New Edition. Contemporary Publishing Magazine. May 2013

NEW EDITION CONTEMPORARY

PUBLISHING

MAGAZINE

ISSUE

3,

BEA

BOOKEXPO AMERICA

MAY

2013

NEW EDITION, MAY 2013

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Text & 12 the city

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clinking their rs o th au y p ap r ears, nd of h With the sou l ringing in ou why il st n o ti ra b le ce s wine glasses in O, Gareth Howard, explain right E C rated by Autho ry, Authoright’s cu e g n u o rL o th Au indust this year’s LBF the publishing endent, in e g an ch ae indep signified a se e arrival of th e book trade th g in k ar m of th proudly thor. The rest thors au al ri eu n re tice and, as au the entrep o n e k ta to t bu ol, has no choice w in confidence and contr new ro to g continue to must commit d rl o w g in sh e next bli rest of the pu getting left behind. With th ard rw sk strategies or ri ady on the horizon, we look fo rary re lite big book fair al ookExpo America and the anska B m ’s store. Aga Szy to New York in as h le p p A ig design. treats that the B chology of book cover psy t garde. explores the the eBook avan f o t es b e th And we browse

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NEW EDITION, MAY 2013

The e to Z If eBooks are the future what can we expect them to look like? These exciting new eBook technologies suggest that the future will be colourful, interactive and, above all, enormous fun.

Me Books Launched at the end of last year, Me Books is an app for your iPad bringing beautiful children’s eBooks to life with interactive readings from household favourites like David Jason, Richard E Grant and, if you want to essentially terrify your kids into submission for a while, Brian Blessed! The celeb narratives are a treat but what’s really revolutionary is the fact that you can create interactive ‘hotspots’, enabling you to record your own readings of various stories for your own children and even bring pictures to life by tapping them to play your own pre-recorded noises and phrases. Publishers including Puffin and Ladybird are on board and Me Books Ltd are actively inviting ‘oneman-band publishers’ to add their titles to the app.

Inkvite An app for collaborating on short stories, Inkvite is free to use and bordering on addictive. After logging in with Facebook or Twitter you have 280 character ‘exchanges’ back and forth with friends, each of you writing a section of your shared story that can be no longer than 12 exchanges in total; you can then make it available to others online. Short-form, yes, but it’s a really good way to get the creativity flowing for your bigger writing projects. And a brilliant way in which to get younger writers experimenting with words.

Vook New York-based Vook are one of the industry leaders in interactive eBooks. Send your book over to them and they will bring it to life with embedded video, photographs and audio content. They’ll also take care of distribution, optimise the eBook for all devices and allow you to track sales through their website. This kind of interactivity has already become mainstream and can be particularly invigorating for non-fiction, biographies and instructional books.

Vook’s eBooks are a cut above the rest and leave you wishing that their level of creative perfectionism was the new norm.

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Flickr: ohhhbetty

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Shelf and Others Few readers can resist judging a book by its cover.

So why do we find some jackets more compelling than others?

Authoright’s Aga Szymanska looks at the intricate neuromarketing that lies at the heart of great design.

It’s the idiom we just can’t abide by.

Try as we might, most of us make our assessments based on sudden, innate, almost inexplicable feelings; we all judge a book by its cover.

With the art of actual book cover design there is, of course, so much at stake. The cover is the first thing a potential buyer sees; it’s the crucial first impression of the author’s work, even though most authors won’t have designed their covers themselves.

The goal of a great book cover is to generate a decision to purchase over and above the competition. Whether the book is displayed on the shelves in a brick-and-mortar retailer like Barnes & Noble or online at Amazon, it is

competing with thousands of other titles. It is important to think of a book cover as the packaging of a book, the branding of it, much in the same way as any other consumer product.

As such, the same rules that apply to product packaging also pertain to book cover design. Hundreds of studies have been conducted in the hope of determining exactly how people choose the things they consume and what motivates them to select one product over another. Much of this research suggests that colours, smells and even sounds conspire to impact consumer behaviour. In terms of the way in which we view book covers, another interesting study determined that when looking at book covers, most readers will automatically hone in on the upper left corner and then spiral clockwise into the centre.

What seems like an instantaneous viewing is actually much more clinical. Understanding our cognitive and affective responses to marketing stimuli is key to neuromarketing.

The key to any successful sale is to create a positive experience for the consumer. Visibility through the book cover plays a key role in this. There are five key features that can help a book stand out from the competition: creativity and uniqueness , simplicity of design, font and colour, strong imagery and emotional engagement.

