What does it mean that Kensington Press has opted to sit out BEA this year in New York?
Kensington Press President, Steve Zacharius, was clear to in saying,”… that given the state of the economy…we decided it makes more sense to spend our marketing dollars where it will have more of an impact on sales.” He adds that, “…Kensington will have space in the BEA Rights Center and… staff [will be] walking the exhibit floor.” [They] “… will also host some cocktail parties.”
But what does all this mean for the state of publishing–and more importantly, what can writers, those published and those who would –like to–be traditionally published glean from this move. On a more interesting note, Zacharius goes onto add that, “...Kensington will decide about attending BEA in 2010 later this year.”
I couldn’t help notice that in line with this news I also read an article that stated “…Barnes & Noble said it plans to use Fictionwise as part of its overall digital strategy, which includes the launch of an e-Bookstore later this year.”
What is Zacharius getting at when he says that Kensington has decided to spend their marketing dollars where it will have more impact on sales. BEA is where publishers and booksellers meet. Are booksellers not an appropriate place on which for publishers to spend marketing dollars?
Are booksellers no longer the major purveyors of books to readers? Are bookstores no longer the major promulgators of books to readers?
Have publishers decided that marketing dollars are best spent on getting the word out about books over the internet?
And that reading is going digital?
I invite your comments.
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2009/03/barnes-noble-gets-deeper-into-ebooks-.html
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6647789.htm
Great post Anjuelle !
While I believe that Kensington made a wise move to shift their focus on how to spend their money, it does send a red flag that as the economy gets weaker, it’ll be a lot harder to convince the bigger publishing houses to come out to these type of book events. When you factor in the digital devices such as the Kindle, it may not signal the end of print books, but a huge change in the way publishers market their work – and perhaps authors such as us as well.
Just my two cents.
I think you are correct. This sends a message to all writers who are published either traditionally or self. We must establish a presence on the internet to connect with readers directly as a way to sell our books.
Insightful post, Anjuelle!!
In your last question: have publishers decided to invest their marketing $$$ via the Internet, the answer is yes…yes..yes!!!
Not only do authors and publishers, but everyone else associated with the literary industry will have to recognized the importance as well as the trend towards on-line marketing.
Thanks so much LaConnie. And thanks to Marlive for pointing me to your blog. She knew this topic was at the forefront of my thoughts as I have plunged into the world of blogging as an author. I’m slowly becoming dependent on this task–that is more and more feeling less like a job and an experience or liturgy that I look forward to doing each day. In a way blogging to me is like a daily meditation wherein I connect with myself. In some ways it’s like a live journal I’m keeping online for all to see. Whoa—I feel exposed.
But maybe that’s what savvy 21st century readers and potential readers want and require to purchase my books and those of any author.
What I’m getting at is that perhaps–just maybe–the days of the author pining away at her/his typewriter/computer ordering her/his words just so–are over–at best drawing to a slow close. Readers need to see more of who we are, I think. Then when they read our work it is not so new, rather they are prepared for the additional aspect our personality and are eager to see and hear what we have to say.
Investing in marketing on the internet requires not so much money, but time and honesty–something that I think levels the playing field between publishers and authors and would-be authors. The Internet is free and open to anyone willing to spend the time and energy writing a blog and offering what they have to say to those out there in cyberspace. And there are many out here listening.
No longer can the publishing industry simply say that a writer is a great author that everyone should read. Rather, that author must show readers why the publishing industry says she/he is great by establishing a connection with readers looking for more than a book ever 18-24 mos. from this write and delivering on the connection in a consistent fashion in between her/his publications.
As it was, Kensington has always been a tough house to squeeze a marketing buck out of if you’re a mid-list or new author.
While it’s encouraging to hear that they plan to redirect the marketing funds they do have to more productive activities, maybe, as you point out, this says something more about the state of the business in general, and more specifically, the value of massive, overwhelming venues like BEA, than it does about Kensington’s marketing strategy.
Thanks so much for your comments–and the pertinent info about Kensington Press. The economic market has exacted a emphatic toll on all areas of the business sector. Those like publishing where participants and investors have been incredibly slow to change and adapt to consumer demands–in order to maintain consumers in making a high level of purchases–are feeling a bitter pinch. While Kensington it seems is presently the only large American publisher to announce it will attend BEA but not fully participate as with exhibits, I wonder whether other publishers will follow suit. Also I cannot ignore the cost entailed in not only traveling and flying one’s authors to the convention city and hosting them in hotels, but getting books there and then sending back the ones that were not taken or purchased by book stores. With the decrease in independent book stores I ponder the importance of BEA.
Berkeley, California near where I live saw this past year–2008–the demise of the ailing Cody’s Books. It was a long slow death, that many of us thought would be foregone or avoided. Alas it was not.
With more books being sold via the internet than ever during a time when consumers are eager to make what few purchases they do from the comfort of their home, BEA may not necessarily be the best place for a publisher or an author to seek out consumers or venues through which to reach consumers.
Again I appreciate your comments. Please return again.
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I’m glad you find the site engaging and entertaining. Thanks for coming and please do come back.