A Saturday Rant

The Shangri-las!

2009-09-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

On Sep 6, 2009, at 11:00 AM, one of my friends wrote:

Long live the Shangri-las!

* * *

This brought back a memory.

They performed at my Senior Prom, June 12,1965, Great Neck North High School, Great Neck, New York.

Janice Udell was my date. I wore a tux with a white dinner jacket. We all did. The girls all wore long, formal gowns with matching bags and shoes. We were all "grown up" ready to go on with our lives. Most were headed to college. We didn't pay any mind to the Vietnam War figuring it would soon be over... at least before we were to be involved.

We didn't smoke pot or even drink hard liquor. All the girls were Jewish so we definitely didn't get much in the way of any sex beyond what they called "petting" which was always above the waist, but with my dates it was almost aways above the neck!

The assassination of JFK two years previous was still the "Where were you" event in our lives... and we were all in the same place... in school, sixth period on that horrific day. While there were some 550 in our graduating class, we knew a lot of our friends since first grade. People raised families and stayed put.

I drove my father's car to pick up Janice who lived about a mile away. She was a junior. I loved Janice. She came downstairs in her gown and I almost fell over because she really cleaned up nicely! All girls look great on a prom night and on their wedding day. I fumbled with the box with the corsage and was glad that her mother pinned it on her dress because I would have stuck her with the pin, and that does not make for a really good beginning to any date, much less a prom.

We went to a very, very fancy restaurant for dinner... called Four South. I'd never taken a girl out to dinner before. It wasn't done. Dates were movies and dances and parties... not dinner. I was terrified of the head waiter, much less the cocktail waitress who wanted to know if we wanted something to drink. (18 was the legal age but on prom night in Great Neck, no one ever asked.)

I'd never ordered a drink before. I had once had bourbon and coke but didn't like it. The first thing that came to my mind was something else. "I'll have Scotch and Dr. Pepper." Well, I'm sorry but it sounded like a really good drink. The cocktail waitress looked at me like I had just landed from Planet Zardo... and asked Janice what she was going to have. She ordered a Manhattan. I didn't know what that was. I wondered if I should cancel the Scotch and Dr. Pepper and order a Bronx or a Brooklyn... but I didn't.

I learned a life-lesson. Don't order Scotch and Dr. Pepper. It will gag a goat.

The menu came. Bad deal. It was in French. Janice's didn't have any prices on it. That's always bad because if the girl does not know how much you are spending she is not likely to put out much later on. It's a well known formula. The more costly the date the more nookie you are likely to get in the back seat... if any. It was the first time I'd ever seen prices on a menu without "cents." They just put a long "dash" after the amount. And each entrée was in TWO digits? Holy crap! Ten dollars ($10-) for... wait... what is that? I don't know French. Janice didn't know French.

The waiter came to take the order and I pointed to something and said" I'll have "that." The waiter said that that was the name of the head chef. So I pointed to something else. It was "Les cuisses de grenouilles." The waiter said "Good choice sir, the frogs legs are very fresh tonight." Frogs legs? What? Who eats frogs? Answer: I was... because I was too poulet to admit I didn't know what the hell the menu was all about. But I was rescued. The waiter must have seen that I had turned as green as Janice's dress and said "Our steak diane is very good as well."

Steak? Steak! YES! I don't care if Diane makes it or serves it or even spits in it... anything but FROGS! Of course in my most sophisticated English-major voice I said "On second thought my good man, I think I will have that instead." The waiter knew I was a jerk, but it was not the first prom night he had ever worked and he knew we would tip him well.

He turned to Janice, "And for the lady?" You see, now this is why women are just "smarter" than men. They are not afraid to ask directions! She said "What fish do you recommend?" He said "Our sole is very nice tonight madam." Done. Simple. Why couldn't I have done that. It's because we have stuff between our legs and they don't. That's the only reason I can think of.

I don't remember much about our prom. It was held in the gym, but the decorations were so beautiful that you'd never know it was a gym. The theme was The Twelfth of Never since we held it on the 12th. I spent a lot of time throwing up the Scotch and Dr. Pepper, but it was OK because I saw a lot of my friends throwing up what they had as well. One of my oldest friends told me that vodka and apple juice does not go well with the garlic lamb chops with mint jelly he ordered at another fancy place.

For the girls it was more of a night to see and be seen, especially the senior girls who all had college-boy dates... who contrary to what you might think also go to the mens room to throw up their drinks too. The difference was that they had experience and knew the correct position over the porcelain goddess so as not to ruin the shine on your shoes!

After the prom the tradition was to go to Jones Beach and make out on blankets and watch the dawn. I really, really, really loved Janice. She was the girl I would invite down to college for weekends and with some luck she would have my children. What I didn't know was that I was alone in that thinking. To her I was a prom and a really nice dinner. She knew the score. I'd be going off to school in Virginia and she knew... what she knew... which was reality. Still, this was an un-real night... for both of us and while I was sincere, she played the role and we slept on the beach cuddled together until the sun came up. We didn't do much in the way of sex... except think about it. Only the Catholic guys got laid that night... but they got laid every date night. Of course I didn't know that until later on. Had I known I would have converted in a New York minute.

For my friends and I it was the last night of youth. We were now "adults" and grown-ups." Life was not going to be as simple as it used to be for us. And while we relished that... there was an element of sadness about it as well.

The next weekend Janice had a party at her house. All my friends were invited. But I wasn't. I was totally crushed. I was devastated. What hurt worse was all my friends went... and didn't tell me about it. I found out later... and while I still correspond with three of them to this day... it was never the same with them.

I saw all three of them last year. We had been planning a reunion for the past 30 years or so... but never brought it off until last April. Do you know that not one of them remember Janice or her party or how angry I was at them? Not one. And yet to me it was as if it had happened yesterday... especially when I hear "Leader of the Pack."

I wonder what happened to Janice.

If any of you know, tell her I still have the book of prom pictures with the pressed petal from her corsage... and some sand from the beach... I put there... in my youth... to preserve the memory.

Alan N. Canton
InsuranceSolutions123 Agency
Fair Oaks, CA
916-962-9296
CA Lic # 0F31110
http://www.insurancesolutions123.com

BEA Diary 2009

2009-06-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

TUESDAY

There are places I remember
All my life, though some have changed,
Some forever, not for better,
Some have gone and some remain.

The economy is down, the book biz is in shambles, and a lot of the folks I like to hang with were not going to BEA this year. Everything seems to have changed in only one year... not that I didn't see it coming... but that didn't make it any easier.

There was one old friend whom I had not seen in several years... Sophie Sacca who lives down in the Tribeca area, a place I had not been to since I was a teenager. So my first order of business was to have lunch with her. She is working on what will probably be a killer novel, IF she ever finishes it. It was good to see her again and I hope this time to keep in closer contact with her... since I think she is the next Erica Jong.

Sophie Sacca and author

I think most of you know that while I own a publishing and software company, I also work in the life, health, and disability insurance sector. I like sales, I like meeting people, and it has afforded me a nice extra income stream. I had arranged to take some short seminars in the city on annuities and that rounded out the rest of my day and the early part of Wednesday.

WEDNESDAY

All these places had their moments,
With lovers and friends I still can recall,
Some are dead and some are living,
In my life I've loved them all.

On Wednesday I took the subway (I'm a subway guru... the whole country should run as well as the New York City subway!) up to the Roosevelt Hotel to see what was happening at PMA... which for some dumb reason that no one can figure out has changed its name to IBPA. I wasn't sure what to expect since my mother told me the Roosevelt was an old hotel when she was a girl! However, they have kept this grande dame in wonderful condition... it was like stepping back into the days of Gatsby.

Of course the first two people I ran into are two of my favorite people in the entire industry. Mayapriya Long of Bookwrights is an award-winning book designer who was up for four Ben Franklin awards this year. Two were finalists in the same category, so at most she could win three. (She won two out of three—and both books published by Pub-forum members (Pat Johnston and Bryan Marshall)).

Even though he has been in Sacramento and Reno, I had not seen Dan Poynter of Para Publishing the entire year since the last BEA. While Dan is not even close to being over the hill, he can sure see the top of it! Yet he never seems to age! The Dan I saw this year looked exactly like the Dan I saw at my first BEA. He is still on the tech-edge of this industry and as I've said these past fifteen or so years, no one knows this biz in its entirety like Dan.

Dan Poynter and Mayapriya Long

About ten minutes later I ran into another publisher who always defies the odds and makes money in this biz, Sheila Ruth of Wands and Worlds.

Sheila Ruth (without wand.)

I am he
As you are he
As you are me
And we are all together.

Wednesday night was the traditional Pub-Forum List dinner and unlike previous years where we had a private room, since we could not get a quorum we settled for a meet, greet, and eat. Sharon Goldinger and Fern Reiss set it up at a diner way over on the east side that served old-fashioned comfort food.

Florrie Kichler, Sharon Goldinger

Paulette Ensign and Fern Reiss

The group

There was lot we talked about and not much of it very optimistic about the industry. I had not seen Fern for about three years and to celebrate that, I paid for her dinner... not that Fern (or Paulette) needs the charity as both are super-successful publishers. I see Paulette every year and we correspond, but I don't often have the opportunity to get a viewpoint from Fern... and her viewpoint is basically that if we can just hold on that e-books might be our salvation. Of course, e-books will basically allow anyone with two dimes to rub together to become publishers... which is why the "pub" in publishing, meaning "publicity" will become more important... which is what Fern has been consulting on for several years now.

Paulette has her niche in small booklets, having taught people how to do this since the dinosaurs roamed. And I agree with her that more then ever, niche markets are what publishing will be all about in the coming years.

I always learn a lot from these two women and over the years they have become good friends and valued colleagues.

THURSDAY

Dear Sir or Madam will you read my book,
It took me years to write will you take a look,
Based on a novel by a man named Lear,
And I need a job,
So I want to be a paperback writer,
Paperback writer.

This was Ben Franklin Awards dinner night. Lots of people don't understand how PMA (yeah, it will always be PMA to me, I don't care what they name it!) can afford to put on such a lavish dinner... for free. The BFA pays for it. PMA chrages $80 a title to enter the contest... and that's for members. They charge $180 for non-members (which includes a year of membership.) Well, I'm told they had about 1500 entries, so do the math. Even if all were from members only, that's a pretty good hunk of cash.

I was told that attendance at the entire Pub-University was only around 200 this year. They used to get 550 students, but not this year... not in this economy. But no matter, it's always been the awards that has been the cash-cow and this year was no exception.

I always enjoy the dinner and this year it was outstanding. I counted tables and estimate that about 550 showed up. I walked around with my horrible iPhone camera and ran into several folks.

Anyone you know here?

We all know that Dan Poynter has a girl in every city he visits, but he has never gone public with any of them at BEA. Well, this year he did, and talk about a major book-babe. I didn't get her name, but I couldn't miss her look.

Who is Dan's book-babe?

Sitting at my table were designers Mayapriya Long of Bookwrights and Barry Kerrigan of Desktop Miracles. You'd think two competing designers would not get along so well, but they are old friends who keep in touch throughout the year. I guess since both are good at what they do, they can just enjoy the camaraderie of trading designer stories and comparing notes. While I speak to Mayapriya on occasion it is always fun to meet up with Barry... who is one of the most likable men in the industry.

Barry and Maya

I didn't stay for the awards, just the introductory slide show which is always interesting. I left the hall and went down to the hotel bar.

I had an appointment with a group of vulture capitalists who thought they wanted to buy Jaya123, our award-winning back-office, web-based software system for small businesses. (What award you ask? The Festivus Award for Best Software, given by the Human Fund. It's really well known. I'm surprised you've not heard of it.)

It was a good meeting (defined as they paid for the drinks!) but their concept was analogous to the basic gold mining paradigm... where they get the gold mine and you get the shaft. I might have been born at night... but it wasn't LAST night. I thanked them for their time, and the over-priced Scotch, and we all parted as friends. I really didn't want to sell Jaya123 as it makes a nice profit, but I thought maybe they might make me an offer I couldn't refuse. The evening was not a total loss. They did leave me with one good joke

A blonde, wanting to earn some extra money decided to hire herself out as a handywoman and started canvassing the neighbourhoods.

She went to the front door of the first house and asked the owner if he had any odd jobs for her to do.

"Well, I guess I could use somebody to paint my porch," he said. "How much will you charge me?"

The blonde quickly responded, "How about $50?"

The man agreed and told her that the paint and everything she would need was in the garage.

The man's wife, hearing the conversation, said to her husband, "Does she realise that our porch goes all the way around the house?"

He responded, "That's a bit cynical, isn't it?" The wife replied, "You're right. I guess I'm starting to believe all those dumb blonde jokes ."

A short time later, the blonde handywoman came to the door to collect her money. "You finished already?" the husband asked.

"Yes," the blonde replied, "and I had paint leftover, so I gave it two coats - no extra charge." Impressed, the man reached into his pocket for the $50 and handed it to her.

"And by the way," the blonde added ... "it's not a Porch -- it's an Audi."

I headed out into the rain back to the subway to get some sleep in the hope that I would not feel like hell in the morning.

FRIDAY

Picture yourself on a train in a station,
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties,
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile,
The girl with kaleidoscope eyes.

You gotta feel sorry for people who don't drink... because when they wake up that's as good as they are going to feel all day! I woke up feeling like the entire world was a Tuxedo and I was a pair of brown shoes! It only took about a gallon of coffee at the bagel place across the street to get me in shape to do battle at "the big show" in Javits... the BookExpo America.

The only pre-show buzz was whether or not anyone was going to show up! There were rumors that a lot of floor space was not sold this year and that many of the large publishers had decided to skip the show.

When I walked in, and saw that I was not going to be trampled by thousands of others trying to worm their way up the escalator to the main floor I realized that this could be the "last picture show."

On Friday the major NY houses gives everyone a day off to attend the show. And anyone who is anyone also goes on Friday. Normally the aisles are jammed elbow-to-elbow with book lovers. Not so this year.

The best you can say is that the show was not well-attended, but it was not badly attended either. It was not a ghost-town, but compared to past years, it was hardly jammed.

The first thing I noticed was that it looked like about 20% less space was taken than last year. The second thing I noticed was that they had room to put the indie press (which for some dumb reason was re-labeled "Writers Row") on the main floor. It was still empty, but at least it was empty on the same continent as the big boys! Usually the indie press is hidden away on Planet Zardo!

As in past years I went over to the small pub area and the first thing I saw that interested me was The Book Seat. I'm just a sucker for these kinds of things because I believe that anything that makes reading easier or more attractive is a good thing for our industry.

The Book Seat

Self-help is always prevalent in the indie press area and there were no shortage of entries. One of them that I thought might have a shot is about miracles. We all need a miracle once in a while!

Jennifer Hoffman's 30 Days to Miracles book

There used to be a lot of physical fitness books at BEA but you don't see them any more. This one captured my imagination because it is just "out there." Workout with a water bottle? Why not? I travel a lot so I would buy this book.

Water Bottle workout!

I didn't spend too much time looking at children books this year because most of them never sell. However, every once in a while one comes along that shows so much love and dedication that I just have to mention it. Sunflower was done by this guy and you have to just love it.

The Sunflower

As always there are novelists who have a ton of money to put behind their efforts (about the only way a small publisher can sell fiction) and Mephisto was no exception. The author had a great booth and it garnered a lot of attention.

The Mephisto author Antoinett Pannard

I don't quite know what a psycholinguist is, but Vanda Baross was there with her book and for all I know it will be a bestseller. She says it has won numerous awards and if nothing else she has the good looks and the "charm" to make this happen. When I find out what a psycholinguist is I'll let you know!

World Wide Wisdom by Vanda Baross

Along with authors who have tons of money, Final Trumpet by Karl Lenker is right there with the others. This guy has gone out and gotten a ton of high-profile endorsements... with a twist. How does this read? "... wonderful book. I read all 500 pages in one sitting. The next day, during an interview with her, I recommended it to Lily Tomlin." Anyone who has the balls to print that... simply must have a book that he will spare no effort to get sold! I enjoyed talking to him and if energy and self-confidence alone can get a book sold, he's the guy.

Final Trumpet

There is always a doctor who has a book. It never fails. I didn't read this one, but I liked the cover, as well as the gal who was in the booth. I told them they need to get distribution for it, but I don't think they listened to me. Anyway, I researched the author and she has the credentials to write a book in this genre.

Nice cover, nice girl, it might have a shot

I always look for authors who have a personal story to tell and who are not afraid to do whatever it takes to get the kind of buzz needed to get the book off the shelf (or out of the garage.) Carol Gershman is just that author. I don't know if she can get on Oprah, but I would not bet against her. I sent her to Midpoint Trade, but they were not sold on the title, The Jewish Lady, The Black Man and The Road Trip. I think it could work, if not as a book than maybe as a film.

Carol and her hat!

I really liked The Easy Bird Guides. These are pen and ink drawings of birds... and there are a lot of bird-brains out there. Pieter Prall has good distribution and will do well with these. Only at BEA will you find someone wearing a seersucker suit!

Peter can draw!

There are some 300,000 books that come out each year and most won't get read. I think many are just too "good" to be read... in that they are beyond the comprehension of the reading public... which has been dumbed-down by TV and the Internet. I loved this cover and the subject... "What does our consuming desire for knowledge signify, if not the loss of myth, of a mythic home, the mythic womb?" This is a novel, and I'm afraid it will never make it.

John Giacchetti has a message... which no one will get.

In past years we saw a lot of medical books, but we've not seen many in the past few shows. However, Anne Katz, RN, had a book that I know will get read... Women, Cancer, Sex. These kinds of books make us all proud to be in the publishing industry.

An important book

I don't have the first clue who Tamara Pelosi is except that she was involved in a murder case with her husband. She is a local celeb and has a new cookbook coming out on the coattails of her self-help book Pennies From an Angel. Everyone seems to know her... except me. She was very gracious at the booth and she has a lot of experience dealing with the media... which is a good thing for any author. I really liked her.

Dr. Tamara Pelosi

I'll buy you a diamond ring my friend,
If it makes you feel alright,
I'll get you anything my friend,
If it makes you feel alright,
'Cause I don't care too much for money,
Money can't buy me love.

It was getting to be lunchtime and those who are long-time readers of this fish-wrap know this is when I meet my old friend Mayapriya Long and buy her lunch.

We met at the PMA booth and walked downstairs to the food court. That's when I knew the show was half empty... there were no lines. In past years the lines were "forever."

Then guess what happened. Mayapriya and I both had the same veggie Chinese food and SHE paid. They say if you live long enough you will see everything come to pass. She said she wanted to thank me for sending her a major, multi-book client last year. I only wish I had ordered something really expensive!

We had a nice chat and then it was back upstairs to the show.

If costumes help (and you don't have big boobs!) then I had to hand it to Travis Bowman who had on a costume right from his novel Hercules of the Revolution. Historical novels are hard to sell and I don't hold out much hope for this one, but you never know. I think he used his own pix on the cover... you don't see that from too many authors!

Travis Bowmam as Hercules?

Here is by far the best book I saw at the show... by that I mean the one that should be a huge seller if marketed correctly. Lisa Calicchia has written a book that will resonate in the black and white community... I Want to Teach... Not Raise Your Kids. The minute I saw it... and her... I knew she had a winner. She is the whole package... intelligent, well-spoken, educated, and good-looking. I sent her over to Midpoint Trade and they gave her a contract immediately. This book should be a huge, huge seller.

If this does not sell, nothing well!

The second best thing I saw at this show was from a UK publisher called Roastbooks Limited. These are short reads. Now there is nothing new about short stories. But there was nothing new about coffee until Starbucks re-invented it! I think these folks may have the same formula. If people won't read long novels, perhaps they will read short ones. I believe the 1 to 2 hour read might just be a winner, and these folks seem to have a whole bunch of original concepts to market. This could be very big... and if it is... it will be good for the whole industry.

Short reads... great concept!

It was getting toward the end of the day. As I was working my way toward the exit, I came across what I thought was the best "thing" at the show... the Cooler Reader. This was really great... a thin, simple, easy-to-use e-book reader. At $249 it is still way too expensive for most people. We need to get something like this in the $19.00 range... so that people can have one in each room, give one to each kid... and if they get lost or broken (if the dog eats one)... who cares for nineteen bucks. Folks, this is the future of books. Get on board... or get your butt out of the biz.

Great product... great booth-babe!

I was exhausted. Remember, not only did I talk with all the publishers and authors in the pix above, there were another three dozen I also talked with, but didn't think they were worthy of mention. Thus, I was sled-dog tired!

I caught the bus back to my hotel, filled the tub with some cold water and soaked my feet. Most people don't know this "trick" but seasoned convention walkers know that it really works. The problem is that in New York hotels it is hard to get cold water in the summer!

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, it was off to see Jerry Jenkins and his IPPY awards. Now if you think PMA got a good response to their Ben Franklin, the IPPY folks out did them by more than double... like 4,000 entries at $85 each. Thus, they can afford to throw a big dinner... but they don't. While the offerings at The Provence Club were nice, it was finger-food compared to the lavish spread the PMA folks roll out. Instead of expensive food, Jerry invests in a DJ and has a dance party and open bar instead of a dinner. Not a bad deal!

As usual, the majordomos of the independent press were there for the handing out of the awards... and as usual Jerry had some major models to make the presentations. Below is a pix of me. Sorry it is fuzzy but obviously, I didn't take the picture. If the blonde looks familiar... she is the same gal who was in the Cooler booth (above.)

Yeah, she is like really tall! I'm short... but not THAT short!

It was a good day... but there was something missing from the show. Maybe it was the lack of wall-to-wall people... or some big celeb author or maybe it was the overall pessimism about the industry, but something was definitely missing. I thought that maybe it was just me. Maybe it would pick-up tomorrow. I got the 7th Ave. local train and headed back downtown where I collapsed from exhaustion and slept like a rock... until the phone rang.

SATURDAY

I read the news today oh boy
About a lucky man who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well I just had to laugh
I saw the photograph

I don't remember who it was who woke me up, but it was from someone who wanted to discuss Jaya123. Because Jaya has been out so long and because it is solid and stable I often forget that it is even around. People join online and never seem to ever quit. Beyond the welcome letter I send them, I often have no other contact with them. Most new users never call with questions. They just use the free online demo and decide to either subscribe or not subscribe. As I visited each booth I left a Jaya123 card... and while I get a lot of new users from BEA, I never get one who calls me on my cell at zero-dark-thirty in the morning!

When I got to the convention hall I thought it was Sunday morning, not Saturday. If I were paying $30 a square foot for a booth, I'd re-think whether BEA is worth the cost.

My first stop was to see Dave Marx at PassPorter Travel Press. He has the best travel books on the market and his Disneyland guide is the best there is, by far.

Dave is on the board of PMA and I wanted to discuss with him some issues that I had. I'd really like to re-join PMA but I won't do it until I can either vote for candidates for office OR run for office myself. Currently all candidates for the board or officers are chosen by the current board and vetted by the Nathan family which runs the organization. There is no way they would ever let someone like me run... because I'd institute a whole bunch of changes... the first being to put the management contract out to bid and see what another association management firm might offer. The second would be to move the organization from Los Angeles to New York. If you want to have a seat at the table with the big dogs, New York is where you have to be.

Well, we had a nice chat. In the fifteen years that I WAS a member I've never had anyone on the board offer me as much attention as Dave gave me. He didn't agree with me on everything, but he at least listened.

The day before I had met Andrea Nathan and told her about my concerns and she basically cut me a new one. She sounded like she founded the PMA instead of marrying into it. Well, if the small turnout of this years PMA-University is any indication as to the viability of the organization, she and Dave and Terry (Jan's son who "inherited" the directorship,) have their work cut out for them.

Dave Marx of PassPorter and PMA board member

I always say hello to the Llewellyn gals. They are there almost every year and are always in a good mood. However this year they were rather worried because they have a ton of receivables with Borders... and everyone knows that the chain is in financial limbo... bankruptcy is being talked about. If they go under, Llewellyn might not fare so well. I told them that from what I understand they have a new investor and that they will not go paws-up. Of course I could be wrong!

The Llewellyn gals... not so many smiles this year.

I'm a bookmark guy. I don't know why, but I just like to have bookmarks around the house. There were not as many "sidelines" this year as in the past, but a first-time exhibitor caught my attention with their bamboo markers. These were really nice. They wholesale for about $2.50 each so they will retail for about $5.00. I like these a lot.

These will make good gifts

I remember that at the 2004 BEA we were awash with political books. That was the last big wave of them. This year I saw one... and it was a novel... by Oliver North. If it is even half-way good, with his name, it will sell to the right-wing whack jobs out there.

Can Ollie sell books?

I never spend too much time at the foreign booths because most are really boring... and small. But this year for some reason Italy had a huge booth... and won my award for the best carpet!

People came just to walk!

Everyone likes picture books and they usually sell well, but this year I didn't see too many of them at the show. However there was one that was really terrific... Our Ordinary Extraordinary Earth There is nothing I can say that will do justice to this work. It is just really, really good. It will be a gift for someone under my tree this year.

If you like photography, this is for you

I finally came to the Midpoint Trade booth. I think Midpoint is by far the best distributor in the business because it is run by people who not only love books, they also know how to run a business (what a concept!) Laurie Little and Julie Hardison have been official BEA Book-Babes... and they will always be. Laurie is getting married soon... and Julie is still babe-alicious!

Laurie and beau

Julie

Also at Midpoint, sharing a table was the editor (or designer?) of The Virtues of Wealth, and William Roetzheim, the author of Five Poet Plays. I enjoyed talking to the playwright. His show was running (off Broadway) and I wanted to see it, but I had another engagement.

I read Virtues on the plane coming home. Many of you know that I run a life and health insurance agency called InsuranceSolutions123 Agency (You thought Jaya123 paid he bills? Not with my very expensive wife!) This book is a must-read for anyone in the financial biz.

Playwright William Roetzheim

Wonderful book for anyone in finance

I love booths that have a magic act. This year I only found one... and the guy was terrific. Wayne Allen is the magician-author and I loved the book. It is another one I will be getting as a gift for someone (who cooks for me!.) It is hard to sell a meatless cookbook, but add in a how-to on doing tricks and he might have a winner.

What a fun book!

I don't know why BEA has a separate section for black publishers but I guess those publishers have no issue with it. It was the one aisle that was jumpin' the whole day. There were a ton of books being shown, mostly by author-publishers. The one I liked the best was because of the message it has about personal responsibility. The tome has a shot if it can get any distribution.

This has a good message

Way on the far end of the hall were a whole bunch of Arab national booths... and I mean LARGE booths. I have no idea why there were there except that they could afford to be! The whole area was mostly empty. I had some interesting conversations about the Mideast situation with a few of the booth-sitters. People are OK. It's governments that screw things up. Everyone wants peace there... except those who run the damn governments! The Saudi booth and the UAE booth were giving away the best quality pens I saw at the show!

She was very sweet and spoke perfect English

Day after day, alone on a hill,
The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still
But nobody wants to know him,
They can see he's just a fool

It was getting late and I was not feeling too well. My feet hurt and I was a bit dizzy... probably from lack of food and water. I needed to sit down for a few minutes. I saw the Independent Publishers Group booth, which is always very large. They are a well-known and well-respected distributor.

They had a bunch of small round tables in an open area so I sat down at one of them. I was not feeling well at all. About a minute after I sat down a guy by the name of Tom Green came over to me. He was dressed in a very expensive blue suit (not that many suits at the show this year... people went for a more casual look) and he told me that the area was reserved for IPG "meetings." Now I know the owner Curt Mathews. He used to be president of PMA. I told Tom that NONE of the tables were being used, the booth was empty (I took the pix below,) it was 4:00 PM, and that I just needed to rest a bit because at age 61 I'm just not as young as I used to be.

Well, there was nothing I could say to convince Sheriff Tom to let me sit for a few minutes. He said I have to leave. Now I could see it if the place was busy... or if I had B.O. or really bad breath... but I checked and my body didn't reek, and my breath didn't smell. Tom Green was determined to make sure that someone of such low breeding as myself would not dare steal a few minutes of respite at the IPG area.

Something happened. All of a sudden I was not tired or dizzy. I was mad as hell. My blood pressure spiked, the adrenalin kicked in, and I was ready to do battle... because I was sure as hell that Tom (who was easily twice my height and weight) would attempt to forcibly remove me from his area. Yeah, he would have kicked my butt, but I would at least go down fighting.

It was at that point that I remembered Falstaf's line about discretion and valor. I mean this guy could really hurt me... and I was pretty sure he wanted to. So I decided to get up and leave. I might have lost the battle, but not the war. I will spend the rest of my life telling that story to EVERY publisher on the planet. And when I'm asked about what kind of a distributor IPG is, I will tell them in four-part harmony and full orchestration about Tom Green and how they would not let a tired "old man" sit in their precious space for five minutes to catch his breath.

My take is this. If this is the attitude they would take with me... at 4:00 PM in an empty booth... what attitude are they going to take with you as your distributor?

They threw me out of an empty booth. Thank you, Tom Green!

We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,
We hope you will enjoy the show,
We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,
Sit back and let the evening go.

Two full days covered the whole show. I was not planning to go on Sunday anyway but I was happy that I was able to cover the whole thing in two days. In past years I would not have been able to do that.

One of the best events was still to come... the annual Midpoint Trade pizza party. Eric Kampmann and Gail Kump host this event, this year in their office. It is always fun to get the viewpoints of both Eric and Gail. And their views were the same as everyone else... that books are not selling as well as they did before. The only thing everyone disagrees with is why!

Eric (right)

Gail

COMMENTARY

Roll up for the Mystery Tour
The Magical Mystery Tour is coming to take you away
Coming to take you away
The Magical Mystery Tour is dying to take you away
Dying to take you away - take you today.

As much as I love the "show atmosphere" and as much as I admire Reed for putting on a top-notch affair, and as much as I believe that books are necessary for a democratic society, if I were a publisher that was having some severe financial dislocations, I'd question the efficacy of spending what it costs to exhibit at BEA.

