InPrint 109 September 2005

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The SYPs annual Careers Conference is a forumfor you to gain career-boosting knowledge andskills from publishing experts. With greatopportunities to talk to top publishing profession-als and other delegates, the Conference is not tobe missed!

This year, the emphasis is on the breadthof career possibilities within the industry, withspeakers and workshop hosts from six sectors:

book publishing, bookselling, charity publishing,electronic publishing, journals and magazines,and printing.

Also on offer is practical advice about jobhunting and career progression, freelancing,coping with difficult colleagues and publishingdegrees.

Following a morning discussion on thetraditional book-production process, you willattend three of seven afternoon workshopsexploring the diverse range of other opportuni-ties available in publishing. Since everyonesneeds are different, in workshop seven weve laidon twelve advisors from across publishing andrelated sectors to answer your individualquestions. You might expect three slots each of five minutes, or longer if you talk in small groups.The workshop listings in this issue of InPrint givedetails of session content, including the speciali-sations of each advisor. You will also find profilesof a selection of speakers and workshop hosts,and further profiles can be seen on theConference website.

We are very grateful to Oxford BrookesUniversity for their generous hosting of the day.The University is about 3.5 miles from the heart of the city, with good bus and taxi links from thecentrally located rail and coach stations, its ownstop for two coach services from London and easycar access. Visit the Conference website for detailed travel information.

The following pages and the enclosed

booking form should tell you all you need to knowabout the Conference. Delegate numbers at theevent and in individual workshops are strictlylimited, so book early to secure your place andchoice of workshops. We cannot guarantee thatthere will be spare space on the day.

Encourage your friends and colleagues toattend. Everyone can access full Conference detailson the Conference website, where a booking formcan also be downloaded.If you have any queries,feel free to email me.

We look forward to seeing you there!Deb SandersConference Co-ordinator ([email protected])

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In PrintThe Newsletter of the Society of Young Publishers

WELCOME TO THIS BUMPER EDITION OF INPRINT, WITH ALL THE DETAILS OF THE SYP CAREERS CONFERENCE

2005, BOOKING FORM AND INFORMATION ON THE HOSTS AND SPEAKERS, AS WELL AS ARTICLES ON STARTING

YOUR OWN PUBLISHING COMPANY, IMPROVING LITERACY IN PRISONS, THE STATE OF BLACK BRITISH WRITING,

ONLINE BOOK RETAILERS IN TURKEY, SPEAKER MEETING WRITE-UPS AND MUCH MORE!

Conference Intro 1, Programme + Workshop Details 2-3, Speakers Close Up 4, Beyond The Book 5, WorkingWith Difficult People 6, Institutional Work 7-8, The Short Story Fights Back 9-10, Being A Turkish Publisher11-12, London Speaker Meetings 13-14, Audience With Kate Mosse 15, Ads and Events 16

Society of Young

SYP Est.1949

PublishersSeptember 2005

Bey ond t he Boo k: Publ ishi ng in th e 21st Centu ry SYP Caree r s Conf er enc e 200512 November 2005, 10am-5pm

Oxford Brookes University, Gipsy Lane campus, Oxfordwww.thesy p.org.uk/conferen ce


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Lond onC ha i r:Victoria Nicholl [email protected]

S ec r et ary :Tonia Mamai

[email protected]

W eb Man a ger :Toby Rhind-Tutt [email protected]

InPrin t Ed i tor:Rebecca [email protected]

InPrin t Pro d uc ti on Manag er :Gurdeep Mattu

[email protected]

Membersh ip S ecr et a ry :Doug [email protected]

Social S ecr e t ari es:Claire [email protected] Fox [email protected]

Jobs Dat aba se Coo rdina t or Mariza OKeeffe

[email protected]

Pr e ss O f f i c er :Louise Rhind-Tutt

[email protected]

Speake r Meet ing Coor d i nato r s:Tej Sood

[email protected] Suzanne Arnold [email protected]

Comp a ny Rep Co -or di na t or position vacant

Treasure r: Amelia [email protected]

Ox f or d Ac ting C hai r :Deb [email protected]

T r easur er:Flora Pui-yan [email protected]

S ecr et a ry :Katy Hawker [email protected]

Inprin t Nor t her n Cor re spond en t Lucie [email protected]

Inprin t Li asion:Clar e T r ut er [email protected]

E vents Co -Or d ina t or Mimi M [email protected]

P r om oti ons Of f i c er :[email protected]

W eb E d i to r : Jamie Shaw [email protected]

Br oo kes Li a i sonRebecca Dimery [email protected] k

any que rie s p l ea se c heck theOxf or d We bsi t e

Wo rk shop 7: Dr op-in advic e sessionAdvisor s and their sp ecialitie s

a) Nicola BairdEditor, Earthmatters magazineFriends of the Earth

Publishing for charities, book and magazinepublishing, journalism, environmental issues.

b) Colin BaldwinFreelance Project Manager

Freelancing, including editing, copywriting,typesetting, printing, project management.

c) Bryony BishopChildrens Senior Bookseller Ottakars Bookstore, Maidenhead

All aspects of bookselling, including stock control,shop displays, promotions, events.

d) Becky ClarkeFounder Ayebia Clarke Literary Agency & Publishing

Editing, commissioning, establishing and running your own publishing company.

e) Suzanne Collier Career Development Consultant and BusinessManager Bookcareers.com

Career progression, job hunting, interview tips,look at CVs.

