The Importance of Tradeshows

Note: This blog is written by only one of the Author Enablers, Sam. We are both on the road: Kathi is somewhere in the wilds of Northern California with West Coast Live, the live radio featuring authors and musicians that she produces; while I am in Montreal for the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion on behalf of my company, HarperOne (represent!). I am planning on enjoying this northern jewel of a city, if time allows.

However, I am here for a book convention, and conventions are inherently insane. Everyone blathers at everyone else all day long and then we meet at night for some more social blathering. That said, conventions such as this one are an important part of how we sell books. There are many specialized conventions where the publishers, authors and potential authors, and the core audience for a certain kind of book all meet. Attending a convention that is appropriate for your book or potential book can be a great way to meet insiders and learn about other, similar books, your competition, and the market in general.

For the next five days I will be spending all my time talking to some of the world’s top religion scholars. These are people who know more about the world’s religions than is really healthy. They have symposiums with names like “The Legacy of Wilfred Cantwell Smith,” “Pagan Studies Reception,” and “Animals and Religion Consultation.” Many of these professors are the authors of books and papers, but they haven’t yet mastered the art of the snappy title. Here are a couple of offerings: The Odd Couple: Mère Catherine de Saint-Augustine, Jean de Brébeuf, and the Gendering of Expiatory Suffering in Early Modern Québec, and Image-bearing Cyborgs? Hybridity and Hope in the Landscapes of Transhumanism.

One group describes their session this way: “How does scripture give itself? What would it mean to treat scripture as a phenomenon? Is anything lost by thinking of scripture as an historical or literary object? This panel will explore the possibility of a phenomenological approach to scripture. Anyone interested is encouraged to attend.” You bet I will. On the other hand, some are too snappy: the Art/s of Interpretation Group is having a meeting called, simply, “Anteriority.” Huh? Maybe I will show up and argue for exteriority. They even have a Wildcard Session here. The theme? Priestly and Lay Dimensions of Zoroastrianism. Yo—what happens at AAR stays at AAR.

Is the End Near for Independent Bookstores?

Is the end near for your local independent bookseller? We sure hope not. These stores are the means by which we hear of many of the new voices in literature, and they are under siege. Why? The big guys are pricing them out of business.

Recently the board of the American Booksellers Association (an association of independent booksellers) wrote to the US Department of Justice about the deep-discounting of high profile books, which the ABA said “constitutes illegal predatory pricing that is damaging to the book industry and harmful to consumers. . . . We believe that Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, and Target are using these predatory pricing practices to attempt to win control of the market for hardcover bestsellers.” The letter also says that “we believe the loss-leader pricing of digital content also bears scrutiny,” referring to Amazon’s practice of selling ebooks at a loss and suggesting this practice marked the beginning of the price war.

A certain amount of every book we buy goes to paying the publisher’s costs; another portion provides payment to the author (note: many authors’ contracts stipulate that royalties will not be paid on books discounted below a certain price point) and to the publishing company. A small independent bookstore also may have to pay a little more for each book because inventory is purchased in smaller quantities from book distributors, whereas chains and big-box stores buy directly from the publisher. And of course in a normal business environment part of the cost is supposed to go to the retailer, big or small, as profit.

In this price war that model has been thrown out the window. Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, and Target are selling books at a loss. While this may seem good for you, the reader, in the long run there is a problem. The mom and pop independent stores cannot compete with these giants and will be forced out of business. Let’s not let this happen, folks. Indie stores are much more than retailers. Many host all sorts of writer-friendly book groups, workshops, and author appearances, and have become valuable community resources. If we don’t support our local bookstores a time will come when the only way we will be able to get our favorite books signed by our favorite authors will be in a crowded aisle between the auto parts and the cole slaw samples . . . and no cole slaw we’ve ever had is that good. We’d love to hear your thoughts and stories about your local independent bookstore. Feel free to share recipes, too.

Trick or Treat Halloween Costume Party Contest

Halloween is here and you probably haven’t figured out what you want to be. We’re all tired of the Elvira and vixen-pirate-wench costumes for women, and men, enough already with the Captain Jack Sparrow bit. We need something new, so why not tap into the imaginations of our favorite literary minds—or for that matter, come as one of our favorite literary minds? How about coming up with a Captain Ahab costume, or if you prefer, a Herman Melville costume?