When you walk around you see all these people sitting at the little round tables looking earnestly like they are conducting business... that there is some buying and selling going on. But if you stop and eavesdrop for a few minutes you find that they are either old friends visiting, or they are talking about the weather, the state of the business, or last night's basketball playoff games.

For a small publisher who has something really, really good [i.e. new,different, exciting] there is a reasonable possibility that they will get some media or perhaps find a distributor. Getting a deal with Midpoint Trade would make the cost of the event worthwhile. But for the mid-size and larger publishers, I simply don't see what they have to gain. I know that if I ran a large house that I would look once, twice and three times at the risks and rewards of participating in BEA.

A lot of people I know from my thirty years in this biz (I published my first book in 1979) did not attend this year... even as a visitor. Of course the fact that BEA jacked up the one-day ticket prices probably had something to do with that. But, I think there is more. It cost a lot of money to sleep (alone) and eat in the Big Apple, much less the cost of getting there in the first place. I think people asked themselves if it was really worth the trip... and I know for a fact that a lot of people came up with a negative answer.

What is to be done? Well, I understand Reed will keep the show in New York for the next couple of years. If I were Reed I'd move it to a smaller, cheaper venue where food and lodging is cheaper. I also heard rumors of them opening the show to the public to buy books. That would be a good idea as it would give publishers an opportunity to sell lots of "hurts." However, it would turn the show from being "trade" oriented, to being retail oriented. That might be a good thing. I don't know for sure, but my gut feeling is that anything that stimulates interest in books... can't hurt.

As I've said in this space for many years now, our industry never tried to "sell" reading as a mind-altering "drug." That's what the internet and video games and movies, and TV, and most of the forms of "social networking" are. The difference is that they have dumbed-down our young people into a continuous stream of mental "brain bites." We need to have advertising messages that READING will "blow your mind." We need to re-tell the adventures that books hold. We need to sell books the way big-pharma sells pills or Godiva sells candy... that there is going to be a huge personal reward and gratification by making the investment. Reading is the soul-food of imagination. Books should be "sold" as the prescription for an ever-bored population whose brains have been caramelized by information overload without any sensory rewards. Reading, not books, needs to be SOLD.

I think our only salvation will be when we finally get a crop of cheap, easy-to-use, e-book readers. Kindle is nice, but I don't see too many people spending $300 for one for each of their kids. We need to see these things come down in price the same way calculators did. Do you remember when hand-held calculators (the Bomar or HP) sold for over $200 in 1969? I do. But it was not more than five years until we started to see affordable devices (I bought my first Radio Shack calculator for $70 in 1973... and $75 was a lot of moolah back then.) Now they are given away for free. When the software meets the hardware, that is when everything changes... similar to what has happened with the music business in response to the iPod device.

After attending this show and speaking to literally hundreds of publishers, the only thing I know for certain is that we are headed down a long and winding road.

The long and winding road that leads to your door,
Will never disappear, I've seen that road before
It always leads me here, lead me to your door.

The wild and windy night that the rain washed away,
Has left a pool of tears crying for the day.
Why leave me standing here, let me know the way.

Many times I've been alone and many times I've cried,
Anyway you've always known the many ways I've tried, but
Still they lead me back to the long, winding road,

You left me waiting here a long, long time ago.
Don't leave me standing here, lead me to your door.

-30-

If you liked this special edition of A Saturday Rant or if you disagree or if you have changes to be made, please let me know by writing to: rant at adams-blake dot com.

BEA Diary 2008

2008-06-04T17:26:00.000-07:00

WEDNESDAY

I can still remember
How that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And, maybe, they’d be happy for a while.

I've been to something like twelve Book Expos and while I always look forward to them each year I always wonder if this year is going to be the last year that it is held. Except for the parties and the remote possibility that one might sell a book or two, there is not much reason for this show to exist anymore.

I well remember when there was a large computer show called COMDEX. It was huge... like some 100,000 people each year... until the Internet came along... and poof it was gone... the show could not sell the space and it just disappeared. Bye bye.

If someone at Reed E. (the fine folks who put on this show) decided to scrap BEA I would not be a bit surprised judging from this year's edition. It was a "why bother."

It's a short flight from Sacramento to LA but of course the plane was late getting off so I had to hit the ground running to make the annual Pub-Forum dinner at the Daily Grill in downtown LA (just a block from Wilshire Grand hotel where I was staying.)

As soon as I walked in I saw my good friends Paulette Ensign and Brian Jud. Paulette has made a zillion dollars showing others how to make money with booklets and Brian is the ultimate market guru in this industry... and not only a very nice man, but one who has many wives (an industry insider joke which I won't explain now, but you should write Brian and ask him to explain!)

Paulette and Brian

The highlight of the evening was when Dan Poynter gave a long and wonderful speech about being an "Internet-aholic." He had everyone in stitches. Some of you know Shel Horowitz who is the king of cheap. Dan said that Shel graduated from college in three years because he didn't want to pay for a fourth year!

Dan Poynter speaking at the Pub-Forum dinner

And talking about Shel, he was about the only downer of the evening. He made a point of coming up to me and telling me in no uncertain terms that I was lucky he was so "nice" because he claims he could have sued me for something I wrote earlier this year (I forget what I said) when he raised his prices. I simply let him vent since that was probably the main reason he went to the dinner in the first place.

I don't much like Shel, he doesn't much like me... and I'm fine with it. He's a spin-meister and so I never know when he is serious or when he is doing what PR people do... which is lie. All I know is that he was way out of line at that place and time and I think he was lucky that I didn't let him have it right then and there with both barrels. I just let it go. Jerks will be jerks. It's true.

It was really good to see Irma Martonyi, the beautiful wife of Andrew, author of the award winning Little Man in The Map book. Both Irma and Andrew have a great sense of humor... but Irma is a major Book-Babe... and Andrew isn't!

Irma "Babe-alicious" Martonyi

It was a great dinner and I enjoyed seeing lots of friends from the Pub-Forum list. I wish some of the other pix I took came out but it was a somewhat dark room and my iPhone camera just was not up to the task as it does not have a flash. I should have brought a real camera.

I went back to the hotel and got what I knew would be the only eight-hour sleep I would have for the rest of the week.

THURSDAY

Did you write the book of love,
And do you have faith in God above,
If the Bible tells you so?
Do you believe in rock ’n roll,
Can music save your mortal soul,
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

I hate when the phone rings in the morning and wakes me up. And guess who it was. It was Mayapriya Long ... my friend for the past fifteen years or so. "New tradition. You have to take me to breakfast," she chirps in the phone. I saw her at the Pub-Forum dinner but didn't have much of a chance to talk to her, not with all the other good looking women who were after me! "I'll meet you upstairs at the Executive Suite in twenty minutes." The hotel had a really nice continental breakfast for guests in the more expensive rooms... or who had stayed at the hotel on previous occasions... and this was the third time for both of us.

It was good to see her again. We had not spoken much in the past several months and it took a long breakfast to get caught up. Economy or no economy, she is as busy as she's always been. She's forged a national reputation as a book and cover designer so I'm not surprised.

As soon as we went downstairs to the PMA University where we would both hang-out talking to friend all day, we ran into Dan Poynter. I took the pix below and thought it was terrific of both of them.

Dan Poynter and Mayapriya Long

The morning went quickly talking to old PMA friends. The big news was that PMA changed its name to the IBPA or Independent Book Publishers Association. No one could figure out why. "It wasn't broken, so why fix it," said Dan Poynter and just about everyone agreed. With the passing of Jan Nathan I suppose changes were bound to come, but no one expected something as "dumb" as a name-change.

Let's face it. Are we really going to be publishing "books" five to ten years from now? Probably not. Anyway, it was the topic of conjecture for those of us who were long-time PMA members... although now many of us have dropped out for various reasons. For me it is simple. If I can't run for office or even vote for someone else who is running to be an officer or a board member, I won't join. I want to have a say in how my dues are spent... and PMA... oops... I mean IBPA won't let me vote... so I won't send my money. The board is chosen by the executive director and the board chooses the officers. There is no formal input by the members. It has been this way forever and I've ranted and raved about it, but it has never been changed. Until it does, they won't get my $200.

Around lunch time J.C. Simonds and Susan Goland showed up, along with Cindy Frank (an original Book-Babe). JC is one of the list-moms on the Self-Publishing list (owned by SPAN.) It is heavily moderated... and they won't let me on it... they think I write above the level of their readership... and having met some of their subscribes I have to agree!

J.C. Simonds, list-mom of the list they won't let me publish on!

I didn't get a good pix of Susan (or Cindy) but you can find both on previous BEA journals. We went to lunch at the Fire House No. 29 (or 28?) around the corner from the hotel... and we sat there for about two hours discussing the dismal state of the publishing industry.

Not long after we got back to PMA it was time to run upstairs to dress for the annual Ben Franklin Awards dinner. In past years they would give us saucers instead of plates and the food would run out anyway. However this year it was truly a feast. There was a huge amount of food and it was terrific... best they ever had. Maybe the name change from PMA to IBPA was a good thing! I sat next to Barbara DesChamps of Château Publishing at the same table with Paulette and several others.

Barbara (above), our table (middle), the ballroom (below)

There is not a whole lot I can say about the awards except that thankfully very few winners showed up so we were spared the long and boring "I want to thank the Academy" speeches. If there was one outstanding book in the entire lot, I sure as hell didn't notice it!

The only part of the program that was truly outstanding was the slideshow montage of the late Jan Nathan's life. I knew Jan for almost fifteen years and while I didn't always agree with her I always respected her for her work and devotion to the small press. The retrospective brought a tear to everyone's eye. I know Terry (her son) will do a good job but it won't be quite the same without Jan. And as I told Florrie Kichler (PMA President)... no vote... no dues!

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While the sergeants played a marching tune.
We all got up to dance,
Oh, but we never got the chance!

The best part of the evening was sharing a beer with Tom Alexander . No one knows more about where the parties are at BEA than Tom. Tom is also an expert in the marijuana laws as well as distilled spirits. Tom is a fun guy and if you ever get a chance to party with him, don't miss it.

Tom "Hisp, hisp... good sheet, man!" Alexander

It had been a good day of seeing old friends, talking about the publishing industry (which as I've mentioned is in a sorry state of affairs) having good food, good drink, and just kicking back... knowing that there were three grueling days of BEA ahead.

FRIDAY

Every BEA I start at the small press area. And in every BEA Diary I say the same thing... that Friday morning is just like baseball spring training. Everyone thinks they are going to have that big bestseller. Everyone is going to get on Oprah. Everyone is going to find a distributor. I love Friday morning in the small press section.

The problem is that this year the small press was two short rows of some of the worst books you have ever seen. Same old... same old. It was slim pickings but I did find a few things that were pretty good.

One that I liked was Your Turn by Dr. Nancy Irwin. She has the credentials and the subject of hypnosis is always interesting.

Dr. Nancy Irwin... She can hypnotize me anytime!

There was a lot of bad fiction in the small press section, just as there is every year but Corpse of Freedom had a twist to it that I liked... as well as the booth

There is a movie contract somewhere for this book.

I saw several business books this year, something that has not been in the small press for quite awhile. I think that Cook Your Assets has a shot if the author can get some distribution.

Good title, good cover

Easily the best book in the small press section (and all of BEA!) is one that probably won't sell many copies but which was beautifully done. Journey Through Literary America is a photographic essay on the places that inspired great American authors. Thomas Hummel wrote the narrative and Tamra Dempsey did the photography and together they created a stunning book... easily the best thing I saw at the BEA this year.

This is a terrific piece of work.

As is typical of first-time exhibitors, they have no idea how to create an image. Here is a book called The Panty Dropper Cookbook and instead of a long-legged booth-babe showing the book, there is some old guy who hasn't the first clue as to what he is doing there!

Where is the booth-babe?

With the aging of the boomers I expected to see more material targeted to that segment, like I saw last year, but about the only book on display was Carolyn Gross's Treatable And Beatable . This looked inspiring and the author has a lot of media experience. It should sell to those facing cancer.

Disease books are always good sellers.

It has been ten years since ForeWord Magazine burst upon the publishing scene as an alternative to Publishers Weekly. It is always nice to visit with Victoria Sutherland who was one of the first two official Saturday Rant Book-Babes! I had a nice chat with her and was happy to learn that she has taken on a new magazine on spirituality.

Victoria (left) and helper.

There used to be a lot of G&L books and publishers at BEA but this year there were very few. I'm told it is because the genre has been taken over by the large "mainstream" publishers. These two gals from Torquere Books (a very large publishing house) have blazed a trail in gay sci-fi. You have to love their slogan!

There is something for everyone at BEA!

There are always a lot of self-help books as they are always good sellers. Linda Thompson claims to be a playwright, author, and consultant and I have no reason to doubt her. She was interesting to speak with and I assume her I Am My Own Dragon book will be as interesting.

I loved the balloon!

Along the same lines, it seems that "discovery" is the big self-help buzz-word this year. There is a lot of discovery going on! Ask! had one of the more interesting booths. I'm not a big fan of these simple "short question" books but I know they sell well... yet I don't know why!

Great booth... great girl!

If celebrity testimonials can make a book into a bestseller than Be The Media! should be huge. This author/publisher has done his homework and I predict this will sell very well. The book was badly designed but they say they are going to re-do it before the final print run. No one in their right mind would print a 300+ page book in a san-serif typeface!

I'm told David was voted the show's "pub-stud" by my female publisher friends.

It was lunch time so I left the small press area and did the mile hike back to the main hall to have my traditional lunch with Mayapriya Long. Did I say "have?" I meant "buy." It is a long standing tradition that Mayapriya never pays for lunch at BEA and this year was no different. We each had tiny and over-priced pizzas in which the box tasted better than the pizza! Someday I'm going to learn to bring in a sandwich and not get gouged by the convention hall concessions.

After lunch I resumed my quest to look for "new" and "different" and "exciting" items. It was tough going. If there was ever a "why bother BEA" this had to be it. I kept on thinking that if what I saw exhibited was any indication on the state of this business... we were in deep trouble.

Rummaging through the children's section I came upon a booth selling something called Mo's Nose. This was really clever... a "press to smell" book. The book enbeds technology that enables readers to actually smell what Mo smells. Cleverly embedded within the pages of the book, are innovative scent-dispensing packets good for thousands of “sniffs” containing safe, non-toxic scents that truly mimic true-to-life smells like a fresh picked rose or juicy strawberries. Obviously the book is targeted to children, but I found it fascinating.

This will be huge in the kiddie market!

The last stop of the day was at a mom-pop publishing house that was selling one of two good Christmas books that I saw at the show. Indeed, I've never SEEN a Christmas book at a BEA before... at least I can't recall one. Charlie Tree looks like a nice little children's book that has twelve stories... one to be read on the twelve nights before Christmas. Good concept.

It's hard to miss with a good Christmas book

My feet were killing me and it was close to closing time so I trudged down to where the busses were, went back to my hotel to dress for the IPPY party. This is always a fun event and in the past it was a mad-house. However, this year it was by invite only in order to keep the cost down. I'm not a big fan of awards but I think the iPPY awards have some merit... at least as much as the Ben Franklin and the ForeWord awards. It all depends on what the publisher DOES with the award... because winning alone won't sell books.

Well, I know that you’re in love with him
`cause I saw you dancin’ in the gym.
You both kicked off your shoes.
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues.

I saw a number of old friends at the party such as Barry Kerrigan the Vermont cowboy who runs Desktop Miracles, an award winning graphic house. (D.M was one of the sponsors of the party.) Barry is truly an industry expert, as is my old friend Jerry Jenkins of The Jenkins Group. If you want to know what is going on in this biz, ask either of these guys. I wish I had some pix but it was too dark for my cellphone camera.

I had an interesting talk with Carolyn Long of Pratt Publishing. She is going to bring out a high-budget book called A Dogs Guide To Training Owners which looks very interesting. I wish her well on it.

The most interesting guy I met at the party was Dan Seidman of Sales Autopsy Press. Some of you know that besides Jaya123, the order-entry, web-based system for small and mid-size publishers, that I also run a life and health insurance agency called InsuranceSolutions123. Most of you have probably not heard of Dan, but in the insurance biz he is a major celeb. His column of sales "horror stories" runs in many of the insurance magazines and he is in much demand as a speaker. We walked back to the hotel together and it was the highlight of the entire show for me to meet him.

Dan Seidman... sales guru.

SATURDAY

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news,
But she just smiled and turned away.
I went down to the sacred store
Where I’d heard the music years before,
But the man there said the music wouldn’t play.

Friday is always crowded at BEA but this year unlike past years it was not elbow to elbow. Saturday is always the bell-weather test to see how much interest the show draws... and if this Saturday is a prologue to the future, this show is headed for trouble. I wouldn't say it was empty, but with the exception of the large NY houses, the aisles had lots and lots of room in them... and some of them you could go bowling and not hit anyone! I also noticed that while there were plenty of advanced reading copies being given away, there were not nearly as many as in previous years. Same goes for totes and other give-away items. I found only ONE publisher giving out t-shirts. In past years you could get enough shirts to sleep in for an entire year and never have to wash one!

I have an old friend in this business... one that goes back almost twenty years when we used to see each other at the old San Francisco Book Show. Peter Goodman is the owner of Stone Bridge Press. I sat with Peter at his booth and we talked about how the book biz has been this year and what the future might hold. Neither of us were all that optimistic. One thing we agree on is that the future is electronic... and it will arrive when Apple brings out some kind of iBook and do for (or to?) books what they did for (to?) the music business.

Peter Goodman: He knows this biz

I found a cat book. It was the ONLY cat book I saw at the show. Animals were not "in" this year. I liked the cover and the treatment of Stratford Road Press's Romeo Crumb title.

Interesting cat book

Walking down another (empty) aisle I saw my second Christmas book of the show... two more than I had ever seen before! The Old Traditional Christmas will be under my tree next year as a gift for my first, current, and very expensive wife who loves the season. I'm a sucker for photography books and this is a great one... showing holiday pictures from the 30s, 40s, and 50s.

This will sell if they get good distribution in gift stores

You don't see too many legal self-help books beyond the Nolo Press booth, but one that was generating some interest was Immigration House Call With all the talk about our borders, I can see this book doing well.

He should bring this out in Spanish

Everyone knows I'm a sucker for a well-turned ankle (talk about an archaic expression!) Anyway I turned the corner and saw a stunning woman posing for pictures about her book, Secrets To Date By. Her name is Jula Jane (yes, Jula, not Julia) and this is no "dumb blonde" or your typical booth-babe. I have no doubt that she will take this book as well as her sequel Date Your Mate into six-figure success. And her figures are not so bad either!

Jula Jane and the author

Jula is an official Book-Babe (like you had any doubts?)

I mentioned Nolo Press earlier. They were the only publisher who told me that their business was good... and getting better. When I asked why they said it was because they publish to a niche where books are a great value compared to the alternative... lawyers. I was surprised that they were doing so well seeing how much free legal help is on the Internet, but they claim business is great... and I'm happy for them.

Sales reps from Nolo Press. Biz is good!

There were the usual gift items but The Chocolate Traveler is quirky enough to be a hit. The aim is to sell chocolate in bookstores... and I don't see why not. I sent him over the the Midpoint Trade booth in hopes that they would distribute him, but Julie told me later on that to do food you have to have an FDA inspected warehouse and theirs is not up to FDA code.

I hope this works for him

Talking about Midpoint, I went over to their booth and talked to Laurie and Julie. The distribution sector is also being hit hard by the economy and freight costs. However, Midpoint tells me that they have cherry-picked their inventory such that they have a good selection of publishers who know how to drive sales and how to work with a distributor. So many publishers think the distributor is going to do EVERYTHING. The truth is that most distributors work on the 80-20 rule. Eighty percent of the sales come from twenty percent of the inventory... and it is those books that the distributor pours their heart, soul, and money into. I love Midpoint. Erik Kaampman (who you might remember sold $2.3 million dollars worth of the O.J. book,) runs a well-organized, fair, honest, and efficient distribution operation. If they are your distributor, you are one hell of a lucky publisher or author.

Laurie (left) and Julie. Major Book-alicious Babes!

No BEA is complete without a dog... and this year the only dog I saw was Soaring Cindy. It seems that Cindy has had a lot of TV and media experience and I expect that this book will sell fairly well. Kids and dogs... a recipe for sales.

Sweet dog... everyone loved her

Historically one of the most entertaining booths of the BEA belongs to the Scientology folks. This year they had two booths, one for their non-fiction... and one called Galaxy Press for their fiction titles. This year they were featuring a book on pirates so everyone was in costume... and as in past years, they had a jazz band for a couple of hours. People were dancing in the aisles and enjoying the party atmosphere.

Shiver me timbers!

You would expect that there would be many books on writing and literary subjects at BEA... and there are... but there never are many good ones. I was impressed with Peace Hill Press's book Writing With Ease. It was more of a text book than a trade book, and knowing how poorly students write, I think it will sell well in the school market.

How to write right!

I always like to look at covers and titles and try to come up with one that... just says it all. I don't know about you, but Tom Marioni's title works for me! I thought this was one of the best non-fiction covers I saw. I can't speak for the book since I didn't read it!

Drink and read!

I don't know why but humor books are a hard sell because most are not very humorous. However, I looked though A Collection of Emails and found it quite funny. Maybe if they had hired a professional cover designer they would have an easier time getting the distribution they were hoping to find at the show. If I knew someone in the hospital, I'd send them this book as a "cheer-up" gift.

A funny book with a horrible cover

I was hoping to get out of the show early in order to attend the annual Midpoint pizza party at the California Pizza Kitchen, but I had late afternoon appointments to see several publishers who were interested in Jaya123 and by the time I got to the party it was breaking up. I was told they had a huge crowd and that it was one of the best parties of the show. I was really sorry to have missed it but I did sign a number of new Jaya123 victims (oops, I mean customers). I went to the take-out section of the restaurant, ordered a small pizza and a Coke and took it across the street to my hotel to eat while watching TV. My feet were killing me... I was tired... and I fell asleep.

SUNDAY

But february made me shiver
With every paper I’d deliver.
Bad news on the doorstep;
I couldn’t take one more step.

I learned that cold pizza for breakfast is really not all that good!

I got to the show early because I still had a lot to see... and Sunday is the best day to see it because it is usually close to empty. This year was no exception... it seemed even more empty than usual. I don't have a good feeling about how long BEA can continue as a three-day event.

I had heard some buzz about a new biz book called Decide Better and wanted to meet the author. It is published by Motivation Publishing which is putting some big dollars into the tome. They have one targeted to college students, to business people, and to the general population. They also have a daily calendar. If any new author is going to make it big, it will be Michael McGrath... assuming they hire a better book designer before the final print run... the interior looked terrible!

They should "decide better" on the inside design!

There are always some celebs that sign books at BEA and this year was no exception. I heard that Barbara Walters was there but didn't see her. The only person I saw was Alec Baldwin. I didn't stand in line but I watched how a professional actor... acts. He greeted each person and acted genuinely happy to see them and sign his name for them.

"Oh Mr. Baldwin I'm such a big fan!"

With all the emphasis on the environment I expected to see more books on "green" than I did. But one that was an absolute standout is a series of city guides from Greenopia. These folks have put together books on where to find "green" products in various cities. Their listings are NOT paid for and their research is extensive. I expect to see big things from this Santa Monica based publisher.

The tree-huggers will love these books!

I saw my old friend Janet Hardy at Greenery Press which specializes in books about BDSM. If you don't know what that is, you probably don't want to! Anyway, the author of The Human Pony was signing. I had no idea there was a book market of people who want to role-play as a pony. Weird stuff to me... but to each their own.

Off to the races?

This year there were far fewer vendors of what are called "sidelines"... all the things that are sold in bookstores but which are NOT books. There is no shortage of book-lights out there but the best vendor in my humble opinion is Mighty Bright . They have a new line of flexible lights called the XtraFlex2 that are just so cool you will want one... maybe two. I use mine all the time. No need to light up a whole room just to read a book. I don't know how much I save on my light bill but I'll bet it is far more than that cost of the light!

Great for late-night reading. I have one.

Another product I saw that I liked was the Ecowaterbottle . These are lightweight stainless steel bottles that will replace plastic and save energy and our landfills. They cost $10 and up, but they look good and are good for the planet. I wish they were selling them at the show as I would have bought one right then and there.

Good for the environment

The final gadget I saw that I liked was the Global Talking Translator . If you do a lot of traveling and you are language-challenged, this is the thing to have. You can get previous models from Overstock.com for about $60.

"Where is the bathroom?"

In years past there were hundreds and hundreds of computer-tech books. This year I saw only a few and only from one publisher (O'Riley). The only tech book that I thought had practical application for a wide audience was Content Rich . This book purports to teach people how to write for the internet so as to help sales. It is more of a manual on how to write web-based copy than it is a tome on search engine optimization. I'm sure a few people will read this book and then go into the web-write biz. If you do, let me know how it goes!

Could be a biz-op here?

It was getting late so I headed over the PMA area to discuss the show and say good-bye to people. One woman I met there was a publishing consultant named Amanda Willis who used to be in real estate but was now taking her marketing skills to the publishing biz. I'm not sure what her credentials are, but if being a Book-Babe can help, she will do very well.

Is selling books like selling houses? Ask Amanda.

Finally, as I was leaving the show I ran into the two people I always enjoy seeing each year... Mayapriya Long and Peter Goodman. We had a chance to compare notes and I snapped a great pix of them together. What I love about this business is the people. In the entire industry there are only two people I don't like. Just two (Bob Goodman (Peter's brother!) and Shel Horowitz.) That's not bad... for an entire industry. (Of course, the question is "How many 'don't like lists' am I on?")

Good friends.

I ended the show with the same attitude I had when I started it. "Why bother." It wasn't so much that there wasn't anything there (although there wasn't) it was that there was an overwhelming malaise that permeated the entire three days... it's like everyone knows there is going to be a train wreck but no one wants to believe it. Everyone knows that the business model is broken but no one seems to have a solution to fix it. The attitude is "If I can just get through today, maybe tomorrow will be better."

Everyone knows how to make books but no one seems to know how to make readers. There is plenty (too much) supply, but not enough demand. So what are we doing about it? We just keep bringing out more supply hoping (against hope) that maybe we'll stumble upon the one big book that will pay for all the losers on our lists.

Publishers are looking for ways to cut costs... move pre-press and production to India or China... but they are not looking for ways to increase demand.

Publishers have substituted copy-cat titles for imagination and creativity. You walk around the booths of the large houses and you see the same old, same old. If something "sells" for Publisher-X, it is not long until Publisher-Y brings out something similar.

I've said the same thing for the past fifteen years now. We don't need more books. We don't need better books. We more and better readers. We need to see ourselves as a business and not a public trust. We need to recognize that we compete for the time and dollar of the customer... and we have strong and powerful competitors... videos, computer games, films, TV, music, etc. We take it for granted that just because people can read and have to read, that they WANT to read. We try to sell books... we don't sell reading. We sell the steak... when we should be selling the sizzle.

And in the streets: the children screamed,
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.
But not a word was spoken;
The church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died.

End

If you liked this special edition of A Saturday Rant or if you disagree or if you have changes to be made, please let me know by writing to: rant at adams-blake dot com.

The Future of PMA?

2007-06-23T10:35:00.000-07:00

Of course the passing of Jan Nathan, the founder and director of PMA has lots of people in the small press talking about what the future of the organization will be. The past year I heard a lot of folks question whether or not Terry (her son) had the ability and interest to step up and take the top job. I never understood the rationale for these questions because I've always found him to be qualified and I always thought he had the interest. But it might not be up to him. He's a nice man, but he's no Jan Nathan.

The question is what the BoD will do. They have control over which company manages the organization. Of course the board has always been a puppet for Jan as there is no open, member-directed nomination process. Jan basically picked the people whom she wanted and that was that. The board chooses the officers which is why we've had a long history of PMA presidents who have done basically nothing to change the direction of the organization away from supplying members dollars to vendor's pockets as opposed to trying to level the distribution playing field.

Jan was smart. She knew that success would kill the golden goose. Let's face it, if there WAS a level playing field... such that there was adequate entry into the distribution and wholesale channel for all small publishers, where would the allure of PMA be?

For over a decade the PMA has held out the 'dream' of "If you join us, we can make you successful" with the implicit promise of (one day) getting all our books into Ingram. But until that day arrived, it would be a good idea to spend a lot of money on the PMA marketing programs and mailings, enter the Ben Franklin awards, and of course attend the PMA-U each year.

PMA has always been more about "show me the money" than "let's make deal." I'm sure the worst nightmare for PMA is e-books, where the middle channel is by-passed and publishing becomes a publicity game of getting the word out to the potential readers (which it is now... but without distribution, what does it matter?)

So what happens to the nation's largest publishing organization now that the queen is gone? Your guess is as good as mine. Jan Nathan had a charisma about her. Even those who opposed her (like me) really liked her. No one wanted to put her on the street. I don't see the same "warm and fuzzy" for Terry or anyone else in the Nathan organization.

I've long advocated that the BoD put the entire contract out to bid. Now that Jan is gone perhaps there will be some incentive to do that. No one has any particular loyalty to Terry or anyone else in the family that I can think of. Jan pretty much 'personalized' PMA around HER, not the administration. While I think Terry COULD run the association, I don't see him having the same personal loyalty that his mom had.

If I were on the BoD, I'd be looking at putting the management contract out to bid next year... but I'm not holding my breath seeing as the BoD is made up of people who never had an original thought in their entire lives, much less as a member of this board. You ever notice why people like me, Shel Horowitz, Peter Goodman, Jay Brown, Mayapriya Long, The Three Barbaras (Kimmel, Hubbard, DesChamps), Mike Kennedy, Dick Margulis, Bob Kinford, John Leonard et. al. have never been asked to serve? The answer is simple. We'd kick ass.