1 Emotional Engagement If you talk to any marketing expert they’ll tell you to make your product stand out. But how do you do that? Seth Godin, the best selling author, public speaker and marketing guru, has touched upon this in his book, Purple Cow. If you drive down the road and you see a brown cow and then another brown cow and then yet more brown cows, you zone out and stop paying attention to brown cows. But when you suddenly see a purple cow it completely grabs your attention. The marketing moral? If you’re just like everyone else, you may go unnoticed. Be Creative! Be Unique!

Here is an example of an eye-catching book cover designed

by Helen Yentus. It is simple, yet engaging; it makes the book stand out from the rest of the books on the shelf.

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NEW EDITION, MAY 2013

2 Simplicity of Design It has been found that, typically, a person has three to five seconds to look at a book, in which time their reaction to it will be determined comprehensively. During those few seconds a person must quickly understand the message that the cover conveys and, based on that, decide whether to buy the book or not. If the image and the title don’t match, the reader will become confused and will likely turn their attention to another book on the shelf. Here is an example of a book cover that is simple, yet immediately easy to understand, as it so successfully conveys the message of the book. will make it appear more authentic.

The font used in this cover of Pride and Prejudice (left) links to the historical setting of the book, a blend of femininity and enchantment.

Colour is one of the most powerful forms of nonverbal communication book cover designers can use. Colours speak to our subconscious and communicate mood and emotions. Additionally, a colour selection for a book cover may help to navigate it towards its target audience. For instance, romance novels that are geared toward women will use light pastel colouring that evokes and relates to femininity and love. Bright primary colours attract children. These colour elements may seem rudimentary but they have a profound impact upon us and elicit Font and Colour the same responses in consumers time and time again; it’s important to It is critical to consider font and understand that breaking with these colour when thinking about the neural traditions often completely features that drive a book’s visibility. throws the consumer.

Given that a book cover usually has It is also important to very few words on it, those words understand that certain colours may (title, subtitle, author’s name) and evoke a psychological or sometimes their style of typography, whether even physiological response. appropriate or inappropriate, have a Reds and yellows are both very huge influence on buying decisions. stimulating colours, whereas greens For instance, if the topic of a book is may promote states of relaxation. considered masculine and aimed at a Red enhances appetite; hence it male audience, then the font should would be a great colour choice for a be bold and perhaps minimalist. If culinary book. Green fits ecological the book is a historical romance, topics, as well as money management using a font that agrees with that era and investment. Darker blue is for

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business, whereas lighter blue will be great for self-help and personalgrowth books.

The cover below uses colour to support the title and the message conveyed by the text.

Against Happiness by Eric G Wilson explores the benefits of being sad.

The author believes melancholy can be a powerful creative force that has motivated some of the greatest musical talents to produce some of the most respected artistic masterpieces of all time. The colour used in this cover communicates the emotion, as yellow is often associated with happiness. Then the title shaped in a form that resembles a frown suggests that the book is actually about sadness.

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4 Strong Imagery

Good imagery is, as they say in the MasterCard advert, priceless. People relate to pictures and love to see themselves in them. When you think of a romance novel, think of showing a couple holding hands, kissing or embracing each other; for a historical book, you could portray an image from that period to aid its authenticity.

In other words, the imagery used for the cover should express the mood, historical period, or overall tone of the book so that the viewer can envisage themselves as part of that potent story. The book cover to the right presents an example of a well-executed use of imagery.

The illustration corresponds with the title of the book.

The design is neat, yet memorable.

5 Emotional engagement The book must connect immediately with the reader’s emotions. Emotional engagement is achieved by taking care in selecting the elements of a book cover – as detailed earlier, such as imagery, font and colour.

The cover of Loneliness by John T Cacioppo & William Patrick is an example of a book cover that has it all; it is simple, yet powerful. The ‘lonely’ dot on a solid light background effectively communicates the premise of the book. The red horizontal stripe catches the reader’s attention and makes the book stand out, leaving us with a gnawing hunger to discover more.

A great book cover is the perfect balance between beautiful design, a distillation of the essence of the book, and a shrewdly tailored marketing device. Getting it wrong, by missing your market and failing to pay at least a little lip service to neuromarketing, can result in your book being left firmly on the shelf.

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star spangled NEW EDITION, MAY 2013

Barely recovered from The London Book Fair, Authoright’s Director of Marketing, Hayley Radford, looks forward to that great big publishing party on the other side of the pond: BookExpo America 2013.

