As promised, here's the text of my recent speech at the San Diego Romance Writers of America conference held in Escondido this past weekend:

THE ROMANCE MARKET IN THE U.S.

1.  SOME PERSPECTIVE (2006 Figures)
According to the Business of Consumer Publishing Report 2007 from Simba Information, the net revenue for books from retail sources in the U.S. accounted for $6.31 billion in 2006.  (This was a slight decline over 2005.)  
Romance sales accounted for $1.37 billion or 21% of the overall sales.
Religious/inspirational sales accounted for $1.68 billion (which includes bibles; the number one selling book ever.)

    * Science fiction/fantasy $495 million
    * Classic literary fiction $448 million
    * Mystery $422 million
    * Graphic novels $128 million

The top five publishers of romance fiction (by sales)?

    * Harlequin ($418 million)
    * Random House ($81 million)
    * Penguin Group ($71 million)
    * HarperCollins ($64.8 million)
    * Kensington ($37 million)

According to the report, the number of books PUBLISHED (rather than sold) are as follows:

    * 40% category/series romance
    * 17% historical
    * 16% contemporary
    * 9% paranormal
    * 7% romantic suspense
    * 6% inspirational
    * 5% other (chick lit, young adult, erotic romance, women’s fict.)

WHO ARE THESE READERS?
According to an Associated Press–Ipsos poll, among those who said they read books in the past year:

    * One in five read romance novels
    * People from the South read slightly more; mostly religious books and romance novels
    * More women than men read every major category
    * Women read nine books per year, while men read five

According to RWA data: the romance reader has a "high frequency of purchases" with more than half of romance readers (54%) reading between one and five books in the past year; 17% reading between six and 10 books; and 14% reading between 11 and 20 books.    

2.  ROMANCE IS AS HEALTHY AS AN ALPHA MALE HERO (2007/08 Figures)

Romance novels constitute 40% of all popular fiction purchased in the U.S., with more than $1 billion in annual sales. Romance continues to represent more than 50% of the mass market paperbacks sold in the U.S. (with 1/3 of those sold at mass merchandisers like Target and Wal-Mart.)

Booksellers group, Shelf-Awareness, reported these statistics:
Net U.S. book sales for the month of February 2008 rose 4.8% to $491.2 million and for the year have risen 6.2% to $1.2 billion, as reported by 79 member publishers to the Association of American Publishers.

In an interesting contrast that may point to consumer's sensitivity to price in the current economy, in February, adult paperback was one of the strongest categories while adult  hardcover was the weakest. Adult paperback climbed 30.8% to $128.8 million.  Children's/YA hardcover rose 8.1% to $40.7 million. Children's/YA paperback rose  7.2% to $37.2 million.

Adult mass market  rose 0.4% to $59.5 mill.
University press paperbacks fell 3.2% to $4.5  million.
University press hardcovers dropped 6.5% to $5.1 million.
Audiobooks  fell 5.7% to $10.8 million.
Religious books fell 6.8% to $49.2 million.
Adult hardcovers fell 26.4% to $83.5 million.

According to Publishers Weekly, 5/13/2008:
For March 2008,  bookstore sales rose 1.3%  to $1.03 billion, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales have increased every month so far in 2008 and finished the first quarter up 5.1%, to $4.46 billion. The 1.3% March increase was the smallest gain in 2008. The sales increase in the bookstore segment was higher than for the entire retail segment, which rose 3.9% in the quarter. March retail sales inched up 0.5%, to $379 billion.

And according to Romance Writers of America: The popularity of romance audiobooks and e-books, publisher involvement in on-line communities and contests, and the expansion of subgenres spell a strong future for romance fiction.


3.  ROMANCE SUB-GENRES GO UP AND DOWN IN POPULARITY

Popular Today:
    Paranormal
    Romantic Suspense
    Historical (especially Regency)

Holding Steady:
    Erotica

Contracting:
    Chick Lit
    Inspirational


4.  E-Books and POD Romance

E-books were up 6.7% to $2.6 million in 2006 and although I couldn't find figures to support it, I bet they're up even more in 2007.

