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The Newsletter of the Society of Young Publishers
SYP
Society of Young
Est. 1949
Publishers
It was half-past nine on the first morning of the 34th London Book Fair at Olympia: across the Grand Hall, bleary-eyed exhibitors were stifling yawns, slurping coffee and artfully arranging piles of business cards and boiled sweets on their stands. This year there were over eighteen hundred exhibitors, and as the doors opened visitors from all over the world piled into the exhibitions two halls as if it were the Harrods sale. Every part of publishing is represented at the fair, so it is a unique opportunity to meet wholesalers, distributors, literary agents, rights executives and every conceivable sort of professional that works within the trade. It makes the fair an excellent way to explore all possible avenues into the industry. I wasnt looking for work experience or a job this year, but I have done so before, and it can be a useful way to discover the variety of roles available. This was only my second time at the fair, but it didnt take long before I heard the familiar refrain London is nothing compared to Frankfurt The Frankfurt [book fair] is huge, seriously! Well, Im neither a seasoned publishing professional nor a Frankfurt veteran yet, so I was still massively impressed by the buzz and variety of the LBF; if you havent been, Id recommend it. I worked at the fair in 2004, but I wasnt working this year, so I had the luxury of taking a good look around at my own pace. I weaved my way across the Grand Hall from the trade and remainder stands to the academic/STM and art publishers at the far end. After lunch, I took a tour around the childrens, travel, religious and graphic novel sections in the adjoining hall. Although LBF is not comparable to the
Contents: LBF 1-2, IYPY 3-4, Speaker Meeting 5, Northern Correspondent 6, Column 7 , Oxford Speaker Meeting 8-9, Publishing In Scotland 10, What To Read 11, Events 12
I dont mean to discourage people from looking for jobs at the fair; I have heard many success stories of friends who found work experience places and jobs there with publishers they had previously failed to make contact with by email and letter. It is a unique chance to make a strong impression on important people. Use your common sense, and remember that exhibitors dont have time to answer endless questions and may not appreciate unsolicited CVs when they are busy. My only real responsibility at this years fair was to look after the SYP stand on Sunday and see if I could entice any new members to join up. Manning the stand that afternoon, I had a chance to sit and watch the fair go by. Countless foreign delegates passed by, dragging wheeled suitcases full of book samples they all seemed to be old hands at this game. I saw budding authors touting their self-published books at our neighbouring stands; one such author an American, called David sat down with me for a chat. It was his first LBF and he was enjoying it greatly. He gave me a book that he had written and printed himself. His evident pride at seeing the freshly printed copies was slightly soured when he realised that he had left the book spine blank, but this didnt dampen his spirits and soon he trundled off, a suitcase of 500 copies in tow. I read after the fair that many such budding authors were quickly waved away to the Google Print stand by exhibitors who had neither the time nor patience for unsolicited book pitches at their stands. To the left of the SYP stand was Profile Books, publisher of, among other serious non-fiction titles, Eats Shoots and Leaves. Beyond the Profile stand was a large reception desk and that led to a vast expanse of small, numbered tables that formed the International Rights Centre. Despite its massive size, entrance to the rights centre
was strictly by appointment only. I mention the rights centre because it is always the heart of the LBF during a relentless stream of mainly pre-arranged meetings book rights are bought and sold in vast quantity. After a long hard day at the London Book Fair I was ready for some free drinks and canaps. There are different events from around 6 oclock each evening and this year I attended the reception for the International Young Publisher of the Year award finalists in the Pillar Hall. The ten finalists looked thoroughly shattered as they approached the finishing line after a week of meetings, trips and lunches. I wished finalist Maria Deskur good luck as the reception began - she won the award two days later! It was a strange party, with the likes of author Jacqueline Wilson rubbing shoulders with Neil Kinnock, but the evening events are as much a part of the fair as the expensive coffee, I suppose. Olympia opened its doors for the last time to the LBF in 2005. The fair has grown so large that it will be relocating to the shinier and more capacious ExCeL venue in Docklands for 2006. It should be bigger and better so watch out Frankfurt! On behalf of the Committee, I would like to thank all those at Reed Expo, Midas PR and the British Council for helping the SYP at the London Book Fair this year.
