London Book fair 2016 Making Words Go Further

This year's surprise winner of the Grand National Steeple Chase race at Aintree was  Rule the World at odds 33-1. 

 As the Book Selling world descends on Olympia for London Book Fair 2016 Tuesday  I am reminded of  the  quote of the Author of The Grapes of Wrath ,John Steinbeck .

 "The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business."

    

The central role of the author in the book business as the creator of content is paramount . 

Yet even though (s)he may write a better book the world does not necessarily ‘beat a path to their door’ as the  quote of Ralph Waldo Emmerson goes.


Book marketing is a key to publishing success.

The book world constantly needs to identify new segments.  For example I notice in the writing about  books for children  this sector’s  content can be now classified as “Edutainment “.

The challenges of 'making words travel ' through literary translation continues apace in the export markets.

 As with many other business sectors the Book trade is needing to re-skill for the new era of digital platform.  The challenges of reaching today’s consumer (reader) is achieved in both retail or etail.

At its heart the book business is essentially about rights, brands, and  licensing  across all platforms including films and TV.  

One of the main changes in the book market is digital revolution.  

Back at The London Book Fair 2013  a tweet circulated

75% of all books published year in 2013 were self published, thanks to the digital age.

Author, Simon Callow signing his new book
 on Orson Welles- 'One Man Band' at Farnham Maltings .
Part of his Book selling roadshow 

The single biggest  strategic challenge facing the publishing industry then was to re-establish the relationship between author and publisher ( Supplier and Seller)

Depending on various segments , publishers now pitch to claim every potential author will get a fair ,and every published author a chance to be a best-seller.

Twitter and Facebook probably favour the individual author much more than publishers on the whole. 

But the internet’s ability to create virtual reading and writing groups could be a great boon to publishers, particularly those in well-established genres like sci-fi , romance and whodunits.

There will no doubt be new books on 'selling 'at this year's show. I look forward to seeking them out. Whether their content will be 'new' will be a matter of opinion.

Perhaps we should leave the last word to the Daddy of All Sales Books Author. Dale Carnegie ( How to win friends and Influence people etc.)

"The ideas I stand for are not mine. 

I borrowed them from Socrates. 

I swiped them from Chesterfield. 

I stole them from Jesus. 

And I put them in a book. 

If you don't like their rules, whose would you use?"   -Dale Carnegie

Related Links

Selling the world London Book Fair

The Digital Economy Act and Publishing Law



My Book Reviews

Dale Carnegie in the Digital Age