This weekend, my RWA (Romance Writers of America) chapter hosted Amy Pierpont from Grand Central Publishing. A number of us agreed this meeting was one of the best we’ve had because Amy has such a wealth of industry experience and is so passionate about books.

One key take-away from our discussion about the industry was that paranormals are still going strong with no end in sight. (Keep looking for those vampire books!) Expect paranormals to combine with other genres or subgenres. Recently I found a pirate vampire series for young adults that seems to be checked out of our library most of the time (a definite issue when my young adult is clamoring for book 2). I was particularly happy to hear that paranormals have a bright future since my second novel is a paranormal thriller with romantic elements (no, I didn’t entirely drop the medical slant, it’s just less prominent than in book 1). There aren’t any vampires in my novel but I believe I have some beings who are just as intriguing.

Another trend is the growth of e-books and e-readers. Publishers are looking to do more in this area because of the growth even though, at this time, the e-book area is only a small part of overall sales. From our informal sampling, there’s still a lot of room for growth since only one writer in the room currently has an e-reader. However, there was strong agreement that as readers, we book people are enamored of the touch, feel and smell of books- something an e-reader doesn’t offer.

The final trend I’ll mention is the growth of e-marketing tactics. Look for electronic announcements of all kinds from publishing companies promoting novels. Word of mouth is still the best way to attract readers and that is moving to the Internet as well with bloggers recommending novels and talking with their favorite authors.

While the publishing industry, like most other industry, hit a rough patch, there are a lot of exciting things going on!

Two days ago, I posted my thoughts on the new Kindle. I enthused about the audio feature. Opps! I definitely had on my techie hat when writing that. Yes, it’s a cool feature for Kindle users. But- the Author’s Guild has come out firmly against it because of potential copyright infringement and because it could impact on audio book sales. I have to back them one hundred percent on that position.

It would be fantastic if the new Kindle could play audio books. Then there would be no copyright issues since Kindle users would be buying the audio books.

I haven’t heard the Kindle audio but it has been described as using a basic read text feature with a computerized voice such as that offered in Microsoft programs. This type of jerky, monotone reading is a totally different experience from the gorgeous audio books now available. I’ve overseen the creation of audio programs involving actors and actresses and it’s an engaging experience. These professionals draw you into the story and bring it to life just using the sound of their voice. What I’ve found incredible is the way they can pick up at any point and still bring out the correct emotion and tone for the text.

I sincerely hope the Kindle won’t impact audio book sales because many people would be missing out on the chance to be a kid again sitting at the story teller’s knees, listening to the witch cackle and the tin man squeak.

The new Kindle is out! I took a look at Amazon’s video of the Kindle 2 yesterday. It’s starting to look pretty tempting… I especially like the read aloud feature. This feature could be great for someone who’s older and can no longer read or for anyone who can’t look at or read a book for any reason. It might even keep kids entertained by reading them stories on a trip.

The other interesting feature is the thinness. I’m not sure how I’d feel about holding something that thin after being used to the weight of a book. Or how I’d feel about not being able to put my fingers on the pages and turn them. Since the screen is black and white, book covers will be monochrome and less exciting.

The wonderful thing about the Kindle is that books will be even more available to everyone, any time, wherever they are. If you are bored and stuck somewhere, you could order up a book and read (so long as there is wireless). The stack of books by the bed becomes a few millimeters thick. And once you go digital, a book can become a multi-media experience.

Being a techie at heart…I just might have to put this on my wish list. And start thinking up new plots and characters that can go digital…

Bookmarked: The Eight by Katherine Neville

At the tail end of December, the New Yorker had a fantastic story on cell phone novels in Japan. These are novels written and read on cell phones. Young Japanese women, usually amateur writers, pour their hearts out in emotion-infused romances that are read by other young Japanese women. The novels can be downloaded or are sometimes published in paper form. There are contests for cell phone novels and the writers are promoted in the media. One interesting twist is that the novels are written using cell phone lingo with abbreviations, characters and symbols. Lines are short to be easily read on small screens. A number of Japanese companies have gotten behind this trend, thus enhancing their own success. This is a great example of innovation in publishing.

Just when I was despairing that the United States would launch into the innovation jet stream, HarperCollins came through in recent weeks with a downloadable video book. Wow! This is what I was going on about a few months ago- mixing media, new purchase options! Publishing products that fit the varied needs and desires of customers- hopefully, new customers!

As a writer, these products are exciting because they mean there’s even more writing challenges ahead. I love learning new ways to write and entertain or teach. I can’t wait to see what other new products come out in future months!

I thought I’d introduce a new way to start posts (OK- I admit I’m cribbing this idea, with my own twist, from Pub Rants- a great blog- I’ll add it to my blogroll).

Bookmarked (reading): Just finished- The Alibi Man by Tami Hoag; now up- Pyramids by Terri Pratchett.

It might seem a tad presumptuous of me to be thinking of July with a good 3 inches of snow on the ground and the thermometer refusing to even stick a toe past the single digits, but it’s time to work on summer conference plans. This year RWA will be held in our nation’s capital. Sure, I’ll have missed all the inauguration commotion but I won’t have to wear a balaclava and ski gloves. So I’m looking forward to the energy that comes from thousands of writers not to mention soaking up the aura from the new regime.

Thrillerfest looks fantastic as well! The only negative point is being 4 days away from RWA.

So there’s the rub, to sleep or to attend, perchance to dream (of pitches and lectures and balls with gowns).

So while I ponder over agendas, trains and hotels, I’ll try to imagine that the ice will melt and I’ll find there is asphalt under it after all. Maybe I should even save a piece of ice for the days when it hits 90 F.  As Mark Twain said, if you don’t like New England weather, just wait a minute.