Sir Andrew began with an overview of the current state of poetry publishing. He debunked the myth that consumers of poetry are dwindling with reference to his online audio resource the Poetry Archive, through which two million pages of poetry are being listened to every month (an audience member later pointed out that Andrew was being especially modest about the Archive, which she confirmed had completely revolutionised the poetry world). The reader aside, he commented that “poetry publishing is stuck, and I’m waiting for someone to unstick it”, expressing frustration at the fact that poetry publishers aren’t yet using all the technology available to them. He added, however, that Faber are being more dynamic than most, and in doing so passed the baton on to Henry Volans. Henry agreed that publishers should “keep challenging”, and avoid being “overly protectionist” about the art-form.
Crowds mingle, the audience chatters, networking pre-panel discussion
The discussion then moved on to the specific ways in which technology and social media can be beneficial for modern poets. Clare Trevien commented that, without social media, she’d never have been published, and Helen Ivory echoed the endorsement of sites like Twitter and Facebook with the revelation that, for her first book (published in 2000), she struggled for reviews - and yet with her most recent release she was inundated with offers. Most of these came about as a direct result of her pre-release promotion on Facebook (though she added as a caveat that she is careful to be “open”, rather than “pushy”, when self-promoting online). There was also general agreement amongst the writers that social media is invaluable for connecting with other poets, in a profession that has a tendency to be rather isolating. Henry added that technology must never get in the way, or obstruct creativity. Using it to one’s advantage is a delicate art.
Host Justine Solomons thanks the sponsor Peter Phelps. Peter is wearing a white shirt and is sat in the front row, flanked by poets Martin Figura and Ruth Padel.
Paul Lyalls spoke with great enthusiasm about the ongoing importance to poets of live performance. It helps aspiring writers make their name, introduces them to a new audience, and opens up important revenue streams. On a busy day, he said, a live poet could reach hundreds of people, and in a productive week could easily be seen by 2,000 or more. In turn, such exposure drives book sales - he himself had sold nearly 200 books only that day, all from live appearances. Word of mouth, he underlined, is very powerful in this industry (this works online too - consider Mark Grist’s famous YouTube rap battle, which is currently on the verge of clocking up four million views).
The panel in full flow (from left to right) Helen Ivory, Paul Lyalls, Claire Trevien, Henry Volans and Chair, Sir Andrew Motion
As always, the projector screen behind the panel was a-buzz with #ByteTheBook Twitter chat, and one comment in particular seemed to sum up the prevailing mood of the evening. It had been paraphrased from an audience member who had been in publishing for many decades: “I work for a company that used to publish one book every fifteen years. Now, they publish one every fifteen minutes”.
Byte the Book audience bitten by the poetry bug
Words by Chris Russell, photos by Daniel Solomons
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Buy The Wicked Girls
Review by Tracey Sinclair
From Mary Bell to Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, children who kill children remain uniquely horrifying and perennially fascinating. Alex Marwood isn’t the first to ponder how such figures cope as adults – released into a hostile world, left to live with the knowledge of what they have done and constantly fearing revelation and retribution – but she smartly positions the dilemma of two such killers at the heart of a gripping contemporary crime thriller.
Jade and Bel are on the cusp of adolescence when they commit the unthinkable – the torture and murder of a young girl in their care. Years later, another murder draws them together, as a serial killer targets the seaside town where one now works at an amusement park; the other, a journalist, is assigned to cover the case. Forbidden by the conditions of their release to ever meet again, a chance encounter forces them to examine the lives they now lead even as it threatens to bring their carefully constructed new identities crashing down around them.
Serial killer novels are ten-a-penny these days, but what makes Marwood stand out is her strong characterisation and a gimlet eye for the everyday, rendering the grim seaside town in merciless rain-soaked detail. But there are also plenty of surprises thrown into the mix, not just about the serial killer but also about the girls, and the true nature of their original crime. I read the last few chapters in a breathless rush, utterly gripped and desperate to find out whether these two women would ever escape their pasts.
Tracey Sinclair's second novel in the Cassandra Bick Chronicles series, Wolf Night, was self-published earlier this year and can be purchased here.
What's the relationship between print and e-books? Completely Novel give us some advice and there's a special offer too for Byte the Book subscribers.