Swiftly after the last of the free champagne has been duly quaffed at Earl’s Court, the publishing industry is forced to pack its bags – and its books, move on and re-group at quite a pace in time for the Stateside equivalent. BookExpo America is the unruly and voluminous counterpart to The London Book Fair and, along with Frankfurt each October, it ranks as one of the most important events in the publishing calendar.

While the set-up is essentially the same, with the great and the good of the book trade meeting to sell rights, do deals and, of course, to socialise, BEA has a pretty distinct flavour that distinguishes it from its international book fair cousins.

BookExpo America is a frenetic, loud and rather famefocused affair. In addition to the usual trade negotiations, the elaborate publisher stands and the industry launches, this year there will be a special focus on the Mexican publishing and consumer market, as well as a digital book conference, education and insight seminars, special readings and events for children, conferences involving retailers and librarians

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that are designed to keep all aspects of the book trade focused on the future, a bloggers’ conference day and a coterie of celebrity-led author breakfasts and afternoon teas. Yes, that’s right, I did say teas.

One of the greatest curiosities for a European at BookExpo America is the vast autographing programme. If, as I did, you find yourself bumping into, say, Will Self or Kate Mosse at The London Book Fair, the correct etiquette is to smile politely with that knowing quality that says, “Yes, I know you know that I know who you are. But let’s not make a thing out of it.” We bask quietly in the warm, literary light of the writers we meet and admire. At the BookExpo

Guy Kawasaki

America? Well, star-spotting – and pressing the flesh – are par for the course. Set along an entire wall at the Javits Centre is what feels like the world’s largest trestle table, with dozens of high-profile authors frantically signing copies of their newest books for a massive audience of visiting fans. These eager book tourists seem to travel to New York from all over the US, armed to the teeth with those old-lady tartan wheelie-cases (although apparently these are no longer permitted on site), fit to bursting with copies of their beloved authors’ work. They can only be destined for sale on eBay, surely? Whereas The London Book Fair might make a cursory acknowledgement of the industry’s taste for famous names, BEA openly worships at the temple of celebrity culture. At the very least, it’s nice to see such friendly, if rather intense, interaction between writers and readers.

The author provision at BEA – in terms of non-celebrity, unpublished writers who are looking for industry advice – is interesting, with the uPublishu seminar series taking pride of place within the

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schedule. According to Steve Rosato, Show Manager for BEA, “Our uPubU Conference is a huge and very significant part of BEA’s overall conference programming.

The publishing landscape is always changing but the empowerment of the author to take charge of their work and control their own destiny is perhaps the single biggest shift in

BEA openly worships at the temple of celebrity culture. At the very least, it’s nice to see such friendly, if rather intense, interaction between writers and readers. many years. The author community is vital to the future of publishing and we need to serve this community to the very best of our ability. I am incredibly proud of the programme that BEA has created, which is one of the very best in the world.”

With over 40 speakers from across the US and internationally taking part in 14 different sessions,

uPubU aims to provide critical information and knowledge about how first-time and established authors may take charge of their publishing efforts. In addition to individual sessions, there will be over 24 exhibitors – including Authoright and Goodreads – providing information on ways to support authors in their efforts to reach readers and be successful in the decisions they make when publishing. The audience for uPubU includes authors who have self published but want more insight and direction on how to get books discovered; authors who have previously published with traditional publishers and who are now seeking information and direction to take charge of their own publishing efforts; first-time writers and aspiring authors who need information about how to get published in the first place; and businesses and consultants who want to learn how to publish books as a means of raising their company profiles, expanding their brands and generating new revenue streams.

Highlights of this year’s uPubu event include the celebrated legend in his own lunchtime, author/ entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki, who’ll be delivering a keynote speech based upon his must-read publishing book

Book signing APE. Away from uPubu, another event worth noting is the ‘Author Tea’ with the forever fascinating and amusing Bill Bryson on Friday 31st May.

Authoright will also be announcing a special partnership at BEA; we can’t wait to tell you about it. But we’re going to have to.

BookExpo America, Javits Conferencing Centre, New York, NY, Wednesday May 29th–Saturday June 1st. For more information go to bookexpoamerica.com

Autograph hunters at BEA

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NEW EDITION, MAY 2013

Photo: Rafael Chamorro. License: CC-BY-SA 2.0

Text and the City

If BookExpo America and its uPublishU aren’t enough literary sustenance to justify your jaunt to New York, we have sourced the most lettered hotspots for your enjoyment during your week in The Big Apple.