Well, I'd like to think it will be interesting, but my guess is that it won't be. There will be lots of talk, but probably no action. Nothing will ever happen until enough members decide to hold a special meeting (it's in the ByLaws) and decide to take action. And with Jan gone, I can actually see the possibility of that happening. Jan was a force in the book business. But Terry who?

Al Canton
Adams-Blake Company, Inc.
http://www.jaya123.com
http://www.InsuranceSolutions123.com

If you liked this edition of A Saturday Rant or if you disagree or if you have changes to be made, please let me know by writing to: rant at adams-blake dot com.

BEA Diary 2007

2007-06-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

PROLOGUE

Go to Wednesday
Go to Thursday
Go to Friday
Go to Saturday
Go to Sunday
Go to Epilogue

I've got some real estate here in my bag

There are lots of parks in the world, but there is none quite like Central Park in New York City. Why? Because not only is it in the middle of the most exciting and energizing city on the planet, there are things that go on in the park that matter.

If you grew up in or near New York as I did there were life-changing events that happened in Central Park. One of them for me was the famous Simon & Garfunkel concert. I won't go into detail as it doesn't matter. What does matter is that I was back in New York for another BEA, and having taken the red-eye from California and not having a hotel room to check into early in the morning, I knew I could catch a few winks under a tree in the park, along with all the other 'homeless' people.

It is interesting to walk the same streets and grounds that you walked when you wore a younger man's clothes and walked with a jauntier step. Before taking a snooze under a large maple tree, I walked to the spot that I (think I) sat at when the famous duo got back together for a once-in-a-lifetime performance. As I sat there I wondered where the past 25 or so years had gone to. I'm soon to be sixty, but sitting there I was half that age, hearing the music, listening to the applause, remembering how it felt to be immortal.

Wednesday

Old friends
Sat on their park bench
Like bookends

I had several business appointments on Wednesday, one in Chinatown and one near Wall Street. I had not been in Chinatown since I was a boy... but walking up Mott Street... it was like nothing had changed there... same smells, same hustle and bustle. I then got a cab to the Wall Street, Twin-Towers area... and did something I'd always wanted to do... see Trinity Church. It's fun to be a tourist in New York.

Around 2 PM I took the subway (I bought one of those $24 unlimited weekly passes and quickly became a true subway maven. It's all color-coded... not like when I was a kid and you had to know the different lines... IRT, BMT, etc.) up to 57th Street and Seventh where PMA-U was being held. I wanted to see the vendors as I used to take a booth there... but since PMA priced me out of the market, I stopped exhibiting our Jaya123 system.

The vendors were gone. There was hardly anyone in the vendor area. Why? Because PMA (again!) had all the classes on the upper floors and the vendors were 'housed' (more like 'hosed') in the 'basement' such that the students went from class to class upstairs and never came down, except for lunch. You'd think PMA would have learned their lesson from the uproar when this happened several years ago in Chicago, but I guess they just don't care. Let's face it. There are not many places for book printers to get in front of prospects (even a limited number) and so PMA has them by the gonads.

That said, I noticed there were a lot of the usual 'victims' missing this year... T&S, Central Plains, M&G, Bookwrights Design, Data Repro, just to name a few. From what the few vendors who were there told me, those who missed it didn't miss much because there was not much face-time with the students.

Anyway, around 5:30 PM I ran into Shel Horowitz, Deb Robson, and a few others. We started the short walk to Kennedy's Restaurant for the annual Pub-Forum List dinner. Of course, we had the wrong directions so by the time we found the place, the party was well in swing.

Steve, Brian and Paulette... all old friends of mine

It's always good to see Brian J. and Paulette E.(the booklet queen), as well as my competitor for many years, Steve C.

Marion G., Jay B. and Florrie (Madam PMA President) K. (center)

No good times, no bad times
There's no times at all
Just The New York Times

If was good to meet Dick Margulis. We've fought some knock-down drag-out battles on the Internet. I was surprised. In person he is really quite nice. (I guess people say the same about me?) The guy must be a babe-magnet as he had Deb and Tordis next to him. Tordis told me a big secret about one of her books... but I can't tell you about it.

Dick, Deb, and Tordis (from Vermont)

Hear the Salvation Army band
Down by the riverside

And would you believe that Shel had a super-hot date? I'm talking Major Babe. I don't know who she is but she wasn't with me... and that hurt. When a guy wearing a seven year old T-shirt under a Goodwill sports coat can out-score me, I know I'm in trouble!

Shel and Super-Babe!

At the dinner I was fortunate to sit next to two of the most delightful people in the publishing world, Andrew Martonyi and his drop-dead gorgeous wife. I beat the hell out of him for not carrying a copy of his Little Man in the Map book and we were in stitches the whole evening.

Andrew and a non-desperate wife!

Sitting behind me was the one and only Jacqueline Simonds from Beagle Bay (as well as the list-mom of the hated Self-Pub list which won't let me post anything more salient then "How to get an ISBN!") She told me that she is getting into the distribution game in a big way. She is one that Midpoint might be looking over their shoulder at because Ms. Simonds has a good head for business.

The author and the pirate girl

We'd like to know a little bit about you for our files
We'd like to help you learn to help yourself

Which brings me to the closing chapter on the annual list dinner. We all get up and give a short spiel about ourselves, something that no one knows about you. I got up and said "Hi, my name is Michael Kennedy." I then told them about my secret dinner with Dan Pointer at a restaurant he chose last BEA. Very fancy. We walked in and after sitting down the drink waitress came and gave us drinks. A bit later the bread waitress came and gave us bread. A few minutes later the water waitress came and gave us water. Next the head waitress came and gave us.... I love going out to dinner with Dan!

The author after a few drinks knowing he is not getting a book-babe!

It was a good party and I was sorry to see it end. Everyone left. I stayed around the bar and had one more for the road, walked over to the subway and went back to the cheap(er) part of town where I was staying.

Thursday

Drinking my vodka and lime
I look around
Leaves are brown
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

You've heard of the "lost weekend"? Well, this was the "lost Thursday." I woke up with a hangover. As I've said before, I don't trust people who don't drink because when they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they are going to feel all day. I knew it would get better for me... but I don't remember if it did or not!

I grew up about 15 miles East of Manhattan, in a town in Long Island (aka Lon Guyland) and I'd never in my life seen the Statue or Liberty or Ellis Island... except in a picture. So I dragged myself out of my hotel room, caught one of the subway trains down to South Ferry where Battery Park is, and for the first time saw BOTH the Statue an Ellis.

I thought a lot about how so many people coming here from oppressed cultures (ie. the Jews from Russia and Eastern Europe) who first saw the Statue and who were processed through Ellis and what an adventure they must have had arriving in New York with the clothes on their back and knowing maybe two words of English. This country may have lots and lots of problems but even now the entire world wants to come here "to breathe free."

I headed uptown to the bookstore at the Met. Now why would I want to go to the Met? Well, I'd heard of an 'incredible' book that was their largest seller... Bird Songs. Now why would this be at the Met. I still don't know but it was there... and also on Amazon, so I found out. Anyway, I paid a buck (they ask for a donation and I was only going to be there for 20 minutes) to see the Medieval knights in armor... a period of history I'm interested in. I think I was Charlemagne in a past life... or perhaps one of his knights.

Don't talk of love
Well, I've heard the word before
It's sleeping in my memory
I won't disturb the slumber
Of feelings that have died
If I'd never loved,
I never would have cried

Anyway, from the Met I headed down to the Whitney. Now you all know that I'm a product of the '60s and that I was a hippy with the long hair, the tie-dyed shirts and the bell-bottoms. However, I actually missed the Summer of Love in San Francisco... as I was trying to get the Basics of Love in the back-seat of a '65 Plymouth Valiant... and as everyone knows, girls did not "put out" in a Plymouth. The Whitney was having a much talked-about exhibit of works called The Summer Of Love. Well, they wanted $18 to see the exhibit, so I went to downstairs to the bookstore to see the official exhibit book. After looking at it I decided that there was nothing there that was worth the $18. Actually, the best part of the exhibit, Janis Joplin's Porsche was sitting out in the courtyard... for free. It was fun to see. How did we all get so old... so fast!

I had some friends meet me for the annual 'free' Ben Franklin dinner. I say 'free' because there was a rumor that this year the PMA was making it invite-only... which was not a good thing since I didn't have an invitation! However, when I got there, I didn't see anyone asking for tickets so we all just walked in.

With the prices of everything in New York, I was not expecting much of a spread, but I was quite surprised with what the PMA did. There was a carving table with turkey and roast beef, along with a table of assorted sushi, pasta, breads, vegies, cheese... and of course the usual dessert table. I was quite impressed. Perhaps what the PMA saved by putting the whole thing in the 'basement' ballroom, they were able to make up in food.

I stayed for some of the awards, but to be honest, there was nothing that captured my imagination. That's not to say there weren't good and beautiful books that were nominated, there was just nothing that got my mo-jo working, if you know what I mean. One thing is true... and has been for the past few years... the quality and beauty of the independent press equals or surpasses that of any large "New York" house. Even people working off of their kitchen table can turn out first-class quality books. I dare anyone to look at the tomes nominated for Ben Franks and tell me that they don't favorably compare with anything coming off of publisher's row in NYC (yeah, I know there is no such thing anymore as "publisher's row" but you gotta like the metaphor.)

I wanted to go down to the village and maybe hit some jazz places, but I knew that tomorrow, the first day of BEA was going to be a 'killer' so I decided to go back to the hotel and hit the sack early... and sober for a change.

Friday

I get the news I need on the weather report.
I can gather all the news I need on the weather report.
Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile.
Da-n-da-da-n-da-da-n-da-da here I am
The only living boy in New York

I've said it in a million and one Rants. The first day of BEA is like the first day of baseball spring training. Everyone thinks they will win the World Series, everyone thinks they will be the next triple crown winner, everyone thinks they will pitch and win 20 games. I love the first day of BEA... and as always I get up early, full of energy, and head down to Javits Hall and make my way to the small press area.

Most times the small press area is empty during the early hours, but not this year. There was actually lots of traffic in the aisles. I was amazed... as were the publishers, I'm sure! The first booth that captured my imagination was

Senivision

This is a complete 'manual' and workbook for preparation for senior living. Being close to that age myself as well as being a licensed life/health agent with InsuranceSolutions123.com I was very interested in this product. If the publisher has half a brain they will license this with every financial planner on the planet. This is really a good product... perhaps the very best in the entire BEA.

Similar to the above was an interesting product called

Buttoned UP

which was another 'get organized' kit. I like the two women who run the company and I think they have a good shot at making a killing. Again, they have to think out of the box, away from the book trade and more to the gift or business trade... ie. Franklin Planners.

I didn't see too many business books this year, but one of the best was a self-help, motivational work called Knocked Down (interesting play on words!)

The author of Knocked Down

This publisher is also a stock broker. I sent her over to Midpoint Trade to see if they would be interested in her book, since she knows how to market it... something that more and more distributors are interested in these days. Yeah, yeah, yeah, THEY are supposed to do the marketing, but when the rubber meets the road, they look for authors/publishers who can pitch in. Follow the money.

Not far from the small press section was the technology section. I remember when there were a plethora of wanna-be e-book companies... but that boat sailed a long, long time ago. However I saw one interesting company called iprepppress.com.

Books on your iPod? Why not?

They have some interesting technology, but the jury is out as to whether or not people really want to read a book on a small-screen device. My bet is 'not so much."

Once my heart was filled with the love of a girl.
I held her close, but she faded in the night

When you roam the aisles of BEA you will meet everyone you ever knew in the book biz, and for me this is one of the fun parts of the whole show. Many years ago I met Cindy Frank of Cypress House at the San Francisco Book Expo. My booth was next to hers... and back then I didn't know what I didn't know about this biz. Compared to her knowledge of publishing... nothing has changed. I love Cindy... I always have.

Cynthia Frank... and friend (not me, damn!)

So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner pies...

It was getting close to lunch time... and you know what that means... I meet Mayapriya Long, the talented book designer from Bookwrights.com for lunch... and guess who pays? There is a long, long, long tradition in the book biz... that Maya never pays for lunch at BEA... and this year is not going to be any different than the previous 15 BEAs that we've been to.

But just before I met Maya, I ran into Andrew Martonyi of Schoolside Press and told them to join me... sort of hoping that THEY might spring for Maya's lunch.

Andrew Martonyi, his very hot wife... and his new Little Man in The Map book.

Wish I was a Kellogg's Cornflake...

As always, lunch was over-priced. From years of experience I've learned to get a pasta dish... as there is a better chance that it won't kill you, as opposed to something off the grill. You ever notice that you hardly see any cats around New York City?

After lunch I went upstairs to the 'main' hall to scout out the smaller publishers who were successful enough to afford a booth away from "small press outer Mongolia." One of the best ones out there was the folks who put out a bunch of vegetarian books. I've always liked their books and they are an example of how to publish to a niche market.

The vege-head people

I looked around for the usual animal books and didn't find too many this year. However there was one interesting entry... Everyday Cat Excuses. My guess is that she put up her house and savings for this book and you just gotta wish her well. It's a fun book... which she should sell to the gift trade.

This year's BEA Cat Woman!

It was getting toward the end of the afternoon and I had to meet people for dinner in the Village AFTER stopping off at Jerry Jenkin's IPPY party... so I started to make my way to the front door. But you know that I can't resist a sex book... and this gal had a terrific one... which should get her on all the daytime talk shows if she markets it right.... Lovecrack

A sexy babe with a sex book can't miss in today's market

But I've got to creep down the alley way,
Fly down the highway,
Before they come to catch me I'll be gone.
Somewhere they can't find me.

You always have to get to the IPPY party early because the entire book industry shows up... and this year was no exception. I couldn't stay too long as I had a previous engagement... and I knew that with the maddening hordes of people there, no one was going to miss me.

No, this is NOT the 8th Ave. subway... just looks like it!

It is always my great pleasure to see Jerry Jenkins. He's one of the few publishers who year after year makes a living (and a really good living) in this business... mainly by doing things that others don't think of. Jerry is the king of 'special sales' via his Jenkins Group company.

I hadn't been at the party more than ten minutes when I ran into Mayapriya again and was able to get this shot of her and Jerry... two of my favorite people in the entire industry.

Jerry Jenkins and Mayapriya Long

I would have stayed longer but I had promised some friends that I'd meet them in what I call the 'soul' of the city... Greenwich Village... one of the few places on the planet that I'd rather live than California.

It's a long road to Caanan
On Bleeker Street
Bleeker Street

I love the Village... and I remember being in high school and coming into the city to visit the haunts of Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul, and Mary, as well as the beat poets. Many of the luminaries of the early 60s folks scene played in coffee houses so those of us under-age could get in... and the price was right as well. So I was looking forward to meeting some friends at a restaurant called The Red Bamboo which is the best vegetarian place I'd ever been too. They have 'fake meat' entrees that taste just like the real thing. If I lived in NYC I would become a vege-head and eat there every night!

My daddy was the family bassman
My mamma was an engineer
And I was born one dark gray morn
With music coming in my ears
In my ears.

After dinner a bunch of us walked around the village looking for some free tunes. We walked several blocks until we found a place called The Garage which had a terrific 8 piece jazz band... all for the price of a drink. If you are in NYC, you MUST go there. You won't be sorry.

It was a good day... good books, good friends, and good vibes. It was the kind of day that made you forget that the book biz is in the dumpers and that the future is not so great. But as Scarlett O'Hara would say "I'll worry about that tomorrow." I grabbed the 7th Ave. uptown train, went home and slept well.

Saturday

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine

I was looking forward to today... not only to see if the crowds would return to the BEA but also to continue my search for some kind of trend or break-out book... something to show that this industry is still 'relevant' in a world dominated by U-Tube and video games.

One of the most interesting business models I've come across is from WOWIO

Free books? Will this work?

According to their website, "WOWIO opened on the World Wide Web in August 2006 endeavoring to dramatically expand access to important written works by eliminating the economic, geographic, and logistical barriers of readers while also ensuring that content owners are fairly compensated." Well I don't know if this will work, but if you take the time to learn about their biz model, you might agree that it has a chance. I won't explain it here, as it is somewhat convoluted... but DO take the time to check this out.

There was a large and well attended Afro-American section at BEA again this year. Most of the titles were poor excuses to kill trees, but a few were interesting and could go mainstream. I'm always on the lookout for a good title. It never seems to fail that any book with a good title always has a horrible cover. Even with the bad cover this book could do well.

Think what a good book designer could do with this!

Sail on silver girl,
Sail on by.
Your time has come to shine.
All your dreams are on their way.

You never know who will be in what booth. I rounded a corner and guess whom I saw... none other than the Book Goddess. You don't know who she is? Well it's Marcella Smith, the small press buyer for B&N. She was giving a short seminar to wanna-be publishers. I sat down for a few minutes and when she asked for questions I asked "How can B&N buy 2 million copies of Harry Potter and still lose money?" She smiled and said "Some things in this company you just don't question." Obviously B&N is going to use HP as a loss-leader, hoping people will buy something at full-price. I'm sure they will... but it will be from Amazon.com!

The B&N Book Goddess

One of the most interesting series that I saw was a collection of college guides, one on each school, written by students, for students and published by College Prowler. They hire students to write the booklets and share royalties with them. Not a bad deal for aspiring writers.

Where were the girls like her when I was in college? Not in a '65 Plymouth Valiant!

I don't do much in the children's section. I usually go there looking for animals... but didn't see any this year. But I did see one interesting animal book... Bearubs put out by just the nicest couple you would ever want to meet. You just never know about kids books. It's a tough market because they have to be full-color and cheap... a difficult combination for a small press to do. I hope these folks 'make it.'

The Bearubs people

Somethin' tells me
It's all happening at the zoo.

And as for animals, the only one I saw at the entire show was a bird... but it was one hell of a nice bird. I never did find out why it was there or what it was promoting, but it would not be a BEA without an animal act!

If one can, I guess Toucan :-)

And it would not be a BEA without someone dressed in a costume. This must be the year for birds. Again, I don't know why people do this... because no one ever remembers whatever it is that is being promoted.

Looks like a fun job!

Talking about a zoo, there is no bigger zoo than the People's Republic of Berkeley, California. After lunch I headed off to find Peter Goodman at Stone Bridge Press and was 'treated' to a meeting with Andy Ross the owner of the legendary Cody Books in Berkeley. I sat with Andy, his wife Leslie Berkler, and Peter and listened to them talk about the 'good old days' of book selling, when you really COULD make serious money owning a bookstore in a college town. It seems that those days are gone... and for what? A generation of video game players? We're in trouble now, Lucy!

Peter (left) and Andy Ross and Leslie Berkler

Last year pirates were all the rage... this year not so much. But Hampton Roads had a book coming out on pirates so they found some look-alikes and got a lot of traffic to their booth. I never did see the book, but Hampton has been around for a long time and if anyone can ride the wake of a trend, they are the ones who can do it.

Some of the best look-alikes I've ever seen.

I don't know where the time went, but all of a sudden it was 5 PM and I was to be at the Midpoint pizza party at six. So I ran back to the hotel to put on my cleanest dirty shirt, and got the train down Sixth Avenue to the MPT offices where they were staging their annual get-together.

And you read your Emily Dickinson,
And I my Robert Frost,
And we note our place with bookmarkers
That measure what we've lost.

I always enjoy the Midpoint party... not for the food and beer, but for the people. They are my favorite distributor because they are fair, they are honest, and they have Gail Kump. Gail has what I call "book radar" in that she just KNOWS what will sell and what won't.

Not her best pix, but trust me, Gail is a book-babe!

Midpoint has a deep bench. While Eric runs the show...

Eric Kampmann runs the Midpoint circus!

...they give a lot of responsibility to their younger staff as well.

The author and Laurie Little (last's year's Official BEA Book-Babe)

Cecilia, you're breaking my heart
You're shaking my confidence daily

There is always a large and eclectic crowd at the Midpoint party. I'm not sure who these authors are but it was fun talking to them.

A few of the Midpoint guests

It would not be a Midpoint party without Mayapriya Long there (follow the free food and you will find her!). She does a number of covers for the Midpoint publishers.

Mayapriya Long of Bookwrights Design

I had a long chat with one of my oldest friends in the industry, Robin Quinn who is one of the best editors and book-shepherds in the trade. Next year BEA is in her backyard.. Los Angeles.

Robin Quinn, "Party Girl"

It was a fun party. I pitched a number of the women there but as always at the Midpoint party, I struck out. Notice I'm sitting alone here.

Al Canton, the author.

It was a wrap. I was exhausted. I made my rounds of good-byes and headed home. One more day to go.

Sunday

This is my tune for the taking
Take it, don't turn away
I've been waiting all my life

I went around the corner to the Euro-Cafe for breakfast and ran into a bunch of friends, including Mayapriya Long... and we all had the same idea... get a good breakfast since many were flying out that night. Except for running into her wherever there was free food, I had not seen much of Maya this trip as she was busy visiting publishing houses (clients) as well as seeing her niece and nephew who just moved to the city.

Over breakfast our little group talked about the show and the trade and about what we saw. It came down to the fact that this was a 'why bother' show. There was just nothing 'new' and 'exciting' to write home about. There was no one-book buzz or even the anticipation of one. None of us saw anything other than the usual collection of self-help, hobby, diet, and food-related non-fiction. And none of us saw anything in any fiction genre that we wanted to beg, borrow, or steal. This show could have been made up of all of last year's titles, or even the year before that or the year before that.

We all agreed that there just wasn't anything that jumped out at us where we might say "Wow, what a great idea for a book... it will sell zillions of copies." I got the feeling that publishers, especially the large ones, have adopted the philosophy that "If we are not going to make much of a profit on books, why knock ourselves out to create really new and interesting ones."

We all agreed that "the talk" was not about books but was about Perseus 'buying' the major publishers of PGW. If there was ever a 'star' of this show it was Perseus as they kept most of the PGW employees and paid 75 cents on the dollar for the PGW inventory... far better than most publishers thought they would get given the sordid past of the distribution sector's previous bankruptcies.

So Maya and I decided to go visit the Perseus booth as we had a mutual friend there, Lissa Warren who has risen from the "mail room" to a vice presidency position.

Maya and Lissa (right).

Perseus had the very best 'contest' going. They had wheeled in a Honda Hybrid and were giving away a one-year lease if people entered the contest. The deal was that you had to visit various other Perseus booths (Consortium, et. el.) and find the poster with the 'magic word', enter it in the entry form and get it back into the Perseus before the end of the show. I didn't win, so screw it.

Anyway, we had a nice chat with Lissa who was more upbeat than I was about the 'health' of this industry... but then again she is a VP of publicity so you would expect her to have on thicker rose-colored glasses than the rest of us.

Before saying good-bye, Maya and I visited another publisher around the corner from Perseus whom she had done two covers for. I know it is a thrill for an author to see their book displayed at BEA so it must be an equal 'high' to have any of your cover designs hanging on the wall.

Maya with her two books.

So long, Frank Lloyd Wright
All of the nights we'd harmonize till dawn.
I never laughed so long
So long

The aisles were almost empty so it was easy to see and recognize people. I ran into a bunch of people I knew and found that a lot of them were in New York with 'other' business interests which is why I had not seen more of them at the show this year. Some folks only came for one day. It seems that many in the small press world whom I've known for years and years are looking for other ventures and plan to do publishing as a 'boutique business.' Maybe that's good for our sector... I don't know.

I guess I'm one of them as well. As some of you know, I opened up a life/annuity/health insurance agency in California called InsuranceSolutions123.com and am thinking of relocating back to the East coast, so I was running around seeing people about getting licensed in New York, checking apartments, etc. Others had a similar story. Publishing is just a hard business to make any real money in, given all the work involved. I heard it over and over. I wonder if this is the beginning of the end for the indie press? I hope not.

Anyway I went downstairs to the remainders section looking for books on the insurance industry. I thought I'd buy some titles and re-sell them... but I didn't find anything that I liked. Indeed, unlike the go-go dot-com years where the stock market was soaring and every other book at the show was on business and making a killing, this year I found hardly any business books at all.

If I become a first lieutenant
Would you put my photo on your piano?

The same was with books about the Iraq war as well as politics. Do you remember during the past presidential year there were tons of political books? In the past few years there were large numbers of pro/anti war books as well. Well this year none were featured. The only 'political' booth I found was from the Brookings people who had a small but fun booth allowing people to 'vote' their issues by putting marbles in a jar.

You could 'vote' for an issue with marbles

I always look for 'fun' booths... those who bring something in to capture the imagination. One of the best was the giant globe. Everyone stopped to look at it, including me.

It was supposed to light up but it didn't work.

Another genre I always look for is books on pets because if done well, they ALWAYS sell. I found a really good pet publisher at the show, TFH Publications, who had a great book on Aussie Shepherds. But the publisher's sales guy had his head up his ass. I told him my wife is VERY active in the Northern CA Aussie Shepherd Rescue Association and that if he would give me a copy of the book, I'd pass it on to the Aussie people and they would get them a ton of sales. But he thought the damn book was made of gold or something because he would not give me one.... even an hour before the show ended and you could hear the tell-tale "zip, zip" sound of tape guns.

This guy lost a fortune in sales I could have gotten him.

"Kathy," I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
"Michigan seems like a dream to me now"

I would never have believed it. I had no idea. Here I was, in New York City, where I first saw and heard Peter, Paul, and Mary at the Bitter End Cafe some forty-something years ago... I turn the corner and there, sitting in a booth, sighing his new Puff The Magic Dragon book was... Peter Yarrow. It was because of PP&M that I developed a strong interest in folk music and even took up the guitar (I still have a 1965 vintage, one owner Gibson J-45 instrument in mint condition... which I've not played for some 25 years! It's probably worth a few dollars... cost me $150 new in 1965.) Being about 3 feet from one of the heros of my youth really did put me into a dream-state.... with tons of memories pouring through my info-overloaded brain.

Is it about dope... or not?

I went around the floor looking for audio samplers. In years past there used to be a ton of audio books as well as a few musical CDs that you could scarf. Not this year. Not much audio at all. However there was one music publisher called Putumayo World Music giving away a terrific sampler CD of their Latin-Jazz. I'm going to buy some of their CDs. It's really quite good. Check it out.

Talk about a major book-babe!

The show was winding down. You could hear the "zip-zip" of tape guns being used. I thought I should take a look at some of the service vendors. Some of the usual victims were there... I got the usual cold-shoulder from Author House. They recognized my name from all the bad things I've written about them in the past. I talked to the Lightening Press folks and there is not much new with them. There was one new entry this year...

Who ya gonna call?

... called Arbor Books. These folks are another soup-to-nuts publishing outfit for wanna-be authors, but they put a lot of emphasis on ghost sales... which run between $15,000 and $40,000. They claim to have a long list of celeb clients who have used them and from talking to them my guess is that they do a good job. Then again, how hard is it to ghost a book that is going to be used mostly for 'vanity' purposes?

April come she will
When streams are ripe and swelled with rain;
May, she will stay,
Resting in my arms again.

I always like to look at the calendars as these usually have the best photography found at the book show. There were not as many as there used to be but as usual Amber Lotus had the best.

Beautiful art on their calendars

It was all done. The sound of the tape guns had reached a crescendo alerting everyone that it was time to collect what books you wanted and get out before the mass exit... of the ten people left in the hall who were not exhibitors!

We can end your daily strife
At a reasonable price.
You've seen it advertised in Life.
You'll feel just fine
Now.
Buy a big bright green pleasure machine.

There was one more exhibit I wanted to see so I ran up to the Google booth. I think Google realizes that they have a PR issue with publishers and they were there to try to calm the copyright fears of the large houses. (They could care less about the small press... like who has enough money to sue Google?) I spoke with some of the reps there and for a bunch of geeks, they seemed to 'get it.' The jury is still out on how 'responsive' the search giant will be toward the book biz, but they know they are in the spotlight and I'm sure they don't want to get a 'Microsoft' reputation (anyone know anyone who 'likes' Microsoft?)

Will they be the new Microsoft?

Per usual I went up to the PMA booth to say farewells to old friends. Everyone was tired and some were sad that this show was so uneventful, that it had no buzz, and broke no new ground. I ran into my old friend Sheila Ruth of Wands and Worlds there. I think her picture summed up the feeling of all of us. It was over, and we just wanted to go home... and none of us could figure out why we bothered to come in the first place!

"Why did we come to this show?"

EPILOGUE

I usually end with a long diatribe on my opinions of the show, but as I said, the whole thing seemed like a "why bother." Was it fun? Sure? Was it worth the money? Well, I don't think so, but I say that every year. I still wonder why publishers spend the bucks so that they can show their books... to other publishers. You could count the number of blue-badges (book buyers) you saw at the show on one hand! To me, the show was missing 'something.'

It was also missing two long-time members of the publishing community... Dan Poynter and Jan Nathan. Dan was off on a worldwide speaking tour. He said he regretted missing the show... only the second one he's ever missed... but he had an offer he could not refuse. Jan Nathan, as most people know, is battling the cancer beast, but I'm told is doing OK. Everyone in the independent press, no matter what side of the 'political' aisle they are on, are holding kind thoughts and prayers for "Our Lady of The Book," Jan Nathan.

I walked out of the hall, went to my hotel, got my bag and left for the airport. I had mixed feelings about this show, and about this industry. Perhaps 'lost' is a better metaphor for my feelings as I sat in the cab looking at everyone going places and doing things. If this show is 'the best' content we can come up with, I think we are in trouble. There was nothing that I saw that is going to give us the 'ammo' we need to compete against U-Tube or video games.

Lots of folks told me that once we get the light-weight, compact, and CHEAP electronic 'podBook,' content will again be 'king' and that generations 'lost' to the Internet will come back to books. I'm told that reading a book on your $15.95 'podBook' will be as cool as listening to music on your iPod or 'texting' on your new iPhone.

And I tend to agree. When you come down to it... everyone is reading more than they ever have in history... but they are doing it on computer screens, not from the books we sell. Once technology catches up with us (or us with it?) perhaps new life will be seen in our industry. But until then, all I can say is that when it comes to the book industry...