Byte the Book member and Co-Founder of Completely Novel, Anna Lewis tells us:
We’ve been offering self-publishing services for over five years now, focusing on print-on-demand, and it’s been really interesting to watch the change in attitudes to eBook publishing. Many more writers are coming to us who have already created an eBook and subsequently decided to publish in print, too. Whereas traditional publishers will tend to release the paperback and eBook together, there’s definitely an e-first trend emerging in self-publishing.
However, our authors say that at offline events, paperbacks continue to work much better for them. For CompletelyNovel fiction authors, having physical copies to give away or sell at a book launch is the biggest incentive for getting books printed, and brings the most benefits. This is closely followed by the ability to capitalise on the gift market. So if you do have an eBook and want to give it a fresh push, it’s worth considering launching a physical copy.
In the case of business books, a book can do a lovely job of keeping a relationship going with clients. One of our authors told us that “at my talks and workshops, people still love having a personally signed copy of my books.” The nice thing about selling direct is that you can also bundle your products together to give your readers the best of both worlds.
We’re offering Byte the Book subscribers a free month’s subscription to our Publishing Plus plan. This enables writers to publish up to two titles in paperback and make them available through retailers, so you can see for yourself what a print book can do for your campaign. Sign up to the Plus Plan here: http://www.completelynovel.com/self-publishing and use the following voucher code : BYTETHEBOOK2013 (voucher valid until 30 November.)
Ahead of our poetry event on 21st October we've a special offer for Byte the Book subscribers to help get you in the poetic mood.
Resurgence & Ecologist are holding a one-day Festival of Wellbeing, on 12 October at The Bishopsgate Institute, London.
Speakers include Alys Fowler, Tony Juniper, Satish Kumar, Ben Okri, Ruth Padel, Vandana Shiva and Rowan Williams.
Byte The Book subscribers can book tickets for a reduced price of £45 (rather than £60). Note tickets are limited as the event is almost sold out. Bookings can be made via www.resurgence.org/wellbeing or 01237 441293 and quote 'bytethebook' to get your concessionary ticket.
Megan Toogood asks: Am I the only person who thinks publishers should open bookshops?
I know that at first it seems like a crazy idea, so let me explain what I mean.
This idea is a response to the problems caused by showrooming. At the beginning of this year my parent’s lovely independent games shop closed its doors. There were lots of reasons for this, but showrooming played a very important part in their decision to close, so it’s a topic that’s pretty close to my heart.
(As an aside, you would not believe how rude and loud some people are happy to be, enthusiastically picking up a game, reading the back and joyfully exclaiming. ‘We won’t buy it here, we’ll order it so we won’t have to carry it home.’ Well, you won’t be able to pop back to the shop next time you want to find a game, because it’s closed. Rant over.)
When someone goes to a bookshop, looks at a book, and then goes home to buy it on Amazon the company that should still, theoretically, be making money, is the publisher of that book. If bookshops are just inherently a Good Thing (and I think they are), as well as being essential for the discoverability of books. Should publishers consider opening bookshops?
For anyone who can instantly see a thousand problems with this idea, let me just say that I can see them as well.
The biggest problem might be that publishers would inadvertently compete with independent bookshops, and what the industry, and readers, need is more plurality, not less. But with areas of the country becoming bookshop free zones and campus bookshops regularly shutting their doors for the last time, I’d be surprised if there’s nowhere where a good bookshop might have no immediate competitors. But it does mean publishers should resist the urge to start up in cathedral towns packed full of students and middle class book buyers who are already managing to keep an indie bookstore going.
The second biggest problem is that shops cost money and publishers aren’t particularly rolling in the stuff, even if some of them are richer than they think they are. And as a marketing activity to drive Amazon sales, which what this might ultimately be, a shop is a pretty time and money intensive way to go about things. One answer to this might be to try pop-up shops, which are not only cheaper and less of a commitment, but are also temporary allowing a greater focus and energy on their promotion. If I was going to trial an idea like this, I’d also look for somewhere in the north, or west, where retail rents, even in desirable areas surrounded by people with a disposable income, will be much, much cheaper.
There’s something ugly and unsettling about the idea of publishers running bookshops, because books aren’t simply things, they’re ideas, and the idea of a publisher-run bookshop insinuates a monopoly of ideas. But when faced with an Amazon monopoly on the whole sector it might not be such a bad thing. Because readers will still have access to all the books in the world on Amazon, through whatever device they choose. And I wonder if there mightn’t be a model for a good publisher bookshop in that greatest of all British inventions: The Pub.