C O N F E R E N C E

L O C A T I O N


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INTRODUCING A FEW OF OURCONFERENCE HOSTS AND SPEAKERS

Becky Clark e, Founder, Ay ebia Clar ke Literar y Agency andPubli shingMany of the guests at our Conference this year confess to

having a pile of books by their bedside, and Becky Clarkeis no exception. She admits to reading Ekow Eshuns Black Gold of the Sun , Patricia Williams Open House and LynneTruss Eats, Shoots and Leaves all at the same time, aselection that leads one to think that a browse throughher bookshelves would be more eclectic than your generalchoice of books in Borders. Throughout her publishingcareer, her proudest experience was editing her firstbook, and Becky was wholeheartedly involved inHeinemanns African and Caribbean Series, the first of itskind in the world. When the series was discontinued,Becky was determined to fill the gap left in the marketand pursue her passion. She set up her own publishing

company, with a view to publish for an internationalaudience some of the best Afro-Caribbean writers in theUK. Her obvious enthusiasm and resolve can be seen inthe advice that she gives to young publishers: Dare to beremarkable. Be a role model.

Nicola Baird, Edit or, Ear thmat t er s maga zine, Fri ends of the Ear thIf you need to be rich, dont be altruistic or dare to follow

your publishing heart when you work.Nicola Baird has worked for Friends of the Earth for six

years, describing it as the most enriching and exhaustingjob she has ever done. She claims to live and breatheenvironmentalism and writing, and has pursued her heartthough it has meant taking pay cuts and a roundaboutroute to her current position: from IPC magazines,Voluntary Service Overseas, running a forestry manage-ment charity to freelancing. Its a diverse career route,and something Nicola is happy to address at her drop-insessions for the SYP Careers Conference: should you bestrategic about your choice of job or simply do what youenjoy? She will also talk about writing in its many formsand is prepared to tackle the thorny question of how tostrike the right work/life balance. Nicola is ambitious,both for herself (she has authored seven books) and for

society. In five years time shed like us to live in a worldwhere we all think energy efficiency automatically, userenewable sources to power our homes and off ices andwhere climate change is being tackled but also where allmirrors have a suitably enhancing reflection!

Emma Dj onokusum o, Recrui tm ent Consultant , JFLEmma Djonokusumo obviously has a creative streak. Shegot into publishing after a degree in Literature and aMasters in History of Art and wanted to join the industrybecause she loved the idea of making a product thatmade a difference. Books arent her only creative passion,though; shed love to work part-time so that she couldpotter around a home-made studio, paint, silversmith and

take long walks. She now works for JFL recruitment, andenjoys matching people to their perfect jobs. The mostfabulous part of my job, she says, is calling someone to

tell them theyve been made an offer on a job theydmove mountains for, though cups of tea feature in themix as well. Choose a job you love and youll never have to work a day in your life is the advice that shapedher choice of career. Emma will be giving advice on howto get the job that youll love at the drop-in sessions onConference day, but thinks that the whole of theConference is a great opportunity for young publ ishersto learn, listen and make valuable contacts within thepublishing industry.

Sarah Faulk s, Junior Re cr uitm ent Consultant, JFLSarah Faulks works at JFL as a Junior RecruitmentConsultant, matching up people to jobs from entry tomid-level. She understands the frustration and difficul-ties of getting that first or second job in publishing, andcounts her proudest moment as being offered the job asan Editorial Assistant at Yale Universtiy Press after graduation. Like many arts graduates, she always felt anaffinity with books and saw publishing as a thrivingindustry to get into. Couple that with a love of communicating with people and its obvious whyrecruiting for the publishing sector is attractive to her.Along with Emma Djonokusumo who also works for JFL,she has another enthusiasm: cups of tea! Tea doesntonly oil her day at work; it has also given her life lessonsalong the way. Life is like a good cup of tea its how

you make it. Sarah will give advice on how to write CVsand cover letters, interview hints and tips and alsogenerally discuss future job opportunities for second-jobbers.

Mar tin Klopst ock, Head of Pr oduction f or Higher andPr of es sional Educat ion, P ear son Educati onMartin Klopstock has one of the best views of publish-ing we have ever encountered: I see it as being akin toproviding a public service he says. Education is whatdistinguishes mature Western economies from their

counterparts elsewhere. This attitude is refreshing,especially from one who confesses to having beenaround for a while. He began his publishing career asPublishing Assistant and credits moving jobs frequently,hard work, and deciding which sort of publishing hewould most enjoy with getting him where he is today.He hopes the same values will take him to an island inthe Aegean in five years time. Keeping up momentum,increasing access to higher education and providingexcellent learning tools to students for achieving their goals - these are my motivators. He is willing to talkabout anything at his drop in sess ion; his experiencemeans he is comfortable discussing topics from commis-sioning and desk editorial to design and production.

www.the syp.o rg.uk /c onf er enc e


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Holl y Myers

I graduated three years agoand have been working since.If youd asked me back thenwhat I worried about most, itwould have been not knowingwhat I wanted to do with mylife. Once I fell into publish-ing, this no longer seemed an issue I loved it! A newworry took over: what if someone found out that I didntknow the first thing about publishing? Then I gotpromoted. Good grief! Now I felt even more of a fraud.Terrified that someone would see through my thin veneer of bravado, I threw myself into my role and emergedtwelve months later much weathered, but knowing myjob inside out and back to front. Thats not to say I hadlearned all there was to learn, just that I felt confident

that I could tackle most of what would be thrown at me,and I wasnt worrying all the time Id be found out.