"Kathy, I'm lost," I said, though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all gone to look for America
All gone to look for America
All gone to look for America

End

If you liked this special edition of A Saturday Rant or if you disagree or if you have changes to be made, please let me know by writing to: rant at adams-blake dot com.

Ya Gotta Believe

2006-09-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

A Saturday Rant 9-30-2006: Ya Gotta Believe

Those of you with some Hollywood writing experience will know that in the 50s and 60s the network executives required every TV show (especially sit-coms) to have written into the script what was called the "Moment of Sentiment"... where Ward tells Beaver how honesty is the best policy and Kitten learns that even if punnished, "Father Knows Best." Many (jaded) TV writers (among themselves) referred to the MOS segment of their script as the "moment of s--t."

It seems like just a few days ago that I got married. Weddings are pure MOS (defined either way!) yet we all go through them and get married, at least for a little while. It was probably different three-hundred years ago when hardly anyone lived past forty. Today marriage seems like.... forever! Lots of folks can't cope with it and this is why you don't see too many sliver wedding anniversaries among my generation.

It's been a hard twenty-five years for me. Maybe its hard for everyone, but it sure looks easier for others! Sometimes I look at Jane and think "I've been married to this woman for what seems like a million years now, and I don't know who she is! Who is this person?"

You work hard, you fight hard, and you hope to build a life that has more happiness than sorrow, a life that has more joy than sadness, and a life that has few if any regrets. It's hard. I think it's really hard. And I must be right because so few people stick it out for twenty-five years or more.

I really have not accomplished much in my life, and I've screwed up a lot of things. But the one thing I didn't screw up was the one smart thing I ever did, and that was to marry Jane. We've somehow stayed together... and this may come as somewhat of a surprise to you, but I'm not exactly the easiest guy in the world to live with.

Many of the long-time readers of this space know that in the past ten years my first, current, and very expensive wife has had a multitude of health issues, serious surgeries, and related problems. Both of her hips have been replaced, one of them twice! Her knees and ankles are shot from arthritis.

Every year on our anniversary we would go to the bank and deposit $200 or $250 or $300... whatever we could spare. In fact I think that might have helped keep our marriage together because the deal was that the one who walked out... the other got to keep the bucks... and no-way was I going to let her be the one to get it!!

So we saved up our pennies and dimes and through the years Jane went through her therapy learning how to walk again and gaining strength and learning how to live when "mobility challenged." There were times when we thought she would never get off the walker and there were years when all she (we) knew were pain. And there was the time they thought she had a "death-sentence" cancer (which sort of put a damper on THAT holiday season... and of course they were wrong! Doctors... my ass!)

Over our life, we have had moments of great joy... and we have had moments of quiet desperation.

But we kept at the therapy and we took the meds and had the operations and even when things didn't look so good, we were encouraged by the spirit of others. We always recited the old Jewish saying "I cried because I had no shoes... until I met a man who had no feet." We walked, we exercised, and we always kept our eye on the prize... that one day, if we believed, if we had faith, this would all be a memory.

And as the years passed, things got better for Jane... a little at a time, but better. We paid off our medical bills, and always put a few bucks in the bank for when "that" day would come. And over time our little silver anniversary fund mounted up to over $7,000.

Now finally, after so much work, effort, hope, prayer, and just plain old force-of will, "that" day is here. This week we leave on a "Celebration Of Life... a Celebration of US" trip... to Paris. We have always wanted to see Paris together. I know that when she walks down the jetway (with her cane that somehow unfolds into a little seat), there will be a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. We are on our way after twenty-five years of hope and dreams.... and being together.

It can rain in Paris or snow in Normandy. I don't care. We have fought disease, we have sometimes struggled to stay married, and we still ARE. When I told her years ago that "on our 25th, it will be Paris" I honestly believed that one day it would. And now it will. So this space will be empty for a few weeks while Jane takes in the wonders of French art and I look for the perfect brandy and crême glacée.

Growing up a few miles outside New York City (in Great Neck) in the early 60s, I was a Mets fan. They were an expansion team to take the place of the Giants and Dodgers both of whom had taken the last train to the coast. The early Mets teams set new records for being terrible. But they kept on going out there game after game, year after year. And in 1969, they started winning some games. And they won more. And even more. I remember the motto of the 1969 Mets: "Ya gotta believe!" They won the World Series that year. It was a miracle.

Walking arm-in-arm down the jetway will be just as big a miracle to me.

Ya gotta believe.

Au revoir

Al Canton
Adams-Blake Company, Inc.
http://www.jaya123.com
http://www.adams-blake com

L'shanah tovah

2006-09-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

A Saturday Rant 9-16-06: L'shanah tovah

http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday2.htm

Do you have a Jewish friend? This week and during the next three feel free to tell them: L'shanah tovah (sha-NAH toe-VAH) meaning "for a good year". The Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah (rush ah sha nah) is this week, followed by Yom Kippur.

One of my best memories was when I was in my first few weeks at the University of Virginia and just getting used to people with a southern accent. There was Charles, but he went by Chas, a very non-Jewish guy on our hall from Alabama and I guess he did some research because he came up to a group of us and said "Hey, SHANE toe-vah, y'all." It touched our heart... a guy from the deep South who had probably never met a Jew until two weeks before made an attempt to bridge a cultural gap. We made him an honorary Jew right there on the spot! (Y'all not gonna do that circumcision thing, that's for damn sure!")

This is the time of year when Jews ask a pardon to all those they have maligned... and for me that's about most of the world and probably everyone here! But seriously, do forgive me of whatever grief I've caused. We are not allowed to ask God for a pardon until/unless we have asked our fellow men and women. I guess it's to teach us a bit of humility.

Rosh Hashanah is a happy occasion... full of good wishes, fellowship, and hope for a better time... followed a week later by the very serious "Days of Awe" where we repent and ask to be inscribed in the "book of life" for the next year... "before the gates begin to close."

This time of year I always remember him. Chas had became a good friend of mine.. the first non-Jewish "real" friend I'd ever made. We would double-date... and even swap dates! I taught him how the stock market worked. He taught me how to drink bourbon (I got the better of that deal!). We laughed at the Smothers Brothers show. We cried when RFK was killed. On graduation day in June of 1969, in cap and gown and clutching well-earned diplomas, we hugged each other, shook hands and vowed to stay in touch. We had our whole lives ahead of us. It was a good time... an exciting time.

I went off to teach school in West Virginia. http://adams-blake.com/item.php?recordid=companyname&pagestyle=default

Chas, being a son of the south and of a military family, went to the service as an ROTC officer.

I got a card from him that September.

All it said was "SHANE toe-vah, y'all." I laughed and laughed and laughed. I think I still have that card somewhere.

I never heard from him again.

He was killed in Vietnam three months later.

To all of you, L'shanah tova... to a better year.

Al Canton
Adams-Blake Company, Inc.
http://www.jaya123.com
http://www.adams-blake com

It's a GREAT time to be a writer!

2006-08-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

I read a monograph recently that said that this was a terrible time to be a writer.

This is a great time to be a writer... either fiction or non. There are more publishers than ever. There is more media access than ever. There are emerging nations of new readers looking for material. There are more places to market intellectual property. Indeed, there is more opportunity than ever before for a writer or an artist, musician.... even poets... if they know a little about lyrics.

Why do you think there are so many people wanting to write... or "trying" to write? My take is because they see an opportunity to "make it."

How else does an unknown woman writer, on welfare (the dole) in the UK end up with more money than the royal family?

What I have said for years and years and years is that one problem we have in our society is that we don't have many GOOD writers or GOOD artists. You can debate the hell out of this, but bottom line, so much of the stuff that we are presented with is plain old unadulterated crap.

Write something really good. I mean really, really, really good (a Death of a Salesman, a Caine Mutiny, a Lord of the Rings, a Kill a Mockingbird, a What Color is your Parachute, a Grapes of Wrath, a Zen and Motorcycle Maint., or any of your favorite books) and if you work hard at it and do all you can to get it noticed, you will have A GOOD CHANCE for a huge success. I truly believe that. Hey. It works for 'pulp.' So why won't it work for 'quality.' John Grishem sold books out of the trunk of his car. He WORKED FOR IT. Most of his stuff is 'pulp.' How many authors (or publishers) are will willing to really WORK for it like John did?

I believe that our society DOES recognize quality. The problem is that we see so little of it from our "creative" intellectuals. It's a hell of a lot easier to write "another" murder mystery than something that takes some real "creativity".... like what a Hemingway or a Wouk might produce.

These are great times to be a writer or an artist or a musician. And because of it, everyone and their dog thinks they can be one... and the majority of them are just plain terrible. Thus, we are deluged with crap.

I don't for a minute buy the argument that it is TOTALLY our 'society to blame.' We're all here and when quality is presented to us (The Beatles, Rowling, Woodward, Miller, Williams, Vorst, etc.) we buy it.

Why aren't most "literary" writers rich and famous... or well-read? Maybe because they all sit on thier butt and do little to get their work noticed? You think?

We not only have to "sell" people on reading (as opposed to TV, GameBoy, X-Box etc.) but we also NEED quality content... and if the content is out there, I sure as hell don't know where it is coming from. All I see is crap.

Moan and groan all you want about how "good works" don't get sold. Then show me the "effort" made on the part of those creators to get them sold and I'll tell you again that the only place where success comes before work... is in the dictionary.

Writers tell me "Quality won't sell." I ask them "How much work have you put in to selling it?" They tell me "That's the publisher's job." I don't disagree at all... except that it just does not happen.

First of all publishers don't care about quality. They care about profits. They have to. THEY take the risk! It's their jobs, homes, savings accounts on the line. Yes, it IS about the money!

And because it takes a fair amount of money to get into print, publishers in the USA have grown scared. It's all a "numbers game." They have followed the lead from the movie industry where you put out ten films knowing that six will fail, three will either break-even or make a tiny profit, and one will be successful enough to pay for all the others and still return a nice profit.

I've always wondered what would happen if publishers tried to 'push' GOOD books instead what I call 'crap.' I've always wondered how this business would work if there were either fewer publishers or just fewer books published... but those that had trees killed for them were quality works.

Well, I won't live to see that, especially in a society that rewards rap and hip-hop crap and an entire generation who has never seen much in the way of quality (beyond Harry Potter).

And why have they not seen it? Because no one 'pushes' it.

(Look how required-reading lists in high-school and college have been either watered down or eliminated. Why aren't students required to take 4 years of literature instead of PE in post-secondary education?)

It's not just the fault of publishers. I think those who want to write 'quality' are afraid of the work it will take to sell it. And THIS is WHY I say it's a great time to be a writer of "quality". It's much easier to learn how to do "quality" media and publicity than to write quality fiction or biography or history, etc.

Show me a writer who says "Screw the publisher, I'm going to make this happen on my own" and I'll show you a writer who will succeed.

Unfortunately the writers in that category.... are all writing crap (diet books, bogus self-help garbage, revisionist junk-history, shock-politics, etc.) They are the ones willing to WORK for it.

I'd love to see a bunch of writers (a collective maybe) who write 'good stuff' (as agreed upon by all) join forces, all contribute to a fund for media and publicity... not for their particular books, but to promote quality. In due time I'm sure their own books would do well (colleteral damage :-)) and we'd all be better off for it.

It's a great time to be a writer. It's too bad there are so few of them who know how to sell.

There is a whole world of people sick and tired of crap. Go find them. It's a lot of work... but what isn't?

Al Canton
Adams-Blake Company, Inc.
http://www.jaya123.com
http://www.adams-blake com

It's the SERVICE, stupid!

2006-08-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

Man, I'm steamed. OK, maybe it's a small thing... but I'm still steamed.

I get two copies of a well-known news magazine and I only need ONE! This has been happening for a few months and I've called and written them to PLEASE fix it. Does it ever get fixed? What do you think?

I guess I get peeved about stuff like this because WE'RE PUBLISHERS. I mean to say, that if you are a PUBLISHER and you are going to PUBLISH a something, then I expect you to KNOW the technology or distribution... or at least something about it. It's part of the 'skill set' of being a publisher. Most of us don't know how a web press works, or the fine points of CYMK... but we know something about them... and we know whom to ask and what to ask.

So when the magazine has a problem they can't or won't solve, then it's time to change. That's how we in the small press would deal with printers.... I'm sure that's how you (all) would deal with me and our JAYA123 service (see how I slipped that in??? :-) What if JAYA had constant problems or lots of downtime... yet I tell everyone that I'm an expert in computer technology? What are you going to think of me?

The magazine is an EXPERT in publishing. Thus, when I get 2 (sometimes 3) copies of the rag each week for months and months.... and I've POLITELY written to them about the problem and NEVER get any response.... well it makes me wonder.

To me a player is only as good as his or her last game. Why are guys like D. Poynter and S.Horowitz, and T&S, and Data R., and M&G, and M. Gilliland, and Midpoint, and M. Long, and B. Kerrigan held in high regard as vendors? Because they don't drop the ball too often and when they do, they acknowledge it and work their butts off to make sure they don't screw up again.

I'm just on a tear about bad service from people that I expect really good service from. I'm just sick of it. I'm sick of the "We got your money now so who cares about you" attitude. And I'm sick of calling customer service to someone I pay good money to each month and getting a "script reader" in Bombay who doesn't know his or her ass from a kumquat (or whatever the hell they eat in India!)

So is this a bad thing? Yes it is. But it's also a good thing!

I'm more convinced than ever that we are heading into what will be a golden age for small business. I think people are tired of the "Wall-Martization" of everything. It's not just price. People are starved for good service.

Case in point. At 4 PM yesterday (Friday) I was about ready to wrap up my day in the office. Phone rang and it was Peter D. from Silverback Books (www.silverbackbooks.com). They are a big JAYA123 user... they have 3 logins for 2 employees and a fulfillment center in Kansas. They have about 100 titles and do about $2 million a year gross. (And you thought JAYA was just for the small-fry?) [Note: they have given me permisison to state the above stats. We would never ever say anything to anyone about a Jaya123 client without express permission]

Peter says that there is a problem with the Rep Commission report. So instead of going to the country club to work out (so I'm 'buffed' for BEA's book-babes), I fired up the local copy of JAYA to see if I could replicate the problem.

And yes, there WAS a problem with the report. It took me about 20 minutes to find and fix it and put it out on the server. I emailed Peter. He calls back and he is just stunned that anyone would fix or could fix or even be willing to fix a problem that was important to him at that moment (most folks don't have sales reps so it is not a heavily used report... he was trying to close his accounts for the month.)

He was incredulous. It just blew him away that I dropped everything and DID what he's PAYING me for.... to run the damn service! Yeah. It's supposed to be error-free. That's what I advertise. That's what people give me their money for. So what is the issue? He expected "Bombay service."

Peter is going to go to BEA and he is going to tell ALL of his publisher friends about JAYA123 and the good service I gave him, yada, yada. And so will our own Florrie K. of Patria.... because I've provided her with good service as well (she's a blonde book-babe so you have to expect that she will run into (and cause!)lots of computer problems!!)

My point is that we CAN compete with the big guys.

Hey, I go head-to-head and toe-to-toe with Intuit's Quickbooks on The Web. Do you think for one minute that anyone at Intuit would fix your problem, or add a new feature, within hours... much less days or weeks? Damn right they won't!

But I'll bust my butt for you... and THAT dear friends is what will be the key to survival for small businesses.

I don't know how applicable it is to publishers.... as we don't have that much customer contact... but if you publish non-fiction and can somehow adopt the Poynter model of surrounding your book biz with added services (you publish bicycle books so maybe you should open a bike repair shop or sell bike parts on the web?) the lesson is clear. You can compete with the "Intuits" of the world by getting a bit of press.... working your butt off... and letting your happy customers get the word out.

It's not enough to have a good product. "It's the service, stupid." They don't teach that at Wharton. I don't think there is a single MBA that knows this. You know where I learned it? From my days in sales at EDS working for Ross Perot.

He taught me that people don't buy products or even services. They buy EXPECTATIONS. I'll let you ponder that. Either you will get it or you won't. I'm all out of breath here and have beaten this into the ground. I'm off to the golf course to take a walk in the woods!! Fore, Five, Six...

Al Canton
Adams-Blake Company, Inc.
http://www.jaya123.com
http://www.adams-blake com

Big Myths that Unsuccessful (i.e. Stupid) Publishers Believe

2006-07-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

Because I have been writing this column for the past nine years and because (for some dumb reason) about 7000 people in the industry seem to read it and like it (not my numbers... provided to me by so-called net marketing experts who have crystal balls to extrapolate these figures... I think they are full of crap... I don't believe more the 80 people on the planet reads my ramblings... and each one sends me a letter once a week!) I get asked by lots of people, not so much for advice, but to confirm what they already believe to be true.

Let me tell you this. I'm not so much concerned (or afraid) of what people don't know. People can learn. What scares the hell out of me are the ideas people steadfastly and absolutely in their hearts believe to be true... that are absolutely wrong!

Here are what I call the 'BIG MYTHS' of small publishing.

1. Covers and Design Don't Count - Take me to the small press section of any book show (including BEA) and I can point out every cover that was designed by either the author/publisher, or by a designer who had never done a book cover before. Publishers don't understand that covers are part of packaging which is part of marketing. They buy the myth that "you can't tell a book by its cover." What they fail to realize is that they WILL sell a book by its cover. So instead of paying someone like Mayapriya Long at Bookwrights Design or some other experienced book designer $3K to get a professional job, they do the inside design themselves and hire their nephew or sister-in-law who just finished a Photoshop or Pagemaker course at Podunk Community College to do their book. And they get something with clip art on a pink and green background as a cover and an inside looking like a college freshman's first term paper. On this "platform" they are going to spend another $10K on printing. And they wonder why their books are rejected by every buyer of every wholesaler, distributor, and retailer on the planet. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

2. I Love the Subject - Unsuccessful publishers suffer from the most acute case of myopic, egocentric, provincialism that I've ever seen. They print what they want. Well, that's fine... if they want to lose their shirts and go tits up. They think that because their subject or philosophy is important to them, that there are 5,000 others who just can't wait to snap up their printed ramblings. Every retired doctor seems to think that "they" have a story. Every ex-political hack think that they have the solution for the next utopian society. And maybe there are stories and solutions here. But WHO CARES? I'll tell you the answer. NO ONE! Do these publishers ever bother to pay a few non-friends and non-relatives a $20 reading fee and ask whether or not the book might have any market appeal (to say nothing about if the book is any good in the first place.) I'm telling you, there is more crap, junk, and nonsense published and as you might have guessed, most of it fails in the market place and becomes recycled into egg cartons and grocery bags.

3. The Media Can't Wait for My Story - Unsuccessful publishers have bought into the myth that getting publicity for their titles is easy. I mean, look at all the space, time, and electrons the media has to fill each day. Surely they will want to print press stuff about the titles these publishers kill trees for. What idiot publishers don't understand is that the media does not give a flying rats ass about books, events, news, or anything else. The only criteria the mass media applies to any story is "will it grab ears and eyeballs SO we can package it with more advertising." Stupid publishers wait and wait and wait for "their" story to come out... and of course it never does. And there is a reason...

4. My Press Release is Terrific - Unsuccessful publishers don't know the first thing about writing media copy, but they THINK they do. They believe the myth that who, where, why, etc. is all that is necessary. That's what was taught them in all the media-writing books they read and they believe it. Idiot publishers don't understand that people like Paul Krupin and other professional copywriters know the one single golden rule of media.. and how to apply it. The rule is simple. Every editor who looks at copy asks two questions. "Why me? Why now?" If those questions are answered in the editor's head, the ink will flow. But what happens to the press releases of so many stupid publishers? More grocery bags and egg cartons.

5. My Distributor Is Really Going to Work For Me - A great and happy day in the life of a naive, stupid publisher is the day they get the letter accepting their title into a distributor's "program." They read on and on about all the wonderful things the distributor is going to do for their title and they mentally make a down payment on that new Lexus. Unsuccessful publishers rely on their distributor for their ship to come in... and most often such publishers end up going down with it. Most distributors have hundreds and hundreds of publishers and maybe a thousand or so titles. And it cost them almost nothing (some of them make money) on taking a new publishers/title. And what they do is simple. They throw a tiny amount of money at the title, maybe a press release, or a larger mention in a catalog. If there is any ripple in the marketplace, they then go whole-hog on that title and neglect most of their others. If that title is yours, great. But if it isn't (and most often it won't be) you are going to end up buying the myth of the distributor "making it happen for you."

6. Sales and Volume Myth - Unsuccessful publishers believe that they can lose money on every sale but make it up in volume. Idiot publishers have no idea on how to determine a unit price so that they won't lose money on it. They see that Random House has a similar book on the subject for $10.95 so that's the price point selected. But Random gets better deals from their printer (and they are owned by a printer!) than you will ever get, I don't care if you offer your first born, your antique Ford Mustang, or your body! Most unsuccessful publishers take the first step to failure when the decide the price point of their title. (And most publishers don't take very good care of their bodies either!)

7. It's On My Desk Somewhere - Once a publisher gets past the newbie stage and are selling more than 1000 copies a year, there comes a need for an organized approach to running the business. There is no quicker way to fail then to try to run a growing business with the wrong tools. You can't do it with Excel and Word. Every publisher I've ever met who ended up dancing the Chapter 13 tango had a "going" operation, but just could not keep up with orders, returns, and most importantly, had no idea of what their cash flow was... until they realized that their large customers owed them big bucks... yet they had to pay their creditors (like printers, publicists, etc.). And they didn't even have a method to determine which customer owed them what, so had no idea on even who to send a late notice (or lawyer letter) to. There are lots of software packages out there (like JAYA123 ($15/mo), Publishers Assistant $500) , Acumen ($10,000), Cats ($7,000), Merlin $500)) that could have prevented many failures. But so many publishers believe "I don't need good software to run my business." You can bet that the bankruptcy court will use "good software" to dissolve it!

8. I Can Do It On One Book - This has got to be the biggest myth ever perpetrated on the newbie publisher community. You see this repeated over and over in the many (otherwise well done) how-to-publish books on the market. Sure there are one-book success stores. Lots of them. One of my JAYA123 customers published a (rather graphic) sex book. They have made a pile of money on this book And everyone knows about Bear Kamoroff and his "Small-Time Operator" book. But that's the myth. The reality is that for every one-booker that makes it, there are 100 other one-bookers that go deep six. I have spent years ranting and railing against PMA on all sorts of issues. But there is one thing that Jan Nathan and company have right.. and have always had right. She (they) tell everyone that you can't make it on one book. The key to success in this business is a back-list of books that sell several thousand (or even hundred) copies year after year after year. When I ask a publisher who has just come out with their first book, "Congratulations, now what is the next one going to be on?" and when I get a blank stare, I know I'm looking at a failure.

9. This Is An Easy Business - Man, Oh Manischewitz (April was a good month!) do I hear this a lot. Publishing is the hardest "easy" business you can get into. And if you do it "wrong" all you have done is that you have "bought" yourself a job.... and you would do much better to go out and get a real one. Those who make it in this business work hard at it. My perscription has always been to do 5 marketing things a day for each title you are selling.... media, phone calls, letters, e-mail, articles, press material, etc. Five a day for 300 days and you've done 1500 "things." Some of them will work and if your products are good and you catch a bit of luck, you can make a good living. But if you are lazy, fergetaboutit.

If you want to play in the publishing game (a little plug for Fern R.) you need to know which rules to follow and which myths to ignore. Don't take my word for it. Ask some of the experienced publishers that you get to know. You can find them on the Pub-Forum list (see http://www.pub-forum.net for sign-up info) where they will be glad to answer your questions. They will tell you the same thing.... believe half of what you see and none of what you hear... unless it comes from me ;-)

Al Canton
Adams-Blake Company, Inc.
http://www.jaya123.com
http://www.adams-blake com

Returns, Lists, and Why We Do What We Do!

2006-07-01T09:15:00.000-07:00

[Note: much of this Rant is about the Pub-Forum listserv. You can join (free) or get info about Pub-Forum here.]

It's been almost ten years since I received a return on a book. That's because we don't sell to the trade through Ingram or B&T. We don't accept returns... which is why we don't get them!!

So I've really forgotten the feeling of what it's like to get a couple of cartons of books back. For those who have been there, it's not the "fun part" of publishing. It's a sinking, depressing feeling.

In my consulting business, I've never lost or been canned by a client (although I once quit one company when I couldn't get along with one of the VPs).

Well, today I lost my first Jaya123 victim. She'd only been on the system for three weeks and decided it was too expensive and that it didn't meet her needs and decided to get Quickbooks. In the 3 years that Jaya123 has been going, not one person had left.

That old "returns" feeling came right back to me in a flash. Depressing as hell. But it got me to thinking (an activity I've not had much time for the past several weeks due to an ill wife... [has anyone noticed the absence of the Saturday Rant since the 2006 BEA Diary?])

Being in business is hard... and oftentimes it is lonely. Pub-Forum (P-F) helps to fill a void for many. I know a lot of folks hate the OT posts but I NOW think that they are needed, if for nothing else, to help us all be part of a community. I used to rant otherwise (as the Harry Pariser keeps reminding us) but I've come full-circle.

On the Self-Publishing (S-P) list, Marion and John and JC enforce an On Topic rule with ruthless fervor, and they frown on any humor, or feeling." It's a "biz-only" list. It's a cold house there, but lots of people like it cold. The list is three-times as large as P-F.

P-F is different. Maybe not better, but different. You're' "part of something" here. Sometimes that "something" is not what you want to be a part of... but that's how families go sometimes! (What a horribly constructed sentence!)

The big difference between P-F and the other lists is that here people really care. Yes, they get on their soap box and preach their brand of politics or religion because they really WANT YOU to join them. Harry really WANTS you to join his cause. Feel free to do so... although I'd like to know if Harry is ever FOR something instead of being AGAINST everything!. On the other lists, no one really gives a damn about anyone else. It's all business, all the time.

But more than that, I'll tell you one huge difference between the cold, gray, "on-topic only" S-P list and the sometimes "white hot" P-F list is that if someone you know dies, or if you're sick, or something bad happens, you're going to get flowers, cards, good wishes, phone calls, emails, and one hell of a lot of personal support. When my dad died a few months ago I got a beautiful set of potted herbs from V3 in the name of P-F. (I doubt Harry contributed to it... but the gift touched my heart nonetheless.)

So yes, P-F may not be the "best" list to discuss publishing issues. But I think it's the best list for a publisher to be on. There is a lot more to being in this business than black and white "publishing" issues.

You could not write this lament-of-a-post on Gundry's list and have anyone really care, and you could not write it on S-P at all. And I'm positive that guys like G. Heard and Mr. Pariser would rather not see posts like this here... but they don't run the place (much to their lament, I'm sure.)

I read the posts of people like Pam who came out of the ether to stand up against the Pariser diatribes of this week... but you don't see too many like her. You just have to LOVE Pam. And Marion as well... who had the guts to tell Harry to "deal with it." Even the mild-mannered Maya came out to set the record straight. You just know that all these folks are on Harry's hate-list... although there is no doubt that my name heads the list... a badge of honor I wear with great pride! I think people are afraid to get in the cross-hairs of Harrys rifle... and I don't blame them. He is a dead-on shot... and has no mercy.

But protest Harry is something people need to do. This list was founded on the principle that it would be a self administering list with the list-moms guarding the gates from spam and taking care of technical issues. So I hope that people WILL speak up when others (or myself) go "too far." The "system" has almost worked... but we still see that Parisar can hijack this list.

The majority should rise up and say to the neo-pols (i.e. Pariser) on the list "we've had enough, shut the fuck up Harry, ...STFUH." Maybe we should make STFUH a Pub-Forum "cultural icon" to be used whenever someone goes off the deep end, as Harry does almost every day. (Any of you remember the term "folfs" from years and years ago? It too became a cultural icon... but for humor.)

Of course I get accused of being the cause that people leave P-F. It might be true. But I think Harry has caused far more people to leave after he has beaten the hell out of them with his mean-spirited, indictive postings. But that's OK.

Huh, you say?

Unlike others, I don't mind people leaving P-F. It's not for everyone. And while I applaud the people (most of whom I've never seen post before) for standing up, I caution that we don't want to go to an extreme. We don't need to be S-P. S-P is already there, as is the Gundry list and Bob Goodman's "civil" list.

Harry is here and will stay here. And Mr. Kubica is a newcomer in Harry's tradition.... or maybe MY tradition. And we still have G. Heard to harass us. So be it. Maybe it's all good. Or maybe we need to just post: STFUH !!! I'm not sure... but I know that people need to stop being afraid of Harry and if they disagree with him they should stand up and say so. To allow one person to hijack this list is simply absurd. We're publishers. We KNOW how to be PUBLIC with our concerns... and so WE SHOULD with Harry, with me, with Heard and with anyone else. This is what this list was founded upon.

We are what we are, we will continue to evolve, change, and progress. And we're one thing that the other lists are not. We're a community, a family if you will, that is struggling to survive in a very difficult and constantly changing business climate.

I believe that those who have risen to the level of experience that P-F attracts from, are the survivors, the tough ones, the few who really know the oft-quoted thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

I look at the newbies on the S-P list and I wonder how many of them will survive to where a list like P-F attracts them? I used to wonder what makes "us" out of all of the "thems". I used to wonder what it really takes to survive in business.

After all these years, I've learned the answer.

The answer is one word. Dedication. You simply have to want to be here, in this industry, more than any other you could be in. If you can meet that challenge, and you can hold out long enough, I believe success will arrive. Look at Pam S. She's the prototype you all want to follow... www.tsabahouse.com... because she's done everything right... and is now making good money (sorry Harry that she is Christian... and a capitalist... just another bad day for a communist like you, I guess.)

It's not today's returns, but tomorrows new titles that are important. We must always keep our eye on that prize (just as Pam does). We need to strive for innovation and understand trends. We not only serve the public, we also lead it. Indeed, we are the keepers of the culture.