Romance titles have “done especially well” in the electronic book format. According to the New York Times, “The early best-seller lists were dominated by science fiction novels and other titles favored by men….But lately, the lists are led by romance and women’s fiction”. The International Digital Publishing Forum (IDF) reported sales of trade e-books for 2006 at around $24 million, which is double the amount of sales for 2005. “The adoption of OPS 2.0 along with the ‘.epub’ file format that goes with it…means that publishers can now create one digital book file instead of the 6 to 10 formats previously required", which is HUGE. With the new e-book file format, debut of the Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle, and new software from eBook Technologies, Mobipocket, eReader.com and others, sales should continue to rise.

It will be interesting to see what Amazon's recent announcement about POD books needing to be published by Amazon's subsidiary, BookSurge, in order to have a direct "BUY" button on Amazon.com.  What will this do to POD romance titles?


5.  FRESH OPINIONS (May 2008)

Some editors speak out on what's hot and what's not today in romance novels.

Cindy Hwang, Berkley: Today, paranormal romance is definitely divided into several subdivisions--there's dark fantasy/horror, where I would put all the vampires, werewolves, witches etc. used in a darker universe and tone. On the opposite end there's funny paranormal, which often can have a chick lit veneer to the voice and stories. There's also futuristic/sci fi romance, and pure fantasy romance. There still the occasional time travel or ghost romance, but the most popular creature now is the vampire. You definitely see darker, edgier, sexier paranormal romances now, but really there are books all along the paranormal spectrum. There are truly books for every taste.

Ginjer Buchanan, an editor at Berkley/Ace who has edited Laurell K. Hamilton and Charlaine Harris among others, discussed what constitutes Urban Fantasy. There's some paranormal romance that can be classified as Urban Fantasy, and Berkley's been working on ways to promote authors and books in both ponds since they know there's a large crossover readership. Urban Fantasy is a true cross-genre subgenre. Basically, Urban Fantasy can be defined as fiction that features preternatural creatures interacting with humans or other beings in a non-hidden manner. The world is contemporary and often a mirror of our own world, with the addition of preternatural creatures. The setting is usually urban, although not always. The tension often comes from the conflict of having the preternatural beings exist somewhat uneasily in a larger society made of non-magical beings. The protagonist is usually female, and there can be some kind of romantic element, but what propels the plot is not the romantic relationship--more likely, the plot is suspense-oriented.

Cindy goes on to say: Never fear, historical and contemporary romances are alive and well! Not everyone loves paranormal, of course, and in this age of diversity, I think it's more important than ever to give readers a choice. So publishers are still committed to buying and publishing historical romance and contemporary romance (romantic suspense, romantic comedy and contemporary romance). The problem comes when we can't find the quality we're looking for, because writers have decided that these subgenres won't sell and thus are no longer writing in these areas. It is true that for the most part, the historical and contemporary romance market isn't as strong right now as paranormal, but I think we (editors, publishers and readers) have been reading romance long enough to know that everything cycles around, and that as long as good books are being published in these subgenres, there will always be markets for them.

Shauna Summers, Bantam/Dell:
I think the general feeling is that publishing as a whole is starting to feel some of the impact of the recession.  However, paranormal romance, historicals and romantic suspense all continue to do really well for us.  Summers is also looking for 'big, contemporary romance' for Bantam Dell

Stacy Boyd, Harlequin:
Paranormal, especially the dark and/or sexy stuff (Gena Showalter), is doing well. We've also seen strong performances for erotica, inspirational romance, and some traditional/contemporary
romance (Debbie Macomber).  Historicals, especially the sexy kind, are on the upswing with readers.