THE WHITE HORSE TAVERN 567 Hudson Street The White Horse Tavern, established in 1880 in Greenwich Village, is the most famous watering hole of New York’s literature landmarks. In the early 1950s, the notorious Welsh boozer and poet Dylan Thomas moved to NYC to supervise a stage production of ‘Under Milk Wood’, but according to lush legend he ended up drinking himself to death in this very tavern; bookish tourists can still sit at his favourite table. Other regulars have included equally prolific drinkers Norman Mailer, Hunter S Thompson, Jack Kerouac (who was regularly thrown out for bad behaviour) and songwriters including Bob Dylan and Jim Morrison. New York’s celebrated newspaper, The Village Voice, which was founded by Mailer, is also strongly associated with The White Horse Tavern. So embrace the spirit of the literary renegade and pop by for a drink. We can’t take responsibility for the consequences.

A contender for the title of ‘America’s Largest Bookshop’, the Strand on Broadway is spread across a vast 55,000 square feet, boasting 18 miles of bookshelves and over 2.5 million books in stock. Their collection of rare and out-of-print books is something of a treasure, unrivalled in the scope of its subject matter. The Strand’s basement is a veritable cave of books; lit with strip lighting it’s bordering on the dingy and you can easily get lost, emerging hours later blinking into the light having spent a small fortune on books by authors you’ve never heard of but were suddenly compelled to read. If this sounds too exorbitant for your big city trip, why not just head for the bargains in the dollar book carts on the street outside? The staff at Strand Bookstore are incredibly knowledgeable and are always on hand to dole out sage recommendations, so prepare to put their expertise to the test with your obscure and spontaneous taste for contemporary Czech literature.

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Photo: fudj, flickr

STRAND BOOKSTORE 12th Street and Broadway

Photo: DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0

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THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 42nd Street and 5th Avenue

THE LIBRARY HOTEL 299 Madison Avenue and East 41st Street If days spent waiting at a book signing at BEA’s less than glamorous Javits Center have left you flagging and in need of some refinement and refreshment, then – after a swift half at The White Horse Tavern – you’d do well to head to The Library Hotel. The hotel’s delightfully appointed rooms contain a total of 6,000 books and are arranged by the Dewey Decimal System; each floor of the hotel represents a different category. The Library even has a reading room, although you can also arrange for your favourite titles to be waiting for you in your room upon arrival. If you can’t stretch to a stay, at least enjoy a cocktail or four at their two marvellous bars, Writer’s Den and Poetry Garden.

Officially known as the Stephen A Schwarzman Building, this stunning library at 42nd Street and 5th Avenue is the primary hub of the New York library. And it’s a joy to behold. The Rose Main Reading Room has cloudpainted, gold-gilded ceilings hung with shimmering chandeliers over rows and rows of glossy desks. The Beaux-Arts architecture is certainly sumptuous, but while you may come just to admire the beautiful building you’ll want to stay to dip into the astonishing collection of books from the humanities and social sciences. Among the most prized in their possession are two copies of the first folio edition of Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories and Tragedies from 1623.

Edgar Allan Poe Cottage Kingsbridge Road and Grand Concourse Edgar Allan Poe might have had a penchant for the macabre but he also enjoyed taking in the country air as much as the next man. When Poe’s wife, Virginia, became ill in the summer of 1846, they moved all the way out to The Bronx, which at the time was some sort of rural idyll, so that Virginia might benefit from the fresh outdoorsy environment. The cottage to which they moved, and where Virginia sadly died the following year, is now a fascinating visitor attraction. Kept just as it was when the Poes lived there over 150 years ago, there’s palpable sense of its former resident throughout this slightly eerie little cottage. You can almost see this iconic US writer in his rocking chair. Pure literary authenticity.

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NEW EDITION, MAY 2013

You’re gonna need a bigger boat!

Gareth Howard, CEO, Authoright Before the launch of The LBF AuthorLounge curated by Authoright I had informed The Bookseller that the space already needed to be bigger. Even at the planning stage we knew that the interest from authors was likely to outstrip the scope of the space we’d been given to play with by the organisers. There are rumours now doing the rounds that a staggering 25% of people who registered and attended this year’s London Book Fair were authors, and that The AuthorLounge was the best attended stand at the entire event.

For what has traditionally been a business to business event this was significant to say the least.