We are important.

We have purpose.

We are needed.

It's a hard industry, a hard business. We work long hours, we do our best, we get tired, we take large risks, and some days are diamonds and others are rust. But through it all we trudge on, in the firm belief that the journey is the reward.

And today, after losing a Jaya123 client, I feel as if I know a lot of you just a little bit better.

Al Canton
Adams-Blake Company, Inc.
http://www.jaya123.com
http://www.adams-blake com

BEA Diary 2006

2006-05-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

Go to Wednesday
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Go to Epilogue

PROLOGUE

I read the news today, oh boy.

I was in a Beatles mood. I didn't know why. Maybe because I had just heard that Sir Paul was getting a divorce. Or maybe it was because I fell asleep on the red-eye listening to Sgt. Pepper.

A Day In The Life was in my head all week. So were Lucy, the Hendersons and Mr. Kite. I had no doubt that this BEA was the publishing industry's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Somebody spoke and I went into a dream..

It was the end of the show, time to strike the set, so to speak. The final curtain on this year's BEA was about to drop. I was heading up to the shipping area. This is a service provided by the convention where you get a big box, pop it on a table, and fill it with all the free stuff you collect at the show. If you are smart you do this on the first day and not on the last.

Going into the convention center I met up with Mayapriya Long, the talented cover and interior designer who runs Bookwrights. We always meet each morning for a short breakfast (and guess who buys!). Two minutes later, by chance we run into Sharon Goldinger of PeopleSpeak.

Both Sharon and Maya were smart. They had their boxes, had collected two tons of stuff, and were going to tape and ship them. I wasn't smart. I was going to set up my box and go down to the floor and scarf up whatever might be left.

Sharon and I are old friends, always giving each other a "hard time." It's a love-hate thing!

"Hey Sharon," I said as we rode up the first of several escalators. "If you ever start a blog I have a great idea for a name... People Squeak!"

Sharon turned to Maya, "Can we get a box big enough to put HIM in?"

Mayapriya, without a moment's hesitation said, "Not one that's air-tight!"

The show ended just as it had begun... with laughter, fellowship, and good wishes for all. When it comes to the fate of the publishing industry and the small press in particular it's a good thing we have those... because we don't have much else.

Oh, but there IS one OTHER thing we have... BOOK BABES. It's now a ten-year tradition that every year at BEA I nominate one, two, or three women to the lofty ranks of official Saturday Rant Book Babes to join such publishing luminaries as Mardi Link, Victoria Sutherland, Julie Hardison, Maya Long, and others. This year both of our babes come from Midpoint Trade Books, a well known (and really good!) distributor.

Our new BEA 2006 Book Babes are Robin Queen and Laurie Little.

Oh, lovely Rita meter maid,
Where would I be without you,

Laurie Little looking babe-a-licious!

Robin Queen, so young, so cute, so hot!

WEDNESDAY, MAY 17

Picture yourself in a boat on a river,
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies

I decided not to exhibit our Jaya123 web service

this year at PMA. Jaya is doing OK and last year I didn't get enough 'face time' with the PMA-U students. Also, PMA had raised the price and I just thought they had priced themselves out of the market. So instead of getting up early and getting to my booth, I took the morning off and went to the National Gallery of Art. Walking around looking at the pictures I wondered what art or literature of my generation would be seen hundreds of years from now. After seeing some of what passed for 'art' in the "modern" collection I decided there wouldn't be much!

I saw a film today oh boy
The English Army had just won the war

I then took the long walk down the mall to visit the Vietnam Memorial. I've seen it before but it never ceases to put a lump in my throat... all those kids... who would be my age now... dead for absolutely nothing. I saw some names of guys I went to school with. I'm a draft evader. I would not go... and did not go. I only wish I had done more back then to persuade others to take the "Hell no, we won't go" pledge. But we all make choices in life. I'm alive... their names are on a wall. I don't regret the choice I made, although I remember it wasn't very popular back then.

It was late afternoon when I finally got to PMA. This year, instead of holding the "publishing university" in a hotel, it was held at the convention center, as would the Ben Franklin Award dinner. Lots of people complained about the venue, but I had no problem with it.

When I get older losing my hair,
Many years from now.

As soon as I arrived I ran into Dan Poynter and Pete Masterson. Pete had just published a new book on design and production and it has been well received. Dan had yet another edition of his Self Publishing Manual out.

Dan Poynter and Pete Masterson: good men who know this industry

I talked with Dan and Pete (and everyone) about what the future of publishing would be and for the first time I heard a tone of pessimism in Dan's voice. "The business model is broken," he told me, and he was not quite sure how the eventual adoption of e-books would change this industry.

Well I just had to laugh
I saw the photograph.

"Canton, that picture you took of me last year just about ended my marriage" I heard a loud voice say. I turned around and and it was none other than Jerry Jenkins of the Jenkins Group. He was referring to the shot of him looking down the dress of the former Miss USA taken at his previous IPPY party.

"Jerry, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime" I said to him in my best Bereta voice.

Jerry told me that the IPPY Awards had more entrants than ever before and he felt it was a good indication about the mood of publishers. Having spoken with Terry Nathan about PMA membership holding steady at around 4300 perhaps things were not as gloomish and doomish and they seemed to me.

From my conversations with people the past several months I've learned that the vendors are making money, the PMA is doing OK, the printers are thriving, and the middle channel is fine... but that the publishers are not making much in the way of a good living. It seems many have just exchanged being a corporate wage-slave for a low paying self-employment 'J-O-B.' But if they 'love' the job, I guess it is a fair trade.

Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four.

And talking about 'fair' I heard the distinctive chirp of "Don't forget about lunch at BEA." Turning around I saw my old friend Mayapriya Long of Bookwrights Design. It is a long, long, long tradition that Maya never pays for lunch at BEA. Someone (usually me) takes her to lunch. She's the only vendor I know who gets her clients to feed her. And the reason is simple. She is always in demand and people want her to do THEIR work... and food-bribery always helps!

Last year one of the books that Maya designed won a Ben Franklin award and she was up for one this year, as well as two IPPYs. She did the interior of a complex history of western movies and cowboys. I was sure she was a shoo-in because the book was drop-dead beautiful... inside and out. We'd know later that evening.

Jerry Jenkins and Mayapriya Long: good friends for many years

Just before going in to dinner (you have to be first in because the food is usually gone in a flash!) I spoke with Sharon Goldinger of PeopleSpeak. Sharon is always the voice of optimism, probably because she is always busy and her author/publishers always seem to do well from her stewardship of their books. Sharon is small in size but she packs a wallop in the book biz!

Sharon Goldinger

There were about 500 people at this year's Ben Franklin Award dinner and for the first time that I can remember, they didn't run out of food. Still, they gave us saucers as dinner plates as a ploy to keep people from taking too much. So instead, people made believe that this was a dim sum meal and they just collected little plates of everything offered. There had been a lot of grousing about the horrible box lunch that PMA had served earlier but from what I heard, this dinner made up for it. I thought it was quite good considering it was all from a commissary.

What would you think if I sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me.

There are about zillion categories for awards, many of them somewhat esoteric such that no one really cares. But it's interesting to see the covers and titles of the nominees as they are flashed up on the screen via a Powerpoint-like presentation. What people hope for most is that the winner is not present and we are thus saved from a long, windy speach on the publishers humble beginnings, their struggle for success, and their vision of the great white light. The awards are probably the most boring two hours in the entire publishing industry. If dinner were not served you can bet that no one would go. In the small press there is no "draw" like free food!

This year most of the winners were not present... and I think the reason was because most of the books were really terrible and no one wanted to admit publishing them! There was nothing new, different, or even close to outstanding in my opinion. I can't think of the name of any of the winners and even when seeing the list not one comes to mind. I alwasys expect more from the small press and most years I'm not disappointed. But this year was a 'bust.' They (who?) always say we independents are daring and innovative. Well, not this year. We were just as boring and just as mundane as our bigger brothers and sisters in New York. If this is the start of a trend, it can't be good.

We held our breath as Maya's book was shown, but alas she didn't win. When the awards were over I went up to the table with all the winning titles and looked at the winner, and I could not believe that the book that won... won! It was nothing. A college student could have designed it. Hell, my cat could have done it. Mayapriya's work, on the other hand, was about as complex as an interior can get with lots of 'call outs' and pictures, and design layouts. I'd love to find out who the judges were for the design category. I wonder if their names are made public. I wonder if any of them know squat about book design. You wouldn't think so from the title they named as the winner.

In a cap she looked much older,
And the bag across her shoulder
Made her look a little like a military man.

Upon arriving back at the hotel, I saw Dan Poynter and Florrie Kichler of Patria Press in the lobby having a drink. I decided to join them. I've known Florrie for many years. She is a Jaya123 client and always says good things about our web-service back-office system for small publishers. You can't help but like Florrie. She always has some good book-biz gossip because she is so involved with the small press and PMA. However this time she dropped a bomb on us. She said she is going to be the next PMA president!

I've long derided the PMA as a mostly 'do nothing' organization that is best at getting members to spend dollars with vendors. Yes, I'm a member because even with all its faults we're better off as an industry sector with PMA than without it. The SPAN organization never really amounted to anything (despite my high hopes and advice to Scott Flora) and so by default, PMA is about as good as it gets for us.

Well, with Florrie having some real input, perhaps some things can change. Of course I said that when Nick Weir-Williams was made president and later when Pat Bell was on the board and nothing ever happened. So I don't have really high hopes here either, but if anyone can kick some PMA ass, it's my old friend Florrie. (She's sure kicked mine over the years!)

THURSDAY, MAY 18

I've got nothing to say but it's O.K.
Good morning, good morning...

It was nice to sleep in. I knew it would be the last day I would be able to do so. Tonight is the annual Pub-Forum dinner. For those who don't know, the Pub-Forum is a mail-list chat group that has been around for many years. It's not the largest online publishing group, but it has a very high-quality subscribership of experienced publishers. Each year a group of us get together for a dinner to talk shop, knock back a few drinks, blow off some steam, and just have some fun.

While I wanted to go back to PMA to see some of the vendors as well as other people I knew would be attending, I didn't need to be there unitl the afternoon. Thus, I took the morning off and went to see the Space Museum. Having grown up during the days of Sputnik and the space-race it was exciting for me to be a "little boy" again and see the Mercury space capsules, especially the one that John Glenn rode into orbit. I had no idea it was so small. And when you look inside and see how primitive it was you knew it really took someone with the 'right stuff' to climb in there and wait to be blasted into space! Not me. I would have waited for the video!

For the benefit of Mr. Kite
There will be a show tonight

Upon arriving at PMA that afternoon I ran into a woman I'd heard of for several years but had never met in person, Antoinette Kuritz of the Kuritz Group. This very attractive lady hosts the Writers Roundtable Radio Show which I've known about but have never been a guest on. So I pitched her on the idea of a show about running a publishing office (a la Jaya123. If you don't ask, you don't get!) She also puts together the La Jolla Writers Conference in October, which has been running for six years now. She is really 'high' on this year's program and it sounds like it will rival the Maui Writers Conference. I wish her well on it and I suggest that those of you who find conferences helpful and enjoyable to check it out.

Along with Antoinette was Pamela Atherton, a well-known media coach. We had an interesting discussion on the 'power' of radio for book authors. The conventional wisdom is that print media is best, but with fewer and fewer people getting newspapers and magazines (the Internet strikes again!) and people driving longer and longer to work means that there is more airtime for stations to fill and authors always make interesting guests. It might be worth looking into.

Pam Atherton and Antoinette Kurtz: The PR babes!

In addition to Pam and Antoinette, another well-known PR expert was at PMA giving a seminar. This was Penny Sansevieri. We talked a bit about some of the basics of book publicity and how the Internet has changed everything. Whatever you thought you knew about getting some 'buzz' is now probably dated... or just worng! It's not any easier, mind you, but the net does open up a lot of other venues for getting publicity.

As the PMA-U wound down I spoke to some of the attendees. They were satisfied with the program and felt that they got their money's worth. However all of them, to a person, complained about the box lunch that was served. With all the money that PMA makes from this event and the Ben Franklin entry fees you'd think that they could do better than airline food!

She's leaving home after living alone
For so many years. Bye, bye

I talked to the vendors. One statistic noticed by all of them was that attendance was down by almost 20%. PMA-U usually books about 530 students. This year it was just over 400. Thus, the vendors paid higher rates for fewer "bodies." No one was happy about that. And just like last year, I was told that the schedule was so full that the students did not have time to speak to every vendor, or even a majority of them. As I've said year in and year out, the PMA really needs to re-think their schedule and their pricing if they want vendors to continue to support the program.

Talking about support, I noticed that several long-time vendors were absent. Central Plains Book Manufacturing was a no-show. I missed seeing Becky Pate, an old, old friend who's company has printed a number of our books. I don't know why they were not there. Another vendor I expected to see was Fiddler Doubleday. I also noted that United Graphics was not at PMA either.

While it has long been the case that 4-color work is often done offshore, I've heard that the Asian printers are now sucessfully competing for traditional black-ink work as well... even with the high cost of shipping. Is book printing the next industry to be lost to foreign competition? I won't be surprised.

PMA used to have an end-of-event food-fest. In previous years they have had ice cream, or a chocolate fountain fondue, or just coffee and cake. Not this year. When it was done, it was done. I'm all for the PMA making money, but the old saying is true: Greed Kills. If attendance is down next year they won't be able to say it was because of the DC location. It will be because people just don't feel they are getting the perks they have come to expect and which other seminar firms offer. How much would a sheet-cake and a few urns of coffee cost the PMA to wrap up the event on a fun and happy note? Only Jan Nathan has the answer.

The Hendersons will all be there...

So it was on to the Pub-Forum dinner. Dan Poynter and Mayapriya and I walked the few blocks down 7th Street to the RFD restaurant where some 35 list members were gathered at the bar in the private room that Sharon Goldinger and Fern Reiss (of Publishing Game fame) arranged.

Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,
And I'll try not to sing out of key.

For the second year they composed a song that features all of the dinner guests. We all got a kick out of it. Here is one verse (done to Blowin' In The Wind):

How many booklets can Paulette produce?
She must do it in her sleep.
Yes 'n how does the granddad of self-publishing, Dan Poynter, know
parachute leaps?
Yes 'n how many bucks can Shel Horowitz save--he has all his fun on
the cheap.

The answer my friend, is on the list,
The answer you'll find on the list

Fern and Sharon doing their American Idol thing

I immediately ran into Florrie, Gene Schwartz editor-at-large (a good title for him.... he's built like a linebacker) of ForeWord Magazine, and a newcomer to the group, Mim Harrison, the head of Levenger Press. I never knew Levenger (you know, the catalog for readers) had a publishing arm... but yes they do and Mim told me all about it. Gene is still traveling all over the country for ForeWord and it was good to see him looking so fit.

Florrie Kichler, Gene Schwartz, and Mim Harrison

I had a nice chat with the Pub-Forum dominatrix, Marion Gropen of Gropen Associates. Marion and I chatted about the problems of this industry from a financial standpoint (she is a CPA (Certified Pain in the Ass)) and has worked with publishers large and small for many years. For a CPA she actually has a nice smile and personality. You don't find that too often in bean-counters.

Jacqueline Church Simonds and Marion Gropen with a buzz.

I had never met J.C. Simonds but had corresponded with her for years. She runs a growing publishing "empire," writes books on women pirates who kick butt, and is one of the admins for the large Self-Pub listserv. She is getting into the distribution biz and I was impressed with the amount of energy she has. She may rule the Self-Pub list with an iron fist, but in person she's a very sweet woman.

Would you believe in a love at first sight,
Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time.

Sometimes a name comes at you from out of the past. I was standing at the bar when an attractive women walks up and says "You won't remember me but I really helped you out several years ago." I wondered if this might have been some ex-girlfriend... and was she going to make trouble? In this case it was Carol Hayes Uber of Stephens Press. Years and years ago, when I first brought out PUB123 she was an early adopter and helped me debug it. She was later offered a dream job with Stephens Press where she runs a company with over fifty titles and many more on the way. She said that it was I who recommended she sign with Midpoint Trade distribution and that she wanted to know if I would go to their annual pizza party as her guest... and bring as many people as I wanted. I never pass up free beer and pizza!

Carolyn Hayes Uber... she runs a book empire!

It was nice to see Steve Carlson of Upper Access. Steve and I are long-time competitors as we both do software for small publishers. While our Jaya123 system is web-based (nothing to download or install) his is traditional desktop software. It's a big market and everyone has different needs. Some like our system, others prefer his. We co-exist pretty well and I often recommend his software to people who have specific needs that ours does not cover.

The author (left) and Steve Carlson. We compete, but we're cool.

The band begins at ten to six
When Mr. H. performs his tricks without a sound

I guess that the city cops were not enforcing the parking restrictions under the various bridges because both Shel Horowitz and his wife were at the party! Shel is the king-of-cheap and has made a lot of money publishing books on how to live on ten cents a day via his Frugal Marketing site. We don't get along too well. Oh hell, we don't get along AT ALL, but his wife is real cute so I cut him some slack when he brings her. :-)

Shel Horowitz and wife. I hope their car isn't towed from under Key bridge.

I saw Deb Robson of Nomad Press. I've known Deb for a few years and have come to admire how quickly she has learned about this biz. She has published books on knitting but is now branching out into a young-adult (YA) imprint. She's one of those publishers who has done everything right and will end up being one of those who make real dollars in this business.

Deb Robson so happy to see everyone!

Two of the grand ladies of the independent press were at the party. Pam Fenner of Michaelmass Press is the perfect example of the niche publisher by doing books for the Waldorf schools. I've known Pam for many years and it's always a treat to see her. Tordis Isselhardt is another successful publisher. Her Images From The Past company concentrates on regional, New England history. There is much both these ladies can teach you about how to do this business.

Pam Fenner and Tortis Isselhardt

Also in attendance was another super-successful publisher, Paulette Ensign from Tips Products. Paulette has made a large fortune from small booklets and is known as the "Queen of Booklets."

Are you starting to see a pattern here? Pub-Forum has a lot of successful publishers because they all publish to a niche and don't try to compete with the big-guys in New York. Think about it.

Paulette Ensign (always in purple) and the ladies of the list

It was a fun party and I wish it went on all night but we all knew that the real work was starting. Tomorrow was the first day of The Big Show... the BookExpo America and we all needed to sober-up and rest-up for the busy (exhausting) days to come. Carolyn Uber had a car so Pete, Maya, and I walked her to the lot and then went to the Metro to catch the subway back to the hotel.

The party's over... turn out the lights

What do you see when you turn out the light,
I can't tell you, but I know it's mine.

While I was pretty tired I got a short blast of energy upon arriving back at my hotel and saw a dear old friend, Peter Goodman of Stonebridge Press. Peter used to go to the list and the Ben Franklin dinners but since he sold out and became a billionaire he has other masters to serve, so he says. We had a good discussion on the industry. He had just come back from setting up his booth at BEA and neither of us could quite understand why BEA still exists. There are no book buyers any more. So why spend the money? We didn't settle it, but we stayed up a while trying. I would have liked to have stayed longer because I knew I wouldn't see Peter again. But fatigue (and the beer) got to me. I went upstairs, turned off the light and fell into a dream.

Peter Goodman... the most successful publisher I know

FRIDAY, MAY 19

Friday morning at five o'clock as the day begins
Silently closing the bedroom door...

... I went downstairs and got the free bus to the convention center. I've said it over and over again: I love the first day of BEA. It's just like spring training at the ball park. Everyone is optimistic. Every book is going to be a big hit. Returns are not going to happen. Critics are going to rave. It's going to be the book industry of 1980 all over again... and nowhere is this attitude more prevalent than in the small press area, which is where I start each BEA. I met Mayapriya for a quick sweet roll and some juice. We agreed to meet for lunch around 1 pm. ("Agreed' is a euphemism for "I pay for HER lunch!). Some things never change.

In past years my first stop has always been to say hello to Scott Flora of SPAN, the Small Publishers Assoc. of North America (why isn't it SPANA?) I was surprised that SPAN did not come this year but I found out later that Scott's daughter was graduating and he had scheduling conflicts. Scott is a good guy and would be a successful guy if he listened to me and made SPAN into a vocal advocate for the independent press... something PMA refuses to do. But hey, no one ever listens to me... so why should Scott be any different! This year I'm going to join SPAN. Maybe then he will listen? They have a great newsletter and I just plain like Scott and want him to succeed.

The small press was spread out in two sections... regular small press and something called "premium" small press. It made no difference. Most of the items in the small press were not only terrible and poorly thought out, the publishers I spoke with didn't have the first clue about how this business works and how important distribution is in the trade book sector. I can't tell you how many times I told these folks to walk way across the hall and talk with the PMA and maybe get some help and advice.

If most of the books were terrible, there were some non-book items that caught my fancy. One of them was a sponge-baseball yoyo by Tinytot Sports. It was kind of silly, but I liked playing with it. It was one of the ideas that you don't think will 'work' on paper, but when you get it in your hands you don't want to let go.

I don't know if I liked the yoyo or the blonde better!

Another interesting "almost book" item was the Book In A Box. I'm not totally clear on the concept and these folks don't have a website that helps in the endeavor, but what I saw I liked. If you are looking for a gift for someone, you might want to check this out... and then tell me what the hell this is all about and why I liked it so much when I saw it!

The Book In A Box booth-babe

Not far from the box babe were the rubber-book women. Say what? Yeah, well these gals "invented" a book for babies made out of some kind of latex stuff that babies like to chew on. I'm serious here. Farm Charm is a small picture book targeted to teething babies. Hey why not. I once bought a Pet Rock!

And they say innovation is dead in the book industry? Not so!

And it really doesn't matter if
I'm wrong I'm right
Where I belong I'm right

This year the convention planners again grouped the Afro-American publishers in one area. Maybe those publishers like the idea, but I thought it was a really poor concept. Anyway, most of what was out there was Afro-oriented fiction, most of it in the "dark and stormy night" tradition. And the books that weren't badly written (if first paragraphs are any indication) had trite or just butt-ugly covers. But there was one I liked called Between My Thighs by Naija. I don't know if there is a market for black erotica, but if so, this one will hit.

I love authors who have the balls to dress up in costumes and put it all 'out there.' I don't know if the book is any good but the concept is, especially for the Black community which badly needs some good self-help role models. Dr. Ida Green is a professional speaker with a whole slew of books, one which claims to teach you how to connect with your Guardian Angel. Why not? How often have we heard "may the force be with you." Different strokes, different folks.

I hope my angel is prettier than Dr. Green!

Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four.

There was one game that I thought was a great concept... it's called HotFlash! The flyer reads: "Land on the wrong spaces and players can get stuck in PMS Purgatory or go down the Fallopian Tubes and end up in Bitchy Boulevard!" How can you miss with this?

PMA, PMS... all the same to me!

There was a very nicely done blank 'signature' book for parties and weddings etc. You used to see a lot of these at BEA but not so much anymore. I lost the name/address of this company so if anyone recognizes the woman or the book please let me know so I can edit this and add it.

Who is this woman?

I met Mayapriya for lunch where I bought her and myself an overpriced plate of lo mien and a spring roll. The food at the convention was soundly criticized and it was justly deserved. The smart folks were the ones who went to Subway before coming into the hall and had a half-way decent sandwich to eat. After lunch, it was back to the small and semi-small presses on the outer perimeters of the hall... the cheap spots.

And of course Henry The Horse dances the waltz!

Outside of booth-babes, I love it when kids write books and come to BEA to hawk them. After lunch I ended up at the Sunridge Press booth where the sweetest teenager I've met in a long time was in a homemade costume trying to get some interest in her equine fantasy adventure novels for adolescents. I wished her luck but it seems that today's kids would rather reach for a GameBoy or X-Box instead of a book... and while that's a failure of the parents, it's also a failure of our industry. Why don't we have a "Got Books?" campaign? (Maybe not such a good idea after all since I'm told that milk consumption has dropped since that campaign started several years ago.) We need something to enlighten kids that reading is FUN and not a drudge.

Why can't all kids be this good?

I'll mention more about this later, but there were a ton of animal-theme books and items at the BEA this year. And why not. Everyone else in the world has learned that sex, babies and small animals "sell". But not the book industry. We're still on the "high road" of "literary excellence." Nothing wrong with that... if you want to starve! One of the most interesting items was the Mammalian Daily. This is a really fun NEWSPAPER about a fictional park run by the animals. OK, it sounds crazy, but this is written as well than the NY Times and looks as professional They are charging $10 a year for 4 issues and this is a great gift for any animal-loving person. I loved this.

One of the most fun items I saw at BEA

It had been a long day of trekking through the small press area, talking with folks about their books as well as Jaya123. There was a lot of interest in Jaya, way more than last year. I think people are far more comfortable with the idea of a web-service where they never have to install anything, never have to back-up anything and all the data is on our super-secure servers in the bank-quality data center we contract with. We always get a bunch of new Jaya123 "victims" from the small and mid-size press sector that attends BEA.

I took the bus back from BEA and just by luck ended up sitting with Florrie Kichler.

"Please Al, don't give me your ideas on PMA," she pleaded.

I didn't as I knew she was tired. But I've written many times that if I were running the BEA I'd take it out of CA and pop in New York City and also put the management contract out to bid. But I have about as much chance of running PMA as I do winning the Powerball lottery, so it's all moot. Anyway, I long-ago became tired of PMA politics. I'll let others carry that torch from now on. So Florrie was spared my PMA ire. Besides, it was party time.

I get by with a little help from my friends,
I get high with a little help from my friends,

I changed clothes, took a quick nap and headed off to Jerry Jenkins IPPY party... good food, beer and booze, and lots of friends to argue with, dance with, or just schmooze with. The party was held at the Museum for Women in the Arts which had a beautiful marble lobby... plenty of room but deafening acoustics. Walking in I quickly found Jerry who already had a buzz on.

Just as the band played "Higher and Higher" so were we!

After getting a glass of an adult beverage I walked around and ran into two of my favorite pub-babes... Carolyn Hayes Uber whom I mentioned earlier, and Cynthia Frank of Cypress House. Cindy and I go way, way back to the old San Francisco Book Show days of the early '90s. Cindy is on everyones short list as one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry on foreign rights. I've always said that she has forgotten more about publishing than most people ever learn. It was great to see both of these gals again, especially since they each won an IPPY award. It's nice to see that there is 'justice' in the IPPY Awards because there there doesn't seem to be any in the Ben Franks. I was still shocked that Maya didn't win.

You want to know about publishing? These gals know it all!

Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmellow pies,

Cruising through the party I came across another Jaya123 client, Sheila Ruth of Wands and Worlds. You can't help but just LOVE Sheila. She's every man's dream... a technologist, a martial arts expert, and a woman of letters. We talked a bit about where her company was going (like to the top!) and where this industry is headed (like to the bottom.) Well, if we are headed toward bad times I have no doubt that Sheila will be one of the survivors.

She's a black-belt in Aikido. Hurts do good!

I talked about Marion Gropen earlier and how she is a CPA and thus not allowed to have any fun... but when she wants to strut her stuff, she has all the babe-a-licious ingredients. She was one of the 'hits' of the IPPY party. I don't know if the guys liked her in her blue dress... or if they just wanted free CPA advice. All I know is she was Ms. Popularity at the ball.

And you say CPAs can't look good? Yeah, right!

It was good to see John Kremer again. Somehow the past few BEAs I'd missed him. He's such a sweet man, always willing to help someone. Like Dan Poynter, John gives away far more consulting than he ever charges for. I told him that he and Dan ought to team up and go on tour with seminars called the "World Series of Independent Publishing." It would be a huge hit. John says he is leaving Iowa for a drier climate that will be more hospitable to his wife. No matter where he goes, he will always be sought out for his excellent advice on how to sell books.

He's not Mr. GQ, but he knows this biz better than most.

Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes,
And she's gone.

After getting some food and having a few (maybe ten) drinks I found the lovely and talented Robin Quinn an editor of unparalleled excellence. I've known Robin for many, many years, but had never seen her in clothes before. Well that didn't quite come out right. She was dressed to the nines and with her long flowing LA hair you just knew that you didn't have a shot with her unless you were a Hollywood star. I wasn't, but I still enjoyed being in the picture with her and Mayapriya Long, another dancing queen.

Robin, me, and Maya. Hope my wife doesn't see this!

Toward the end of the evening I got a chance to talk to one of the really "big guys" in this business... Dawson Church. Writer, editor, one-time distributor (Atrium), Dawson has worn all the hats in the industry. I talked to him about the future of the small press and he summed it up in one word: E-Books. We agreed that when we get a "reading tablet" that is 6x9, 1/4 inch thick, takes cheap batteries, is back-lit, and cost only $15.95 so that you can have one in each room of your house and the kids can lose them, that is when content will again be "king." Dawson was hawking a book called Healing The Heart of the World and was with a beautiful young woman. I didn't ask... and he didn't tell.

Dawson and his date? Anyone know her? I bet you wish you did!

Man I was mean but I'm changing my scene
And I'm doing the best that I can.

The hour was late and I needed to get some sleep in prep for the next day of BEA. Walking back to the Metro I looked in the window of a sushi place and saw Barry Kerrigan of Desktop Miracles with a large group of clients. Although he has a website that is un-readable by FireFox browsers, all done in flash with microscopic fonts, he makes up for it with his basic talent as a book designer. I don't know why so many book designers feel they have to use Flash in order to make them look like they are on the cutting edge but what they don't know is that Flash does not render well with all browsers. Anyway, I stopped in to say hello to him and was not surprised to see that he was not a sushi guy. "Where I grew up we called this stuff 'bait.'" he said. I always enjoy seeing Barry. I just wish he would fix his website so I could send customers to him!!

SATURDAY, MAY 20

Woke up, fell out of bed,
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
And looking up I noticed I was late.
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat

I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's the best they are going to feel all day!

