Book Conventions and Hand Sanitizer

by Nancy

Many years ago, I let myself get coerced into seeing the movie Porky's with my husband's co-workers. I was the only person who knew in advance it was a sophomoric, raunchy, semi-pornographic (for its day) flick, but in a classic case of peer pressure, I let everyone else sweep me--taunted as the fuddyduddy--into a movie I didn't want to see. And for about ten minutes, the rest of the group roared with laughter.  But eventually the co-workers fell into squirming silence as the action onscreen got more and more . . . well, stupid and icky. When the movie was over, nobody could look anyone else in the eye.  Instead, the co-workers all mumbled good-night and split as fast as possible, trying not to think about what they'd have to say to each other Monday morning around the water cooler.

That's kind of how I feel about the Romantic Times convention. Sure, everybody looks like they're having a good time, nobody's getting hurt, and technically people are celebrating books (one friend spent $200 to ship home the books she acquired) but me, I just feel uncomfortably out of place amid all the erotica and the--sorry, I gotta say it--crudeness.

Which is my problem, not anyone else's. Hey, if you love man-on-man-on-woman sex with some shapeshifters and chocolate sauce thrown in, I give you my blessing.

It's just not for me.  Mind you, I'm not a romance snob.  I love romance novels.  I've written enough to put my kids through college. And the first book sitting here on my "keeper" shelf is Anne Stuart's Catspaw. And I'm thinking that's the kind of book that's the mark of a true connoisseur.

But, as another friend says, "There's just not enough hand sanitizer to get me to go to RT."

But this particular convention has lots of other stuff going on--if you can look past the well-lotioned male models--and some of it is worth the attention of people in the book business.

First thing I noticed?  Youth.  At mystery conventions, there's a lot of gray hair and fixed incomes.  The romance genre, however, seems to have ongoing appeal.   At RT there were more twenty-somethings than sixty-somethings.  This has to be a good thing, but draw your own conclusion.

Next:  I noticed how many people were clearly good friends, but meeting for the first time in person. Okay, this is old news--that the internet is fostering communities of readers---but it's never more apparent than at the RT convention. (Here's the Publisher's Weekly blog report with plenty of video. She makes the same observation.)

Another thing that jumped out at me right away was how many readers were buying e-books. You could walk up to an author or bookseller and hand over your jumpdrive, and a minute later you'd have a novel for your Sony reader. Like magic. No printing, no hauling boxes, no gasoline tax--just a fast exchange and a satisfied--er, happy customer. Does this kind of movement start with an underground genre like erotica before it goes mainstream? Maybe so.

My daughter has a Sony reader and says she can download books from the internet onto her computer first, which she likes because she can keep a "library" on her computer as well as on the Sony reader in case one of them crashes. The only bad thing, she reports, is that she has to pretty much know what she's buying before she goes looking for it.  There's no physical bookstore to browse, and the download sites are kinda clunky.  (What she needs is a good old-fashioned informed, hand-selling bookstore clerk!) Maybe this is where those video book trailers are going to come in handy. (Does anyone here go looking for book trailers?  Can you point us to some good ones?)  Do book trailers prompt you to buy books? Just wondering.

This e-book thing is the wave of the future, folks. We can talk about how much we love the feel of a book in our hands, the crisp paper, the smell of musty pages.  But our kids don't think that way.  (Heck, they're text messaging each other now instead of telephoning!  Of course they're ready to read books on a small screen!) E-books are coming--like a tsunami. We can either figure out how we're going to surf that big wave or get washed away.

How easy would it be for a bookseller to have a computer in the store for downloads? Pretty easy, I think. (Kudos, by the way, to Joseph-Beth Booksellers, a terrific indie chain--if there is such a thing--for their excellent management of the RT bookfair!) It just takes a tech-savvy person to get cracking on such a project, and my bet is that it would be up and running in a week. One way for the indies to out-fox the slow-moving chain stores, maybe?

Oh, wait.  Here's a company that does the digitizing, and they're throwing a one-day event in NYC to show how it's done. And here's agent Andrew Zack's blog on the subject of e-books.