Traditionally lots of pubs across the country were owned by breweries that bore the costs of infrastructure in return for creating a route to market for their beer. And pubs that weren’t brewery owned were Free Houses. The brewery pubs were run by independent licensees who were free take most day to day decisions, create the atmosphere they thought would work best and get in guest ales.
There’s no reason publishers shouldn’t stock their bookshops with their competitors’ books, given that the balance is right, and that they’re getting something in return. Which if customers buy the print copy from the shop, would of course, be actual money.
Publishers might see the most success in this area if they think of themselves as providing a high level of support for a semi-independent bookseller who they trust. Though I appreciate that’s a tall order.
All of which is a long way of saying, if Amazon are going for vertical integration then maybe everyone else should too.
What are your thoughts? Please let us know via twitter using the #bytethebook
Buy Redshirts
Review by Tracey Sinclair.
You don’t have to be a Star Trek fan to love Redshirts – though it certainly doesn’t hurt. This cleverly written novel is set in a universe suspiciously similar to that of the USS Enterprise – and, in the same way that that TV show was famous for sacrificing anonymous extras on away missions (the ‘red shirts’ that inspire the title), the starship Intrepid has a curiously high mortality rate among young crew members. Even more mysteriously, the senior officers have a tendency to survive anything that’s thrown at them, no matter how fatal it should be. So when new ensign Andrew Dahl is assigned about the vessel and quickly spots this trend, he realises things aren’t quite as they should be, and that his and his friends’ lives depend on him figuring out just what is going on, and how to stop it.
Redshirts just won the prestigious Hugo Award for best novel, and it’s easy to see why. The ideas Scalzi plays with aren’t completely original – Galaxy Quest did the Star Trek pastiche sublimely, and the idea of characters interacting with their creators has a long history, which Scalzi himself acknowledges in one of the three short stories that work as a sort of coda at the end of the novel. But he handles them with wit, biting humour and energy – the book fizzes along at a hectic pace, throwing one clever idea after another into the mix, and is packed with likeable (or pleasantly unlikeable) characters and smart dialogue, resulting in an adventure that, while heavy on laughs, has real heart as well; the story isn’t just played for comedy, and you genuinely care about the fate of these potentially doomed ‘extras’.
My one caveat is that the three short pieces at the end are so different in style and tone that reading them straight after the book jars – so I’d advise putting the novel down and coming back to them a little later. It’s fun to see what happens after the credits roll (and the first is very funny, while the second two are genuinely moving) but I felt they could have done with a slight trim. But overall, Redshirts is enormous fun – and not just for the Trekkies.
Tracey Sinclair's second novel in the Cassandra Bick Chronicles series, Wolf Night, was self-published earlier this year and can be purchased here.
We were so excited to hear about this event we just had to tell you all about it.
Thousands of people will help to give literary classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland a curiouser and curiouser twist as they narrate sections of the story to create a unique audio book.
The mass story-telling event will take place at Waterloo station to celebrate Read for RNIB Day on Friday 11 October. The recording booth will be operational from when Waterloo opens until the stations closes on the 11th.
RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) is inviting people of all ages and backgrounds to visit a specially designed ‘Wonderland’ at the train station where they can record a passage from the book.
The finished ‘Talking Book’ will then be available for customers of the RNIB’s National Library Service to borrow.
Blind and partially sighted people face a significantly limited choice of books in formats they can read; just 7% of all books are fully accessible. Read for RNIB Day aims to raise money to make more books accessible.
The charity issues around 5000 Talking Books to blind and partially sighted people every single day and also produces and distributes books in braille and giant print.
It usually takes up to three months to record and produce a Talking Book, but RNIB is hoping that with the collective efforts of the nation, this newest version of Lewis Carroll’s iconic tale can be recorded in just one day.
More details on the event can be found here.
As part of its autumn series Sex, and Drugs and Rock and Roll, Byte the Book members, Salon tackles Sex. With Aarithi Prasad explaining how science is redefining the rules of sex, Sarah McCartney tests your ability to pick up on sexual signals and sex educator Justin Hancock on how to have better sex- you couldn't be in better hands. Byte the Book members get tickets for £10 with code BYTE and tickets can be booked here.
