you read either of the “Ethers” lately? Porter’s voice can make even the most complicated, head-spinning business topics (agency pricing anyone?) into a fun read.

For instance, his recent account of Franzenmania is not just smart and informative, it’s also hilarious. And the best part is that Porter always manages to relate even the most seemingly-removed topics to something that resonates with writers. The Franzen article isn’t just about Franzen, it’s about the crazy things writers will do when book sales are on the line. In fact, Porter’s quote at the top of this profile comes from that article.

So, what advice does Porter have for writers?

Slow down. The biggest mistake most writers are making is rushing to market simply because, thanks to digital, they can. Real writing and top-notch production take time. And the industry will get only better as the digital disruption works its way through publishing. Hang on if you can and don’t publish quickly or lightly. The market is glutted with books. We can wait until yours is truly ready.
–Porter Anderson

Patience is a trait we could all use a bit more of. But especially when it comes to writing it’s better to put your–and your book’s–best foot forward. I’m delighted that Porter Anderson will be speaking about the publishing industry at Lit Loft. He’ll be sharing insights and debunking some industry myths so you don’t want to miss this.

Porter Anderson will be speaking at LitLoft 2013.
Registration closes Thursday so sign up today!

The post What I Learned About the Publishing Industry from Porter Anderson appeared first on DIY MFA.