What does it mean that Kensington Press has opted to sit out BEA this year in New York?
Kensington Press President, Steve Zacharius, was clear to in saying,”… that given the state of the economy…we decided it makes more sense to spend our marketing dollars where it will have more of an impact on sales.” He adds that, “…Kensington will have space in the BEA Rights Center and… staff [will be] walking the exhibit floor.” [They] “… will also host some cocktail parties.”
But what does all this mean for the state of publishing–and more importantly, what can writers, those published and those who would –like to–be traditionally published glean from this move. On a more interesting note, Zacharius goes onto add that, “...Kensington will decide about attending BEA in 2010 later this year.”
I couldn’t help notice that in line with this news I also read an article that stated “…Barnes & Noble said it plans to use Fictionwise as part of its overall digital strategy, which includes the launch of an e-Bookstore later this year.”
What is Zacharius getting at when he says that Kensington has decided to spend their marketing dollars where it will have more impact on sales. BEA is where publishers and booksellers meet. Are booksellers not an appropriate place on which for publishers to spend marketing dollars?
Are booksellers no longer the major purveyors of books to readers? Are bookstores no longer the major promulgators of books to readers?
Have publishers decided that marketing dollars are best spent on getting the word out about books over the internet?
And that reading is going digital?
I invite your comments.
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2009/03/barnes-noble-gets-deeper-into-ebooks-.html
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6647789.htm
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