The other big talk among the non-erotica people at RT was the value of the book club. Even small book clubs are golden. They're access. If a writer visits a book club, the whole club buys the book, discusses the book, probably talks about the book with other non-club readers. It's the new-old-fashioned way of building readership by word of mouth. The big question is how to reach book clubs from the corporate standpoint. Should authors do it?  (Add one more item to my resume--the masters degree in marketing!)  Should publishers have somebody on the payroll who goes trolling daily for book clubs?  Are there freelance publicists out there creating exclusive lists of book club contacts?  The answer is: All of the above.  And make it quick, please!

Here's what else I learned from table chitchat with authors, booksellers, librarians and readers:

Hardly anybody has the dough to buy hardcovers.  (Have your hardcover-buying habits changed lately?)  If the only reason to print popular fiction hardcovers is to get reviews . . . well, somebody needs to think of another way to reach reviewers.

It's unanimous: Author tours are just too damn expensive for too little return.  Publishers don't want to pay for tours, and authors are already spending their advances on scattershot PR strategies, and besides, hardly anybody comes to the store to meet the author anymore.  Yes, we're all buying the goodwill of booksellers when we show up at their stores, but hey---maybe we ought to be sending muffins instead. Or placing an order for $100 worth of books. As a reader, have you attended a booksigning lately? For a bigtime author? A midlist author?  Or a celebrity who's not really an author at all, but selling books anyway?

Book festivals are where it's at. Plenty of people are saying so. Multi-author events with wide-spread advertising that brings hundreds, if not thousands, of readers--those seem to be efficient expenditures of resources. Here's a good one I've attended in the past. (Next Monday!  Come one, come all to the Mystery Lovers Bookshop Festival of Mystery!) And another. And another one I've heard good things about. But at the colossal bookfairs, do midlist and genre authors get lost among the easier-to-market celebrities selling whatever the hell they're supposedly "writing?"

Radio is back.  Here's Cathy Maxwell, a smart, witty, incredibly entertaining romance writer who doubles as a host of a radio show that discusses books. Now, here's a way to reach a lot of readers, folks. Are there other book-related radio shows out there?  I've done a lot of radio interviews, but most of them were duds. (Remind me to tell you the story of the radio "talk show host" who before interviewing me, delivered the pork belly futures every morning at 5am to the guys who are firing up their tractors in Iowa.  Are those farmers my core readership?  No.  So why am I spending my energy talking to them on the radio?)  There's got to be somebody working on a list of prime book-loving radio shows. Call me.

Everybody's trying to find ways to make bookselling more interactive, more dynamic. More telegenic. (The local TV stations were at a loss about how to video the RT convention. They kept burying the RT story at the end of the morning "news" show because it's hard to make a TV segment about reading. Better to show cover models and readers in fairy wings because they make good pictures. But . . .that's not really the story we publishing folk want on television, is it?  It doesn't sell books, only makes everybody look ridiculous.) Here are a couple of enterprising authors who've taken on the video challenge and are doing it very well. (Go ahead.  Click over there to read about Liz Maverick and Marianne Mancusi.  Watch their videos.  Very smart and hip, right?) They were swamped by young readers at the RT bookfair. If their publisher would just keep their books in print, they'd be selling like hotcakes. If author touring is dead, I'm thinking publishing publicists ought to be making book trailers and video stuff intended for the internet.

What else did I observe? That many self-pubbed and "small press" writers are viewing their choice as a "stepping stone" to publication by a traditional publisher. Oh, dear.  If a deal with a traditional publisher is their ultimate goal, here's my view:  Quit promoting yourself.  Stay home and learn to punctuate.  At the very least, get the grammatical errors out of your titles. Better yet, take a class so you can at least recognize the howlers you've created.

Here's a new word I learned at RT:  Mash-up. No, I'm not talking about vampires having sex with bulldozers.  (Hey, great concept!  Bet nobody's used that one yet!) A "mash-up" is a book that combines two or more genres. Maybe YA fantasy and time travel hybrid.  Or, in my case, romance and mystery and women's fiction. It's not called a "sub-genre" anymore, you old fogeys. Young, hip readers want to hear it called a mash-up. Kewl, huh? Trouble is, I'm still not seeing publishers who've figured out how to successfully market a mash-up to two different audiences.  (Exception:  Anything Charlaine Harris.) Mystery readers don't cross the aisle to look at romance novels.  And romance readers have plenty to read in their own aisle already. So how do we market romantic mysteries to both audiences? When you figure it out, let me know, because I think it's a job better left to professionals, not me.