seats. The ten finalists nervously giggle and chatter in the front row, and the panel of judges looks proudly on and wishes them all the best of luck. This action took place in the grand Pillar Hall at the London Book Fair on 15th March, and the
ceremony was to announce the winner of the British Council International Young Publisher of the Year 2005 award. The ten finalists have come a long way since they applied to the British Council in their home countries last year. They were all competing against one another for the specially-designed trophy, a stand at the London Book Fair 2006 and prize money of 7,500 (to be spent on a publishing project that builds links between the UK and their country). However, there was an obvious sense of camaraderie between the group and a closeness that has grown through the experience they have shared over the last ten days, as they travelled around the UK together. As Rod Pryde, Assistant Director General of the British Council, detailed in his welcome speech, they represent the very best of what Argentina, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lebanon, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey have to offer to the global publishing industry. This award celebrates their entrepreneurial abilities, as well as their existing contribution to the development of, and their potential as a leader of, the publishing industry both in their home country and on a global scale. The British Council is planning a series of ten awards throughout the creative industries - including design, music and fashion - that celebrate such entrepreneurial flair. Kate Mosse, the Chair of the jury (and writer, broadcaster and founder of the Orange Prize for Fiction), then spoke eloquently and fondly of the time
The SYP would like to thank Claire De Braekeleer and all those at the British Council who invited us to this event.
Cl ai re Sh anah an re ports back fr om the a nti cipa tion an d exci teme nt of th e Bri tis h Coun cil s Awar d Ce re mony
Chair: Vict or ia Nicholl chair@thesyp.org.uk Secretary: Ton ia M amai secretary@thesyp.org.uk Web Manager: Tob y Rhind- Tutt webmaster@thesyp.org.uk InPrint Editor: Re becca M ills inprint@thesyp.org.uk InPrint Production Manager: G urde ep M att u gmattu@thesyp.org.uk Membership Secretary: Doug Wallace membersec@thesyp.org.uk
Inprint Liasion: Clar e Tr ut er inprintliasion@thesyp.org.uk Events Amanda Lastor ia amandalastoria@alumni.sfu.ca Promotions Co-ordinator: Be cky S imms becky.simms@oup.com Event Co-ordinator: Deb S ander s youngpublishers@fsmail.net Web Editor: Jamie Shaw oxfordweb@thesyp.org.uk Brookes Liaison Re becca Dime ny 04037273@brookes.ac.uk
Oxfor d
Chair: Holly Mye r s hmyers@nelsonthornes.com Treasurer: Kim Hunt Kimberly_574@yahoo.co.uk Secretary: Katy Hawke r katehawker@hotmail.com Inprint Northern Correspondent Emilie Connes e.connes@lancaster.co.uk
that she and the other judges had spent with the finalists. She was joined on the panel by Bridget Shine, Chief Executive of the Independent Publishers Guild, David Godwin, Director of literary agency David Godwin Associates, Eduardo Rabasa, Director of Foreign Rights at Editorial Sexto Piso in Mexico (and the winner of the International Young Publisher of the Year Award 2004), and Joanna Burke of the British Council. She praised the candidates presentations to the jury which focussed on their work in ten often extremely challenging national publishing industries and mentioned that publishers and agents should next year be given the opportunity to listen to these presentations, in order to increase understanding of, and trade with, the countries involved. As she read the citation for each finalist, it became apparent that the main things the jury were looking for were market knowledge in micro and macro terms, supported by business acumen and
analytical skills, and the vision, drive, energy and passion that is so vital to entrepreneurial success. Lord Heseltine, Chairman of the Haymarket Group, who was there to present the award, said that entrepreneurial flair is necessary for any industry to flourish, but that the returns for such vision in industries such as publishing often come in the form of intangible creative satisfaction rather than the monetary, a fact of which we are all quite aware! He also commended the strong female representation amongst the finalists, seven out of whom were female. He told the finalists that they were all winners but, life being essentially unfair, only one could take home the trophy. That person was Maria Deskur, Founder and Editing Director of Muchomor publishing house in Poland. Marias citation read, Maria is a highly professional, entrepreneurial publisher, a team
player, who has a clear sense of determination, opportunity and business planning. The judges were impressed by her quiet confidence, leadership abilities and ambition for her company. A sound business plan, based on research and analysis of the market, reveals clear goals to be achieved and targets to be met. This is married with passion and complete belief in the importance of publishing high quality work for children. Maria seemed shocked, but thrilled: Meeting the other finalists was a great experience. Each one of them had interesting things to say about publishing in their own countries. Also, the way the programme was organised and the way we were introduced to the key organisations in UK publishing was great. It was particularly interesting to learn about UK distribution. The financial support and stand at LBF 2006 provides my company with a big opportunity London Book Fair is such a big international event. When Maria had got over the surprise, I spoke to her and she said she would like to express her thanks to the British Council for the opportunity to be involved in the IYPY, as she had learnt so much in her time in the UK, and in particular to Claire de Braekeleer for her fantastic coordination of the event. For Maria now, she follows in the footsteps of Eduardo Rabasa of Mexico, who has spent some of the prize money from 2004 buying rights for several contemporary UK authors, the first being Ruth Padel with Whom Gods Destroy. We wish Maria every success in the coming year in what, as Pinyo Trisuriyatamma, the finalist from Thailand said, is often a heartbreaking business.
