Aside from the Author Market [a designated area of the exhibit floor where self-published authors can buy display space], there are a handful of opportunities for authors to get visibility for their work at BEA. As far as I’m concerned—as someone who attended this show for 10 years, mainly as an editor with a traditional publishing house—it is not worth the investment. Here’s why.I'll add a fourth consideration: You will likely be hugely overcharged, especially by companies that sell book fair packages, or re-sell the exhibit services of others.
The emphasis of the show is on traditional publishing, rights sales and pre-publication marketing, and does not favor indie title promotion. It is a New York industry event where traditional publishing insiders talk to other traditional publishing insiders. Yes, there are librarians and booksellers, but they’re rarely paying attention to the places where an indie book may be showcased or promoted.
Nobody is going to notice your book there. Your book is likely to be promoted with many other books, with no way of attracting attention even if someone did pause for a second within 50 feet of your book. Imagine setting a copy of your book down in the world’s largest book fair, and expecting someone to not only notice it, but be entranced by it so much they can ignore 10,000 other things happening at the same time.
If you—the author—are not present to advocate for it, your book doesn’t stand a chance. Services that offer to promote your book at BEA are rarely, if ever, hand-selling or promoting your book in a meaningful way. But they will be happy to cash your check and say that your book had a “presence” at BEA. If you want to satisfy your ego, go ahead. But it’s not going to lead to meaningful sales. (I challenge anyone in the comments to provide evidence that a self-published book gained traction at BEA because the author paid a fee to secure placement—and the author was not present.)
The past year has seen mounting consciousness of issues of violence, harassment and targeted abuse of women due to the #MeToo movement, which has led to accountability for several powerful men accused of abusing women, and greater awareness of women’s day-to-day experiences. And yet, as alleged sexual abuser Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court […]
Last week, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos released long-awaited proposed Title IX policy changes. The policy proposals came after more than a year of promises to strengthen the rights of students accused of sexual violence on college campuses, and DeVos certainly did not disappoint the Trump administration’s growing base of rape apologists. The Trump administration’s changes […]
Last month, Senator Bernie Sanders spoke in a notably all-white panel at a Sanders Institute conference, and reiterated a frequent talking point of his, as well as many in his sect of often white, male progressive thinkers who reject what they call “identity politics” and “social issues.” According to Sanders, the experiences of rural Trump […]
The last few weeks have seen Virginia racked by government scandals, including Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring’s histories with blackface, and allegations of sexual assault against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax. Democratic Party leadership has since swiftly called for the resignations of Northam and Fairfax — demands that some on both sides of the aisle […]
A Modest Proposal is brilliant, biting, hilarious satire, that is as horrifyingly relevant in 2020 as it was in 1729. This reads like one of those brilliant editorials from The […]
Welcome to The Great Hall of Poets, our regular monthly feature showcasing the talent of Middle-earth fans. Each month we will feature a small selection of the poems submitted, but we hope you will read all of the poems that we have received here in our Great Hall of Poets. So come and join us by […]
A hedge fund manager in Hong Kong has publicly apologised after a parody video of him licking his finger and wiping it on a hand rail in a metro car went viral, sparking anger in the city which is grappling to contain an outbreak of the new coronavirus.
A trooper stopping a car with a suspected "impaired driver" on a U.S. highway on Monday was bemused to find a 5-year-old in the driver's seat, the Utah Highway Patrol tweeted.
May is "Homeschooling Awareness Month", parents, which I'm sure you'll find as deliciously ironic as I do... by maybe next August.
Here's one from every home-schooled kid to their parent/teachers right now:
SORRY
Also maybe focus on spelling and grammar this week?
And here's one from every homeschooling parent to their kids after you all survive the rest of the school year:
Jejus is so proud of y'all.
If you're feeling left out, don't worry; it's also "Flexible Work Arrangement Week" (BAHAHAHAHAAA) and Mental Health Month, which at the moment go together like two peas in a pod. That's on fire.
“This is fine.”
“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE”
[...]
I don't actually know what that is, but it sure seems ominous.
I'm glad at least one baker understands the importance of talking things out through all this:
Advantages of cake therapy:
1) Cake doesn't judge
2) Cake always listens
3) Cake tastes delicious when your session time is up
Or hey, let the cake do the talking for you!
If you don't identify with this right now you're either not quarantined with anyone, or yesterday you were the annoying one. :p
Thanks to Kendra W., Jan M., Lesley G., Renee R., Megan W., Leigh M., & Hank C. for proving all snarky house notes should be made using cake.
*****
Speaking of house notes, whether you're feeling snarky or sweet, this listing has funny note options for just about every conceivable situation:
Each pad has 50 tear-off sheets, and the checkbox options are a riot to read through.
