Makin' my way through the BEA!

I just got back from our two annual industry showcases---the APAC (Audio Publishers Assocation Conference) and the BEA (Book Expo America).  As I attended the "networking" meals and seminars, perused the numerous booths of books and audios looking for what's "hot," and rubbed shoulders with industry "insiders," I detected a distinct mood in the air that permeated every attendee--the mood could only be described with the paradoxical juxtaposition of two words:  Excited/Terrified.

The paradox is this:  Because of the impending new technologies and terms invading the publishing world (namely, the internet, podcasting, downloading, streaming, beaming, flash, bits, bytes, aggregation, disaggregation, blogs, posts, digitization, scanning, texting, "IM--ing"....need I go on?) never has there been a greater opportunity to make your mark in publishing.  Now, take that last sentence up and repeat it right until you get to the last parentheses, and replace the ending with this statement "....never has there been a greater opportunity to lose your shirt in publishing."  Both of those statements are equally true.  Hence, the mood of me and my schizophrenic fellow attendees----excited/terrified.

As one publishing executive told us at the "Future of Publishing" seminar:  "We have left the world of 'read, think and re-read,' or 'listen, think and relisten'.......and have now entered the world of 'search, scan and sample.' "

Hey, man, easy for you to say!  But, last time I checked Sam's Club and Costco don't make their money on the food samples!  But, they do use the samples, to entice people to buy the "whole enchilada."

Hmmmm.....well, friends, I've got to go.  We've got a business model to work on!

Danno

Comments

[Workbook Writing Doctor]

Hi Dan,

In the "Costco" spirit, what if NC offered "audio samples" of each of the programs. Amazon.com does this by scanning pages of the book. Maybe we could either put a couple of minutes of each audio, or scan a couple of pages of the workbook (ahem, ahem...) so that listeners can sample the program before they buy??