So we already needed more space. What was brilliant was the level of support we had from those in the industry who’ve arguably worked to keep authors at arm’s length. But no longer. Literary agents clamoured to be involved with The LitFactor Pitch during what is the busiest week in their calendar, sharing incredible industry insight with authors taking part. Trad publishers were happy to talk openly about where their

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own businesses were struggling, looking to revitalise their side of the industry and to become more author focused. New tech companies put competition aside and joined forces in order to discuss new routes to publication. It felt like a watershed moment. Even journalists turned up, suddenly interested in what was happening in Earl’s Court 2, that farflung neverneverland which they’ve previously treated like some kind of Mordor with wifi. Maybe it wasn’t us; the Digital Zone bar is reason enough for the long walk!

W h e n we designed The AuthorLounge our principal aim was to create a home for all authors – traditionally published, self published and unpublished alike. We wanted to explore issues, challenges, trends and opportunities that are effecting all authors, big and small, trad and indie. We wanted to provide a varied programme of seminars and workshops that would reflect this. I would like to take this opportunity to again thank everyone that gave their time to speak at the AuthorLounge, including our lovely leading literary agents, the CEO of Foyles, the head of JK Rowling’s Pottermore, the Editor of The Bookseller, the

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head of Kobo’s Writing Life and many others. Goodreads made their first physical outing in the UK, with their charismatic Director of Community, Patrick Brown, attracting more attention than Justin Beiber at a Berlin Zoo; his seminar was so popular it resulted in The AuthorLounge’s being appointed its very own security team. Granta introduced their Best of Young British Authors. We had workshops on Book Marketing, Editing, Cover Design and Connecting with Readers.

And of course we were lucky to have LitFactor on board; for the first time ever at The London Book Fair and for all three days, non-stop, we had authors pitching their books to literary agents. We really were chuffed to bits.

So thank you to everyone who came along, who spoke, lent their expertise, networked, pitched and enjoyed a glass of free wine with us. Publisher’s Weekly described The AuthorLounge as ‘the pounding heart’ of The London Book Fair 2013. Humbling praise indeed. But we share Roy Schneider’s sentiment: if we’re going to take on the biggest fish in the publishing ocean, we really are going to need a bigger boat!

It felt like a watershed moment

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“It was really great to meet the authors, who were all impressively prepared and there were a few fascinating pitches, so it was very enjoyable to be a part of and we will see if anything develops from it.”

- Thomas Stofer, Luigi Bonomi Associates

“We had workshops on Book Marketing, Editing, Cover Design and Connecting with Readers...”

As featured in last month’s New Edition, the world of literary agent submissions is changing thanks to a new online resource for agents and authors that is called LitFactor. They describe themselves as an eHarmony for the literary world, revolutionising the process of unsolicited submissions. The start-up marked their launch at the LBF AuthorLounge by holding The Pitch, a three day non-stop session of authors lobbying agents one-on-one with their manuscripts. This was actually a pretty big deal – never before have authors been able to speak to literary agents at the LBF, let alone actually meet them and have the opportunity to convince them that the book before them is the next 50 Shades! No longer would authors need to employ the subterfuge skills of a deniable black ops mission to steal their way into the highly restricted International Rights Centre, only to be ejected by an LBF official or, worse still, an agent with a champagne-hangover.

The LitFactor Pitch pulled in 13 top agents at what is their busiest time of the year. This gave 70 lucky authors the chance to sell their book to some of the most important literary agents in the game. We grabbed bits and pieces of the intense pitching as it happened and, we have to say, it sounded like there were several promising initial discussions.

Watch this space.

Free tickets to The LitFactor Pitch, allocated in advance, had flown off the digital shelves in a matter of minutes – this really was the rock and roll gig of the LBF. If you missed it or weren’t lucky enough to get a ticket, fret not, LitFactor is promising more live events in the near future, in both the UK and the US. Sign up for a free membership and to receive news of future events at litfactor.com

AnCoppens ‫@‏‬AnCoppens Attended a brilliant workshop on book marketing by Hayley of @Authoright #lbf2013

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NEW EDITION, MAY 2013

‘Self-Publishing Surges in Digital Zone’ Wednesday 17th April “The London Book Fair’s Digital Zone is quickly becoming the pounding heartbeat of the fair, driven by two major trends in the industry: the steady march of technology, and the rise of selfpublishing such technology has enabled. What started five years ago with just a handful of exhibitors and a cramped, 23-seat theater on the show floor, is now one of the most crowded areas of the fair, with nearly 70 exhibitors, two theaters and three days of programming, a networking bar, and perhaps the Zone’s most popular new attraction, a revamped Authors Lounge sponsored by publishing consultancy Authoright, which has attracted steady, overflowing crowds.”