*****
And from my other blog, Epbot:
Comics Curmudgeon readers! Do you love this blog and yearn for a novel written by its creator? Well, good news: Josh Fruhlinger's The Enthusiast is that novel! It's even about newspaper comic strips, partly. Check it out! Hey y’all: it’s your comment … of … the WEEK! “If we do have to accept a more […]
TWH speaks with Holli Emore about the dynamics and opportunities of online rituals, and how their use may shift how Pagans think about and participate in ritual.
Continue reading The opportunities of online rituals at The Wild Hunt.
Dork Tower is 100% reader supported. Join the Army of Dorkness today, and help bring more Dork Tower to the world! By becoming a Dork Tower Patreon backer, you get our everlasting gratitude (and also swag, commentary, bonus strips, and even more swag), but, critically, you’ll help us reach our next goal – three comics a week! […]
We can lend a shaky hand to the struggling salon sector as we file and paint during lockdown
Sales of nail polish are up 24% since lockdown began, mostly because no one can visit salons for the long-lasting UV-cured lacquers that dominate the modern industry but also, I’m convinced, because we suddenly have way more time and inclination to bother.
It may be one minuscule piece of good fortune in this crisis, but we can also lend a shaky hand to the struggling salon sector as we file and paint.
Continue reading...A weekday lunch of braised chickpeas, a savoury brunch porridge and a grown-up take on rice pudding
The world has seen more than its fair share of closed doors lately – shops, restaurants, the barber, your neighbours’ – but that has, in turn, led to the opening of some others.
And if there is one door that has swung wide open in recent weeks, it’s the one that leads into the kitchen. From the keenest of cooks to the humblest of beginners, the kitchen has provided us all with the one thing we’ve been missing the most: freedom.
Continue reading...From that initial cold forkful to just the right amount of cheese, we’ve settled it – this is how you should be enjoying your beans
Forget whether the dress was blue or white, or if there was room for Jack on that floating debris – the most heated debates of our generation revolve around food. Does the jam or cream go on a scone first (and how do you pronounce scone)? Does pineapple belong on a pizza? And should your Heinz ketchup be kept in the fridge? (For the record: jam then cream; rhyme it with “gone”; certainly not; and yes, definitely. Glad we cleared that up.)
But few foods have triggered so many lengthy debates as the satisfyingly saucy baked bean. A British icon, the fierce loyalty these delicious legumes stir up is unparalleled. Which is the best bread to put them on? Is it OK to eat them cold? And should they really be touching other food on the plate? We’re here to solve these saucy conundrums once and for all. (Please note: the editor’s decision is final.)
Continue reading...for Cait
The Brimstone is back
in the woken hills of Vallombrosa,
passing the word
from speedwell to violet
wood anemone to celandine.
I could walk to you now
with Spring just ahead of me,
north over flat ground
at two miles an hour,
the sap moving with me,
under the rising
grass of the field
like a dragged magnet,
the lights of the flowers
coming on in waves
as I walked with the budburst
and the flushing of trees.
If I started now,
I could bring you the Spring
for your birthday.
Scientists identify thousands of extreme events, suggesting stark warnings about global heating are already coming to pass
Intolerable bouts of extreme humidity and heat which could threaten human survival are on the rise across the world, suggesting that worst-case scenario warnings about the consequences of global heating are already occurring, a new study has revealed.
Related: One billion people will live in insufferable heat within 50 years – study
Continue reading...
Half-time advertising break.
And that’s the end of the first 45. Plenty of thinking to do for Kenny Dalglish, Bob Paisley and the rest of the Liverpool management team. Everton took a while to get going, but they eventually assumed control and have been much the better team since. Peter Reid, Kevin Ratcliffe and Gary Lineker have been the standout turns. They deserve their lead. Unless there’s a seismic shift in momentum, Everton will be drinking from the cup of redemption in about one hour’s time!
Continue reading...Despite rising coronavirus case numbers, the US state of Mississippi is moving out of lockdown and reopening parks, restaurants and other non-essential shops. Oliver Laughland went to the resort of Biloxi to see how residents were responding
The US southern state of Mississippi is the country’s poorest. It went into the coronavirus crisis with high levels of poverty and poor health outcomes. But following the period of lockdown and orders for residents to stay at home, the state’s governor Tate Reeves has eased restrictions - despite evidence that the rate of infections has not yet hit its peak.
