The London Book Fair

The London Book Fair

First of all, let me apologise for going back on my word. When I created The Plan, I had entirely forgotten that I would be at the London Book Fair this week, therefore the post on “Character Names” will need to wait until next Monday. This one will focus on the fair so far, with another update on Friday. Wednesday will be about Vinland as promised. I am still deciding on whether to introduce one of Erik’s sons; Leif, the wise explorer, or Thorvald, the younger son in pursuit of glory? Or would you prefer the deeply loyal warrior Adalwolf? Please make suggestions in the comments below, or via twitter on the right --->

This was my first outing as an author, and the first time I have ever been to a convention, so I quite honestly had no idea of what to expect. A publisher friend of mine (You can find him here, at Acorn Independent Press) suggested that I attend the fair if I was serious about writing. I arrived at Earls Court at an hour far too early for me (9:30am) and found a massive, bustling crowd with an almost anarchic feel to it. Everywhere were stands for the various publishing companies, racks of books and lots of people in suits.

This was the first pitfall for me. Being my usual disorderly self, I had turned up in T-shirt and cargoes... my standard uniform, so felt entirely out of place. However, I decided to go exploring and, eventually (and I mean eventually, the place is a maze), I came across the Authors Lounge. Considering these people are in the business of communication and the written word, signs don’t seem to have been invented yet. It was a tiny room with space for maybe 10 people... there were at least 30 there, the first indication that someone thinks authors are not important in the world of books.

 

Thankfully virtually all those within were similarly attired to myself, so I felt right at home here among the writers. The first seminar was “Dispelling the Myths of Self-Publishing”, an interesting event, but it didn’t really bring forth any new information, except for one potential golden nugget. The lecturer was telling us that a number of writers chose to go with self-publishing initially to establish their target readership. Then, because they still owned the full copyright, they would go to the literary agents and traditional publishers and say “Look at all these people reading my stuff, now with your resources imagine the potential reach!”. It’s an interesting business proposition. 

The second seminar, after lunch, was far better. It was about how authors can publicise themselves. The memorable quote of the day was to look for publicists, not publishers. Apparently the lecturer had been at a meeting with some publisher big-wigs who were discussing the data from a survey “What do authors expect from publishers” and some overwhelming percentage, 90% or something, expected marketing. They were baffled, why on earth would authors expect marketing in their book deal? He had a story of a publisher boasting that their publishing house gave each author a budget of £200. For those of you not in the know, this is tiny, and maybe covers the cost of sending the book to 5 reviewers, and an advice sheet. Cost of chasing up the reviewers not included. 

Overall I came away a little dissatisfied. The event is clearly for publishers, with the authors (the life-blood of their business) given only lip service. The second seminar, for instance, had people crowding outside because we couldn’t all fit inside. Who knew that there would be a lot of writers at a book fair?!