Ellen Edwards, NAL
*paranormals and urban fantasy are still going strong, although with so
many series to choose from, some are doing better than others.  We
believe that readers will be looking for new world building, beyond
vampires, and we're excited to be introducing Jessica Andersen's
Nightkeepers series (NIGHTKEEPERS: A Novel of the Final Prophecy 6/08)
based on Mayan mythology.

*traditional Regency-set historicals by veteran writers are still going
strong--Jo Beverley is currently enjoying her longest run yet on the New
York Times list, and many others, with A LADY'S SECRET.

*romantic suspense is still a hot area where writers can build theiraudience; JoAnn Ross is doing very well for us with her High Risk series
(FREEFALL 2/08), as is Christina Dodd with her paranormal romanticsuspense series Darkness Chosen.  Frequency of publication in this area
really helps, as does lots of sexual tension

*romance readers are reading across genre more than ever--chick lit mysteries, romantic suspense, historical novels with strong female protagonists

*in the area of general contemporary women's fiction, consumers have more choice than ever before--there are so many strong novels that
thrive in the trade paperback format! NAL has had wonderful success with WHISTLING IN THE DARK by Lesley Kagen, which has 160,000 trade paperback copies in print.  Her new novel, LAND OF A HUNDRED WONDERS, is coming in August, also in trade paperback.

*we're also doing well with historical novels featuring strong, often historical female protagonists, with and without romantic elements--and we'd love to acquire more

Deb Werksman, Sourcebooks Casablanca:
The romance market is robust! Readers are loyal to their favorite authors, but also always willing to try someone new if they like what they're hearing about the book.

Subgenres continue to cycle in and out of favor, but I believe there are readers for every subgenre, if the book is good enough. Paranormal continues to be hot, but it's getting crowded and is getting more difficult to break out in as a debut. Historical is steady and has been for a long time. Romantic suspense is hot, and for some is the second
strongest subgenre (after paranormal). Inspirational is also growing, and I've heard both that erotica is growing, and that it's not, so that
leads me to believe some retailers are doing well with it and others aren't.

I think the romance category is a lot like the stock market--it's reallyhard to time it. Best to go for "value"--a strong book with a strong hook may itself lead to an upswing in a "down" cycle.

I'm also hearing that trilogies are hot, and that series are getting shorter.

Dianne Moggy, director of Global Single Titles at Harlequin Books, says HQN is looking for contemporary romance, sexy historical romance and romantic suspense. Mira is also looking for romantic suspense manuscripts.

Tom Colgan of Berkley Prime Crime has no plans to cut back -- the imprint is doing well.

Betsy Mitchell, Editor in Chief of Del Rey Books, said they plan to increase their offerings of 'female-oriented' science fiction and fantasy.

Amy Pierpont, Editorial Director of Grand Central Publishing and Jennifer Enderlin, Senior Editor of St. Martin's Press are very interested in sexy western historical romance.

Devi Pillai, Orbit:
Regarding urban fantasy, some of the things I'm seeing that have popped up are supernatural creatures other than vamps and werewolves -- though let's not discount their importance in the scheme of things. Witches and succubus are coming up the ladder, but what's interesting is the rise of the half-breed in some of the more recent bestsellers. Keri Arthur has a half-vamp, half werewolf. Jeniene Frost has a half and half -- vampire and human I think? Plus of course the rise of the psychic, from Karen Chance to Charlaine Harris. It's interesting to note that we haven't lost our interest in the traditional elements of the supernatural beings, but it's neat to see the direction that its taking. . . Its kinda shifting from the supernatural to more human -- or the mixing of the genre is signifying a mixing of the supernatural races or something. Not quite clear to me yet, but as more books appear, perhaps we can make a ruling on what exactly the change is.

Mary-Theresa Hussey, MIRA
MIRA has begun to publish YA urban fantasy.  (Rachel Vincent trilogy where the heroine is a banshee)


6.  FUTURE CHALLENGES:

At the 2007 Frankfurt Book Fair last fall, they conducted a major survey of book industry professionals, asking respondents to identify the challenges and threats facing the publishing industry, and to predict emerging trends and areas of growth.