Turns out I got it all wrong. Learning a job iscertainly a skill that can take many months, even years, toacquire. But thats not the hardest thing. Not by a longshot. Working with people is something I dont think IllEVER get the hang of

Dont get me wrong: I like people, love some of them even. But working with them? Bonkers! How weever get anything done is beyond me.

The intricacies of working with friendly people,scary people, lovely people, awful people, people whoshout, people who laugh, people who pout and dont talkto me the list could go on is the most baffling andstressful thing Ive ever come across. Stepping into theoffice is like entering a time warp suddenly there arerivalries and alliances like those I thought Id left behindin primary school. Somehow the toughness I had as a kidhad disappeared, and I found myself obsessing over thesmallest slight or the slightest comment. Maintaining

your reputation at work is a full-time job, a job not to besneered at. Not working yet? Dont believe me? You wait.

So far, Ive been shouted at, sworn at, hugged,and cried upon several times in my illustrious career, andI am none the wiser. Dont believe the myth either that

men are cold-blooded business machines some of theshouters, swearers, huggers and criers were men unableto live up to this harsh stereotype.

Other people are the main reason why workingin an office is stressful. Publishing is pressured, sure, butits the other people you have to learn how to handle if

you want to lower that stress level.So when we decided to invite Michael Heath,

Director of Michael Heath Consulting, along to doanother of his great talks at the Conference, we felt asession on working with other people would besomething from which everyone could benefit. Because if

you can learn that skill, publishing will be a doddle!

I asked Michael a few preliminary questions...

What wa s your firs t job in publishing (or bo okselling a sappr opr iate)?

Ive never had a job in publishing, but feel that,over the years, Ive devoured so many books thatIve personally kept some publishers afloat.

What do es Beyond the Book mean to y ou?How a book touches you so deeply that it somehow

continues to manifest itself in how you think andrespond to your own life. Examples for me would beCervantess Don Quixote, De Bottons The Art of Travel and the tragic novels of Hardy.

How did y ou get t o whe re yo u ar e now?I had no idea of what I wanted in my career so leftschool early and moved through sales into trainingand HR. After working in consultancy for a number

of years, I decided to take the leap and go out onmy own. The only time Ive regretted my career choices is on a Sunday night meeting a deadline!

Describ e a day in the lif e of y our job.An early start usually means being on site if I amdelivering a workshop about an hour before itstarts. From there, its very much guided by thestructure of the workshop. After delegates havegone, I have time for reflection on the day itself before the trek back either to home or to a hotel.Either way, Ill f inish the day by responding toemails and catching up with the other businessthat owning a company entails.

What bo ok ar e y ou reading at the mom ent?Under the Net , Iris Murdochs first novel.

What is the b es t pie ce of advice y ouv e ever be en gi ven?There are two types of people in the world: thosewho are afraid and those who are also afraid butgo ahead anyway (Brooke Knapp, female AmericanTest Pilot).

What wa s your proudes t m oment?All parents say it, I know, but mine genuinely washolding my daughter moments after shed beenborn. What greater moment is there then gazingdown on a beautiful thing that youve helpedcreate? Shes 14 now and still as beautiful.

What ha s your inv olvement b een with the SYP ?My involvement has purely been through present-ing to the SYP in Oxford. Always an enjoyableevening spent with them; mind you, Ive never asked them if they are enjoying it!

Wher e d o you se e your self in fi ve y ear s tim e?I love what I do now and want to still be doing it infive years! Confucius (I think) was right when he

said Do a job you love and you will never doanother days work again in your life.

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Alex Wheatle d escr ibes his role in impro ving litera-

cy in pr isons, and t he p rogr ession of black wri ting

in Br itish societ y.

Shortly after my first novel, Brixton Rock , waspublished in March 1999, I was asked to perform anumber of workshops in Wormwood Scrubs prison.Apprehensive at first, for I had not been inside aprison since 1981 (I served a three month sentence),I was wondering how the inmates would take tome, or indeed, if they would listen to me. Theinmates enthusiasm for the work set by mesurprised and energised me. Some had alreadystarted to write their autobiographies and novelsand I gained much satisfaction on passing on a fewtips and ideas that I had learned. I also discoveredthat my novels Brixton Rock and East Of Acre Lane were extremely popular among the prison popula-tion. Most of the letters I received about my work atthat time were from prisoners. So, to me, it was an

added motivation to continue to write my socialrealism tales, or what I call Untold Stories.

Since my first creative writing workshops atWormwood Scrubs, I have worked in prisons such asHighdown, Belmarsh, Foston Hall, Kingston, Stoke-on-Heath, Wandsworth, Brixton and Holloway. Mybackground is, in several ways, quite similar to thelives of many inmates, and I think because of thatthey give me their attention, and perhaps theythink they can turn their lives around as I havedone.

My work with Book Trust from what I havedescribed above. The Breathtaker project, as it wascalled, involved another author and myself recommending reading material to disadvantaged

youths who found themselves in Young Offenders

Units, female victims of violence and people insociety who had been recently bereaved. Most of the people who were included in this project hadnever read before, so after going through an

application from a client, I would gauge the likesand dislikes of the applicant and try and matchtwo or three books for their reading. The projectworked really well and I hope the funding is madeavailable for it to expand.