instrumental in increasing sales. However, choosing the right book to serialise, and going about it in the right way, is a very complex process. The contract signed between an author and the newspaper states that the newspaper will true to the character of the book; however, authors are often unhappy with the end result (Janet Street-Porter being one such discontented author Jane encountered). The serialised books can be butchered and cut to shreds, as the newspaper hopes to offer its readers the best bits even if this
(e.g. Telegraph Books Direct) is a good source of income, Isabel replied that people trust the newspaper implicitly and ring up to buy books that have had even the smallest mention. Sales can be increased in this way, and if a book gets a huge reaction it may be followed up with another feature. He athe r Hol den -Brown , is the ex-non-fiction director of Headline and is now setting up her own literary agency. When she worked at Headline, potential revenue from serialisations and reviews was not put down on the costings, and were regarded as icing on the cake. Heather told us the story of Hilary Clintons autobiography, which was due to be serialised in the Telegraph, but as the USA was in a different time zone, the Monica Lewinsky revelation was prematurely leaked, and as a result, the Telegraph went on to only pay 1/60th of what it would have it is a big risk. Heather also pointed out that an editor is the authors champion on every front, and needs to keep track of what all the papers are doing with serialisations. It is also important to talk to the author about their relationships with different newspapers, in case they have had previous good/bad experiences. An editor must also engage with the content of the serialisation and be aware of what is being done to the book. She also affirmed that despite all the potential pitfalls, getting a serialisation is always fantastic. Sometimes it can be hard to choose between a serialisation that pays a lot and one that is for a better market, but the decision often depends on how much of an advance the author has taken. Reviews and Serialisations are clearly an important aspect of the publishing process, and collaboration between the media and publishers is vital. After recently spending some time observing and interviewing Richard and Judy, Jon Ronson from the Guardian writes, Richard, Judy and Amanda [Ross, the managing director of Cactus television and the inventor of the Richard & Judy Book Club] are now the most powerful people in British publishing. (Well, them and Caroline Ridding, who is the book buyer for Tesco.) These days, with literature becoming an increasing feature in the media, recommendations can make all the difference to sales. With so much choice available, perhaps the best path to a good book is to turn on your television or open your newspaper, and let others narrow it down for you.
When asked if all publicity is good publicity, our speakers replied that it depends, because newspapers can be quite broad. It can be good to know that you are getting an honest review, or even a review at all. Is obel S hir law is an assistant in features and reviews at the Daily Telegraph. She said that they like to print a big author interview on a Saturday along with a small extract, and follow this up with two or three finisher extracts during the week. There are Healthy & Beauty and Style & Fashion features every week, so reviews/serialisations can take up pages there. Books can also be used as a starting point for articles, and even a small mention can boost sales. Isabel also works with Telegraph Books Direct, which receives many calls from appreciative readers wanting to order books that have been featured in the newspaper or one of its magazines. The Telegraph likes to feature non-fiction books, but if a fiction book can provide a nice interview, it will be run with a small extract. When asked if a newspapers book service
GURDEEPS COLUMN
InPrint May 2005
tuberculosis that he no doubt would not have caught had he not pushed so very hard, had he continued in his civil service jobs and churned out journalism to appease his writing bug. To compare this figure to the legions of great publishers, the Lord Weidenfelds, the Maschlers, living long, fruitful lives, sumptuously approaching a ripe old age, is to have one father, a stern, moralising punitive Puritan put up against a hedonist, a genial, smiling and snake-charming winner, who glides over the mass and who doesnt get ill and fall down by the wayside, depressed and burned out and destroyed by himself. The writer and the publisher, when you try to straddle both, is trying, I feel, to live up to two impossibly demanding father figures. They both ask that you come with them and do what is right, but whats right changes according to who you listen to, and what they say. Its a well-worn theme, indeed, it is one that Ive talked about before, in this column even, but it continues to fascinate me, that writers get so drawn to both sides of the printing press, whereas those whose desire it is to publish are content to live out the life on one or am I wrong? Is it failed writers that arrive so heinously split, writers who cannot make up their mind, in effect, a writer manqu, an ecrivant as opposed to a jouant, dour, flapping about on winds of change and circumstance? I dont know the answer, and hardly even know the question, but its worth taking a stab at raising the issue, if only to help certain people with their peace of mind.