I met Mayapriya for our usual juice and roll beakfast. Mayapriya never drinks.... does not use booze at all... ever. Makes a guy like me want to hate her in the morning... always looking so fresh and alert.... and (oh god I hate this word)... perky!

"You look terrible. Let me guess. You got loaded and struck out... again." she said.

I glared at her. "I don't trust anyone in the book biz that doesn't drink."

"You gonna find a bestseller in a bottle? I don't think so. It's been tried before," she countered.

"I drink because I write... and I write because I drink" I told her in my best Hemingway accent.

"Too bad you can't do them both at the same time... you might actually get something done," she fired back.

I had made one of two of life's greatest mistakes. First, you never go to court on a traffic case and testify against a station-wagon full of nuns. Second, you never try to argue with a book designer, especially a talented one, and especially when you are hung-over. You're going to lose each and every time. It's much better to fight with an agent or a publisher. But you're no match for a sober designer. That's why we all hate designers.... especially on Saturday mornings... after we've had too much to drink... and have struck out with all the book babes... and when we realize that life really is unfair.

I knew today was going to be both long and boring as I was going to cover the big booths of the mainstream publishers. These folks buy huge amounts of floor-space, put up elaborate booths, and give away tons of ARCs (advanced reading copies) and other free stuff. Do they get a return on the investment? If they do, no one seems to know how. There are no book buyers parading in the aisles. There's not even that much media anymore. So who are all those people walking to and fro? It's mainly other publishers and vendors. No new business to be written with these folks!

I can see the day when these big publishers wake up and realize that there is no "there there" and just decide to opt out of BEA. It happened in the computer industry with COMDEX. Can BEA be far behind? I don't know.

I walked from one booth to the other, hour after hour trying to find something that was new, different, exciting, refreshing. If it was there, I sure as hell didn't see it. There were a few interesting books... but not many.

I liked the The Greatest In The World series of books. The gal in the booth had a sweet smile as I walked by and it caught my attention. These folks are out of the UK and were hoping to sell rights to what I saw as a really nice, simple line of how-to books on everyday subjects. If the "dummies" books could make it, maybe these could as well. They were a nice couple and I hope they do well.

She had a nice smile, I stopped to chat her up. Her husband was a good sport.

They've been going in and out of style
But they're guaranteed to raise a smile.

Things were so dull in the main section of the BEA that I was relegated to looking for the bizarre. I came upon one chap dressed in what I believe was a zoot suit. I have no idea what book he had published, but I was so taken with the costume that I snapped a pix of him. If anyone knows what he was hawking, please contact me.

Great outfit... but what did he publish? Let me know.

You've probably all seen those poetry magnets where you get to form your own refrigerator classics. But have you ever met the gals who made them? Well they were at the show and they had a pretty good crowd of people playing with their toys.

I'll bet these gals made a fortune on this simple idea.

As I said before there were a ton of animals and animal related books at the show. One publisher brought out a book on FEMA rescue dogs and they had an official FEMA volunteer with her official FEMA German Shepherd Dog. And what was the name of the dog? I don't make this up. The dog's name was Brownie.

"You're doin' a hell of a job, Brownie."

Not to be undone by FEMA, one publisher paid a lot of money to be in the center of the hall, with her dog Sadie, hawking a tome called The Dog Diet. I loved the dog... and the book, while at first sounding silly, actually made sense when I read some of it. What do they say? D-O-G is GOD spelled backward?

The dog is in better shape than I'm in!

There was not much in the way of cat books. I saw Bad Cat, a collection of note cards taken from the bestseller from Workman Press. And there was Blue Cats a nice calendar of cats of the Greek islands. There was also "Duke" the talking dog from the Bush Beans commercial, but whenever I went to the booth, Duke was out doing a press conference or something. Still, given all the animals at the show the best one, far and away was Amadeus. I featured this dog in last year's BEA Diary and I was so happy to see that the folks I had spoken with and had given advice to were doing so well. Amadeus is a Great Pyrenees Mountain Dog and about the most beautiful animal you will ever see. I have not read the book, but I understand that it is selling well, in addition to the other toy tie-ins.

I'm the one with the red shirt without the wet nose!

Got the bill and Rita paid it,
Took her home I nearly made it,

The final book that caught my eye this long day was also from a mid-size publisher. This was an old-time Western for YAs titled Nick & Slim. I don't know if there is a market for this in the YA sector. Seems kids these days are more taken with shoot-em-up video games of aliens and cave monsters. But if a Western genre can appeal to kids, this might be the one that will. The gal in the booth sure as hell appealed to me!

Howdy Miss Kitty, I'm Marshal Dillion.

After some six hours of combing the booths of the large and mid-size publishers I was beat and ready for some real food and good beer. Mayapriya Long, Dan Poynter and I had been invited to the annual Midpoint pizza party by Carolyn Hayes Uber. This year it was being held at Uno in Union Station. So we met at the PMA booth and figured out how to get there via the Metro. We could have taken a cab, but this was going to be more of an adventure. Maya was our guide, Dan our scout, and I took the notes to chronicle our journey just in case there might be a book in it. There wasn't.

Suddenly someone is there at the turnstyle,
The girl with the kaleidoscope eyes.

When we got to the restaurant we immediately saw our hostess and previous official Book-Babe, Gail Kump. In this business there are people who talk about books and people who report on books, but there are damn few people who really KNOW what books will sell and which won't. Gail is one of those people. Eric Kampmann might own Midpoint, but Gail (a partner) makes it run. And the great thing about Gail is that she is a down-to-earth, just-plain-nice 'girl.' There are a whole hell of a lot of people in this industry that have only half of Gail's ability but who are a hundred times more arrogant. Even when Gail says "no" to your book, you know that she wishes she could have said yes. Gail is terrific. Everyone loves Gail.

Damn right she's a Book Babe... and a Book Ph.D as well!

Julie in the sky with diamonds,

One of the high points of every BEA is seeing one of my favorite past Book Babes, Julie Hardison. Julie has come up through the ranks at Midpoint and has (finally) been given a big promotion to Marketing Manager. She is going to embark on a new initiative for Midpoint, offering a number of new services to publishers. This will all be announced later, but I can say without reservation that Julie is the gal who can make it happen. It's nice to see young people advance. Her husband was with her and the two of them make such a nice looking couple.

Me and Julie

I talked to a number of Midpoint's party guests. One of the most interesting was Richard Hains, an author from Oz who is bringing out his first novel Chameleon, a financial thriller, published by David Nelson of Beaufort Books, the publishing arm of Midpoint Trade. David told me his company plans on a $100,000 marketing campaign with ads in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, along with a multi-city book tour. I was really impressed with Richard and I'm looking forward to seeing this tome. It's been a long time since the likes of Gordon Gekko. With Enron in the news, and the size of the advertising budget, this book has a shot... if it is any good. They promised me a review copy. I hope they mean it. I like this genre.

Richard "Gekko" Hains. Can $100K buy success? Stay tuned.

After eating about ten pizzas and drinking a keg or two of beer I was ready to hit the sack. Sunday is always a quiet day at BEA and each year they start packing earlier and earlier. I wanted to get there early so I could collect some free booty as well as see some of the sofware providers I compete with as well as a few booths I'd marked off in the show catalog that I hadn't yet gotten to.

SUNDAY, MAY 21

How do I feel by the end of the day
(Are you sad because you're on your own)

Arriving at the convention center I met up with Mayapriya.

"Hey pork-boy! Did you leave any pizza for anyone else last night? I should buy stock in the Pepto company!"

She's always after me to not eat meat. "You should be happy I only ate the non-meat pizza," I told her.

"You could have saved some for others at the party. And were you expecting there to be a beer shortage sometime soon? You drank enough to turn yourself into a Clydesdale. We'll be looking for you on the next Budweiser commercial."

"Shows you how much you know... it was Miller light. Tastes great, less filling," I said trying to imagine Mayapriya and Marion in the famous Miller mud-wrestling commercial. "Maybe if you took a drink now and then you would feel better," I said, knowing that Mayapriya NEVER touches alcohol.

"Yeah, because I want to look and feel like you do this morning? That's rich. I know why your ancestors emigrated in the early 1900s from Ireland to Toronto. They saw a billboard in Dublin saying "Drink Canada Dry," she retorted.

If given a few minutes I might have been able to cut through the cobwebs and followed up with a smart remark, but we ran into Sharon... and you know the rest of that story from the opening prologue.

Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers,
That grow so incredibly high.

As I said, my goal today was to get free books and stuff. I had heard that there was a terrific book on growing pot at the show and I thought that maybe they were giving out samples or maybe they had a small tent and were offering 'hits.' (Amazing what we come up with early in the morning when we have a Miller Time hangover.) I found Marijuana Access but alas there were no samples. Very nice book. When they legalize this stuff these folks will have a big hit.

She wasn't happy when I said I was from the DEA!

While filling my tote bag with this, and with that, and with whatever looked interesting... I came across several titles that I thought were fun. One was a literary travel book called Traveling Literary America which has references and annotations to more than 200 homes, museums, exhibits, memorials etc. of various writers What a fun type of vacation for a writer to take.

There are always all sorts of bookmarks at BEA. I missed the guy who sold the oriental rug markers but I saw something new called the Bookflip. You can get these with your company logo and they make great holiday gifts to your best customers.

We'd like to take you home with us,
We'd love to take you home.

There were a number of services that had exhibits, not the least of which were Microsoft's Live Book. They had a large display outside of the main hall. You send them your hardcopy and they will scan the complete book and will show whatever parts you want when people browse the site. Yeah, and we all know how honest and above-board Microsoft has been in previous years when working with small companies. Yup, that's just what I want to do... hand over my intellectual property to Microsoft because you JUST KNOW that they are going to take great pains to guard and protect it and not use it without your express wishes. (You're buyin' all this, aren't you!)

I found something that was very interesting to me, but will probably be a snoozer to most everyone else. This is a new OPEN SOURCE platform for creating eBooks called dotReader. These folks are going to use the OpenReader.org format. I know it's all 'geek' to you, but believe me there are some really big things happening in e-book land... and Microsoft, Adobe, and some of the greedy corporations are not going to be happy when they find out about it.

If you are a publisher and you want to be one of the survivors when e-books FINALLY become a reality, you MUST join and participate in the OpenReader.org program. I look for great things from the dotReader folks as well and it will be nice to see a start-up beat the crap out of the established players... most of whom don't know what they don't know about publishing. Please folks. We don't have to give in to Microsoft, Adobe, Sony, etc. Learn about Openreader.org, volunteer some time to help them, and it will be 'good' for all of us. End of sermon.

I didn't see too many children's books that made me stop and peek, but one of them caught my eye... Octopus Rex. The book had great art and was just... different. It had a CD with songs and narration. Maybe this will be a venue to get kids to read? Why not. Nothing else seems to be working.

I would have called it Calamari Rex

Getting back to services, the POD monsters were lurking. Both Lightning Source (owned by the the Evil Empire known as Ingram) and Booksurge owned by Amazon were doing all they could to convince all who would listen that print-on-demand is the way to go for OP (out-of-print) titles. One thing that LSI has going for it is that by using their service you get automatic entree into the Ingram database. I think this is more hype than substance, but it's something to consider if you're thinking of going this route. Of course, if you go with Amazon you are automatically in Amazon. Where would you rather be if you're trying to sell books? I'd take Amazon.

If you don't need to be in Ingram or Amazon, then Publishers Row might be a good option for you... as might Starnet. I don't know much about either, but the people at both booths seemed knowledgeable.

Another service that had a huge booth was AuthorHouse. They claim to have printed over 32,000 titles. When I told Dan Poynter this he retorted "How many have they sold?" Jan Nathan (Director of the PMA) told me later that so many authors have come to her bemoaning that they have used a service like AuthorHouse which publishes under their own ISBN and thus is publisher-of-record... and only the POR can deal with distributors, wholesalers, etc. If you are going to go this route, make sure you know what you are doing.

I used to get mad at my school
The teachers who taught me weren't cool
You're holding me down, turning me round
Filling me up with your rules.

While there were a ton of university presses at the show, I didn't spend much time in any of the booths. Why? Well for some reason the people who staff these are always so aloof... almost stuck-up... as if they are better than anyone else because THEY are part of a prestigious university. Or maybe it's because many of them are subsidized and they really don't HAVE to get out there and SELL or sully their hands with filthy lucre. Maybe there is still a reason for university presses to exist, but I sure as hell can't think of any. YMMV (geek-speak for "your milage may vary".)

I always like to stop and chat with the folks from the various regional publishing associations such as Publishers Association of the South and their sister group PubWest. The Colorado Indie-Pub Assn. also had a booth... first time I remember seeing a non-regional association at BEA.

I wonder if it might be more worthwhile for publishers to attend the regional tradeshows that these groups put on as opposed to BEA? I've never been to any of them because the regional groups tend to overprice their exhibit booths compared to the number of 'victims' that turn out for the show. But maybe I'll take Jaya123 to one of these events this fall and see how it goes.

There weren't too many publicists who took space this year. I saw Irwin Zucker walking the show and had a nice chat with him. He is the founder of the Book Publicists of S. California... even has an award named after him. The California group publishes the "Chopped Liver" series... such as this year's tome: Chopped Liver for the Loving Spirit. Forget Chicken Soup.

Newpaper taxis appear on the shore,
Waiting to take you away.

Also in attendance were the folks from PRWeb. If you've never used this terrific press release service... you should... and while it is free, you should contribute a few bucks so that they can continue. It's the right thing to do.

There used to be a fair number of 'book shepherds' (not to be confused with Australian Shepherds) that attended the show. This year I only saw two...one called Book Connection and the other with the catchy name of Perceptive Marketing... actually more of a publicist than a "take-it-all-the-way" type of outfit. I think the BEA should have a section (with low booth rates) for publicists and consultants.... but for some reason Reed (the BEA company) just doesn't listen to me!

There wasn't much in the way of political books this year... as there were during the last election cycle. While not overtly "political' I met these two women from Elva Resa Publishing that have a line of books they call Military Family Resources. These titles are targeted to families who have loved-ones deployed in the Middle East. Since so many publishers are politically just to the left of Hilary Clinton and Al Sharpton, I was not surprised when they told me that they had taken some 'heat' from the liberals in the industry. I'm against this damn war as well (especially after just visiting The Wall) but my heart went out to these women as I think they are doing a good service to their country. I hope they sell a ton of books. I really do.

Whether you are for or against the war, these women are patriots

I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in

I always enjoy going to see my software competitors. Both the Cat's Pajamas and the folks from Acumen were at the show. I like both of these companies. Often we get people who call about our Jaya123 web-based system and say:

"Whoa, $14.95 a month? That's a lot of money each year! I want to OWN our software! This Jaya subscription thing sucks!"

So I tell them, "You're right. Maybe you will be better off with Cats or Acumen. Go to their site and take a look. Let me know what you think. Thanks for calling."

Understand that both of these products are at the high-end... like around $10,000 "high"... and that's just to get in the door. Once in, you have customization fees as well as yearly maintenance fees. It's amazing how many call-backs I get saying "Hey, you guys really look good... I like this Jaya123 thing." :-)

So each year I go and talk with the two Cat women who sit the booth (both very nice) as well as Larry Wolf of Acumen and tell them how much I value them because they really make our software look 'good' pricewise!

Everyone you see is full of life.
It's time for tea and meet the wife.

It was 2 PM and I met Mayapriya for lunch. Normally I wouldn't mention lunch, but we went to the food court and got Wolfgang Puck pizza. Now Wolfgang is a pretty high-end name... synonymous with gourmet dining so I figured the pizza would be pretty good. Uh.. major big-time wrong. It was the worst pizza I'd ever had. As an experiment I tore off a piece of the brown box the pizza came in and tasted it. Yup, the box tasted far, far better than the pizza. It was true. I should write the Wolf-man and tell him he may want to take his name off of this stuff. Either that or give the pizza away for free and sell the boxes and designer scissors to hungry convention goers!

By two-thirty the hall was almost empty and the vendors were starting to pack up. In the past two years this didn't happen until an hour later. And two years before that the show was crowded right up to the closing bell. I ran up to the packing area, loaded up my box, got it taped and shipped and went back downstairs for my final visit... which has traditionally been to see Victoria Champagne-Sutherland at ForeWord Magazine to get her 'take' on the BEA and where the industry was headed.

First she said "This BEA shows that people are tired of bestsellers."

"Uh, Victoria, is that sort of what Yogi meant when he said 'No one eats at that restaurant anymore because it's too crowded'?" I asked.

Victoria, who IS a lady of letters realized the incongruity of her remark and then gave me a quote about how publishers have to follow something called the "long tail' theory of marketing. I had no idea what she was talking about and was too tired to ask. She said the show was great for her and the magazine, so I'll just go with that.

Victoria Sutherland, chosen Book Babe in 1996

The hour was late and I started thinking about the folks that didn't come to BEA this year. I missed Pat Bell, one of the grand ladies of the small press. Everyone misses Pat. And another well-known "personality" of the independent press who didn't come this year is "V3" aka Virginia Van Vynckt of V3 Graphics. (She is a top-flight web designer and editor... and helped edit this BEA Diary... thanks V3!). I was surprised that Jay Brown and Barbara DesChamps didn't make the trip this year. And, of course, I missed Harry Pariser... for reasons I won't go into here!

I always hate it when the show ends. Reality sets in, the euphoria is all gone, and it's back to returns, problems with Ingram, no checks from B&T, and incomprehensible statements from distributors. I walked over to the PMA area, said good-bye to Jan, Terry, Maya, Dan, and a whole bunch of other hangers-on and trudged "bump, bump, bump" up the stairs, got on the bus and went back to 'real life.'

EPILOGUE

We're Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
We hope you have enjoyed the show
Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
We're sorry but it's time to go.

So what kind of a show was it? Where is the industry going? Well, if you believe that the amount of floor-space sold by Reed and the number of exhibitors is an indication on the health of the industry then you would walk out feeling very optimistic.

But if you use attendance as your measuring stick, you will come away feeling that this show is in trouble.

This year they scanned badges EVERY TIME you went into the exhibit hall. Not the building, but EACH hall. Thus, when you came out for lunch and went back downstairs (or upstairs) you got scanned. When you came from downstairs to go upstaris you got scanned. So will Reed 'spin' the attendance by touting hall-visits instead of head-counts? It won't surprise me a bit.

As much as I love going to the BEA, for the life of me I can't understand why the big publishers pay more than $100 a foot for their space, bring in tons of people and construct expensive booths. For what? There are no buyers. There is little media. It's just other publishers scouting out other publishers... with the occasional service vendor like the printers and designers walking the show.

When you ask people "What's wrong with this industry?" you get simplistic (but accurate answers) such as "too many books," "too many returns," "not enough readers," or you get complex answers detailing how the business model of the industry is 'broken' and how this whole business is basically a house of cards.

One thing I do know for a fact is that the Internet has hurt the book business by enabling people to get free content quickly and easily. Years ago there were tons of computer books on every large publishers' list. Not any more. Same goes for the travel sector... and just about ever genre we publish to. What's the answer? The only thing anyone comes up with is e-books. I guess it's like the old 1969 baseball Mets fans who said "Ya gotta believe."

Me used to be a angry young man
Me hiding me head in the sand
You gave me the word
I finally heard
I'm doing the best that I can.

I don't know if the large corporate entities that dominate this biz are making money, but I'm sure that the smaller houses are not. And when it comes to the smallest of the small, only those who understand the niche model are doing well. You either have to publish to a sector that is 'information bound' and which likes to buy books (such as Christians... and not truck drivers) or you need to have content that is so original, so unique, and so compelling that people line up to buy it, sort of how the "dummies books" are sold.

I admit it's getting better
A little better all the time

Maybe Sgt. Pepper thinks so, but I don't believe this industry is getting better, but I think it WILL get better, as I mentioned earlier, when we finally get e-books. However, when I asked the guys and gals in the big booths about this eventuality, they looked at me with blank faces... sort of like how deer look when caught in the headlights.

Why do we stay in this business. Well for sure it can't be for the money. It's the culture... and the need to keep it. We stay in the book biz because we just... have to. I'm sure I could write a long-winded monograph on this, but Woody Allen really nailed it in his final lines of Annie Hall:

Alvy Singer: It was great seeing Annie again and I realized what a terrific person she was and how much fun it was just knowing her and I thought of that old joke, you know, the, this, this guy goes to a psychiatrist and says, 'Doc, uh, my brother's crazy, he thinks he's a chicken,' and uh, the doctor says, 'well why don't you turn him in?' And the guy says, 'I would, but I need the eggs.' Well, I guess that's pretty much now how I feel about relationships. You know, they're totally irrational and crazy and absurd and, but uh, I guess we keep going through it...because...most of us need the eggs.

Or perhaps it's even less rational than eggs (if that's possible.) It's a mission for us. No matter how bad this business gets, no matter how many returns pile up at our door, no matter how many unsold books sit in our warehouses, and no matter how badly we get treated by the middle-channel, we persist. After all these years in the business I believe that down deep in his or her heart of hearts, every publisher lives one dream... one mantra:

I read the news today oh boy
About a lucky man who made the grade
I'd love to turn you on

-30-

If you liked this special edition of A Saturday Rant or if you disagree or if you have changes to be made, please let me know by writing to: rant at adams-blake dot com.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, to B-E-A We Go!

2006-05-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

Note: For many years Al Canton has penned a publishing industry 'column' called "A Saturday Rant." While it has been dormant for the past year due to his wife's health problems and the death of his father, things have improved and he has decided to bring "A Saturday Rant" back to life and hopes that people will find it fun and informative. Many of the names mentioned are well-known personalities in the small press industry as well as on the Pub-Forum listserv. To join that list (free) go to http://www.pub-forum.net. To contact Al, go to either of his websites listed at the end of the piece.]

A Saturday Rant 5-13-06

HI HO, HI HO, TO B-E-A WE GO...

I'm looking forward to seeing many of you next week at the PMA/BEA.

I have a long-standing tradition of going to the BFD (no, that stands for Ben Franklin Dinner and NOT what YOU think it stands for.... but now that I think about it....) and sitting with the very wealthy Peter Goodman of Stonebridge Press (who sold to a large Japanese house,) the lovely, talented book designer, and extremely cheap Mayapriya Long, the funny, witty, and even cheaper (like in KING of cheap) Shel (who will be living in his car under the Key bridge), maybe one of the Foreplay (oops, ForeWord) book-babes and perhaps Our Mother of Aggravation, mother of all list-moms, the mean and terrible dominatrix of this list Marion (whom I hit on every year and and every year I strike out. She has this fidelity thing going on or something! She's obviously an accountant and not a publisher (right Jerry?)).

And of course my trip won't be complete unless I get to meet (or is that meat?) and greet our own Harry. (Sharon and Fern are selling tix to this, and the Harrah's sport's book has me as a 3 to 1 favorite!)

Of course, I'll miss Grandma Bell, but Pa Kettle-Poyter is almost as old so there will be some adult supervision in the room.

And, of course I look forward to getting a picture of of Jerry Jenkins with his hand on some babe's thigh (or higher!) at his annual book-bash with the book-babes.

Most of all BEA is a reaffirmation of faith that somehow we all made it through another year in this difficult business and that perhaps what we don't make in money, we make up in friendship, camaraderie, and the knowledge that we are keepers of a culture that is under constant assault by the electronic media as well as governments at all levels as well as parties of red and blue, green.... and pink (i.e. the CA bill requiring publishers to include gay/lesbian annotations in public school textbooks.)

As for books, here is some advice.

Forget about selling your books.

First of all, everyone and their dog are trying to sell their books, either to the retail/distribution channel or the media. And when it comes to selling, it is pretty difficult to out-muscle the bigger houses that have hoards of well-trained, well-contacted sales people (booth-babes!) as well as tons of heavy-duty, high-skilled, in-house publicity talent (media-chicks!).

Second of all, there is no one to sell to. There are no ("we don't need no stinkin'') blue badges anymore. There are damn few bookstores who send "buying" representatives to the floor. Hell, there are damn few independent bookstores in the first place. Any publisher looking to sell their books or even to make good contacts to sell later on is probably going to be disappointed.

Oh, yes, you are going to make lots of contacts and meet lots of people who are going to tell you all sorts of things about what they will do for you. But when you call them a week later, they won't know you from the last guy who they just got off the phone with.

So what is BEA good for? Two things.

First, it is a celebration of ego. We put the fruits of our long hard labors on the table and say "Look at me, aren't I great?" And we say "Wow, your books are great too." We both say, "Gee, we're lucky to be able to be in this industry where we can do great work."

BEA, unlike many trade shows where the emphasis is on sales, is really an old-time "tent revival," , a chance to escape the confines of the spin-doctors, and get some feedback from colleagues and peers on your products. And it is a great excuse to let down you hair (and skirt/pants?) and have a party. And all of the above is good. I'd worry big-time about our industry if there weren't a well attended BEA. It's a chance to spend some of those profits (or forget about the ones you didn't make) and have a good time. (Except for Marion... who is an accountant and not allowed any fun.)

Second, BEA is a chance to learn. If you exhibit you will find out in short order if your wares are "interesting" or if they are just "run of the mill." You will have the opportunity to hob-nob with publishers and vendors of all stripes. And you will get an opportunity to attend seminars (PMA-U, AAP, etc.) and learn the elements of the business that you might be weak on. And this is all good.

But BEA is not for "selling". It is for "buying". I don't expect to sell one book from BEA and if you go with the idea that you are going to come home with either a stack of orders or a ton of business cards from potential buyers, you are going to be heartbroken.

You need to find reasons other than sales for the BEA to be a meaningful event for you. Whether it's the parties, the seminars, or the chance to see what others are doing, you should come up with one or two things you want to accomplish and pursue them.

I don't mean something like "I'm going to get a distributor." You'd be better advised to set you sights to "I'm going to learn about and make contact with three or four distributors I can approach later." Or "Each day of the show I'm going to make two media contacts in my genre whom I can approach later on a first name basis." Or "I'm going to have a three day party, drink Dan under the table, and swim naked in the Potomac with Hilary Clinton (although you have a better shot with Bill if history serves me correctly! ) Plan your "go" and go with your plan.

So you ask, what is MY plan?

I like to publish books that I can sell for obscene margins to those who are not using their own coin to buy. For example, for many years I've published "MoveIT: The Complete Guide to Moving a Corporate Data Center."

http://tinyurl.com/j3ssc

I print in low quantities from Alexander's Digital and sell the tome for $99. OK, I only sell about 200 a year, but it only cost me $10 to print and $10 in royalty. If you have 10 of these...do the math. (I used to sell 1,000 of these before the Internet made ALL information (accurate or not) "free.") I'm going to look for an author or a publisher who has the next "MoveIT" and see if I can buy rights from them.

Thus, I'm going to BEA in order to "buy" not to sell.

Of course, if you are also a vendor to the industry like me, Dan Poynter, Shel Horowitz, Mayapriya Long, Marion Gropen, Fern Reiss (some of whom are both publishers AND vendors), it might not hurt to pass out a flyer or a business card at selected booths. I always get new Jaya123 victims (I mean clients) from BEA.

Indeed, I think that the only people who can really "sell" are the vendors. Publishers, I believe, have to be content to "buy." It is kind of ironic isn't it? Here is this huge trade show with 1000 publishers and yet they are now all selling to basically 10 or 20 customers: B&N, Borders, Amazon, Wall-Mart, Costco, a few distributors, and the last small group of indie bookstores stores left who send buyers (Cody's, Tattered Cover, Powells, etc).

So here are my parting words to those of you going to DC. Read the next TWO paragraphs three times until you understand it! They are two of the best I have ever written. Print them and paste them on your mirror and read them every day until you arrive in DC.

When you go to BEA ask not what you can sell TO it, but ask what you can take FROM it. Approach the show from the 20,000 foot level, looking to get a broad overview of where the industry is going, what others are making money at, how others have found niches to sell into. Go to learn what the technology will do to change things... and try to find out if there is a way you can use all this knowledge to better your competitive position.

Don't go to sell books. What did I just say? Again, don't go to sell books! Go there to buy ideas. Don't go to make something happen. Go there to understand what will happen. Don't go there to sell your products or ideas, but go there to buy the ideas of others. You have this wonderful chance to see, touch, ask, learn, question, and network. And while you may seek one or two specific goals, don't be surprised if the compendium of information you glean from BEA coalesces into a terrific business idea that you can pursue in the near future. If you go to BEA with a buyers attitude, you will more than make up the money you spent being there.

And while we're talking about buying, it is true that buying a drink or a lunch or a cab ride for someone who works hard writing gems of wisdom that he shares with you via his Rants, is always a worthwhile investment :-)

By the way, I have it from a very, very well placed source you all know and admire (think parachutes) that it would NOT be a good idea, when Fern and Sharon are introduced at the list dinner, to start a chant of "Take it off, Take it off" unless you want to see a cabernet bottle hurled at you faster than a Barry Bonds triple to left. And I wouldn't make any references to mud wrestling either.

And make sure you walk up to me and say hello. I don't bite. But you guys better be careful of Mayapriya Long of Bookwrights. The woman is a black belt in Aikido and can turn you from a rooster into a hen before you can figure out how to say her name. However, if you mention "How about I buy you lunch," she becomes a pussycat.

I'm looking forward to seeing many of you and I hope that the above will serve as food for thought.

Al Canton Adams-Blake Company, Inc. http://www.jaya123.com http://www.adams-blake com

A STORY ABOUT A GIRL I KNEW

2005-07-02T12:15:00.000-07:00

[Because a Supreme Court justice resigned this week, the entire country is going to be plunged into a left vs. right debate on.... abortion... yet again. So I thought I would publish a few thoughts about the subject from my personal perspective.]

No one "likes" abortion. Even the most wide-eyed radical femi-nazi does not advocate abortion as a means of birth control. No one wants to have an abortion.

I understand the views of all sides, and I'm just as confused as everyone else.

However, I am sure of one thing. We should never go back to how it was when I was a young man.