When I was first published in 1999, I was amonga small wave of black, male, British writers whoseemed to herald a breakthrough for black writers.There were the likes of Courttia Newland, StephenThompson and Ray Shell who were signed up byleading publishing houses. My second novel, East

Of Acre Lane , was bought by Fourth Estate. Therewas a certain buzz around this arrival of newwriting, and at the time I thought to myself thatmany black male British writers would follow.However, for various reasons, the breakthroughdidnt happen for black male writers as it did for black female writers. I think one of the reasons is

that leading publishing houses were not sure howto market and publicise a black male writer.Instead of thinking big, many publishing housesdownsized their expectation of sales and refusedto offer adequate backing for the new talent theyhad discovered. They perceived that a black male

writers core audience consisted only of blackreaders and major chain booksellers had the samemisconception. Thus, publishers printed fewer copies of black male writers titles and bookstoresordered them in fives and tens, rather than

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hundreds.Travelling around the country performing

readings, I know for a fact that white readers are

just as fascinated with our stories as blacks. InLondon, where the ethnic population is aboutthirty per cent of the citys population, you willnot find that reflection in the name-brandbookshops. I know that many black people donteven bother to enter bookstores because they feelthat they are not represented in bookstores or thatbookstores are too white. Even some of the so-called black writing shelves are being quietlyremoved. Bookstores, especially the name-brand,established ones, do not seem to be interested in

expanding their customer base, therefore its thesame people entering the bookshops, and bookscontinue to be targeted at the same people(white, middle class).

The publishing industry pats itself on theback with the success of writers like Zadie Smith,Andrea Levy and Diana Evans, sure in its mind thatit is doing its bit for black British writing. But thereality is different; Diana Evans was hailed as thenew Zadie Smith, but I suspect that it was onlybecause she was of the same hue, young and

photogenic that she was launched in this manner nothing to do with her writing being similar tothat of Zadie.

Anyone who doubts the state of blackBritish writing should ask themselves: how many

black British male writers were published byleading publishing houses in the last year? If youemploy all five fingers on one hand, then I wouldbe greatly surprised.

As for me, I will not allow the aforemen-tioned obstacles to stop me, simply because I lovewriting too much. Yes, I hate the business I am in,but I love what I do. I believe my stories stand up. Ibelieve I can tell a story as well as anyone else can. Imight not be able to string together crypticparagraphs or ultra-clever sentences, but for mestorytelling is the key; the ability to make thereader engage and feel emotion in the story theyare reading. I dont feel inferior to anyone, includ-ing the Atwoods, McEwans and Rushdies of thisworld. If certain literary critics or members of theliterary mafia dont agree, then fuck them. Maybethe literary mafia ignores me because I didntattend university or a so-called cool creativewriting course run by the likes of UEA. I guess theydont expect someone of my background to bewriting books, so they regard me as a novelty, nota serious player. But here I am, five books in! Mynext book, Island Songs , is being published thissummer, and Im still fighting against the elitismthat pervades the book world with my pen. AndIm still receiving letters saying that a story of minechanged a readers life - proof that a storyteller canemerge from anywhere.

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Tom Chalmers revi sit s the journ ey fr om t raindrunk t o running a publi shing c ompany and s etsfor ward his intention to br eak the short stor ycur se.

Setting up a publishing company was the reason-ably simple part. A few bits of paper signed, acouple of small fees paid and suddenly a limitedcompany is all yours. The only real pain wasfinding a name that wasnt already taken. Evenwhen one was finally found, it was a painful wait

for it to be finalised. During that period of deepparanoia, the streets appeared to be rife withuntrustworthy name thieves. Much to my relief,one cold morning the documents arrived: LegendPress was formed.

Now for the trickier part, actually publish-ing something. My inspiration had come in thatcommon theatre of enlightenment ? mildly drunkon the train home. On reaching the platform I haddecided that I should take the risk and not put off the dream of running my own publishing

company any further. By Bethnal Green, I haddecided on my first publication.Having always been absorbed by all the

different lives around me each day, I decided Iwanted a collection of stories by different writerseach following one character through a single,random day. There is immeasurable natural dramacontained in every individual life and I have alwaysmarvelled at all the million variables that make upour experiences and life paths. Then I saw the title- The Remarkable Everyday .

I was more than aware that short storiesdont have a great selling record, but I saw this asan opportunity. To offer the reader such a varietyof different angles to something that is insepara-bly relevant to them - everyday life - is something

even the most brilliant of authors would struggleto do in a single novel. The short story is also agreat opportunity for talented writers to experi-ment and to show what they have to offer. ByHackney Downs I could see that if handled correct-ly, this project could be a real success and theperfect platform for Legend Press to develop from.

So onwards and hopefully upwards. Well,it was immediately upwards as I flew away on athree-week holiday; I thought it important tospend the last of any free cash before embarkingon my adventure. I returned having had a greatbreak and with mounting lists of agents, writinggroups and useful reference material.

Everything since has been somewhat abusy blur. The collection has received a great deal

of interest; agents, writers and literary groupsalike have seen this as a fantastic opportunity toraise the profile of the short story and to beinvolved in a dynamic and, hopefully, very success-ful project.

On starting, I immediately realised theadvantage of having various departments tohandle the different aspects of the process. It iscertainly quite a challenge to juggle being aneditor, production manager, publicist andaccountant. Plus I had to make all my own tea. I

initially found that the task split roughly into four areas: 1) finding and handling the writers 2)building up awareness and support for the project3) finding a printing deal and 4) admin.

I will clear up the last point first, as whileit is absolutely vital, it is something to be done ona rainy day. Paperwork has to be completed for Companies House, the Inland Revenue andCustoms and Excise, a bank account set up and abudget drawn up, which means making detailedplans that will be completely revised in several

days time. While it is a little onerous, it is truethat a financially well-run company can savethousands, which is absolutely vital, especially inthe early stages.