I recently went on some travels, to India. My family come from the Punjab, the fertile farming region in north India, irrigated by five rivers the Panj Ab. Its hot there, sometimes dusty and dry, sometimes humid and oppressive. It was more of a family holiday than a pure getaway; I had several commitments and plenty of visiting to do, nothing that could be shirked off. I kind of felt the familial tow lines, those invisible, inorexable fuck-you-ups so eloquently put down by Larkin. Along the way, I took some George Orwell with me. I was given Keep The Aspidistra Flying, however, the first thing I plunged into was his Why I Write. Orwell is a strange figure, like some impossible father. He writes about how he made the conscious decision that he wouldnt put a single line down that he didnt feel was saying something political, accomplishing some message sending of sorts. At the same time, he finds the space in his own agenda to write the following: All writers are vain, selfish and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives lies a mystery ... One would never undertake [writing a book] ... if one were not driven on by some demon who one can neither resist nor understand. For all one knows that demon is simply the same instinct that makes a baby squall for attention. And yet it is also true that one can write nothing readable unless one constantly struggles to effect ones own personality. George Orwell, Why I Write (1946) from Why I Write (2004, Penguin) Orwell lived and died by the pen and the typewriter. He pushed himself for his art, through tiredness, poverty and deprivation, and went away to fight for his beliefs. He died young only forty-two, of
M) You n ee d s pe cial sk ill s to work i n onl ine p ubl is hin g A) Publishing requires the same basic skills from an employee, whether online or in print. People are often put off by the jargon. But the fundamental skill needed is an ability to understand the market and devise successful products. Vanessa closed by explaining her involvement in Blackwells new online development: The Compass Project (www.literature-compass.com or www.history-compass.com). The idea of the Compass Project is to allow academics to find and navigate between reference works (including products by rival publishers!) online. The Compass Project will be sold to libraries on subscription. Mark Furneaux spoke for the second part of the meeting on how online publishing is exploiting the web. Marks career began in a pharmaceutical information centre. He used to have to call Paris in order to gain access to their database! He then moved to CABI where he trained people to use online databases, and now works for CSA (part of Cambridge Information Group), a privately-owned company specialising in secondary publishing (print, transactional and online).
CSA creates and maintains Bibliographic databases. These databases started off as print over 100 years ago, but in the mid-seventies, online services started to become important. In the mid-eighties, the CDROM took over, and it wasnt until the nineties that the internet became the dominant media. Mark pointed out that the internet wont be the last form that information will take - something new will come along and take its place. CSA was often at the forefront of new media it was making CD-ROMs before most of its customers even had CD drives! This meant that the company actually had to give CD drives away with its products! It was also only the 3000th to register its domain name on the internet (www.csa.com). The website allows users to search databases and retrieve abstracts, and also provides links from the abstract record to the full text version. CSA has developed a library tool that enables the management of content. Its called RefWorks and it works by allowing the user to collect and store records online, which can then be used for bibliographies etc. Mark outlined some of the impacts the web is having on publishing: - E-commerce is changing the way the world does business - for example the role of travel agents has to evolve as people can now use the internet for booking flights etc. - The web is changing publishing through Open Access, Google Scholar and databases. - Because of the low entry costs, authors can now publish online without a publisher! - Disintermediation (cutting out the middle-man) such as in the personal publishing and travel agent examples above, means that subscription agents, librarians and publishers could be worse off! - Chaos! Companies have to change roles in order to keep up with the demands of the marketplace. Its a case of natural selection: you must adapt to survive! - Financial challenges: Publishers have to decide between fee or free when it comes to online content. Mark finished by exploring some of the newer online phenomena facing publishers: 1) Safari U - this allows professors to create their own textbooks for students. 2) Wikipedia - an encyclopaedia where all the entries are contributed by anyone! 3) Open Access - OUP are now putting their science journals online for free. 4) Amazon / EBay are changing the sales and marketing side of publishing, because any individual can publish and sell on Amazon.