Have fun! The most imaginative responses, as judged by the Author Enablers and Johnny Depp, will get a prize: best woman’s costume idea gets a copy of And My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You by Kathi Kamen Goldmark and the most imaginative man’s costume rates How to Play the Harmonica: and Other Life Lessons. If you’d like to be considered for the contest please include your email address along with your post. Photos are welcome.

In the meantime, here’s a ridiculous picture of your Author Enablers, Kathi and Sam, dressed for Halloween as the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts, characters in Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Guess which one is which! Also present are Lou DeMattei, Amy Tan’s husband, and Laura, Sam’s daughter..

If You Could Only Have One Book, What Would It Be?

Every year in our Author Enablers column in BookPage we offer a holiday gift roundup of books suggested by our fellow authors and colleagues. There’s usually a theme—craft of writing, children’s books, etc. You can see some of the past columns in BookPage’s amazing online archives; just look for our column in the December issues for the last few years.

This year for our holiday roundup we thought we’d ask the classic question: If you were stuck on a desert island and had to choose one book to keep you company, what would it be?

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this question here, and we invite you to check out our column in the December issue of BookPage to see the answers of some of our favorite booksellers. You can find it at your local library or independent bookstore, or you can check it out online at www.bookpage.com.

Check out BookTour.com

There’s no one, surefire way to successfully publicize a book, and for many authors the traditional forms of book publicity might not be the most effective. Publishers and authors are always seeking out new ways of getting the word out. The trick, of course, is figuring out which of the many publicity options will work for you and your book.

New online developments in book publicity help readers and writers to connect. A good example is BookTour.com, offering a setting where “any author can create a page showcasing biography, books, and upcoming engagements. Listing new events is as easy as answering a few questions. Publishers, booksellers, events managers, and even well-informed readers can add tour dates by simply filling in a few blanks.”

Readers can also search the BookTour.com database for authors appearing in their area, and they can track their favorite authors on tour. Additionally, “Readers can invite faraway authors to their town, or get in touch with authors already scheduled to appear locally to address additional groups.”

BookTour.com is one option that is revolutionizing book publicity by making it more accessible to everyone. Keep your eyes peeled and let us know of other, similar developments.

Author Enablers’ Writing Challenge #2: Banned Books

On October 1 we proudly joined a group of fellow authors on the steps of the San Francisco Public Library to participate in an event for Banned Books Week. The idea is to read or sing work that has been censored, thereby raising awareness about the importance of the First Amendment and (while we’re at it) libraries in general. We decided to honor some classic singer-songwriters: Woody Guthrie (under constant assault by censors, even after his death, causing a ruckus in his Oklahoma home town); Pete Seeger (who just turned 90, and spent many years on the HUAC blacklist); and Mary Travers of Peter, Paul, and Mary, whose hair Kathi always wanted, and who just died.

To do this we sang Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” with a new, original verse that goes like this:

The First Amendment is a good amendment

From the censors we must defend it

If we don’t mend it they will suspend it

This land was made for you and me

Now we’d like to invite our readers to join in by writing their own original verses celebrating freedom of speech and/or libraries.

Using Public Domain Lyrics in a Manuscript

Talented writer Joy Shelton asks about using public-domain songs in a book she is writing about planning group travel for club or senior adult groups:

“I would like to include the lyrics of some songs that may be used by the group while on an extended trip. This would include songs like:

• She’ll be Comin’ Round The Mountain
• Red River Valley
• Crawdad Song
• Bicycle Built For Two
• Oh My Darling Clementine
• and … some religious chorus songs

I have been trying to select songs that are in the public domain.   Is this permissible? I have a very limited budget and would not be financially able to purchase the rights and I want to print the lyrics to approximately twenty-five songs. Also, could the titles of the songs be printed in the book, in a listing of songs that would be appropriate for the type of activity I will be presenting?”

Our two cents: Joy has a good feel for how to handle this. It’s our understanding that if a song is in public domain no one can claim ownership, and that includes the title.