The Guardian’s Oliver Laughland travelled to the Mississippi coastal resort of Biloxi where he tells Mythili Rao he found the lockdown has hit hardest those working in low paid jobs in the tourism industry. One restaurant worker describes how the loss of work meant he has had to rely on the charity of his neighbours and local food banks. But despite growing numbers of cases, people are flocking back to the beach and increasingly breaching recommendations of minimum social distancing. The state is reopening, but at what cost?
Continue reading...Charlie, 13, starts his morning with 40 press-ups; William, 15, spends an hour a day working out. But when does a healthy interest become a dangerous obsession?
Charlie is working on two things in lockdown. First, his studies: at 13, he’s the first to admit his focus is patchy. “I don’t do a lot of homework,” he says. “My mum complains about that all the time.” That isn’t to say he hasn’t thought about a career. “I wanted to be a game designer, but now I think the future’s in diseases, in microbiology, so I am also interested in that. A bit.”
His other work requires hours of dedication and is something Charlie has genuine enthusiasm for: working on his body. His daily routine starts with 40 press-ups while his shower is running. He eats five eggs and four pieces of toast for breakfast. His ideal lunch would be grilled fish and rice, but when he is at school he typically has to eat pasta with tuna sauce, since the canteen’s focus is feeding children, not lean body sculpting. “He won’t eat sausages or any processed stuff,” says his mother, Helen. She is married and lives in Liverpool with the couple’s three children, aged five to 13.
Continue reading...Concerns raised about ‘disproportionate’ use of force after young black man is seriously injured
The police watchdog has launched an investigation after a black man in his 20s was left with a life-changing injury after he was shot with a stun gun by officers in north London.
Police on patrol in Haringey chased the man on Monday after he ran away from them following an approach, it is understood. They used the stun gun as he jumped over a wall and he fell, suffering serious back injuries, which his family fear could leave him at least partially paralysed.
Continue reading...The list of recent donors reads like an Irish phone book. Aisling Ní Chuimín, Shane Ó Leary, Sean Gibbons, Kevin Boyle, Kevin Keane, Clare Quinn, Eamonn McDonald, on and on down a GoFundMe page that by Friday had raised $3.15m of a $5m goal.
The individual amounts are not remarkable – $10, $20, $30, some exceeding $100 – but the story behind the donations stretches back two centuries and encompasses a singular act of generosity that forged a bond between Native Americans and Ireland, a bond now renewed in the coronavirus era.
Continue reading...Mike Pence’s press secretary tests positive to coronavirus; China reports one new case; Russia reports 10,000 new cases for sixth day in a row
Donald Trump has said coronavirus will “go away without a vaccine” and is expecting 95,000 or more deaths in the US, as Mike Pence’s press secretary tested positive for coronavirus.
The president’s comments, at an event with Republican lawmakers, capped a horror week in the US, in which it was revealed unemployment had risen to 14.7%, up from 3.5% in February, with 20 million people losing their jobs in April.
Continue reading...По итогам 2020 года "Яндекс.Такси" покажет убытки, но это не мешает компаниям выходить на IPO. На такие планы скорее повлияет общая экономическая ситуация. Основными генераторами убытков станут программа развития беспилотного транспорта и ориентированные на доставку "Яндекс.Еда" и "Яндекс.Лавка"..
The floods that submerged one-fifth of Pakistan's territory took more than six months to recede.
One of the most affected regions was the Sindh region, located in the western corner of South Asia.
At their peak, the floodwaters were up to 20 feet deep. About 20 million people were displaced.
But apparently, people were not the only ones seeking shelter from the devastating floods.
One of the unexpected side-effects of the flooding has been that millions of spiders climbed up into the trees to escape the rising floodwaters, turning them into futuristic-looking trees cocooned in spiders' webs.
The people living in that area claimed they have never seen this phenomenon before but were glad to discover that those cocooned trees were actually significantly reducing the numbers of mosquitos and thereby, the risk of malaria.
It is thought that the mosquitoes were getting caught in the spiders' webs which would be one blessing for the people of the area, facing so many other hardships after the floods.
Check out some of the stunning photos, released by the department of international development.
"Don't worry, I'm from tech support...Just lemme get a closer look."
Well...it seems like these cats are more interested in all those mouses and cookies hiding in your computer.
During this crazy time many of us have been confined to our homes and for some that means to be home 24/7 with our best friends. Our pets. However, because of this, many pets have become accustomed to having us home with them.
But then the question is... will they be okay once bans are lifted and people are able to slowly go back to their daily routines?
Will they be able to handle their best friends not being by their side 24/7?
It is expected that many dogs (even cats!) can suffer from separation anxiety, and pet experts are saying that it's a good idea to get your pet ready and used to post-quarantine separation now, to minimize their stress later.
Here are some useful tips for both dog and cat owners.
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