It was standing room only at Loft at The Club at the Ivy for our September event focussed on the newspaper and magazine industry. Byte the Book founder, Justine Solomons chaired a discussion with a panel including: Alex Watson (Director of Product, Tablet and Apps at Dennis Publishing), Toby Wright (CTO at the Telegraph Media Group) and Matteo Berlucchi (CEO Digital at Northern and Shell) and Justine Southall (Publishing Director at Marie Claire).
Byte the Book September panel from left to right: Justine Southall, Matteo Berlucchi, Toby Wright and Alex Watson.
Justine Solomons opened the discussion by asking whether it would be useful to the book industry to adopt the commercial methods current in Consumer Publishing. Alex Watson felt there could be cross over in certain respects for example in the areas of advertising, discounting and subscriptions and said that in Consumer Publishing 94% of sales are subscription based. He pointed out that consumers are already conditioned to pay for services and this could be a way forward for sales, rather than relying on the one-off purchase. Justine then spoke about whether the book could be looked on as ‘a service’, and there was general agreement that this type of approach guaranteed clients being in touch with the seller and receiving information about updates.
Justine Southall and September sponsors the Publishers Licensing Society
Toby Wright talked about the ways in which we use technology and said it is important to know where content is going. He said 40% of consumer traffic was accounted for by Google searching but it was always useful to have as specific a breakdown as possible. Matteo Berlucchi spoke about the high level of control which Amazon had within the book industry and said this imbalance was an intrinsic problem for other publishers. There then followed a discussion about the problems of Digital Rights Management at the present time and the reasons why piracy was able to flourish in today’s market. It was generally felt that a new business model was needed which would reduce the need for rigidity.
Justine then introduced the question of advertising and asked Justine Southall if she felt it had a place in book publishing. Justine Southall felt that it did and there was no denigration or lessening of the value of the literary material should it be employed. Advertising, which is the life blood in other spheres, could definitely play a part. Areas of a book, for example inside the back cover, could be set up as advertising space. Matteo said many readers would not want advertising to be included in a book but Alex thought such a practice would mean books could be given away free and that this fact might make it more acceptable to readers when they realised this. But it was to some extent felt that there was a dichotomy. In the case of the glossy magazine, ads were a part of the product whereas with the book they would always be seen as separate.
Our brilliant September audience at The Club at the Ivy
The subject of brands came up next and Justine asked if the panel would like to talk about the concept of branding. Toby started the discussion going by stating that if the brand doesn’t serve the content things could be problematic, and Matteo said traditional media was challenged by the brand but pointed out the usefulness of brands in promoting communities, and said the fact they were not medium specific meant they could be used for games, play stations and other outlets. Justine Southall said brands were crucial to the glossy magazine and helped to target and consolidate an audience and enable expansion. After much discussion on the subject, including questions from the floor, it was conceded that the book business may be a little different in that the readers’ relationship is with the author rather than the publishing company so that branding would not have the same relevance. On the other hand, in the case of a large and known publisher or where there was a clearly identifiable product, such as poetry, it may work to some extent, and there could be branding of a logo at least, which would give the public greater awareness of a publishing house, and possibly more could be done in this way in the future.
A final shot of our panel with the infamous twitter wall behind
There were a number of further questions raised by the audience and the evening ended in an atmosphere of lively discussion and debate.
Words by Jay Merill, photos by Daniel Solomons.
Perfect timing given this week's announcement of the Man Booker shortlist, one of our rather brilliant members, Nick Sidwell, told us about thebookglobe.com, a project he's been working on with his colleague Maddy Beresford.
They have mapped the locations of all 267 Man Booker shortlisted/winning titles (including 2013) onto a Google map.
They tell us that they'd like this to be the beginning of a much bigger project that helps people to discover books all over the world and in every genre. They think that location is an exciting and underused way to find great books.
If you find thebookglobe.com interesting and have any questions, please feel free to get in touch and discuss/tweet/share the website. They're building this for fun (and because they think others will do so also) in their spare time.
For now, here are some Booker Prize map facts...
- 38 books (5 winners) shortlisted for or awarded the Booker prize have been set in London. Just 7 (1 winner) have been set in the whole of Scotland.
- After London, Dublin is the most frequented city with 9 books (2 winners). Mumbai has 7 (1 winner).
- Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that a Booker prize winner hasn’t been set in.
- 18 books (7 winners) have been set in India. New Zealand is the only location with a better conversion of shortlisted entries to winners (1 of 2 ... so far!).
If you want to find out more about the project, this is the place: http://thebookglobe.com/about.html - or drop them a line!