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THE SHORT STORY STRIKES BACK

The SYP is planning a t rip to Dublin on the firstweekend of O ctober t o m eet m emb ers of theSoc iet y of Publisher s in Ireland (SPI). It will belot s of fun and a valua ble oppor tunity to me etand e xchang e kn owledge with our counterpar ts!A get-toget her will m ost likel y be h eld in Caf en

Seine on Daw son Str eet, and any SY P m embersinterest ed in att ending should e mai [email protected] g.uk t o f ind out m or e. Allar e wel come!


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A quiet and downcast start to the dayfound Holly Myers and Victoria Nichollsetting up stall at the Reading UniversityGraduate Recruitment Fair. At that point westill had time to talk nice as we don'toften get the chance but by lunchtimethe sun was blazing and we were inundatedwith students eager to learn more aboutpublishing and the SYP and just before theend of the day we had run out of informa-tion bags, spare leaflets and sweeties!Hugely enjoyable,the SYP will be attendingthe next one on Wednesday 19th October.Any member wishing to come along andhelp are welcome, please email Victoria [email protected]

Continuing in reverse order - finding aprinter. A list of printers was drawn fromnumerous sources: printing associations, referencematerial, internet searches and so on, who werethen sent a specification. Estimates were thenshortlisted and after samples being requested andthe prices being shaved (a process that involvedhard bargaining, begging, bribing and evenflirting), a printer was chosen for the job and adate set. Through the thoroughness of the initialcompany searches, I received a very good price for the job.

Raising awareness has been another vitalpart of the process. A huge spreadsheet wascompiled with various organisations and groups. Ieven have a list of every library in Central London(a fact I tend to keep to myself). The response hasbeen fantastic. There have been postings onnumerous websites, support from the ArtCouncils Save the Short Story campaign,interviews and articles and even an offer to writean introduction from a leading short story critic.With word spreading, the most heart-warmingmoment was an email from a mother whod heardabout Legend Press and asked me to look at her 12-year-old daughters work, as she wanted toencourage her to keep writing. Finally, I wasgiving something back! And last but not least (aswithout them the book may appear a littlelightweight), the writers. While a lot of agents

don't deal with short stories, there are enoughthat do and here again my exhaustive lists paiddividends. The recruitment of authors also worksin tandem with the growing awareness, andwriters from far and wide got in touch. I also setup a writing competition through a leadinginternational writer's website. As a result thestories flooded in and then it was simply amatter of picking the tastier ones out of thebunch.

So what's next? Well, get the thingactually put together and then I suppose Ishould sell it in a blaze of publicity. Still a lot tobe done, but the public had better be ready -the short story and Legend Press are gettingcloser to the high street. I'm just glad I got thetrain home that night and not the overcrowded149 - publishing empires have got to startsomewhere.

For more information on Legend Press visitwww.legendpress.co.uk or [email protected].

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Dates for your diar ySYP events in London and Oxford in 2005 and 2006

Mond ay 19 Sept emb er Oxford Book Cl ub M eeting

We dnesd ay 28 Se p temb er Speaker Me e tingMagazine Publis hing

Saturday 1 O ct ob er - DUBLINThe SYP meet th e SPI

Mond ay 17 Octobe r Book Club Mee ting

We dnesd ay 26 Octob er Speaker Mee tingPr oduction

Saturday 12 N ovemb er CAREERS CONFERENCE - Oxf ord

Mond ay 21 Nov emb er Book Club Mee ting

We dnesd ay 30 Nov ember Speaker Mee tingIndepende nt vs Con glomerat e

20 06Januar yLondon AGM/P arty

We dnesd ay 22 Fe bruaryLondon Sp eaker Me eting

Wednes day 29 Mar chLondon Spea ker Meetin g

Wednes day 26 AprilLondon Spea ker Mee t ing

Wednes day 31 MayLondon Spea ker Mee t ing

Wednes day 28 JuneLondon Spea ker Meetin g

Wednes day 26 Jul yLondon Speake r Meetin g

Wednes day 14 S eptember 2005Oxf or d Spe aker M eetin gMusic Publi shing

Wednes day 27 S eptember London Speake r Meetin g

Wednes day 12 O ct ober 20 05Oxf or d Spe aker M eetin gFreelanc e Publishin g

Wednes day 25 O ctober London Speake r Meetin g

Saturda y 11 N ov emb er CAREERS CONFERENCE - London

Wednes day 29 N ovembe r London Spea ker Mee t ing

READINGGRADUATE RECRUIT-

MENT FAIR


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In her t hird and f inal instalment, Tanay Bur cuUr al t ells us more ab out the online b ookmar ket in Tur key.

As in other countries, in Turkey there are biginternet portals for shopping. On thesewebsites, you can find everything: books,homeware, baby gifts, toys, etc. In the pastfew years, internet sales have greatlyincreased. Readers prefer to buy books onthe internet because these portals sell themat a lower price. When I talk to a customer,they often mention the price differences, andmost of the time I have difficulties in explain-ing the reasons. The main reason, as you canimagine, is that the website owners passtheir cost advantages on to the customer. Astheir distribution costs are lower, theyconsent to a small profit by discounting theretail prices of books.

In my previous instalment, I tried toexplain the distribution problems, where thereal wholesaler does not exist. As I saidbefore, a distributor depending on hisbargaining powers will get a greater discountfrom a publisher and then play the role of wholesaler for a while. Thus, in addition tobeing a publisher, you can often be a retailer when you go to fairs, schools and other bookexhibitions, as well as a wholesaler (for your own or someone elses products).