Here's another question I'd like an answer for: Why are there so few publishers at this convention?  This is Ground Zero, the place where readers and authors and publishers and booksellers and librarians collide. I'm telling you, it's a cluster fuck for book people. But we didn't encounter many New Yorkers there, putting their ears to the ground. In an age when a lot of publishers seem to be throwing anything against the wall to see what sticks--well, RT seems like a no-brainer to me.  Am I wrong? Would they come if the ick factor was reduced a little? Maybe so. But would the readers back off? It's a conundrum.

Would I go back to an RT convention?  Maybe not. It's hard to attract attention for mysteries when the focus of the event is so clearly erotica. But RT has good karma for the Tarts. It's where we came up with the idea for TLC! (And pretty soon you'll hear some Extremely Big News here. But we're sworn to secrecy a little longer.) And it's a great place to meet your friends for a hilarious couple of days. Plus it's an excellent venue for taking the temperature of the book biz.  Good things happen at Romantic Times, so maybe we'll give it another shot.

But I'm packing hand sanitizer.

Comments

[Becky Hutchison]

Okay, I'll admit it again. I'm buying more and more of my books as ebooks. Why? I am running out of bookshelves. Granted I like to hold books, but I can hold my ebook in my PDA even easier. And I like reading books on my computer too. A couple of good things about ebooks that publishers or independent bookstores should think about. A. ebooks cost very little to "make" unlike physical books, and the profit margin should then be bigger for all. B. As people start having problems with their eyesight, they can just crank the fonts up on the computers for easy reading...the screen's the limit!

And regarding Andrew Zack's blog, he's missing the lure of the ebook on computers alone. The ebooks are extremely reasonable, and on www.booksonboard.com one can find many ebooks for less than the price in the bookstores on both hardbacks and paperbacks.

In Borders the other day I was looking through the new fiction paperbacks and overheard two women in their 20s or 30s talking about how much they love reading books on their PDAs. They enjoyed the convenience of having several books on one little color device. They didn't need a black and white Kindle or Sony reader.

I just hope publishers and bookstores start paying attention to young reader trends so they can prevent the type of crash and burn that's hitting the big music companies with album and CD sales. I would sure hate to see bookstores go the way of Tower Records!

[Sheila Clover English]

I attended the RT convention this year, as I have since 2002.
And though I know the convention coordinator worked extremely hard to bring in a more professional atmosphere there were just too many outside influences that wouldn't allow that to happen.

I like that they split the ebook authors and traditional authors and I think the ebook Book Fair did very well. I hope they do that again.

I'm old fashioned.Or maybe I'm just getting old. I'm not as impressed with oiled male muscles as I am with meeting my favorite author and my online friends. I didn't attend all the parties this year, though the few I did go to were fine. I just didn't stay late enough to see any real action, though I hear there was a lot going on.

I plan on going to RT in Orlando. I think it will be much better than Pittsburgh. I plan on putting our book trailers on the hotel TV again since that was very successful for us this year.

Speaking of book trailers, here's a link to a couple of sites where you can check out some trailers-
www.youtube.com/booktrailers

and

www.readersentertainment.tv

More and more book trailers are bringing in new readers. Young people love them and readers are growing to accept them and utilize them. I could speak for days on the utilization and effectiveness of book trailers, but instead I'll point you to a site where you can download an ebook about Book Trailers if you're interested-
http://www.cosproductions.com/Resources/Index.html

[Josh]

Gee, Nancy, it sounds as if you've officially hit "fogie" status. No fun there.

I've been to a signing recently, but I only go out of my way for authors I know. And the only book I bought at RT was a Mancuso YA vampire book for my daughter (after a phone call to confirm that she would read it even with the semi-provocative cover photo). It took me several days of showing my photos at the office for me to notice the collar Mancuso was wearing. Very sexy. Maybe if you had borrowed one of hers, more people would have stopped by.