When I was a freshman in college in 1965 (U. of Virginia) I had a girlfriend (believe it or not!) named Becky. She went to one of the women's colleges not far from Mr. Jefferson's University. Anyway, her roommate, Susan, and I used to go everywhere together. Sometimes Susan had a date, sometimes not. It didn't matter We were like the "gang of three" always going out, and doing what today would be called "good clean fun" (no dope, no hard booze, etc.)

It was a simpler life back then. Virginia was about 3 years behind the rest of the country so while other college kids were doing weed, we were still drinking beer... and happy to do that! We had dances. We had parties. We had actual dates. We had friends... and it was a sincere kind of friendship, not like it is with kids today. We had fun.

As often happens, I came to like Susan better than Becky, but of course never said or did anything about it. I could have played that role in the movie St. Elmo's Fire.... the kid who likes the girl but never says anything, just tries to hang out around her.

Susan was a 10, and back then I was a skinny, very-Jewish-looking guy, too short, with bad acne, bad hair, thick glasses, and a real dumpy car. I knew it was hopeless but I really liked Susan. Maybe I was "dumb looking" but I wasn't dumb. I knew Susan never saw anything in me, never would, and that was that. But there was always a little bit of hope that I carried around with me... and it was good to have that hope in my life.

During semester break Becky went home, but Sue stayed at school. She called me and said we should go to dinner one night. I borrowed $20 from my roommate and made reservations at the Monticello Hotel dining room. I had the hope.

You don't find places like the Monticello Hotel anymore. It was "old South" elegant, semi-dark, candles, and had something very special for us at that age... tablecloths.

I wore a bad-fitting suit, but Sue had that little black dress... (not to get confused with Bobbie Brooks.) I'd never been out with a girl in a dress that showed what that dress showed.

In the candle light (we all look good in candle light!) I was transfixed by her beauty and her "adult-ness." It was the first time I'd ever been out with a real "woman." We talked music, politics, literature, and almost solved the problems of poverty and world peace! It was a night like none I'd ever had before.

I took her back to her dorm, gave her a friendly peck on the cheek (in that awkward teenage way) and knew that something special had happened to me that night. I became an adult myself. It's amazing what changes us.

Becky was a nice girl, sweet, but it was Sue that I really liked. However, back then, guys like me knew their place in the social order and that girls like Sue were beyond our reach. It was OK (I kept telling myself) to just be good friends. And it really was OK. All of us. It was a great time to be alive, to be young, and to just live.

Around the middle of that year Susan met a guy... I think his name was Joel, had un-protected sex and she became pregnant.

And no, I didn't have un-protected sex. I didn't have sex at all because I drove a Plymouth Valiant and girls (especially Becky!) didn't put out in a Plymouth. I didn't get "lucky" until my junior year... her name was Donna... the body of a Playboy bunny, a face like 30 miles of bad road... and a hell of a nice girl whom I've never forgotten. Maybe she reads these rants. You never know. But I digress.

Sue's boyfriend had some money (something none of the rest of us had much of) and arranged for what you would call a "back alley" abortion in Richmond. Abortion was not legal in Virginia (or anywhere else that I knew of back then, except Sweden.) Becky took Susan there. I didn't go.

Becky told me the story. She said the place was an apartment, dirty, and, in her words "creepy." She didn't tell me about the procedure... it wasn't something that boys and girls talked about back then.

A day or two after the procedure something bad happened. Susan started bleeding, first a little bit, then more, and then it was, as Becky said, in buckets. She was rushed to the hospital... ambulance, sirens, flashing lights, the whole thing.

She didn't make it.

The funeral was very beautiful. It was the first one I'd ever been to. The minister gave a nice speech. But, all I saw was a beautiful young girl in an open casket, and I've never forgotten it. I can still feel the sadness.

It wasn't long after that, just before the end of the spring semester that Becky and I broke up. She went home that summer and married a lifeguard at the pool she worked at. I went on to other girls (who would not have sex with me.... probably because I still had that damn Plymouth.)

No I didn't become a pro-choice zealot. And I don't pontificate on the "morals" of abortion. All I know is that a young girl that I knew and loved died needlessly.

I think about her sometimes. That night at dinner. The candlelight. I remember it so well.

She was a really nice girl and I was in love.

I wish I had told her.

Alan N. Canton, President Adams-Blake Company, Inc

Adams-Blake Company provides the JAYA123 service to small businesses of all types. JAYA is an order-entry, billing, invoicing, inventory,royalty, and financial system used on the web ....nothing to download or install... and it cost all of $14.95 a month. "It's cool as a moose." Try the free demo at at: http://www.jaya123.com

A BEA DIARY - 2005

2005-06-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, 5/31/2005 I don't think anyone has written a book about flying at night, but one should be written because there is a certain thrill and anticipation about taking off from the West coast at midnight and landing in New York City just five hours later, ready to embark on an adventure. And make no mistake, BEA (BookExpo America) in the Big Apple is always and adventure, if not in the people you meet then in the sheer energy you absorb... compounded by the swings from exhaustion to enthusiasm and sometimes to the 'joie de vie' of just 'being there.' I checked into my garment-district hotel and grabbed the first of many, many cabs up to the Marriott Marquis Hotel, where the Publishers Marketing Association was holding its annual Publishing University. I'm critical of the PMA for all of the things it doesn't do, but when it comes to putting on outstanding seminars, the PMA has always been the best of the best... and I expected the same this year as well... yet I would be surprised. "Hey Canton, you look good. Did you have some work done?" I heard the familiar voice of Dan Poynter call out. "Work done" is the code-word in La-La land where Dan lives for having a face-lift, a tummy-tuck, or a boob-job. "Yeah, I'm now a 38-D," I replied. It was always good to start the day talking with Dan, as I do from time to time via phone. To start PMA-U with 'the man' could be considered an omen. "Let's have lunch, my treat" the Oracle of publishing said. But before I could answer, guess who shows up? Here is a hint. Who always magically materializes when the topic of free lunch is mentioned? Yes, you're right. The lovely and talented Mayapriya Long, book designer for Rolling Stone as well as others lucky to get on her book design dance-card. "We accept" she says to Dan. Big surprise. You know about being in the right place at the right time? When it's lunch, and when someone else is paying, Maya is right there. Dan Poynter and Mayapriya Long It was good to see her again. As with Dan, Maya and I talk from time to time but it had been a while. Each year since the invention of ink (or so it seems) we have shared the same booth at PMA-U, with Maya talking to publishers about her design service and me showing off our Jaya123 web service. We told Dan we would meet him later and we proceeded to set up the booth and catch up on events. Big things are happening for Mayapriya. Her Bookwrights company has broken through to the 'next level' and is doing more and more work for larger New York publishers who have very exacting standards and who can afford to hire anyone they wish. She has a major project in progress for Rolling Stone and is talking to Little Brown and others. She had a whole dance-card full of New York appointments this week... but she said she likes to balance her work, taking as much or more work from Independent and micro publishers. She said the NY houses are not as fun to work with as indies, hence her table at PMA-U. Plus she now has some folks working under her that she needs to keep busy. I hope she has to take THEM to lunch! It was good to see Jan Nathan, Executive Director of PMA, along with her son Terry and her daughter-in-law Andrea. PMA is a family operation and you could not ask for a nice family to be a member of. Lots of folks have a problem with what PMA does or doesn't do, but everyone likes Jan and her minions. PMA has expanded the "U" and Tuesday is almost a full day of classes, while in the past it was mostly a registration and "kick-off" day. Thus, a lot of the students were registered for the whole schedule and the vendors saw more of them then in Tuesdays of the past. As promised, Dan came by and we followed him to the hotel restaurant for lunch. Dan has taken up the mantle of opposing Bowker for their constant increase in ISBN prices and he is advocating that there be other agencies empowered to 'market' ISBNs, along the lines of how web URLs are sold and registered. We had a long talk about the issue and I told Dan I would do whatever he wished in tilting at the Bowkers windmill. He said he was going to have a meeting with them during the week and we came up with a list of issues he should raise. Back at the booth I met more potential Jaya123 victims (oops, I mean customers) while Maya went to one of her 'big-time' appointments in the city. When class began, I walked around and talked to some of the other vendors. None of the printers are working at capacity and were more concerned at a potential increase in paper prices due to demand from China and other developing lands. I asked about the Jenkins Group Printellectual program and none of the printers thought it did a whole lot for them. The margins in printing are just too low for them to give away any more of their profit points. Finally, the green paper 'revolution' is starting to take hold, however one of the vendors said that it takes more energy to create recycled stock than kill trees. Until I see an independent study on the issue, my mind is still open. It was good to see Barry Merrill at Alexander's Digital. I've been a customer of theirs and recommend their work. However I had a nice conversation with their competitors, Fidlar Doubleday and maybe next time I'll get a bid from them as well. I want to expand our publishing division via the paradigm that has worked for us... information we can sell to business and government, not the trade, for obscene margins! For example this book, MoveIT sells only 200 copies a year... but it sells for $100 each and I have about a $75 profit with no returns. What if you had ten of these? Do the math! I had a nice chat with Becky Pate, the gran fromage of Central Plains Book Manufacturing and neither of us has heard from Marty Gilliland in a long time so we don't know if he is still in the printing business with United Graphics or not. Marty's dad used to own Gilliland Printing which later morphed into Central Plains. Marty and I were good friends but he seems to have dropped out of sight. As the day wound down I had good feelings about the publishing business... feelings I had not had in the past several years. Maybe the bad times were behind us. I'd know more when the BEA opened in a few days, but the first day of PMA-U had been a good one. Wednesday 6/1/2005 The first few hours of the PMA-U are always exciting because of all the new faces you get to meet. Before the seminars begin the students visit the vendors and learn about some of the products and services available. Of course, I had my trusty laptop computer in order to demonstrate our Jaya123 order-entry, invoicing, and back-office system for publishers and other small businesses. One of the first to come see me was Eric Feder who has a book on where to park in Manhattan. It's a great concept and should do well if he markets it correctly. Erik getting pointers from Poynter An old friend who came to chat was David Cole,joined by Deb Robson. David is a consultant in the San Francisco area and Deb owns Nomad Press which does books on knitting and textiles and will soon be doing some YA titles. Deb, David, and Maya .... all hoping I'll take them to lunch! About the only real PMA news is that they are "changing" the name to: PMA, the Independent Book Publishers Association. I have no idea why, or what it means. My guess is that they will STILL do nothing but just have a fancy and longer name to do it with :-) Of course there was no "new business' at the required 'annual meeting' because PMA never lets the membership have any kind of a say in what goes on and what is done with their dues. They did announce that they had their 4,000th member, an all-time high, so why should they change anything? Jan and family are making money, no one seems to give a damn that the PMA is an emperor with no clothes, and the dues just roll in. I wish my business ran so well! After lunch I spoke to more of the students about Jaya123 and was happy that there was so much interest. And while class was in session I strolled around meeting some of the first-time vendors. I was surprised to see Kirkus Reviews and Book Standard there. I learned that Kirkus wants to shed it's 'dowdy' image and go 'modern.' VNU Media wants to be a player in the same league as PW. I wish them luck as Foreword never wanted to take on that role... and someone should! Francis the Kirkus 'babe' at her Book Standard booth And talking about Foreword, Victoria Sutherland again had a booth at PMA. I don't know why she does this since she gets little if any support from PMA in the form of advertising. PMA often 'buys' a cover of PW (which is being changed.... no more covers for sale.) And it was good to see my old friend Gene Schwartz, one of the patriarchs of this business. The buzz about Victoria is that she wrote a private letter to her closest 4,000 friends in the business complaining about PWs new make-over... and ended up pissing off a lot of folks. I have not seen the letter so I don't know more than that... but I'm not surprised as Victoria is usually feuding with someone in the biz (usually me!) Victoria (an original official Book Babe and Gene Schwartz (the grand old man of publishing) As the day wore on I was visited by a bunch of old friends... and one of my favorite is the Queen of Booklets, Paulette Ensign who has made a zillion dollars teaching people how to make money in short subjects. Paulette ONLY wears purple. I don't know why. Take it up with her if you want to know! Paulette wearing purple.... as usual At the end of the day the PMA staff started putting out the Ben Franklin nominated books in preparation for the banquet. I had other plans and would miss the ceremony but I took a long look at this year's crop of books and marveled at how far the small press has come in the past ten years. Every book on the table could have come from a "New York" publisher... that's how good they looked. I found Mayapriya and wished her good luck as one of her books was up for the Best Redesign award. If anyone deserved a B.F. it was Mayapriya, but book design is a very subjective area so one can never predict who the winners will be. I packed up my computer and went off to my dinner appointment. Thursday, 6-2-2005 Walking into the PMA area of the hotel I saw Mayapriya with a big smile. "I won, I won, I won" she said. "And that means an extra good lunch because I WON." I was really happy for her. Sometimes there is justice in the world. In fact it must have been justice day in book-world as Peter Goodman ALSO won a Ben Franklin award. After all the years he has been in the biz he deserved one... if for no other reason than just staying in business! Thursday is always the "killer" day at PMA-U. All the folks that did not see the vendors on Tuesday and Wednesday, which was most of them, line up on Thursday. I spoke with a zillion people who came by the booth. Usually Mayapriya's covers are the big draw, but this year I think I equaled her as there was a lot of interest in Jaya. People like the idea of a web-based solution where they don't have to install any software and can use it anywhere in the world. Publishers understand that to be successful they have to have an office infrastructure that is easy to use and which 'works'. Jaya123 does both... and a lot of my customers came over to tell me so which made me feel good. While people were at the booth I asked about how they liked PMA. The answers I got were not what I expected. Most years people rave about the program, but this year I got a lot of "I wasn't too impressed" comments. PMA says they made some changes but since I had not been to any of the sessions (except Dan Poynter's wonderful parody on how The Bible was printed) I could only go by what I was told. And what I was told was not reassuring... at least not if I were on the PMA board. The one thing I heard over and over is that PMA jammed too many speakers on the panels and there was too much 'selling' by the panelists. Think that maybe PMA needs to establish some guidelines on this issue... or PAY the speakers so that they won't feel a need to 'sell' to "make the gate" so to speak. One of the most knowledgeable people in the biz was at PMA, Brian Judd came this year with yet a different 'wife.' It's an old inside joke, started by Dan Poynter. See last year's BEA Diary if you want to be 'in' on it. Brian with yet a 'new' wife. The keynote address was the worst that was ever given... even worse than last year. It was so bad I don't even remember who the speaker was. I walked out to make some calls as did a lot of others. You'd think that after last year's disaster speaker the PMA would come up with someone "better" but this year was another dud. And don't take my word for it. Ask anyone who was there. Big snoozer! As the day wore on and I met with lots of potential Jaya123 victims (opps, I mean customers) the talk started to gravitate away from PMA and on to the various parties being held tonight as well as to tomorrows BEA. A lot of the vendors grumbled that PMA did not hold an 'ending reception' as a last chance for people to see and speak to the vendors. In past years PMA would have an ice cream social or some kind of desert bar as the final gun sounded. Everyone used to look forward to this, but PMA decided not to do it this year. I suppose cost was a part of it. And talking about food, the fare at both the PMA lunches was the worst it has ever been. Jan Nathan said that the prices were outrageous because it was New York. I suggested that maybe she should have opted for a smaller and less expensive hotel, but you can imagine what kind of a reception I got... same one I always get when I recommend anything to anyone on PMA. On the whole, the PMA-U was a success for the vendors but a lot of the students were not as happy with the content of the courses and everyone bitched about the low quality of the food at the lunches. But PMA-U was over and now part of the past. It was time to PARTY! First up was the Writers Collective reception. A lot of folks don't like Lisa Grant... and for good reason. She is successful... and a lot of folks in this business (as in academia) resent anyone who 'breaks out' and gets to the next level. And to be successful you sometimes have to "kick butt," something Lisa does well. She thinks out of the box and has some major plans for her company... not the least of which is taking on Ingram! We talked about her plans and ideas and while I can't say much now, you really want to keep your eye on this woman. At the reception I saw Shel Horowitz and Mayapriya there. Maybe they were on a date or something! (Just kidding!) Anyway, Shel talked us into going uptown to Steve Carlson's reception for his Publisher's Assistant software. Shel is the subway maven so we took the train. I'm more of a cab person (Maya is more of a limo person!) so it was kind of fun. Steve and I are direct competitors but we get along quite well. I also knew his wife many years ago in COSMEP days. So we went up to his suite in the Edison hotel for some Vermont cheese and wine. The cheese was good, but the wine would gag a goat! (Why every state in the union feels they can produce a quality wine is beyond me!) The only sour note of the event was the 'tude' of the programmer that Steve hired to write Publisher's Assistant. When Ron Lawrence found out who I was, he was colder than Vermont in Feb. What did he think I was going to do? Steal his code or something? Very unprofessional. Had he come up to my booth at PMA I would have been happy to answer anything he asked. There is nothing worse than a prima donna programmer. As I understand it,the Steve SOLD Pub Assist to this guy and Steve does marketing and support. Because Lawrence was so rude, I'm not going to give him a link here. That'll show him :-) What a PITA! Anyway, it was nice to meet Steve and see Lisa again after so many years. After some bad wine and good cheese, we walked a few blocks to where the Pub-Forum list dinner was being held. For those who don't know what Pub-Forum is, it's the email-list with about 500 experienced publishers. While the Self-Pub and Pub-L lists are larger, they are mostly full of newbies. Pub-Forum is for those who have climbed (or slimed) to the next level in this industry. This dinner was put together by two of the most wonderful Book-Babes in the industry, Sharon Goldinger of PeopleSpeak and Fern Reiss of Publishing Game fame. Sharon and Fern looking good... as usual I always like to meet up with my old friend Peter Goodman of Stonebridge Press. This year Peter had some big news... he had recently sold his company to a Japanese firm, which made sense seeing as how he does books on Japan. Peter was retained to run the company, probably at a huge salary... meaning that he will finally have to WORK for a living now. Peter (at left) chatting up Erik's wife It was also good to see the evil list-mom, Marion Gropen. Marion and I agree on nothing except that we both are good at kicking butt. Marion is one of the system admins of both Pub-Forum and Self-Publishing... meaning she has no life! Marion, with Shel Horowitz and John Harnish After the dinner, we went around the room where we were told to introduce ourselves and say something "interesting and unknown". I introduced myself as Harry Pariser. It got more than a few laughs, but nothing compared to Claire. Claire Kirch brought down the house when she said "... and what is interesting about me is that I'm Al Canton's love child." Well that answers the question of "Who's your daddy!" :-) Claire is from Duluth and Dick is from North Carolina. We all agree that all the folks that left those areas to go to California raised the IQ all around. Dick and Claire... California Dreamin' Here is the entire group pix.... I'm in the white polo shirt on the left... just thought you'd want to know :-) The top publishers in the small press It was the night before BEA and all of us were curious as to what kind of show it would be and what buzz in the book biz would cut through the clutter. Many of us who have been around for the past several years know that the industry is in trouble. Young people are reaching for game consoles and not books. Trade publishers are caught in a cost/price squeeze... the retail and wholesale channel want lower prices or greater discounts while the cost of production continues to increase. There is only one thing that can save us. We all know what it is, but no one seems to talk about it anymore. E-books. Will this be the year that we see some new reading tablets? Will this be the year that content becomes 'value'? Will this be the year that heralds in a new order, where there is some kind of parity between the small press and the large publishers? These were all the issues discussed at the various tables at the Pub-Forum list party. We all had predictions and we all knew that in less than 24 hours we might have some answers. Friday, 6-3-2005 I say it every year... because every year it's true: The first day of BEA is like the first day of spring training in baseball... everyone's going to hit the ball out of the park, be an MVP, and win the World Series. And this is never more true then in the small press section, where mostly one-book publishers have plunked down a fair amount of cash in the hope that fortune will favor them.... that Katie Couric is just in the next aisle and headed their way... that the B&N buyer is going to place a huge order... that Terri Gross of Fresh Air is going to book them for an interview. So every year when I first arrive at BEA I head on over to the Small Press section and every year I'm greeted by bright-eyed and bushy-tailed publishers waiting for that something special to happen. Well, if it happens it won't happen to more than a few of them because this year's crop of small press books were about the worst I've seen in years... the typical assortment of diet books, dumb self-help titles, and of course novels so bad that they were a total waste of good trees. As I walked through the area and talked with some of the publishers I was amazed at how little most of these folks knew about publishing. They had not read any of the books, not subscribed to any of the list-serves and never heard of PMA or a local publishing association. Maybe it was fitting that the first booth in the small press section was SPAN (Small Publishers Association of North America ... why isn't it SPANA?) Scott Flora, the Executive Director of SPAN was very optimistic about the direction of the book industry and the small press in general. He is going to have his yearly seminar in Denver this October and I'm sure he will draw a good crowd of people. Scott is an optimist. You know the old joke. A pessimist says "Things can't get any worse." An optimist says "Sure they can!" Scott Flora of SPAN. Always the optimist. Each year I ask Scott to take a more active role in 'the politics' of the book biz, and each year I get a polite smile, his answer that this is just not his mission. I don't understand because its the ONE THING that could differentiate his organization from PMA... and he just does not get it. But that's his problem, not mine. We had a nice chat and I moved on. One of the very successful publishers who should NOT be in the small press section is McPherson & Company. They have been around forever and they have the best T-Shirt I've ever seen in the book biz. On the front it says "I think therefore I read" and on the back "I read, therefore I think." Mr. McPherson of McPherson & Company Another 'winner' in the small press was the Sex Doctor, Dr. Darcy Luadzers. She has an interesting book called Virgin Sex. She's a licensed therapist and her book has received good reviews. It could break out if she can get some marketing and media going. Dr. Darcy... can she sell sex or what? I was taken with a guy who collects jokes. He's a cop who writes comedy on the side and has put together a series of small joke books that I'm sure will be bought by tons of public speakers. His name is Harry O (at least that's the name on his books) and he has a shot. He's very funny and my bet is that he will get a shot at the big time on late-nite TV. Harry O has Jay Leno in his gunsights! It was slim pickings in the small press area but one thing that did catch my eye was not a book, but a board game. With all the hoo-ha about spirituality and the religious right and so on, maybe this game, Enlighten, will catch on. I can't figure out why she brought it to a book show, but it was interesting nonetheless. Only a blonde takes a board game to a book show? It was getting to be lunchtime and you know what that means. YES, another BEA lunch I get to take Mayapriya to. And she was waiting for me at the PMA booth where everyone hangs when they are too tired to walk anymore. The first impressions we all had of the show was that while it was very crowded, there was nothing we could find that was 'hot' or that had 'buzz'. It was just a random collection of books, with nothing all that exciting to be found. After having lunch with Maya (talk about overpriced pasta) I went back downstairs to spend more time in the small press section, along with the sidelines and kiddie book publishers. The one thing that really amazed me was how much activity there was in the African-American area. There were a ton of publishers with booths there and the aisles were jammed. I didn't see anything all that different from previous years but I guess there was SOMETHING because the place was jumpin'. The one title I did see that I liked was called Matrix about dealing with the legal system. The author, a lawyer, has a good idea and it's a book that I would buy.... assuming he ever puts a good cover on it. It was butt-ugly! Ugly cover (backdrop) for a good title that will sell. I walked through the sidelines section and saw the usual array of stuff you find in bookstores. One item I've always liked is Robin K. Blum's "In My Book" bookmarks. There was nothing new this year that I saw as a must-have item. Robin K. Blum, the queen of bookmarks I was tired and I wanted to rest up and change for the IPPY party that night so I got on the bus for the ride back to my hotel. Everyone looks forward to Jerry's IPPY shindig. Each year it gets bigger and better and this year was no exception. As soon as I got there I ran into Jerry who introduced me to my "date" for the evening. If you've ever wondered what a short, funny-looking Jewish guy looks like standing next to a tall blonde goddess, well here you are. (And I wish I was a foot shorter!) Wife? What wife? I have a wife? Of course, you can't have a party without genuine book-babes and I ran into Claire Kirch and a friend standing next to the bar. And when Claire has a few belts in her, she is funny as hell. I don't know who the guy is, nor who the other babe is, but we had a nice chat. I struck out with both Claire and the babe! Claire and her babe-friend. I hope the guy was not husband... or I'm dead! You can't have an IPPY party without a sex-kitten and this year was no exception. Before the party kicks off, they award the IPPY prizes and my guess is that this book won for author in best leather outfit. I don't remember the book but I remember the author! There was a lot of good book-talk at the party as well as a great band. What I never knew about Mayapriya is that she is a dancing fool! The woman can cut a rug! I danced with her but she wore me out. It was a good thing Erik and his wife were there so she could dance with them! The food was good, the talk was good, the atmosphere was good, and the babes were GREAT. Jerry made me take a picture of him with THREE babes so that maybe he could live down his reputation of growing up in a neighborhood where every kid on the street got a football for Christmas and Jerry got a briefcase! Whatever these babes were writing... Jerry was reading! It was a great party.... best one Jerry has ever thrown and I thank him for it, as I'm sure does the entire book industry. But all good things must end and I found myself walking back to my hotel in the rain. But I didn't care. Life was good... as it always is after my third martini! Tomorrow would be another day. Saturday, 6/4/2005 I met Mayapriya for a quick breakfast (on me, of course) and we caught the bus back to Javits for day two of BEA. I was done with the small press (downstairs) and started in what was called Premium Small Press in the 'main hall.' It was here that I saw one of the most beautiful books I'd see at the show. This was a coffee table tome called Into the Okavengo. The author/publisher (Burgoyne Publishing) took most of the pictures of the animals and wrote the poems. It was a stunning book.... and she had done everything wrong... she printed it in the USA spending a fortune, and did not understand that she had to sell this expensive tome to the gift trade and not the book trade. I sent her over the PMA and Jan Nathan told me later that the book should sell well to zoos and to the travel market. I loved this book. Please buy it as it deserves to be successful. A wonderful book, simply beautiful. A joy to see. Not far from the picture book was a booth for Legwork.com. This is yet another business targeting writers with the mission to help them get published. I don't know if they can survive the competition from iUniverse and AuthorHouse but you never know. They had the ONLY free T-shirt at the show so they get an honorable mention from me. Besides, they were cute. The girls of Legwork I found only ONE editor who took a booth at the show. She said business was really good and she was lining up all sorts of jobs, so maybe this might be a venue for others in the editing trade? There was also a book designer there but his pix didn't come out well. The editor-owner of Blue Falcon Later that morning I rounded a corner and saw the most amazing site... a huge white dog. Now you folks know that I'm a sucker for all dogs... but this dog was something else... probably the most beautiful dog I've ever seen. Amadeus, The Traveling Dog is the title of the book and these folks have a zillion dollar property on their hands if they do it right. I loved this dog and the book. The dog is only 2 years old and will make the town of Snellville, Georgia more famous than Duluth! I'm the one in the tan jacket! Before lunch I again went back to the PMA booth to get some opinions of the show. This time people were more convinced than ever that the book biz is in trouble because there is nothing really new, nothing that is going to get legions of young people to pick up books instead of cell-phone games. And we came to the conclusion that the show was crowded because the big publishers sent their secretaries, mail-room clerks, and janitors! When I came off of the lunch line I saw Gene Schwartz sitting alone so I joined him. We had a nice chat about the book biz, Foreword magazine, and old friends we had known... and who were no longer with us... like Gail Golumb. That afternoon I went by a booth that just confounded me. I've seen some ugly and dumb booths before, but this was the worst. I spoke with the two women and left there even more unsure of what they were trying to sell. If you know what Book-Byte does, let me know! It's a mystery to me! It seems that there are more and more writer-based organizations these days. I knew of the Sisters in Crime women's mystery writers group, but I didn't know there was one for romance writers. At the booth was a woman signing what looked to be the only romance novel in the entire show! Hope Tarr's Tempting Romance writer Hope Tarr... she won my heart :-) In the kiddie section there was the usual array of books all hoping for a branding deal with Disney or Time-Warner. Not going to happen. However I saw one property that had potential. It was Sandy Claws and Chris Mouse. I'm no expert on children's books but I liked what I saw here and the husband-wife team seem to know what they are doing. They have a shot. It could happen. You just never know in this genre Coming around a corner I hear a voice saying "Canton, I thought you were banned from the BEA." I turned around and there was one of my official Book Babes (now a book mom) Julie Hardison of Midpoint Trade. Julie really knows what will sell in the book biz, and is the go-to girl at Midpoint. She and Gail Kump run the show and Eric Kaampman will agree (and he said so to me at his booth!) Julie and I had a nice chat and she was also of the opinion that there wasn't a whole lot to be excited about at this show. She invited me to the annual Midpoint pizza party but I had other plans already. It is always good to see her. Is Julie a book-babe or what? That was about it for the afternoon. I told Mayapria that I'd be her date for the Small Press party and we could share a cab. So off we went to the Splashlight Gallery to join about two hundred other small press party-hounds. And who should we meet but the past-PMA president Nick Weir-Williams along with his lovely new wife. The happy couple had a new baby and this was about the first time they had been 'out' in a while. It was good to see Nick as he had not been at previous BEAs while employed at Reed. Now he's a packager and has to do the marketing game so he gets out a bit more. Good pix of Nick, lousy one of me! Not long after arriving we ran into Peter Goodman. He said that he wanted to celebrate the sale of his company and asked if Mayapriya and I would join him for dinner... his treat. Now dinner in New York can cost a few bucks so we were very honored by his invitation. He took us to a lovely little Italian restaurant near his hotel on the upper west side. He and Maya talked about book design while I looked at the Italian girls who came in. I thought Peter would "retire" and become a book designer as he enjoys that kind of work and is good at it, but it seems his new boss (the firm that bought the company) has other plans for him. Anyway, dinner with Peter was the highlight of the day for me. There is no nicer man in the publishing biz than Peter Goodman. It's true. Peter Goodman on right. Not sure who is at left. It had been a long day and a fun night. I thanked Peter for dinner and decided to walk the twenty blocks downtown. It was a cool, clear night, the city was alive with people going here and there and my energy level was renewed by the hike. However by the time my head hit the pillow, I was out. Sunday, 6/5/2005 Everyone likes Sunday at BEA because it is not crowded. Did I say "not crowded?" Wrong. Make that read EMPTY. I had never seen a BEA day with fewer people in the place. Places like the main entrance which are usually teaming with people, was like a desert. Where is everyone? In the past, Sunday afternoon brought out the "Chrismas shoppers", mostly librarians and other book-folk willing to scarf up any book that was free to be used as gifts. Every major publisher had tons of ARCs (advanced reading copy) stacked up. In the 'old days' these were often of poor quality and simple covers. Not anymore. Short-run digital printing can create books that look just as good as those from giant web presses. And you didn't have to step over hordes of freebie-grabbers to get to them either. You could open a bowling alley in the aisles Of course the one book that I really WANTED was not being given away. This was a series of guides on where to take your dog in different cities. While this was not new, the treatment was fresh and clean. I liked how these were done... and no matter how much I complimented the publisher, she still wouldn't give me a copy. She had a zillion of them there, it was Sunday, most were bent or 'hurt' so what did she think she would be able to do with them? Another case of a publisher not knowing that they are in the SALES business, not the DISPLAY business! She looks good, but not too smart, if you ask me! Unlike past years we did not see much of Hollywood at the BEA. My guess is that the added profits of doing a tie-in with a book are just so small by entertainment industry standards that they don't want to bother with them. However there was one familiar face at BEA this year. Hey, I like cats too! I started to walk down the long aisles rented by the major distributors. They re-sell this space to their publishers and I've always wondered if it was a good investment. I guess it is as I see the same publishers in the same distributors booths each year. And one of them is old friend Janet Hardy of Greenery Press. No, she does NOT publish books about trees, believe me she really doesn't. If you are into whips and chains she's your girl (or guy... take your pick). Janet is part of a whole 'nother world! It was almost closing time and I had still not found a good business book. I gave up looking for any computer books (all the rage a few short years ago) but I thought I'd find a few good biz tomes. And after a short while I found one that I really liked, Rhonda Abrams' Successful Business Plan guide. I KNOW good biz books and this is one of them! By three in the afternoon it was so empty that the vendors were all starting to strike their sets and boxing up their wares. You can tell its over when the screech of tape-guns fills the hall and the sales reps are begging anyone who walks by to take anything they want! I wandered back to the PMA booth for one last consultation with others as to their 'take' on this year's BEA. It ended as it started. Nothing from nothing. Had the show NOT been held, no one would have missed much. This year the book biz looks like it is suffering a creativity-gap. And the absence of most of the major media bore this out. I don't know why the big publishers who pay huge fees to Reed for booth space even bother. There are few if any bookstores who send reps, there was not much media coverage, and if there was a lot of rights buying, I didn't see or hear of it. It seems to me that the BEA is becoming something like that old game we played as kids "You show me yours and I'll show you mine." Larger shows than BEA have gone the way of the dodo-bird. COMDEX used to be largest computer and software expo on the planet. It's gone. And I would not be surprised if BEA heads down the same path. There is no doubt that BEA is fun and that it's interesting (to a point) but is it worth the cost? I don't know, but I don't think so. It was over. While walking out I was trying to come up with an overall impression of the show when it appeared right in front of me. If there is one way to describe this industry than I think the following picture tells the story. I've seen the future and it is us! I walked out of the hall and in to a beautiful New York Sunday afternoon. E-books are coming I kept saying to myself. E-books are coming. All will be good again. Alan N. Canton, President Adams-Blake Company, Inc Adams-Blake Company provides the JAYA123 service to small businesses of all types. JAYA is an order-entry, billing, invoicing, inventory,royalty, and financial system used on the web ....nothing to download or install... and it cost all of $14.95 a month. "It's cool as a moose." Try the free demo at at: http://www.jaya123.com

I don't publish my e-mail address for obvious reasons. However if you wish to contact me about this piece there is a contact form here. Be sure to fill in your e-mail address if you want me to reply.