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“The m Auth uch-he arlde orLo unge d ”

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Vicky Newham @VickyNewham @Authoright Writers all saying what a great addition the #authorlounge is to #lbf13 Excellent sessions. Bigger space next year?

lisa james @petit_monstre @authoright some very true words this morning re marketing. In 2 years of doing reviews, I rarely got a follow up call from a publisher.

The view from Twitter of The #lbf13 #authorlounge curated by @Authoright

Carlie @MrsCarlieLee Thank you for such an ace day!

Brilliant talks, fascinating people and lovely Luigi Bonomi @LBA_ agency in LitFactor #inspiring

Mel Sherratt ‫@‏‬writermels @Authoright thanks! I really did enjoy it - froze a bit at beginning of the second talk. Audience was HUGE but very welcoming #lbf13

PERIPHERIA.me Barbara Cotter

For a first-time visitor The London Book Fair is overwhelming. What business does an unpublished writer have at it? Where is she to spend her time? She has no need yet for international distribution solutions or much to say to the hundreds of stand holders.

Having been given The Love Learning Onsite Guide by The London Book Fair team, I thought I would start the day attending seminars. As seminars were being given in the AuthorLounge (Earls Court 2) that lasted for three-quarters of an hour and, with fifteen minute intervals, went on throughout the day, that seemed a good place to start.

I was there before ten and was able to secure a seat in the second row easily enough. But by the time the first seminar was underway, the lounge was filling up and there was soon only standing room. If

Eliza Green ‫@‏‬elizagreenbooks If you’re at the London Book Fair, the authorlounge is the place to be @authoright @kobowritinglife #lbf2013

The view from the blogosphere

you wanted to keep your seat, you needed to stay on it. The audience overflowed the lounge. Some had to be content with standing outside the booth.

There were other events at the Pen Literary Café (Earls Court 2), and other seminars too in Earls Court 1 that I would have to have attended. However, unless you are blessed with powers of bi- or trilocation, you have to plump for something and hope it is the right thing. Do you really want to stand outside the AuthorLounge when you can sit at the front and ask questions?

(At the end of each seminar was a question and answer session.)

The seat, after three hours, became increasingly uncomfortable.

When I left it at lunchtime, I lost it and had to be content to listen to some parts of seminars from without.

For the seminar on How to Get a Literary Agent, I was back in the lounge but not on a seat; my seat

was on the floor, which I discovered was more uncomfortable than the seat I had deserted. People hovered, ready to pounce when a seat became vacant.

For authors of any kind, published and unpublished, who wanted to find out what is happening at the moment in the world of books, the AuthorLounge was the place to be.

One attendee commented that even as recently as two years ago the AuthorLounge was not much of a draw. It was evident to her that authors were more important today.

All speakers at the AuthorLounge made it clear that there is a revolution or renaissance (as one speaker called it) in the world of books, and no one quite knows the direction to take. But few would deny that all concerned must adapt, change, and evolve to survive.

From peripheria.me

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NEW EDITION, MAY 2013

authoright at

bea

uPublishU saturday

june

1st seminar in room 1E07

3pm and uPubU

exhibitor area New Edition is written and designed by Authoright.

Contributors: Gareth Howard, Hayley Radford, Aga Szymanska, Ben Wood.

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Out at the end of May

BLINK LIFE AFTER LOCKED IN SYNDROME

by David and Sandra NETTE

In the blink of an eye everything changed.

A routine neck adjustment left Sandy Nette trapped in her own body. Paralysed by a series of violent strokes after her arteries were ripped by a chiropractor, she was unable to move or swallow or talk. Suddenly, Sandy was a prisoner of locked-in syndrome; devastatingly aware of the world around her but completely unable to reach it. Sandy could only communicate with those around her by blinking. Barely into her forties, she had been cast into a living hell, a place where few have ventured and actually survived. But neither Sandy, nor her devoted husband David, were willing to accept this cruel fate and together they began to fight for their future.

Blink: Life After Locked-In Syndrome is the remarkable true story of a young woman’s courage, strength and determination to beat the odds. It is also an exceptional tribute to the power of unconditional love. David Nette narrates the events that tore him and Sandy apart and then brought them closer than ever, sharing the trials and triumphs of their unique relationship, one always filled with humour, even in the darkest of days.

Blink: Life After Locked-In Syndrome is a story that may just change your life.

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