You are right about the Internet creating friendships and communities. None of you would be on my radar if I hadn't had the chance to cyberstalk Sarah years back and stay in touch since then.

[kris]

Nancy, thank you. You said so many things I've been thinking, but you said them so much better than I ever could, with your consistent intelligence and fairness and reason.

I'm off to tell all my buds to come read this column. Now.

[sarahS]

Great blog, Nancy, and I agree about ebooks - especially as the technology improves (has anyone seen the Amazon Kindle?). Portability, instant download, backlighting, long battery life, instant free internet access to look up hyperlinked words and definitions. How hard would that be?

It's not frightening - it's exciting!

[Nancy martin]

Becky! WE've outed you as an e-book reader! And Josh, there's no doubt about my fogey status now, is there? But you might be surprised at my necklace inventory. What did your daughter think of the book??

Sheila, thanks for the links. Everybody? Go check 'em out.

Sarah, I think I might miss having my own library, and I don't yet trust technology not to crash and lose my data. But surely that feeling will go away as we all become more tech savvy?

[William Simon]

My problem with eBooks is my vision. I'm good with those small screens for about ten minutes, then things get weird. I still cling to the romantic side of reading; the feel of the book in your hands, the smell of the paper as you turn the pages, the countdown anticipating arrival of the book at the stores (shoot me, I'm waiting for the new John Sandford even as we speak).

Maybe I spend too much time with computer screens as it is, but I can honestly and sincerely say, "Start the Revolution Without Me."

[Rebecca the Bookseller]

Good points, Nancy.

I attended the Bookseller program at RT (yes, we did have a private audience with the cover boys, but otherwise, they were working sessions).

Without divulging any trade secrets, I can confirm that most of what Nancy said here was also discussed at our panels. Book Clubs and Book Festivals are key for booksellers as well as authors. We also need to work more closely with our librarians. Mystery Lovers Bookshop does events at the Oakmont Library, donates tons of books to our local libraries, encourages donations of new books, etc.

For authors - if you haven't discovered that book clubs are a great way to expand your readers, get on it. Many authors (including our tarts) include book club discussion topics at the back of the book or on their website.

There is an affinity group - formed a year or two ago - with the sole focus of studying and marketing to book clubs.

As for the festivals - bingo! I'm going to repeat the link to ours, because it gets bigger and better every year - and if you attended the Little Night of Romance last week, the same ticket will get you in: http://www.mysterylovers.com/books/events/20080428festival.php.

I love RT - it's a riot and even though I can't keep up the late nights anymore, I still appreciate the theater of it all. I was explaining to someone that it's like a 3-Ring Circus - you don't know where to look, because there is always something fun going on. Next year - Orlando!

[bea]

I haven't tried e-books, and I don't want to read books from a computer screen. I feel a sense of screen fatigue from computer use, and I also don't want to have to be tied to the computer to read. One of the joys of reading is the ability to take the story with you.

Now, perhaps I would love one of the readers, which meets, and exceeds, my portability requirements. But, again, I feel some fatigue. I'm a little bit tired of all the technology. I love computers, love the interaction of the Internet. But...

I resisted the portable music player until just recently. Then I spent a day getting my iPod all loaded up, getting the software set, and so on. And I like it. But now I have one more item to keep charged, one more item to connect to the USB, and one more item with cords that wrap themselves around everything like a weed. And I also have one more item to succumb to occasional technological crankiness, which can turn into a time consuming, and very frustrating, session of messing around with incomprehensible techno-speak.

I'm just not sure I want to deal with that for reading, which works just fine without any technological enhancements. One techno tantrum in my reader, and I'd be furious.

[Karen in Ohio]

Lots of food for thought, Nancy. Count me as a self-publisher who was successful at getting a traditional book contract (nonfiction), but I lived to regret it. I did a million times better job than the publisher did, who even misspelled my name to Amazon.

