Liveblogging BlogHer '10: The Evolving Publishing EcoSystem

I dropped into the publishing writing lab session just in time for the Q&A

The panel: Kamy Wicoff, Florinda, Penny Sansevieri, Carleen Brice.

Unless it's in quotations, everything here may be paraphrased.

What is SheWrites? It's based on sharing info. You have to be careful because there are lots of people who prey on writers. so they wanted to create a community where the people they work with are vetted and are not predators. Like the publishing publicity world in general, it's moving more towards niche groups to get the book in front of the people who are interested in readin git.

Panelist: Publishers do no consumer research before they publish. They publish for the bookstore shelves. If you are looking to market for yourself, more is not (always) better. Do it in the right places, hire people that you trust.

(Audience member in the back is saying, "No, no, no!")

Question from Jill @ Babyrabies.com: The blog to book concept. "I have diahhrea of the fingers on my blog, so I've told everything. But I think there's a story in there that I can piece together. When I talk to a publisher, are they going to say, 'But you already blogged about that.' "

Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project that became a bestselling book answers it on request. "It was a book in my mind, then a blog, then it sold as a book... u need to show them that it's going to be a book .. u need to make the case when you're writing the proposal it needs to feel like it's taking a diff shape. ... i had to make a case to my blog readership that even tho they've been reading my blog they" still could read my book "i had to make the case that this is really diff in book form..."

Panelist recommends "How to Write a Book Proposal" by Michael Larson.

Shirelle @ funkydivagirl.com. "what do you think of sites like blurb? that help you self publish and then you sell on the site?"

panelist: what do you want to know?

Shirelle: do you see that as different than ebooks, a legit way to publish or no?

panelist: do you have illustrations?

Shirelle: i have photographs. i made a book on Blurb for my own purposes and to give it to my chidren. and now i'm questioning if the publication doesn't work out, should i go that route with the hopes that eventually it will get picked up by a publisher to have illustrations and not photographs...

panelist: I've looked at books from CreateSpace (an Amazon co.)... the top 5 books selling on the iPad are chidlren's books.

Ellen: Confessionsminutegirl.com "i work in publishing ... we're not all evil, we're not all stupid ... self publishing ... is not for everyone" "i have a 6-figure market research budget... i do a lot of consumer market research" (this is the woman who was saying "no" in the back "you are presenting only one part of the picture. there is a part of the picture" of commercial publishing house editors "who enjoys working with authors" spend 50% of their time talking with authors and believe in the blogosphere. (she's with Wiley and they publish an online marketing guide for authors as well.)

panelist: for years that was a perception that everything that comes out of self-publishing is junk, and that's not true. ... you're right, wiley's one of the cos that does spend a lot of money on consumer research... my books on internet writing, they come out and 6 mos later they need to be updated. that would be really hard for me to do through a regular publisher

Jennifer Posner, blogs at Women's Voices. First book coming out: "Reality Bites Back" my question is about "the Amazon factor" I keep hearing that pre-orders on Amazon, ranking are incredibly important. but i never wanted to support Amazon, linked to Women and Children First and Powells.com.

panelist: my publisher said the authors have to list to many sites that sell the book in order to help the relations with the bookstores. "i support my indie bookstores and make sure on my blog an web site when someone's doing a signing to promote that. it's not fair to the book to only link to indie bookstores."

411247 text ameauthors and your email address and it will send you a publishing guide to your email address.

BlogHer.com opportunity: Email rita@blogher.com. You should send her your four or five best posts fromt he last 12 weeks with URLs, link to her blog and a little about yourself, and they may pay you to publish it.