MY SPEECH TO PMA... IF ONLY IN MY DREAMS

2005-05-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

Another major Book Expo is almost upon us. For those who have been here before, I'm sure you have came away with your own lessons for success. A funny thing happens when you attend an industry convention. You become part of the "we can do anything" mindset and all the excitement tends to insulate and isolate you from true reality. Keep this in mind as you read further.

I have written my diary of these shows, which were a rather visceral reaction to the events and goings-on about me. I'm sure all who have attended could relate. But when the cold light of dawn has arrives to strip away the drunken haze of giddy enthusiasm it is time that those of us in this industry take a good look around and realize that all is not well in Ingram-land; as you surely can't call it Book-land.

I call it "Ingram-land" because Ingram is all around us; the elephant in the room no one wants to talk about. Ingram is doing print-on-demand. Ingram wants to become the Microsoft of books. Ingram seeks a vertical monopoly. Ingram can do what it wants, when it wants, and the rest of us have to just accept the fact that this one company holds the keys to distribution, and soon production.

It only takes about ten minutes of walking through the exhibit hall or any large B&N/Borders to realize that the world is awash in books. I estimate that there will be some 50,000 different titles on display at the next BEA. Are there ample readers out there to absorb all ofthis product? I don't think so. Do you? Does Ingram?

Well, to you and me, it makes a difference. But to Ingram, it does not. They take little risk and in return they make a huge reward. If I were to give a "Bogus" Ben Franklin award to the one company that has been right far more often than it has been wrong, that award would go to the evil empire of La Vergne. Nothing happens nor will it happen without the direct input, acceptance, and perhaps permission of Ingram. If the Merck Manual can win the Ben Franklin Book Of The Year, than there is no doubt that Ingram would win had there been a category for Monopoly Of The Year. Bill Gates and Microsoft? I wish the Justice Department had looked at Ingram instead.

Is an Ingram monopoly a bad thing? I think it is. But some disagree. However, it is hard to find anyone in this industry with the courage to speak out against what is most assuredly a monopoly at best, or a major controlling interest at worst. We all just lay back and accept that Ingram will have its way with us. What can you do against the only entity that holds the keys to the conduit to billions of dollars of retail book sales?

Having talked with many hundreds of publishers over the past two years, I come to the simple conclusion that we publishers do not control the publishing industry, but that the distribution channel is our goddess. This sector sets the discounts, they determine our cash flow and they make the decisions on what will be available to the book buying public and what will not. And they are so good at it, that they even have us believing that it is we who are in control. But we publishers are not that stupid. We know who controls the trade sector of our industry. It is not B&N or Borders or Amazon. It is Ingram. There is not a part of this industry where they are not a controlling factor.

I will be accused of not citing specific examples and for making some kind of ad-homonym attack on the sainted wholesaling entity that purports to be our rock and our redeemer. And maybe I overstate my case. But in my heart of hearts, I firmly believe that nothing happens in the retail and distribution sectors without the express consent of John Ingram and his band of merry monopolists.

Who is strong enough to stand against the tyranny of Tennessee? Maybe it is PMA?

...SO I ISSUE A CLARION CALL TO PMA

In talking with publishers of all shapes and sizes over the past few years, I am more certain than ever that only we, the members of the small/mid-size press can make a difference. Most of the large houses are caught up in their own internal strife, consolidations, and general ignorance about this industry; being run by mostly bean-counters most of whom have never seen a book, much less read one. So who is listening? So who is there to speak out?

Is it Pat Schroeder at the AAP? No it is not. She and her band of corporate conglomerates are more interested in copyright issues than in seeing that our industry survives against the onslaught of electronic and digital media. I always hope for a merger between the small and large houses, but I don't see it in the cards. We have different agendas.

Is it the Book Industry Study Group? No. They are academics who are more interested in what has already happened then in what is destined to occur.

Is it us? Is it PMA?

Taken as a whole, the vast majority of this industry is made up of small 10-50 book-a-year publishers like you and me. We don't make a majority of the profits, but we do produce the majority of the product. And we are without a strong, firm voice in the industry. Indeed, we are the sleeping giant that, as one high level executive from John Wiley once told me, "we never want to awaken."

Even if you are a one book publisher you are part of a huge number of similar publishers. Even if you publish books that are so esoteric that they have created their own genre or category, you are part of a huge number of similar publishers. Even if you are a non-profit, or a university press, you are part of a huge number of similar publishers who share similar problems with distribution, slow payment, damaged returns, and low profitability.

Now what follows may make some of you uncomfortable. But it is the truth, like it or not. No matter what kind of publisher you are, how many titles you produce, or how much money you make or lose, there is only one organization that has the ability to speak for your interests. That organization is the Publishers Marketing Association.

It is Jan Nathan and PMA that is the entity that can and should speak for us. It is PMA that has the legitimacy to act on our behalf. It is PMA that has the power to change the returns structure, to help open the distribution channel, to spearhead the vision of electronic media, to insure that the one-book publishers of this business have an outlet to the retail channel, and to define what the future of book publishing will be.

I have tried my best the past ten years to open the ears of the PMA board and staff to the needs and callings of the membership. I have spoken out on behalf of all of us who are tired of the same old, same old. I have ranted, raved, cajoled, debated, and instigated in an effort to get small and mid-size publishers to realize the power that we have, and to energize our spirits with the confidence to fight against the tides that hold us back.

And I have failed miserably.

I wanted to say that "we" failed miserably. But in truth it is I who have failed. Not one of my proposals has been adopted nor even considered important enough to be brought to the PMA annual meeting. It is a humbling defeat which I bear, but not lightly.

Whenever PMA chooses a new board I am hopeful that it will see as its mission the need to enlarge the scope of PMA and to make it a strong and viable spokesperson for the needs, interests and desires of the small and mid-size publisher. As I said at the start of the previous paragraph, I feel that I have lost the battle. But I'm not sure that we have lost the war; for I will continue to see things not as they are, but to see them as they have never been. For in my heart of hearts, I deeply believe that we small publishers, can make a difference in our industry.

I call upon the new PMA board members to listen to the membership and to embark on a new term directed toward leadership within the industry, toward a mission of having the voice of the small and independent press heard throughout the industry, toward an administration with clear cut goals and achievements that will be for the benefit of the majority of the members, not the university presses, not the vendors, not the retailers, not the distributors, and not the large members who are a distinct minority.

I call upon our new board to open up OUR organization to direct participation of the members, via direct elections.

I call upon our new board to present to us a well reasoned charter with respect to returns and to let us vote on it.

I call upon our new board to begin the process of a full and complete outside audit of PMA programs.

I call upon our new board to publish the budget of PMA, to create formal procedures for communication with the membership, and to be frequent contributors to the pub-forum listserv.

I call upon our new board to establish the groundwork for our future in electronic commerce.

I call upon our new board to aggressively take our rightful place at the table with the other industry power brokers; to actively call upon B&N, Borders, Amazon, and Ingram and open a dialogue on issues that effect all ofus: returns, payment, slotting, copyright, etc.

I call upon our new board to consider the advice of the vendor members, but to never lose sight of the fact that PMA is an organization of publishers, not web-site providers, not printers, not distributors, and not retailers The PMA charter should be changed to prohibit vendors from having voting and veto power on our board.

I call upon our new board to dream, to think, to hypothesize, and to position our segment of the industry into a position of potential success in the new millennium. We must evolve from an organization dependent on trade shows and mailings into an entity on the forefront of electronic commerce.

With a new board, we have the ability to put aside old animosities, old petty differences, and to forge ahead with vigor and energy to make our organization, our industry sector, and perhaps our entire society better when we leave it, than as we found it.

This is my clarion call, this is my challenge, this if my trumpet to battle. I call upon all PMA members and all publishers to not only help make this board and administration the best that it can be, but to demand the same. It is our job to communicate our needs, wishes, desires, and problems to the board, and it is the job of the board to communicate back to us that they indeed have heard us. We have been ignored for too long. We should not be ignored any longer. And if I have anything to do with it, our voice shall be heard.

I do not call for miracles or for overnight successes. All I ask from the board is that we be heard, that we be listened to, that we be acknowledged, that we be taken into account and that the greatest good for the majority (as opposed to the vendors) be always enacted into what becomes PMA policy and programs.

This can be a new adventure for us. We can achieve greatness. We can overcome. This can be our time. We have the ability, we have the need, we have the power, and we have the will. I offer my best wishes to the new PMA borad members, and only ask that they remember that it is us, the "keepers of the culture" who are the heart and soul of PMA.

We are the publishers. We keep the culture. It is important that we survive.

Please help us, PMA.

I ask no more than that. And I demand no less.

Alan N. Canton, President Adams-Blake Company, Inc --- Adams-Blake Company provides the JAYA123 service to small businesses of all types. JAYA is an order-entry, billing, invoicing, inventory,royalty, and financial system used on the web ....nothing to download or install... and it cost all of $14.95 a month. "It's cool as a moose." Try the free demo at at: http://www.jaya123.com ---

HOW DO YOU LOOK IN A BURQA?

2005-05-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

(Note: A burqa is a garment worn by women which covers the entire body and face. The eyes are covered with a 'net curtain' allowing the woman to see but preventing other people from seeing her eyes.)

I received the following unsolicited e-mail. This is word-for-word, the entire communication, with only the email address taken out:

---- sir, we have a prepress unit in Bangalore, India. We are equipped with all the necessary Prepress equipments for a better and fast service.

We are well experienced in the field and we exclusively do the Book works.

So, If you are interested in the Deal please contact on the email id - xxxx@xxx.com expecting a mail from you at the earliest.

thanking you ---

OK, this is a pretty crude sales pitch by someone who does not know what they are doing.... but the handwriting is on the wall. If you are a book printer or you are a book designer, you have to start thinking about making some changes to your business.

Outsourcing (or offshoring) is going to happen, like it or not.

No, I'm not going to go into a long diatribe about whether it's good or not good. You know, I know, and everyone's dog knows that the "global economy" is going to have an impact on the publishing industry.... and any industry where services can be comomiditized.

While I'll be the first to say that some of the printer reps and book designers that I've met would look BETTER in a burqa, the issue is that "wearing one" won't solve the problem There is no way anyone in the USA (or Canada) can compete on price with anyone from Berkabod or Turbistan.

And the bottom line is the bottom line. If the work is good and the quality is comparable, you, and I, and every other publisher on a budget is going to start using off-shore printing and design services.

It is far better for the vendors in our industry to wake up now and start working to adapt than to find themselves in the position like thousands and thousands of high-tech engineers who didn't see this coming.

When I did JAYA123 I considered using some programmers from Turbistan for $7.00 an hour rather than some from the USA for $70. I didn't do it, but only because I didn't have to. Other tech firms do... in order to create a product that will compete on the world market.

Do I think that book designers and programmers and medical x-ray readers in the USA will be able to "finish" their careers doing what they like? No. Anything that can be done in cheaper labor markets WILL BE. Accept it and get over it. (No, I don't like it anymore than you do... and I feel some anger.... but I've read history and the entire history of the world can be interpreted as a search for cheaper raw materials, cheaper energy, and cheaper labor.... and all your ranting and raving won't change that.)

The answer is to adapt. If I were a book designer I'd start making some "deals" with designers in Burqabod to outsouce work to. No publisher wants to work directly with a anyone from Turbistan.... but they would be happy to work with an American or Canadian designer who can get the job done for a good price... at least competitive with those coming from the the third-world.

I don't have all the answers, but I can see the storm on the horizon. The very cream of the crop of any profession will still do OK, but anyone in the "second tier" will not.... as long as a burqa-clad designer can do for $5 what a DKNY-clad designer does for $50.

If I were a book printer I'd see about moving a plant off-shore to Turbistan and making some arrangements with shipping brokers for transportation.

Short of a world-war, there is no way to stop "globalization" from happening. Be angry if you want, but also be realistic and study your history.

What it comes down to is that craftsmanship and skill-sets have been learned by people willing to do them cheaper than we will or can. So "we" have to find something else that gives value to the economy and which will put bread on our table. Learn the meaning of the words "invention" and "creativity."

I don't know what the answers are. Time will tell and there is going to be some difficult dislocations for a lot of people. If you think you are going to be one of them, I'd go out Berka-shopping now and avoid the rush later on. Better yet, maybe you can invent a better burqa... maybe one of Gore-tex, or one with built-in sun-shade?

TIME TO BOYCOTT APPLE?

2005-04-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

I read in the biz section of todays (Sat., 4/30/05) New York Times that Apple Computer is banning ALL books by publisher John Wiley because of an unauthorized bio of Steve Jobs that Wiley is bringing out.

Are we publishers going to let them do this? Is this the kind of action we want everyone to take when we publish something that some powerful organization might disagree with?

Does Apple have the right to decide what books go in their stores? Of course they do. But do we publishers have a right to dump our Apple Computers in Boston harbor? Yes we do!

Apple is suing a Harvard student who operates a web site for Apple users., accusing him of asking Apple employees to send him inside "secret" info. The company has also filed suits to stop leaks on other sites that report on news about the company?

Tell me something. What is the ONE INDUSTRY that Apple computers dominate? Yes, it's publishing... it's us.

What if every publisher decided that they would junk their Apple machines in favor of Windows or Linux-based machines? Would that be the proper thing to do? I think so.

What if every publisher refused to hire graphic designers, or publicists, or printers who used Apple computers to create their work? Would that be the right thing to do? I think so.

Would it be a hardship? Would it cost us some money? It sure would.

General Motors recently pulled its advertising from the LA Times. Has corporate America declared war on publishers?

We publishers are "big" on asking others to take action and protest or boycott. We're tough when someone else's oxen is gored. But how tough are we when it's our own pocketbook?

We know what's right. But do we have the fortitude to DO what is right?

Who is going to be the first publisher to stand up, write Steve Jobs a letter, make it public, and say to Apple Computer, "If you do this, you lose me as a customer!"

There must be some publisher out there using Apple machines who has some guts. There must be some publisher out there who knows right from wrong. There must be some publisher out there who will do the right thing.

DON'T PUBLISH CRAP, DON'T BUY CRAP

2005-04-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

Why do you think there are so many people wanting to write... or "trying" to write? My take is because they see an opportunity to "make it."

How else does an unknown woman writer, on welfare (the dole) in the UK end up with more money than the royal family?

Where do four guys from Liverpool end up changing an entire culture?

Where does the 'good stuff' that we have come from? More importantly, why is there so little 'good stuff."

What I have said for years and years and years is that a major problem we have in our society is that we don't have many GOOD writers or GOOD artists. You can debate the hell out of this, but bottom line so much of the stuff that we are presented with is plain old unadulterated crap.

Write something really good. I mean really, really, really good (a Death of A Salesman, a Caine Mutiny, a Lord of the Rings, a Kill a Mockingbird, a What Color is your Parachute, a Grapes of Wrath, a Zen and Motorcycle Maint., or any of your favorite books) and if you work hard at it and do all you can to get it noticed, you will have A GOOD CHANCE for a huge success. I truly believe that. Hey. It works for 'pulp.' So why won't it work for 'quality.' John Grishem sold books out of the trunk of his car. He WORKED FOR IT. Most of his stuff is 'pulp.' How many writers are willing to really WORK for it like John did?

I don't believe that our society does NOT recognize quality. It's that we see so little of it from our "creative" intellectuals. It's a hell of a lot easier to write "another" murder mystery than something that takes some real "creativity".... like what a Hemingway or a Wouk might produce.

I've heard it time and time again that there are no 'quality" creative people in this "era". I don't know. But I don't for a minute buy the argument that it is TOTALLY our 'society to blame.' We're all here and when quality is presented to us (The Beatles, Rowling, Woodward, Miller, Williams, Vorst, etc.) we buy it.

It has been said that to have great writers we need to have great readers. Who reads today? When? I know the answer. It's people over 40 when they are on a plane. And that's about it in any numbers.

So we have few readers who are reading crap produced by the major "New York" publishers. The whole system is broken. Why? Because so few people see reading as an enjoyable pastime... and those who DO read are urged to read crap. It's that mass media at work. The lowest common denominator.

The solution is easy. We not only have to "sell" people on reading (as opposed to TV, GameBoy, etc.) but we also NEED quality content... and if the content is out there, I sure as hell don't know where it is coming from. All I see is crap.

It's true. The bestseller lists are for the most part crap. The hype is crap. Most of the 'airplane' books are crap. What is promoted by the mass media is crap.

Why is this true? Simple. It's because those who publish quality works, don't work hard enough to get it into the mainstream. They just don't. The publishers who have good 'stuff' either don't know or don't care enough to build a readership.

Why are the 'evil' big publishers able to sell so much crap to those left who still read? Because the small press... the purveyors of so many very good books, either don't know how to market them, or they don't want to work that hard. I don't know the answer but I do know that as an industry where small publishers make up at least 60% of the available content, that they can all do a better job in publishing better works and working harder to get them sold.

And the first thing they can do is to stop publishing crap. And the second thing they can do is to work like hell to get the mega-corp-owned media to take some notice. This is NOT easy. The communication conglomerates want to push their own crap. But they also need listeners and eyeballs. Your job is to get these guys to realize that your books and the publicity around those books can CREATE a BUZZ and bring the media what they want... ears and eyeballs.

This is not rocket science... but it takes a fair amount of awareness on the part of publishers that seems to be lost on most of them.

It all comes down to two simple principles. Don't buy crap. Don't publish crap.

ZEN AND THE PROCTOLOGY OF PUBLISHING

2005-04-02T22:05:00.000-08:00

By and large, men and women are pretty evenly split when it comes to the severity of their particular gender's specific health maintenance routines.

However, there is one particular procedure that women can only guess about. It starts when the doctor tells a man to "assume the position." There is nothing like a prostate examination to give one a certain Zen-like perspective on the world.

The way that Ingram accumulates all returns and passes them back to us for credit, is another example of how all of us, large and small, in this industry continually "take it in the shorts."

Long known as the "cesspool" of returns, when a distributor or chain goes under, Ingram always finds a way to make a nice profit from the adversity of their ex-customer. And who is going to get the shaft in the ass? You, me, and every other publisher. And I have it on good authority that there is another good sized distributor that could (not will) go paws-up. So stock up on the KY-Jelly because you are going to need it.

Is the Tennessee Mafia ever going to collect returned inventory and store it for later sale? Not on your life. They are going to ship it back to you as fast as they can.

What a deal. Say they sold and owe you for 50 copies of one of your books, to the amount of $500. And lets assume that you have other distributors or wholesalers who might have supplied some chain with, say 100 copies of your book. These 100 copies come back to Ingram. It will wipe out what they owe you and they may even decide to assess you a debit for the other 50 books. So instead of them owing you $500, you now owe them $500, plus they kept the $500 they were due to pay you. If you do business with Ingram, my best advice to you is that you better get ready for that rubber glove.

It is the way of the world for publishers to be reamed. It is one of the laws of nature. Why is this? Because we have no countervailing force or power to be used against the overwhelming leverage that Ingram has over us. In a Zen interpretation of the world, each force always has an opposite force to keep it in balance. Unions vs. management. Congress vs. President. Insurance companies and regulators. Auto companies vs. environmentalists.

What is the Zen body of force that surrounds us small publishers and which we hope will exert equal and opposite pressure on Ingram? Unfortunately for us, there is none. In the same manner that you know when you are at the doctor's office that there is no way you are going to get out of "assuming the position," our karma precludes that we will be hosed by Ingram; and there is no force great enough to prevail against them.

The purports of Zen, as well as the ancient Vedic literature, is an attempt to explain and justify to us what seems to be an imperfect world. And yet in all my readings of the old texts, I have yet to understand why the PMA refuses to stand up and exert the power that it surely has. Where are the protestations of the Executive Director? Where are the howls of protest from the president and the PMA board? Zen fails me here. The power is there, but is goes unused, even unnoticed.

Dare we look to Brian Judd for help? What about Jerry Jenkins and his empire? Maybe Dan Poynter or John Kremer might speak in our behalf? Fern Reiss? No, that is not to be. These are all private citizens or profit seeking organizations who don't see OUR troubles as being THEIR problems.

As for the PMA, indeed, it does not take a Zen master to realize that the more problems we publishers have, the more it would seem that we need the advice and assistance of Jan Nathan and Associates.

So my children, do not look to others to do what you need to do yourself. There is no one out there to help you. Indeed, as my old friend Don would say, " The father, son, and holy ghost have caught the last train to the coast."

So as we publishers are still being forced to "assume the position," I ask myself the eternal question. What is the real meaning of life in this industry? What is our real position in the publishing cosmos? Who will speak for us? Will you? If not you, than who?

Do you have the courage to write to Ingram to complain? Do you have the courage to write to PMA and complain? Do you have the courage to write to the AAP and complain? Do you have the courage to stop doing business with Ingram and anyone else who insists on returning inventory? If you don't, than stop complaining.

Maybe you need to ask yourself if you are part of the problem... or part of the solution?

What is YOUR response when Ingram tells you to "assume the position?"

"Ah, grasshopper, you ask so many questions."

Alan Canton, President Adams-Blake Company --- Adams-Blake Company provides the JAYA123 service to small businesses of all types. JAYA is an order-entry, billing, invoicing, inventory, royalty, and financial system used on the web ....nothing to download or install... and it cost all of $14.95 a month. "It's cool as a moose." Try the free demo at at: www.jaya123.com ---

ADDENDUM

Since today's Rant hit the wires I've been inundated with questions about which distributor (IMO) could be in trouble and maybe on the road to going 'paws up.'

I won't tell ('cause I don't want to end up in court), but find out who these people own.... and put 2 plus 2 together. (Oh, and DO notice the date! Am I on top of this stuff or what?)

While I'm never in doubt, I could be wrong (indeed, I hope I am) but those of you who have been around these parts and who have read A Saturday Rant for the past ten years know how it all starts.

Also, remember that over the years I have a pretty good track record in calling these plays. Forewarned is forearmed (not to be confused with fore-play!. You heard it from A Saturday Rant first! Snooze and you lose.

ANC

THE PMA DUES BLUES

2005-03-26T12:30:00.000-08:00

It is time for me to renew our company's membership in the Publishers Marketing Association. Each year on the renewal date I assess exactly what I get from PMA and what the organization does for the industry.

Not too long ago I read a post by Andrew Martonyi on the Pub-Forum listserv about the PMA and its total lack of commitment to changing things on an industry-wide scale:

################ Don't we pay dues and doesn't that give us a voice in an organization that we join to help us in our publishing endeavors?

I have yet to understand why the PMA refuses to stand up and exert the power that it surely has. Where are the protestations [about returns, etc.] of the Executive Director? Where are the howls of protest from the president and the PMA board? ################

This is what bothers me abut the PMA.

Yes you pay the dues. But PMA (along with the support of many ex-board members) has never allowed direct nomination nor direct election of any official postion in the organization.

If you wish to be nominated you can't. If you wish to run you can't. All positions are selected in a closed door session by those who were selected previously.

At the "annual meeting" there is no new business allowed, there is no financial report, there is ONLY a voice vote of yea or nay for/against the selected slate of directors.

The directors choose the officers in a closed door meeting. Nothing happens at all without Jan Nathan's direct consent.

I fought for years to "open up" PMA but old-guard board members and officers like past-president Nick Weir-Williams, as well as others always say that "So what if we DID have elections? How would that change anything?"

My answer is that if someone like myself was president of the organization a hell of a lot would change... and that has to be PMA's biggest fear... that someone like "me" would have an official platform from which to speak. However, I've never been able to convince enough publishers to help stage a "take-over" of the PMA.

The PMA is a "get along/go along" group. And since I'm not one known for "going along" it's understandable that not ONCE in all the years that I've been a member have I ever been asked to present anything, be on a panel, or even be asked for my input for anything about PMA University (or the PMA for that matter.) (In fairness, they have published two or three of my articles.... mainly because they were really GOOD articles... which is the right thing to do.) Take a look at the program for this year's PMA-U. You won't find anyone like "me" on the roster!!

PMA is not evil. It's fine for what it is. Don't read this as a Dean-scream rant. It's not. It's just the facts.

Look at the PMA for what it really is: An organization run by one well-meaning family with a "hand-picked" board of a well-meaning group of successful publishers who really don't want the system to change. Yes I'm a member, but ONLY so I can exhibit at the PMA-U ... which is ONE of two good things that PMA really does.

The other thing PMA is great at is "delivering" member-dollars (your dollars!) to vendors (like me).

This is not a secret. Every vendor knows it. The PMA "sells" itself that way to the vendor community. And they don't lie. PMA is that easiest/best/cheapest way to market to small publishers. It's a win-win for everyone.

If I didn't have to be a member to exhibit or advertise, I don't think I would join because I just don't see the PMA standing up for publisher's interests... as opposed to those of the vendors like myself, the distributors, the designers, and, of course, Ingram (whom PMA used to subsidize with membership dues.... ask Jan Nathan (Executive Director) to explain it.. it's all old news.)

If Jan Nathan wanted to, she could lead the fight to change the "return system." Pat Schoroder, head of AAP and her two hundred members would listen to Jan and her 4,000. A dialogue could be started... change could happen. Maybe not overnight, but at least over a period of time. I wonder how things would be now if the PMA became 'active' when I said all of this the first time... five years ago.

Think about this for a minute.

The by-laws of the PMA stipulate that a special meeting can be held if enough members get together and call it. TTBOMK it has never happened. But I often have sweet dreams about what might be possible if it did. Can you imagine what we could do?

Ask yourself is THIS is the reason the PMA keeps their by-laws under lock-and-key on their site such that a special password is necessary to view them?

Twice each month someone writes to me and asks that I start a new organization dedicated to helping change the publishing industry (hopefully for the better!) I've thought and thought and thought about it and I'm as convinced today as I was five years ago that taking over the PMA is the best way to do this. And I'll bet that a committee (some would call it a cadre!) of twenty hearty souls willing to organize the effort could make it happen. It's all in the by-laws.

PMA, its infrastructure, and all the legitimacy and power that it has, is there for the taking. It's just a matter of will.