Usually, distributors take the bookswith a 40-50% discount, and then give it tothe sellers with a 30% discount. Online retail-ers then try to get the books without involv-ing a distributor another reason why theycan offer such big discounts. If they canacquire the books directly from the publisher with a 40% discount, they can withouthaving a heart attack sell the books at adiscount of 15%-20%.

In addition, online retailers do notnecessarily keep stocks of books. Of course, if a title is a bestseller, they have stocks andprobably get rid of them very quickly, but themajority of the time, instead of filling their warehouse with books, they wait until a bookis ordered and then buy it from the publish-er.

One of the biggest online retailers isIdeefixe . By visiting the site you have anopportunity to add lots of products to your shopping basket, for example, books, VCDs,DVDs, fitness equipment, cell phones,computers, etc. According to their research,30,000 people visit the Ideefixe websiteeveryday but only 130 of them buy a book,and books make up 25% of total sales. Thecustomers age groups and their visitingpercentages are: 18-25, 19.22%; 26-34, 47.31%;35-45, 25.53%; 46-54, 6.12%; 55-90, 1.82%.

Ideefixe sells on average 20,000 booksper month. The total value of books sold inTurkey can amount to US$255m, of whichUS$70m?80m is from school and culturalbooks. Of this total, US$6m?7m comprisesthe gross sales of e-bookstores, and of that,Ideefixe s gross sales are US$4m-5m.

Cumhuriyet is a long-running Turkishnewspaper, and in May 1998, it becameavailable online. There are online versions of other newspapers in Turkey, but the case of Cumhuriyet is different, in that its weeklyprint-run is 59,000. In relation to the other big newspapers, this is a very small quantity,and the difference with its online version isthat it is not free. By paying two-thirds of theretail selling price (almost 4 per month), youbecome a member, and have access to theonline newspaper. According to the statisticsreceived from the website designers, onlineCumhuriyet (which receives more than 3million hits per month) has 2,500 members,60% of whom are active and periodically visitthe site.

altZine.net , started in 1998, is amonthly online magazine that publisheshypertexts, and this month it publishes itseighty-third edition. Writers and translatorscan send their works to be published, andevery piece is considered by the editorialteam, before they decide which ones they willpublish online. The language in which youwrite is not important and it is easy to submitwork. There are even some interestinginteractive works, and it is unfortunate thatnot all the works can be translated into other languages. If any of you are interesting in

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Deb SandersHolly MyersGurdeep Mattu

Amelia AllsopClaire ShanahanTom ChalmersPenny Fowler

Alex WheatleTanay Burcu Ural Victoria Nicholl

Edit or Rebecca Strong

Contri but or s

P roduct i on Manag er Gurdeep Mattu

Society of Young

SYP Est.1949Publishers

writing for them, contact the editors, andsend your work in whichever language youprefer.

This year altZine has branched out,and there are links to alt-metin (alt-text), alt- metin eviri (alt-translation), alt-d-nce (alt-idea), alt-dinamik (alt-dynamic), a lt-kat-l-m ,(alt-collaboration), alt kapak (alt-cover) andalt atlye (alt-workshop). I wont go throughall the details, but if youre curious, check itout. The one I find the most interesting is thealt-workshop, where you have differentrooms, each one offering words, concepts,professions, arguments, and phrases that youmay include in your story.

altKitap is an online publishing housefounded by the same group of people, whoseportfolio includes many well-known writers.In the last five years, altKitap has published 31books and 27 of them are still online. You caneasily download the books to your PC,palmtop, laptop, etc. and free membership isthe only requirement.

This is the end of my B eing a TurkishPublisher t rilo gy, but I w ill not b e dis appe ar-ing - y ou can c onta ct m e for any other inf orm at ion ab out the Tur kish publishingsect or at uralbur cu@superonlin e.com.

My writing was all about you; all I did there after all, was to bemoan what I could not bemoan upon your breast. It was an intentionally long-drawn-out leaving-taking from

you. Kafka, Letter To His Father (1919)

To her f or whi ch i t was all for:

I would love to see you in the morning light, the suncoming up low to high, the hair straggled round your paleneck. Your clothes are mine, and crumpled, but it doesn'tmatter - we walked out into the garden to drink ourcoffee, you stood with your arms outstretched and I didn'trealise that it was a little crucifixion of our love. The fact itnever happened is neither here nor there, just as thewetness that covered the grass didn't really make my shoeswet, and the dampness in the air didn't really make mewant to smoke a cigarette. I used to love something about

your awkward love, the way you'd fail to get it right buttry hard enough to make it not matter. I know it didn'tcome easy, and I know I made it hard. You don't get twogoes at making one thing right, often enough. The spiltpack of Royals that I should have left on the floor; the skirtI'm still in love with and never should have criticised; theidiocy of making you cry, the sheer lunacy of letting myself go in front of the only girl for whom it mattered anyway.It's not like youre around - mercifully - so it died away. Butthe forays into relationships with girls who don't seem tocare all that much, who wouldn't mend me when I wasbroken, all they are doing is taking a stick and stirring themud you left at the bottom of the lake. It eddies andwhirls around right now, tempering my own reactions tothe latest failure with the seismic shock of the biggestfailure, the realisation that I was too young to keep goodlove from going wrong, that we both were. That distancemattered. That money mattered. That friends and clothesand music and hatred and jealousy got in the way.