Publishers, retailers, agents and librarians from all over the world were surveyed via electronic newsletter. Over 1,300 responded from 86 countries. Nearly half of them were senior, CEO or Director level.

They were representative of the book trade as a whole, with professions ranging from editorial (20 per cent), marketing and PR (13 per cent), rights management (10 per cent), sales (9 per cent), booksellers (8 per cent), literary agents (5 per cent), librarians (4 per cent) and scouts (1 per cent).

Question one
What is the most important challenge currently facing the book industry?
• Digitization 53%

Question two
Which is the biggest threat to the publishing industry today?
• Competition from other media and sources of entertainment 50%

Question three
Which market is likely to commercially dominate in the coming decade?
• Europe 36%
• North America 32%
• China 29%

Question four
Who is currently driving the industry?
• Publishers 37%
• Marketers 31%

Question five
Which of the following will be obsolete in fifty years time?
• The publisher 4%
• The editor 6%
• The printed book 11%
• The electronic reader 10.5%
• The independent bookseller 23%
• None of the above 55.5%

Question six
Which of the following do you see as a major area of growth in coming years?
• Audiobooks 41%
• Books in translation 27%
• Educational publishing 27%


SOME FUN STATISTICS:

The bestselling mass market paperback was The Pocket Book of Baby and Child Care, by Dr. Benjamin Spock published in 1946.

Other mass market editions that sold at least 9 million copies through 1975 were:

    * The Godfather (Crest)
    * The Exorcist (Bantam)
    * To Kill A Mockingbird (Popular Library)
    * Peyton Place (Pocket Books)
    * Love Story (New American Library)
    * Jaws (Bantam)
    * Valley of the Dolls (Bantam)


7.  OUR OWN SURVEY:

I asked the attendees of the conference for their predictions on the sub-genres that were going to grow over the next 18 months and the ones that would shrink.  Here's what they said.

Young adult romance AND historical romance tied for the sub-genres most likely to grow in the near term.

Erotica was the top pick for shrinkage in popularity over the next year and a half (with paranormal close on its heels.)

Check back at the end of 2009 to see if they were right!

Here's a heads up on a great one-day event where I'll be speaking this Saturday, May 17th. If you live near San Diego, the Romance Writers of America chapter there is hosting a one-day conference that will feature three literary agents, one infomercial director and one editor (from Harlequin). I'll be kicking things off with a rousing speech about The State of the Romance Market. I've been dutifully collecting data since January so I'm ready. Bottom line? The market for romance fiction is as healthy as an alpha male hero. For more info on the conference, check out www.rwasd.com.

I was a faculty member at the recent Pikes Peak Writers Conference (a fantastic event for writers if you are looking for one next year) and it was great to hear other agents and editors answer questions from the audience and list their do's and don'ts.  I thought I'd share.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN AGENT OR EDITOR IS ASKED A HUNDRED QUESTIONS A WEEK?
The most recent trend in query letters, and one that sets agents and editors on edge, is the first sentence question query.  Like this:
     "What would you do if you woke up one morning with no memory of who you were?"
     "Can a bright seven-year-old with ADD save the world from an alien attack?
     "What happens when two brothers compete to inherit $10 million in a winner-take-all will?
So, if you've got a query letter that begins with a question, rewrite it or face rejection.  (Or at least a negative attitude from the editor/agent while reading your submission!)

CHICK LIT IS DEADER THAN LAST YEAR'S MANOLO BLAHNIKS
If you don't know what chick lit is, then you probably don't care that it has fallen out of favor with the reading public. If you write chick lit romance, you're going to have to make those designer clothes, shoes and handbags supernatural if you want to sell your work.  But don't worry.  Fashion, like reader preferences, tends to cycle around.  Put your manuscript in a drawer, write something about a vampire (they're fashion trend setters, no?) and like a fine wine your chick lit will get better with age.  Or at least it may become popular with a future generation.  You'll probably have to update the designer names at that time, but what fun your research will be!