The first e-book I did was of a 32-page booklet, which I made into a .pdf file and sold in CD form. Then I did another one for a friend of her booklet. I've sold these, and my republished book (it went out of print, and the rights reverted to me), both in CD form and via download. Naturally, I much preferred the download, as it cost me nothing but a few minutes of labor to answer the email or the phone, take the credit card info and input it (never did get a webstore), and send it out. The benefit to the customer of having my 140-page nonfiction book in an electronic format is that I could also include other stuff, like various word processing formats of the document templates that were included in the back of the original book. All for the same price as the original perfect-bound book.

A very good friend sells hundreds of eBooks via his website:http://kennethdking.com/book.html

Granted, these are also nonfiction, but the point is that our customers have gotten used to the idea of using technology, and we shouldn't fear it. It is too bad that this lessens the need for traditional bookstores, but that is a trend affecting many other industries, already. And it's not going to go away any time soon.

As for going to book signings, I've been to a couple at Joseph-Beth, which has my vote for one of the best bookstores in Ohio. They do a terrific job of marketing the authors, too.

[Maryann Mercer]

I look at it this way. Until all libraries go the way of e-books or everyone can afford one, hard copy will still be around.Handing a child his or her first book is just so much more rewarding than saying' "Here, honey, go download Masrvelous Mercer" I think I'm just down the road from Nancy in Fogeyville. I don't doubt this is the wave of the future, but you know for all the people who walk around with iPods, CD's are still prevalent. And, as William says, after ten minutes the eyes start to protest.
I do have to agree that a lot of book buyers hate to spend big bucks on hardcovers, unless they are having them signed(first editions and all)or they're a gift. Why not do a limited number of trade cloth for the collectors and a first run in the more affordable trade paper? Much easier to sell and the sales better right off the mark. Just a thought from my little corner of the old folks' porch.

[michele]

Nancy, thanks for this incredibly insightful blog on the biz these days. We're all facing a lot of changes, and you're somebody who's really tuned into them and paying attention.

I've only been to RT once but I think the key is taking some of the wilder aspects with a grain of salt. Yes, there's a lot of wacked-out pan-sexual paranormal erotica stuff there that has nothing to do with what I wite. OTOH, RT has always been really really supportive of solid suspense writing that has a sexiness or an edge to it. If I go to an RT convention, I expect to attend some of the events feeling like a tourist from another planet. But I'm also going to find people to connect with who're doing more my type of thing. And as for all wild stuff, well, it's an education, isn't it?

[Nancie aka Gun Tart]

I love electronic gadgets but this is one area I’m resisting technology. The ebook readers don’t appeal to me as of yet. I have the Microsoft Ebook Reader software on my laptop and have downloaded a few books but it doesn’t do much for me in the way of reading a book. I still prefer the actual book in my hands and I don’t have to worry about forgetting to charge the batteries.

[Aislynn]

I'll be honest, I've never bought an E-book before though I read tons of stories online. Project Gutenberg is a great way to reread the classics. But after reading this blog post and the comments I went to see how much an e-book would cost and I'm stunned that I haven't looked into this more closely! E-books just may become my preferred choice for reading.

As far as going to Author Signings, again, I've never gone to one. My favorite authors don't come within two hours of where I live so I haven't had the opportunity to travel to see them, though I would enjoy it. However, I'd be thrilled to see any and all of the authors here if they ever come to central NC. :)

[janetlynn13]

I'm resisting the technology, but it does seem the way of the future. I am at a computer ALL day at work, so I don't even like turning my computer on at home. Reading from a screen is not going to happen for me. I'm fairly technical, but still don't relish adding more software, more downloads, more charging and something-else-to-crash to my repertoire. I do, however, LOVE listening to books on tape in the car, and am planning on putting a few on my PDA for our big trip this summer - more books with less weight.

Nancy, I am with you on the RT thing. I'm guessing there isn't a mystery-writers equivalent or you all would be there?

I'm not sure what type of book advertising would affect me. Honestly, I rarely just pick up a book by a new author - whether or not I've seen it advertised. Most of the time, I look for someone new based on a personal recommendation. If I like a new author's book, I read everything of theirs that I can get my hands on. My favorites have really expanded since last year's MLB festival, and from this blog. For me, just those 5 minutes listening to each author speak last week made me buy 5 books - and that could have been more but I was working on my restraint.

BTW, thanks to TLC, I'm now addicted to Spenser Novels on cd.......