I would love to see you in the morning light, bathed innothing else but the warm glow that meant you weren'tgoing anywhere without me today, or the next day. Thatwhen I saw you the butterflies arose, the body aroused,the pupils dilated with incredulity, how could I t ake it allin at once. I would love to write to you and have you readit and for there to be no new love in the way, or old badlove blocking what really was a fresh spring, a stream of water from a mountain source, something that took awaythe badness and the shitness of illness and death, of ageing and work, of the dull tedious measuring of life bycoffee spoons and replaced it with a flower bursting openof its own accord.

I would love to see you in the morning light - but.

GURDEEPS COLUMN


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Amelia All sop r ep or ts bac k on the Jul y speaker me eting

Julys speaker meeting on childrens publishingwasnt what was expected. Despite talk of colour-ful illustrations, the Snappy childrens range andthe obligatory mention of the eponymous hero,Harry Potter, it seems there may not be a happyending in sight for childrens authors, or publish-ers for that matter. According to Brenda Gardner,publisher and MD of Piccadilly Press, and also thewoman who brought the word snogging to theUSA (by selling the foreign rights to the ground-breaking novel Full Frontal Snogging ), the next

six months could bring about hard times for allinvolved.Her description of the 1980s, the so-

called golden age of publishing, with minimalresponsibility and leisurely lunches, certainlydoesnt compare favourably with the reality of theNoughties, an era in which the whole industry isin a state of flux (although admittedly, HarryPotter had helped her company sell those foreignrights for Full Frontal Snogging ).

Despite the prediction of an uncertainfuture, she had some sound advice for thoseaspiring to set up their own publishing business.As her friend once put it, Buy a purchase daybook, get a cash book and take my solicitorsnumber!

Amanda Wood, MD at Templar (apublishing house dedicated to originality, writer welfare and a conservationist approach toediting), also refuted the notion that it was awonderful time for childrens publishing. Theaccumulative effects of the polarisation of prices,sales driven by price promotions, the decliningbirth rate and a mature market all point towards aretail downturn, of the kind Brenda Gardner hadnot witnessed in her long career.

But it isnt all doom and gloom, as allthree speakers were excited by what wasdescribed as a new era in childrens publishing. Agolden age is possible, they agreed, if the skillsgap is bridged and new technology is put to gooduse. Amanda Wood spoke of a future where bookscould be downloaded onto mobiles. No doubt, aswas conceded, this medium would provoke a lot

of hand-wringing from older generations fearing

the extinction of the printed word, but thismedium would in fact encourage reluctantreaders in an age when mobile phones are prolif-

ic. Socrates was once anxious that written textswould undermine the oral tradition, as hethought it would create forgetfulness in thelearners souls, but such changes can have apositive effect on the literary world.

Cally Poplak, Director of Egmont,produces original concepts and distinctiveformats, which are then brought to life byfreelance illustrators. This is essentially a brand-building trade. An intriguing insight was giveninto the psychology behind the techniques used

to aggressively market seemingly innocentchildrens books. One example of an extremelychallenging yet successful brand exercise byEgmont is the Amazing Baby range, a collectionof books intended to be pitched at babies rather than toddlers, although it is of course themothers who are targeted. The key to its successis association; firstly with the retail chainMothercare, most trusted by this demographic,and secondly by giving the brand legitimacy andstatus by sponsoring the book trust. The booksare also given retail presence by grouping themtogether in store. Finally, the Baby EinsteinEffect is completed by creating Amazing Baby toyproducts, stationary and feeding care, whicheventually comes full circle and gives the originalconcept, the books, a bigger presence psycholog-ically and physically in the store.

The same principles were adhered to inanother risky yet lucrative venture: theDragonology range, which simultaneouslysucceeded in crossing the generational gap aswell as attracting reluctant readers, as thecaptions and illustrations make the concepthighly accessible.

In conclusion, childrens publishing is asmuch about creativity as knowing the market andcreating an accessible brand in a climate wherechildren are bombarded with images andadvertising. But as our three speakers advocated,in uncertain times, it is best to look at the fluctu-ating market in terms of challenges and opportu-nities rather than as Red Riding Hoods big badwolf.

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Claire Shanahan report s b ack from An Audienc ewith Kate M osse.

This is how Kate Mosse likes her books, and her

latest novel, Labryinth , has all of the above inabundance. Set in the city of Carcassonne, arestored medieval city in France, the narrativemoves seamlessly between modern times and thethirteenth century. Centred on two female protag-onists, Labryinth is a grail adventure novel for girls, defining a new genre in literature and fillinga gap in the market between Dan Brown, Wilbur Smith and Umberto Eco.

Kate spoke to the SYP a few days beforepublication, so we were lucky enough to get a

sneak preview of the book and have our copiessigned. In these nervous times, Kate told us thatshe measures the success of her latest work inseveral ways, and not just in the most obvious:copies flying out of Waterstones, a decent placingin the weekly sales charts (even a tenth of DanBrowns sales!) and a hefty royalty cheque at theend of the quarter. Kate would like to see holiday-makers reading it poolside, unable to put it down;she hopes readers enjoy learning about thebackground of the south-west of France withoutrealising that they are being taught history; shewould like to define a new genre, girl adventure;and finally she would like it to eventually replacethe tour guide for the Carcassonne region.