URBAN FANTASY IS HOT; EPIC FANTASY IS NOT
As a lover of all types of fantasy, this is sad, but predictable.  Urban fantasy--a relatively new sub-genre where preternatural creatures have come out of the closet (or coffin) and we mortals now acknowledge that they live among us--is so popular with today's readers it has literally knocked sword & sorcery/epic/traditional fantasy off the bookstore shelves.  Of course this will even out or even reverse over time, so Beowulf-lovers don't lose heart!  But if you feel like delving into a contemporary storyline with no holds barred and very few boundaries, give urban fantasy a spin.  Release your inner werewolf or demon hunter and have fun with it.  (And email me the first 10 pages when you're finished!)

YA IS HEALTHY IN EVERY GENRE
Young Adult books--the category created in the late 1970's since some very astute bookseller noticed that teens refused to step near the children's section of his store yet were confused by the maze of adult selections--are as popular as the newest iPod or cell phone.  YA titles that range from romance to fantasy to adventure to serious contemporary issues are flying off bookstore shelves.  A word of warning to would-be YA scribes...perfecting that YA voice is difficult and tricky, so read a lot of YA bestsellers before you decide to plunge into these waters.

INSPIRATIONAL FICTION IS DOWN; EROTICA IS UP
Okay, I'm not even going to comment on this one.

IS THERE A NEW TYPE OF WESTERN FICTION?
I know I'm searching for a brand new type of western. One that would be popular with modern readers.  One that does not rehash the same old stories.  One whose characters SOUND like a person from today--okay, not with the slang and dialect of this era, but equally not with the "pa-and-ma" vernacular or cowboy idioms of the 1800s.  What do I mean by this?  Not exactly sure.  Maybe a fictional tale of a teenaged Annie Oakley or Billie the Kid.  Or a meeting of two real-life heroes, but with a fictional storyline.  I'm thinking how popular the television show THE WILD, WILD WEST was back in the day and I'm looking for something similar that today's readers would dig.  The problem with traditional westerns is that the market is so tiny.  I need a bigger book for a larger market.  Anyone got one?

Okay, that's it for today.  I've got a lot of work to do. 

I just returned from the Novels in Progress Workshop in Louisville, Kentucky, and once again I am impressed by the quality and intensity of the faculty and participants. This week-long workshop has a low teacher-to-student ratio (meaning you have one teacher to a handful of writers per breakout session), and plentiful opportunities to improve the novel you are currently writing or editing. Plus, the Green River Writers group makes sure you have just as many networking and social gatherings to blow off steam and commiserate with the faculty and your peers. Agents and editors are invited towards the end of the week to pontificate on the publishing market and listen to pitches from the students. As was my experience here last year, the quality of the pitches and the preparedness of the students was high indeed. It made me want to come next year for the whole week and participate as a student or faculty member! The seven-day total immersion in writing--with other authors who are excited to critique my work--would be heavenly. If you think you'd enjoy this intensive writing workshop, and either live close to Louisville or don't mind the plane ride, think about going next March. Keep tabs on NIPW here.

Nothing like seeing into the future!  Readers of my blog get an advance peek at my introductory remarks for Sunday's Making The Grade in Middle Grade workshop with my client, Douglas Rees, at the San Francisco Writers Conference.  Doug and I will ask each other a bunch of questions, kind of like the audience is sitting in on one of our monthly  lunches--without the food!  Should be a great workshop.

Enjoy this excerpt!

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UPDATE ON THE TWEEN & TEEN BOOK MARKETS
by Laurie McLean, Agent, Larsen Pomada Literary Agents


TELL US THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT CHANGES IN CHILDREN'S BOOKS OVER THE PAST DECADE:

1.  It's alive!  Children's books have risen from the backwater of publishing to become a force in the industry.  In fact, last year record sales of children's books kept some publishers profitable.  Both front list and back list are selling well.

