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I just came back from the SF/South region's annual conference. So cool to spend time in the company of so many writers devoted to children's literature!
There's been a lot of speculating about how the economy will affect us all, so I thought I'd share what the pros were saying:
Kaylan Adair of Candlewick and Nancy Conescu of Little, Brown both said their companies are NOT limiting or cutting back on the size of their lists. Because the process is so slow, the things they're buying now won't be released until 2010 or 2011 anyway...
Emma Dryden of McElderry/Atheneum (Simon and Schuster imprints) said her company IS cutting down on the size of their lists. They are doing so at the request of the sales departments, which are having a harder time placing all their titles and would prefer being able to really support each one.
She made some other interesting points about the current business climate:
Green is becoming important to publishers. The cost of paper and ink is rising, and they're looking at bringing the printing process back to the US (most of it is being done in Asia right now.) Soy inks are more expensive now, but they'll become more common--and even synthetic paper, perhaps.
All of which relates to trying to produce the books more cheaply, reducing the pricing so people will still be able to buy them. Related to that, all three editors predicted we'll be seeing more paperback originals--not coming out in hardback first. Adult books have been moving in that direction already, but children's books have slow to follow suit.
All three agree that large advances will be less common, but that's not such a bad thing. It's easier to earn back a small advance and be seen as a "success."
Ms. Dryden also felt that we're going to be seeing more digital possibilities. Ebooks and tie-in products. For example, when Ellen Hopkins' new book is released, they're going to release a few audios of her poems on iTunes.
And finally, if Borders really does go belly-up, no one knows for sure what effect it will have. A boost for Independent booksellers? Good news for Barnes and Noble, or will they follow Borders into the dumpster? Some people are predicting that Amazon's sales will triple...
Overall, though, the news was pretty positive. Good books are still selling.
I just came back from the SF/South region's annual conference. So cool to spend time in the company of so many writers devoted to children's literature!
There's been a lot of speculating about how the economy will affect us all, so I thought I'd share what the pros were saying:
Kaylan Adair of Candlewick and Nancy Conescu of Little, Brown both said their companies are NOT limiting or cutting back on the size of their lists. Because the process is so slow, the things they're buying now won't be released until 2010 or 2011 anyway...
Emma Dryden of McElderry/Atheneum (Simon and Schuster imprints) said her company IS cutting down on the size of their lists. They are doing so at the request of the sales departments, which are having a harder time placing all their titles and would prefer being able to really support each one.
She made some other interesting points about the current business climate:
Green is becoming important to publishers. The cost of paper and ink is rising, and they're looking at bringing the printing process back to the US (most of it is being done in Asia right now.) Soy inks are more expensive now, but they'll become more common--and even synthetic paper, perhaps.
All of which relates to trying to produce the books more cheaply, reducing the pricing so people will still be able to buy them. Related to that, all three editors predicted we'll be seeing more paperback originals--not coming out in hardback first. Adult books have been moving in that direction already, but children's books have slow to follow suit.
All three agree that large advances will be less common, but that's not such a bad thing. It's easier to earn back a small advance and be seen as a "success."
Ms. Dryden also felt that we're going to be seeing more digital possibilities. Ebooks and tie-in products. For example, when Ellen Hopkins' new book is released, they're going to release a few audios of her poems on iTunes.
And finally, if Borders really does go belly-up, no one knows for sure what effect it will have. A boost for Independent booksellers? Good news for Barnes and Noble, or will they follow Borders into the dumpster? Some people are predicting that Amazon's sales will triple...
Overall, though, the news was pretty positive. Good books are still selling.