A handy site for determining public domain is http://www.pdinfo.com/index.php, though you should double check anything you use, since this is your book and you are responsible for everything in it. Music rights issues are complicated, and any author using music in the text of the book must be extra-diligent in the effort to clear those rights.

As you probably know, you’ll need to make sure that the songs are not still protected under copyright. If you want to use lyrics from a song written by someone else, you must get permission from whoever owns the rights to the property. A little research on www.bmi.com and/or www.ascap.com (the two largest music-rights organizations) will usually provide this information. Then it is up to you, the author, to contact the copyright holders and arrange to pay whatever fee is required for usage.

For some reason we have “She’ll be Comin’ Round the Mountain” running through our heads. If you would like to join us on the “old red rooster chorus,” or if you’d like to contribute YOUR two cents about music rights and copyright, we’d love to hear from you.

The Author Enablers’ Writing Challenge #1

The Author Enablers invite all you talented writers to help us write an original work of fiction. We’ll title it and start it off—then you, talented writer, add the next installment, followed by another talented writer adding another installment, and so on. There are only a few rules:

• Limit each installment to a maximum of 750 words; less is acceptable, too.
• One installment per contributor, please.
• Make sure you read the previous installments before adding your own.
• Keep it clean—the Author Enablers are a family-friendly organization.

Now let’s get started.

The Day of Shadows

She stumbled through the woods, leaves crunching under her feet. Jenny pulled her threadbare sweater around her shoulders as, aching and chilly, she tried to get her bearings and find the path that would lead back to Throckmullen. Blood dripped from the cut on her lacerated knee; her shoulder ached and her head and heart were pounding. As she came to a crossroads in the waning winter light, she realized she had no idea which direction would lead her home.

Jenny woke, as always, panicked and dripping with sweat. The dream came more frequently now, nearly every night. She turned on her bedside light and slid out of bed and toward her tiny bathroom. Running water on her face, she reminded herself to breathe, to calm down, it was only a dream.

As milk boiled in her grandmother’s enameled saucepan, Jenny slipped into her bathrobe and glanced out her second floor window. Fully awake, she felt calmer. The street was quiet; a soft breeze stirred the leaves of the old apple tree. Then she saw him—or thought she saw him—a man in black standing absolutely still in the corner of the yard by the fence, staring up at her window.

She was gone before another minute passed, before the milk boiled over on the stove.

Writers Beware!

When it comes to getting published (or self-publishing) it’s crucial to have your feet firmly planted in the usual four dimensions. It’s also important to know whodunit—and where all the bodies are buried. The Author Enablers want to do their part to inform writers about the potential for fraud and scams in the publishing industry. We know this because we are the Author Enablers, even when we talk about ourselves in the third person. With that goal in mind, we want to make our readers aware of an important website:

The Mystery Writers of America have teamed up with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America are co-sponsoring the Writers Beware program to educate authors about publishing scams and how to protect themselves from fraud. The site also maintains a database of questionable agents, editorial services, publishers, and literary contests.

These folks are wizards when it comes to digging up the dirt. Let’s all team up to support the Writers Beware Program:  http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/.

How do you get an agent?

We get a lot of questions here at Author Enablers World Headquarters, but the one we’re asked the most is “how do I find a literary agent?” (We also get “how do I find a literary agent who will sell my groundbreaking book to a major publisher for a huge advance?” from the more confident types.) As an aspiring author it can be frustrating trying to figure out how to identify and contact literary agents, which ones might be right for you, and (once you know these things) how to get these mysterious beings to focus on your work. In today’s market it seems to be tougher than ever, though getting an agent to represent your work has always been easier said than done.

The short answer: write a brilliant query letter, identify the appropriate agents via Literary Market Place (a publication found in your local library or online), and follow submission guidelines to the letter.

One shortcut for finding an appropriate agent is to look at the acknowledgment pages in other books in your genre and notice which names keep popping up. And a more social way to go about this hunt is to attend writers’ conferences, many of which offer authors a chance to meet literary agents and acquisition editors. Conferences aren’t cheap, and there’s no guarantee of landing an agent or a publishing deal. But a good conference will teach you a lot about how the publishing business works, and you will have a chance to network like crazy.

We’d love to hear from BookPage readers about their experiences, frustrations, and successes in searching for—and finding—agents to represent their work.