2.  The advent of the series.  It used to be that children's books were single title in nature.  But that has been turned on its ear over the past decade.  Series publishing has become a mighty force in publishing, recognizable by the sheer volume of series books that are on the best seller lists--as well as the black holes that open up when a series ends.

3.  Fantasy has become a huge, separate category in children's publishing.  Can you say Harry Potter?  Eragon?  Fantasy has gone from occasional mid-list to the feeling sometimes that nothing BUT fantasy is being published.


WHAT TRENDS FOR MIDDLE-GRADE AND YA WILL BE WITH US FOR AWHILE?

Goosebumps revived the ghost story, Harry Potter started fantasy and Meg Cabot launched chick-lit.  These categories may ebb and flow, but they are here to stay.  Animal stories, humorous books and books that make you cry will always be there.  But rather than following a trend, which is always a risk, the question should be: What's the next big trend?  The Alex Rider series showed us that kids like adventure/suspense.  Is there a breakout historical fiction or mystery trend around the corner?


WHAT'S HOT IN CHILDREN'S BOOKS?

The level of sophistication in the middle-grade and YA audience is astounding to me.  Some backlist favorites that used to be for teens are now solidly placed on middle-grade bookshelves.  When YA moved out of the children's section it grew up.  It said, "There's some sophisticated issues being dealt with here, so beware mom and dad."  And this is a desperately needed resource for today's more mature teens.

Middle grade mysteries are in vogue thanks in part to Veronica Mars.  Good fantasy, horror and paranormal is hot--again thanks to all the supernatural stuff on television and in the movies.  Graphic novels are building an audience that I feel will continue to grow and broaden as titles become more mainstream.  Excellent fiction always sells well. 

Remember that for the first time since the sixties the birthrate in this country is out-pacing the death rate.  Over four million babies were born last year in the U.S.  That means a lot of kids are coming along to read the children's books of the future.  That's good news!


CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE TWEEN/TEEN MARKETS?

One of the interesting things about tweens and teens is that they have more disposable income than their historical peers (mainly from parents and relatives, not from jobs) and they don't mind spending it on trendy things.  For them community is king, and their community of friends is online.  So if a buzz gets going for a particular book or series of books, they buy it. With their own money and many times without parental knowledge.  I can't stress enough the importance of online marketing for authors.

Also, we start to lose boy readers around the ages of twelve or thirteen while girls hold on longer.  This trend continues into adulthood where women buy most of the books.  It's something to think about when you're writing that YA adventure novel for boys.  The market might not be there to read it.

Social commentary for youth is experiencing an up trend.  Sparked by adult books rewritten for kids, like Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth or Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me, tweens and teens are very interested in books about the world around them.

MY PREDICTION: I SEE A LOT OF BLUE SKY FOR CHILDREN'S BOOK PUBLISHING!

One of the premier writing conference in the world, and I'm not just saying that because I'm part of the management team, is the San Francisco Writers Conference. Held every year during President's Day weekend in February, this selective conference (limited to 300 attendees) brings more than 100 authors, editors, agents and other publishing professionals to the Mark Hopkins Hotel high atop Nob Hill in San Francisco to teach all aspects of the publishing trade. There are keynotes from bestselling authors. This year Clive Cussler, Tess Gerristen, April Sinclair and Daisy Maryles are keynoters. There are workshops on the craft of writing, the intricacies of marketing your work, networking, pitching, new writing technology and so much more. There are late night open mics and pitch contests. And there are two speed dating events: one with editors and one with agents.

So, why am I shamelessly pitching this conference to you? I will be presenting a workshop with my client, award-winning children's author Douglas Rees, on Sunday, February 17th. Entitled "Making the Grade in Middle Grade Fiction", this workshop will offer facts and insight into the changing middle-grade market (children 9-13 years old), as well as an informal, and hopefully provocative, conversation between Doug and me.