The discussion opened up at the end of the speaker meeting, and the group talked about the future of publishing. In conclusion, the only certainty about the future is that it will involve change! Content will always be king, but publishing is increasingly technology-driven. Publishers must continually add value by saving the users time and labour, and by supplying content of guaranteed high quality. Online publishing is not for those who want a quiet job!
HOLLY MYERS
PUBLISHING IN SCOTLAND
Ou r Northe rn Corre sp ond en t, Em ilie Con ne s, re ve als th e f ruits of he r re sea rch o n S co ttis h p ublis he rs The SYP 2004 conference last November on North vs. South opened up interesting debates. Although I am not myself familiar with the Scottish publishing world, I have followed up a number of leads given by the speakers and come up with examples of Scottish publishing houses, as well as a few organisations that a young publisher wishing to make a career move might find useful. Publishing in the north of England is thought to be an undermined industry, as the most high-profile publishing houses are all London-based, with occasional branches in Edinburgh. Similarly, recruitment agencies offering jobs rarely mention openings up north. You have to actively look for them, and as the speakers at the conference suggested, some young publishers do. Firstly, we have the equivalent of Oxford or Cambridge university presses which is, of course, Edinburgh University Press. Founded fifty years ago, it became an owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh in 1992. Particularly well-known for its publications in humanities and social sciences, it claims to be the pre-eminent publisher of serious books about Scotland, which leads us to the question of weather a southerner making a move north to be closer to the beautiful highlands will find a publisher interested in hiring someone without much background knowledge of, in point of case, Scotland. Mainstream Publishing, for example, probably would. It does exactly what it says on the tin, that is, publish mainstream books - everything from thrillers to biographies. It is an independent company with a business flat in London to keep in close touch with the retailers in the capital, as well as strong international contacts through the selling of rights to their books worldwide. Definitely worth investigating. These are only two examples of northern publishers, but it only takes some research to find more. Look up, for example, the SPA Scottish Publishers Association. It is a trade association of almost 80 Scottish publishers founded in 1973. It is a good source of information on Scottish publishing for someone considering making a career change. Have a look, for example, at their Directory of Publishing in Scotland. It contains detailed information as to its members, activities, and other northern trade organisations. In the same vein, the Edinburgh International Book Festival held from the 13th to the 29th of August is, much like the Fringe, all about the authors, but some Scottish publishers can be found there holding stalls; a much more one-to-one approach to bookselling. So dont wait for your long-lost uncle Eddy from Inverness to give you a call asking you to work in his shed printing his memoirs! There are plenty of opportunities out there if you fancy a change of scenery or want to learn exactly what it is, in Scotland, that makes publishers do so well. Web sites of inter est: Edinburgh University press: www.eup.ed.ac.uk Mainstream Publishing: www.mainstreampublishing.com Scottish Publishers Association Council: www.scottishbooks.org Edinburgh International Book Festival: www.ebookfest.uk List of Scottish publishers: www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/uslinks/publishing/html
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A great site for uninhibited reviews of a large variety of books. Also good for discovering new authors, with plenty of interviews.
www.reviewc entre.co m/co nsumer_reviews16.ht ml
A rather strange search engine that invites you to Take a ride with Gnod and find new writers you might like. Worth a try discovering Gnod may change your life!
www.boo kc ro ssing .co m
Book reviews for the consumer read and write reviews of books and compare prices. This site also has a link to a Book Forum for online discussions.
www.f ant asticfic tion.c o.uk/
An American website with a unique mission to spread global literary love. It defines bookcrossing as: The practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise. And last, but definitely not least, the SYP forum where you can recommend, discuss, criticise and review any book you like with other SYP members.
www.thesyp.o rg .uk/misc/f orum.ht ml
Resource containing bibliographies for over 6,000 authors and information on over 120,000 books. Also includes a new books section and links to UK booksellers.
ht tp://news.diversebo oks.co m/reviews/
An informal site with a penchant for science fiction, where you can submit reviews and participate in online book discussions.
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SYP
Society of Young
Est. 1949
Publishers
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Disclaimer: The Society of Young Publishers would like readers to note that any views expressed herein do not represent the opinions of the society as a whole and only reflect the opinions of the individuals who have submitted material.