Posted on 2013-Jun-11
How Would You Change BEA?
Following the recent BookExpo America 2013, our blog-referring to a Teleread blog-covered how the event was beautifully adorned with book signing and insiders working to publicize their books or check out discover new reads. Eye candy and celebrities were pluses to draw the passers-by closer to their booth as if there were a magnetic field. Somehow, there were petty annoyances that kept the participants from exploring every booth in time due to certain inappropriate behaviors and minor obstacles. That’s when complaints are filed and blogged to propose what if the writer of this article possessed the god-like power to change BEA and Blogger Con.
Rioting and Illuminating
Amanda Nelson makes sure she makes her witty list of suggestion remotely heard by using vibrant description and analogous implication. Before reporting a huge list of things the organizer can do to make the event a better place for booklovers, her first point of criticism tackles Blogger Con how it allowed non-bloggers to be keynote speakers. Authors seem to promote too much whereas the industry speakers remain a little too demanding. Her proposition is to organize another conference for veteran bloggers in a separate room so they can focus on more on their progress without getting the interruption from traditional formality. During the Q&A, if the audience does not have any real question, they should stay calm and be refrained from making a self-promotional statement.
Suggestions to Make Things Better
Suggestion for BEA mainly reveals inappropriate behavior of the attendees. For example, those who stand frozen in the aisles checking their personal correspondence on smartphone and gazing pointlessly at anything else should keep moving. Those who cannot be patient enough to stand in line should be punished. More Starbucks booths are in dire need to dispel the curse of thirstiness, drowsiness, and fatigue. Due to the popularity of using avatars to hide your identity, perhaps real names tend to lose its significance here when most of the people hide themselves behind the cartoonish anonymity on the WWW.
Participant’s Responses
Just when her final sentence leaves with the awe-inspiring what-if, the comment section was alight with equally sarcastic comments. Chrisbookarama writes that he is “old enough to know when to be nice and when to be a bitch” and he almost turns into Danny “I’m too old for this s%%%” Glover. When people in standing in front of her stopping far too long, Catherine Gilmore “unleashed my inner traffic and said (out loud), “Keep it moving.” More importantly, BEA’s Event Director, Steven Rosato, reflects his honest opinion about human and listens to the writer’s suggestion.
Ellora’s Cove Story to Prioritize eBook Production
Ellora’s Cave was there at the BEA, too, showcasing their sensual catalogue and eye candies. Although they do not have any suggestion for the conference at this stage, their story captures the essence of the eBook industry. One woman’s struggle to let her narrative voice be heard led to the establishment of “one of the first digital publishing companies in the marketplace.” Back then, PayPal was the distribution channel for the customers to receive PDFs and MS-Word files of her books. The family business is run by Tiny Engler, the founder and the daughter to the company’s CEO, Patty Marks. Patty said that the company started long before there were system to monitor digital downloads. As time goes by, eBooks are their “bread and butter” but they do not abandon print diehard fans. For erotic romance fans, no one can ever judge you by the cover of the book you are reading if it is under the nerdy-looking disguise of an eReader. The publisher enjoys the steady growth that has mobilized 250,000 books a month up from 1.2 books a day when they started the business.
Time Travel to the Future of Reading
The Time Traveler’s Wife author –Audrey Niffenegger-has no apparent reason to preserve her novel merely in print form now that the technology has dramatically changed the industry. Regardless of being approached by her publishers to give them the right to digitize, she has refused their offer since 2003. She had a change of heart planning to sell the novel sometime this year. Not only that, she will also offer the sequel to the novel. She reveals that how she has kept the eBook version for so long in order to preserve its virginity. Once she learned from her agent-turned-publisher that “the idea that eBooks could and should be better” and they can be sold in indie bookstores rather than eliminating them allowed her to give them a go. She further adds that there is potential for authors to open themselves and be discovered since the digital files can travel virtually globally. In her own words, she addresses the reader’s need to want books. For authors, they need to preserve the community and the ecosystem is dependent on everyone else. Community refers to a combination of readers, authors, and publishers while the ecosystem represents the help and support within that community.
Intricately Woven Team Effort
Coincidentally, my personal conversation with indie author, Catriona Toth, on Facebook realigned my one-sided perception that indies need to be self-reliant. I responded to her blog that summarizes how indies have a stronger power over the publisher on Facebook. Being self-reliant is just one tiny bit of quality that they must possess. The fact is they are living in a world where they work closely with other professional experts i.e. editor, proofreader, designer, librarian, bookseller, festival organizer, and many more. The (e)Book making process requires an “intricately woven” team effort to successfully make that happen. Catriona’s poignantly describes the state where indie authors are “at the center of a team.”
New Horizon
Amanda the book rioter’s list of suggestion tends to stir her followers to voice their opinions interestingly. These voices count especially when the event organizer responds and promises to make things better. As a consequence, the participants will be even happier to effectively manage their time of visit. The story behind Ellora’s Cove establishment as one of the first publishing companies speaks awful lot about how eBook has revolutionized the community. Ten years have gone by and their sales have skyrocketed to the point where they can foster their own community of approximately 800 authors. Lastly, Audrey Niffenegger’s decision to give eBooks a go demystifies the ‘clunky and weird’ technology. At this stage, eBooks have surpassed limitation and accusation that it will destroy the book community. In fact, authors are mere mortals who need to collaborate with their peers so they broaden their perception and all will prosper. They can be self-reliant in plotting their stories but not necessarily limited to one-sided restriction.
Label: eBook Industry News
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