If you can add the conference to your "to-do" list, make sure you introduce yourself to me. More information can be found at www.sfwriters.org. If you can't make the conference, I'll post a recap of our workshop on this blog afterwards.

I will be the guest speaker at Capitol Crimes, the Sacramento Chapter of Sisters in Crime on Saturday, September 15th. If you're in the area, come hear my talk on Three Ways to Make Yourself Irresistible to Agents and Publishers. You might even win the raffle prize of a ten-minute consultation with yours truly after the meeting. Sisters in Crime is a 3400-member organization comprised of authors, readers, publishers, agents, booksellers and librarians bound by their affection for the mystery genre and their support of women who write mysteries. For more information about them, surf on over to www.sistersincrime.org.

Do you believe a book can change the world?

If so, there's a brand new writing conference to be held in Grace Cathedral's Wilsey Conference Center in San Francisco from August 23-25 that you won't want to miss. Writing for Change is the brainchild of Larsen-Pomada co-founder Michael Larsen, who is actively changing the world one book at a time. This man walks the walk in life as a nonfiction literary agent, author and volunteer. He has seen the effect of books that change individuals and nations and believes down to his bones in the power of nonfiction books as agents of change.

If you have a book or a vision that should be shared with others, then this conference will help you increase your skills and your support system to create your pathway to publication. Attendees will have the chance to network, learn from and share their ideas with authors, agents, editors and publishing professionals from the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and New York.

This conference is an opportunity for personal transformation.  The keynote speakers and other presenters are visionaries and activists.  Here are three ways to learn more:

YouTube video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=BL9R80R4Vzs
Podcast: bigvisionpodcast/Interview_with_Elizabeth_Pomada
Website: www.sfwritingforchange.org

What do you get when you put 35,000 writers, editors, agents, authors, publishers, booksellers and assorted other publishing industry people together in the same place in New York? Why, Book Expo America of course. And what a show it is. It is overwhelming in every sense of the word. You can tell by the fact that it has taken me two weeks just to recuperate physically and workwise before I could even tend to my blog! I thought the gossip was going to center around Simon and Schuster's recently announced contractual clause that would keep a book in print even if the only way anyone could buy it was P.O.D. (print on demand). That means the rights would never revert back to the author. But that was settled, to some extent, before BEA started, so attendees had to be content with the showdown between Google and Microsoft for dominance in digital publishing (scanning whole libraries of work and indexing them for ultimate searchability and other cool tricks.) And the free books. One of the time honored traditions of BEA is the giving of free ARCs, galleys and recently-published books--many signed by authors right there in the publisher's booths! I spent more in shipping than I did for food! For books I will probably never have time to read being a busy agent and all. But they will make nice gifts. Or so I'm told. BEA is held every other year in New York.  Next year it will be in Los Angeles. I think I'll drive and load up the trunk with books. But I digress. There is so much to say but where to begin? I think I'll see how interactive this blog can be. Ask me questions about BEA and I'll answer. If no one asks, I'll try to break it up into parts and organize my thoughts that way. Tag, you're it!

I have a recommendation. If you're the kind of writer who would benefit from lots of one-on-one specific editing tips from a successful published author, ample opportunities to have your manuscript critiqued by your writing peers, workshops on the craft of writing and the business of publishing, plus direct access to literary agents and small press editors in a variety of situations, then I know you'd like the Novels in Progress Workshop. Sponsored by Green River Writers and held at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky each March, NIPW combines that heady mixture of intense work on a specific novel-in-progress (hence the name) with a whole lot of other writer-related activities to blow off steam. Want to take an agent or editor to an intimate lunch and pitch your work? How about a week of mingling with published authors who will answer your every question about the journey towards publication? Or perhaps you'd enjoy the slow Southern hospitality of Loo-a-vul? (Not to mention the bourbon!) It was one of the best small writers conference I've attended yet. Check out their website NIPW for further information.