[ArkansasCyndi]

Thanks for your observations on RT. Seems like I remember you saying (in Daytona Beach) that you'd never do RT again...it wasn't your reader base. But since it was in your backyard, and there was such a cool Tart-turnout, it makes sense that you go.

I found RT to be too $$$ on my ROI. I felt old when I went... like it was directed toward the younger reader. When I was in my 20's or 3o's, RT would have been a "must go". Now, in my 50's, no, thank you.

I read some e-books. I have found that I read faster on computer than paper. Makes no sense, I know.

[Harley]

Nancy, there is nothing Old Fogey about you -- I think the term I'd apply to you is Well Brought Up. You are so on top of all things New, Young, Hip, Marketing-and-Promotional, you inspire me to pull my head out of the book, look around, and see how to keep reinventing myself to stay in business. If not for you, I'd still be wondering "what is a blog?"

I'll keep going to RTs because there is a part of me that loves to dress up in costumes -- and another part of me that doesn't, but loves to see other people dress in costumes. And because the whole thing intrigues me. I can't even say why.

[Laura (in PA)]

Thanks, Nancy, for saying what I was thinking. This was my first time at RT, and while I went there thinking myself pretty open-minded, I ended up feeling like the world's biggest prude. Something I did learn about myself, however, is that it bothered me just as much to see the men putting themselves out there as meat, as it does when women do it.

However, it was a wonderful opportunity to get to know better some of the authors here at TLC who bring me joy with their books, and to meet up in person with some people I've only known through cyber space. I also got to meet a few new people, like Toni and some others, who I know will now be at the top of my must-read list, and hopefully will be friends as well.

All in all, for me it was a great way to meet up with others who share interests - namely books, books, books. I totally do not fit in with the erotica crowd, but, like most places, I found my niche of people who think and like the same things I do. I attended several of the panel discussions on topics and genres that interest me, and loved them. I haven't been to other conventions, so I can't compare whether this one may not suit me as well as another might.

As far as ebooks go, I haven't yet jumped on that bandwagon. I've read a couple of them in pdf version from my computer, and I've been toying with the thought of getting a Sony Reader or Kindle, but, like William, I look at a computer all day, and prefer to read my books the old fashioned way. That's not to say I won't change my mind, because I love the audiobooks on my iPod, but right now, I have a hard time picturing myself curled up in bed with my Kindle.

And as far as author signings, I love them. I go to them frequently, and I'm lucky enough that many on the east coast pass through this area. I enjoy meeting authors in person, and hearing the voice from their books come to life. I prefer the ones where the author will speak some and then answer questions, but even multi-author signings where you just pass from one to another are fun. I can see, though, how they would be too expensive to be feasible very often. I would travel to have that experience, like I did to Pittsburgh, and do to Nora Roberts signings at her husband's bookstore (3 hrs away). I'm definitely checking out some of those links you put up there, Nancy, for the book festivals and such. And I'll be very happy if the radio shows come in podcast form I can put on my iPod.

Jeez - sorry for the long post.

[Katherine C.]

What William said. I just don't see the appeal of sitting there staring at yet another (tiny? I don't know, never really checked one of these things out because I have no interest in them) electronic screen all day. And I certainly hope electronic readers don't eventually mean the end of physical books. I would cry. A lot.
Regarding author signings, I'm with Aislynn. I live in Columbia, MO, so I'm close enough to St. Louis or Kansas City that if an author I liked came here, I'd LOVE to go, but to my knowledge they haven't. There was one signing I missed at my local indie store because I was out of town for a family thing. Still disappointed I missed her. I'd also love to go to a convention such as RT or one of the many mystery gatherings, but most of them are far enough away I can't afford the time/cost. Sigh. My goal is to save up to go to one sometime in the next couple of years, because getting to meet the people that write the books I love so much — and the other readers too — sounds like the perfect way to spend a weekend.