Kate has both the blessing and the curseof being a former publisher. She said that she wasthrilled that Orion, her UK publisher, and her foreign publishers got her as an author and her book. A publishers enthusiasm and belief in abook is fundamental to its success, so Kate wasdelighted when the editing, design and publicityall came together and the pre-sales figures werepromising. Yet whilst Kate knows what it meanswhen a sales rep. rings her up to tell her they havejust clinched a massive order, she would alsounderstand the full impact for both her letter of love to Carcassone and her reputation as anauthor and a respected literary commentator, if the sales figures didnt bode well.

Another consequence of Kate being apublisher-turned-writer is that she has a uniqueinsight into the dynamic between the financial,publicity machine that is the modern day publish-ing house and the creative genius, the author whostrives to leave an indelible imprint on the worldof literature. This can often be a testing relation-ship for both parties and when Kate was invited to

give us young publishers some tips for dealingwith authors, she answered in her usual straight-talking style. I want communication and profes-sionalism. I want them to be upfront with me, so

that I know where I am and what they want. Idont like to be mollycoddled. I can speak atevents like this without a publicist. I can get a taxion my own. Yet as well as being confident andindependent, I can also be vulnerable and so Iwant my publisher to be thoughtful and ask myopinion about things.

Followingon fromthis

question,Kate wasasked if she wroteeither asan author or as an

editor. She firmly replied that she does both:when she writes, she writes like a demon, tenhours a day, seven days a week, minus regular breaks for a swim, which is apparently a must for writers. Yet when Kate finished Labyrinth , sherealised she had written two books set in differenttime zones, and she had to edit, draft and reviseas harshly and ruthlessly as us editors do. It is thiscombination of natural talent as a writer andacquired skill as an editor, coupled with her ambition and immediately-likeable personalcharacter, that makes for Kates success.

Kate Mosse has had a past most of usinterested in literature, the arts and culture canonly dream of, as detailed in her article in theprevious issue of InPrint . She delighted in tellingus that she is only 43 and is taking over fromMariella on Open Book, Radio 4, this year. Thefuture is bright, the future is. Aware that shedidnt want to wear padded shoulders for everas a publisher, she has come into her own right asa successful author and is now willing to write onher passport application form in the Occupationbox: Writer. The advice she imparted to all writersis to wholeheartedly believe in yourself and of course, to swim. Her advice to us publishers is torealise how enormously lucky we are to get paidfor reading books, particularly in such a well-established and respected publishing industry asexists in Britain today.

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LOTS OF SEX, LOVE, NICE FROCKS AND SWORDS


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LONDON SPEAKERMEETING

Mag azi ne P ublishi ngSeptembers meeting will take a look at themagazine-publishing world. Topics for discussioninclude launching new titles and creating a nichein the market, cover-mounts and their value, andthe issues surrounding use of celebrities on covers.Three speakers with very different backgroundswill provide contrasting tales of their time inmagazinesand their views on the state of the business.

Speakers include Andrea Childs, Deputy Editor of Red

magazine, Jess McAree, Editorial Training andDevelopment Manager, at Haymarket Magazines and SaraAbdulla, Editor at Macmillan Science and ex-Editor of www.nature.com/news.

Wednesday 28 September 2005 in the Meeting Room,Third Floor, Foyles Bookshop, Charing Cross Road,6:30pm for 6:45pm . 3.50 for non-members, free for SYPmembers. Join us afterwards for drinks, 8pm onwards inthe Pitcher and Piano, Dean Street, Soho.

DUBLIN TRIP, 30

September - 2 O c tober 2005(Main Eve nt: Satur day 1 O ctober)In association with th e Society of Publish ers inIreland.A get together on Saturday 1 October in the stylishCaf en Seine, Dawson Street with drinks andnibbles: an excellent opportunity to chat with our Irish counterparts about our experiences, aspira-

tions and career opportunities. Come and enjoy aweekend away with the SYP! Please see the wordattachment sent out by email to all members for further details or [email protected].

OXFORD SPEAKERMEET ING

A Symph ony of Word s Pub lishing in theMusical W orld

When the love of music and the passion for wordscollide, a beautiful symphony is created. As awriter or publisher, how much musicalbackground would one need to be part of themusical publishing industry? How aboutmusicians? Have you considered writing aboutthose silent notes? Jane Nicolson, PR andMarketing Manager at Trinity College of Music,will be speaking to us about musical writing andhow musical publications are used as promotionaltools.

Wednesday 14 September 2005, nibbles and drinksat 6.30pm , meeting 7pm.

Gallery Room, Oxford University Press, WaltonStreet, Oxford.

CV WORKSHOPS

With Helen Br ook(Harper Collins HR)

Helen Brook and Sarah Krukowski from HarperCollinsHuman Resources department have very kindly offeredto host two CV Workshops for SYP Members. Thesecourses are ideal for entry level candidates - so if you areat university and/or have work experience or are in your first or second job, this could be the ideal opportunity togive your CV a makeover with an expert in the field.Each session will provide an introduction to CVs followedby a one-to-one session on how you can improve yours.Wednesday 7 September and Thursday 22 September 2005 (to be confirmed) 9.30 - 11.30am at HarperCollins,77 - 85 Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8JB. Seewww.thesyp.org.uk for further details, or contactVictoria Nicholl, SYP Chair, at [email protected].

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Society of Young Publishersc/o The Bookseller Endeavour House189 Shaftesbury AvenueLondon WC2H 8TJE-mail : [email protected]: www.thesyp.org.uk

Printed by:

Abbey Green, Old Woking, Surrey

Disclaimer: The Society of Young Publishers would like readers to note that any views expres sed herein do no t represent the opinions of the society as a whole and only reflect t he opinion s of the indiv iduals who have submi tted materia l.

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InPrint 109 September 2005