[Pam aka SisterZip]

It has been entirely too long ago....1992-1996....that I worked as the assistant buyer for an indie bookstore here in St. Louis/Clayton. We always had signings and because we were an independant, we got a lot of publisher support. It may not be true anymore, but then Romances & Romantic Suspense or Chick Lit were not respected or even promoted to add sales. When I suggested enlarging that section, I was met with sneers and laughter. One of the owners actually said they didn't want "those women wearing their stretch pants" there. So they would give me the catalogs or send the reps my way and I would do the buying. After about 6 months they decided to increase the floor space and took the buying back themselves. It smacked them upside the head that the ladies who bought those books were the same customers who bought the more "high brow" stuff. They still didn't do signings for them, because OMG! The signings we did have, though, were always well received and well planned. It increased sales 1000% in some cases.

But those were the days...now its watch tv or a movie or read a book on a screen that I can't see the disply. How am I supposed to increase the font size and not get carpel tunnel in my finger/thumb from hitting the forward button? lol!

[Susan Helene Gottfried]

I gotta admit: I almost bought the Sony eReader. It's one sweet piece of computerism.

As for RT, I saw you there a number of times, Nancy. You could tell I was having a ball. I think my background helped me adapt a bit better -- I attended both the Faery Ball and Vampire Ball (in my jeans both nights, thankyouverymuch) and was actually disappointed. I'd heard the freaks would come out. I'm still waiting for them, but apparently, I'm the minority.

For me, what it comes down to is that people were having FUN. We were celebrating books and authors, we were talking about what we like to read, we were meeting people who were previously only names on a spine. Hell, I've met the biggest of the big rock stars (at a party I threw, nonetheless) and I still got a thrill when MaryJanice Davidson plunked down beside me on the couch.

Whenever we get people talking about books and put them in an environment where others don't drown out the discussion with, "How can you find time to read when there are errands to be run? I have to get to Costco daily or my family runs out of food!" -- it's a good thing. We need more opportunities for people to celebrate books and reading. (Yes, MLB's festival on Monday.)

As for book clubs, I've got lots of ideas that'll make things easier, Nancy. Drop me a line when you're back from Malice and we'll knock heads.

[Laura (in PA)]

Philadelphia Free Library puts on a book festival - I missed last year's, but hope to check out this year's next month:
http://libwww.freelibrary.org/bookfestival/program.cfm

[Becki]

LA Times Festival of Books (HUGE) is this weekend at UCLA for any of those around here.

http://www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks/

It is in its 13 year and attracts thousands! I am so hoping to attend.

[Me, Margie]

Wait a minute - is it just Me, Margie, or did Nancy actually use the term clusterfuck up there?!

Uh, huh. Proud of ya. I think I'm a good influence around here, don't you?

I love that word. But seriously? Don't ever do something like that. Because the only thing that's a sure thing about a clusterfuck is that if one person has the clap, everyone gets it. I know because I have older cousins who tell me stuff. Just saying.

As for RT - it may not be for everyone, but just about everybody has a great time. Sure, there were a few incidents that required police intervention (none involving me, thankyouverymuch) but no one got hurt. I know there is more porn every year (yeah, you can call it what you want, but with me, you get the truth) but so what? In case you didn't know it, porn is a huge business, and I'd bet you'd be surprised at how many people you know read it. There's that old saying about still water or something, but that never really made sense to me. whateve.

[toni mcgee causey]

I think Michele summed up the feeling exactly: I loved going, but it's a little like visiting another planet when it came to the costume balls. Still, some were so crazy, and some were so creative, how can you not be inspired?

Book clubs rock. I had just gone to speak at one the week before RT and it was very well attended and everyone bought the book and were encouraging. You leave those types of events energized and eager to keep writing.

I love librarians. I'm a writer today because of my English teacher / librarian in high school, who *made* me submit something for publication (I was chicken).

I can't quite figure out if the ebook would work for me. I like holding the book... but I will have to admit, there are times I subconsciously want to hit CTRL + to enlarge the font, and um, books. Not so much able to do that. You know how they have those foldable keyboards now which roll out to a regular size? As soon as they do that with foldable screens that pack small but can enlarge, I think ebooks will take off.

I think book trailers work for a lot of reasons, but they're still not something the majority of readers know about or find as a useful tool, yet. (Having done one, I found it useful to hand to booksellers, not so much for the general reading public.)

Great post, Nancy. And you'll never be old fogey. You're too hip and sharp for that.