Book Bloggers Convention at BEA

This is an open letter to all Book Bloggers planning for BEA and the Book Bloggers Convention.  

We have managed to create some confusion and want clear up the issues we have seen popping up in the blogosphere so Book Bloggers know exactly what to expect and can plan appropriately.    

We are going to slightly re-brand the name of the Book Bloggers Convention (BBC) because of the growing confusion with the BlogWorld & New Media Expo event that is co-located with BEA and the BBC.  Allow me to unveil the new name:  BEA Bloggers Conference. This allows us to retain the identity without drifting from the short & rich history of the Book Bloggers Convention.  

The other issue that we have seen chatter on in the blogosphere is the price for attending.  Please know BEA does vet bloggers to insure that they are active book bloggers.  It is a bit subjective as it is hard to define in black and what what constitutes a true book blogger, but that is one thing we do check on and are cautious who we allow without being militant.  Bloggers pay a flat early bird rate of $135.00 that includes their pass for BEA - end of story for our blogging friends (stop reading now if you are blogger).  Here is where the confusion is running amok - there are non-book blogger attendees or exhibitors that want to attend the BEA Bloggers Conference, (formerly known as the Book Bloggers Convention) they will need to buy their normal BEA badge and for an additional fee can include attending the BEA Bloggers Conference.   I hope this makes sense.  The vast majority of those that attend will be bloggers and we want to maintain the lowest price point possible for book bloggers.  HOWEVER - there is a real risk that people that are not book bloggers that would have to pay a much higher fee to attend BEA as an industry professional will use this as a means of skirting the rates they should pay vs. the much lower rate of a book blogger.  This is a bit complicated but we hope it protects the book bloggers from paying too high a rate and allows BEA to maintain its pricing for other constituents. 

The Question is: B2B or B2C

Not sure if my post title evokes the question that BEA is grappling with as we look forward for what BEA needs to be for a publishing industry that is undergoing a metamorphosis wrought by technology and the new platforms that come with that technology . BEA has had to evolve to keep pace and ahead of those changes in order to remain relevant for booksellers, librarians and publishers.  However, the essence of BEA will never change and that essence is books and their authors.  The value of BEA for publishers is for breaking out titles, while booksellers and librarians depend on BEA for discovering titles and the latest trends and technology impacting he industry.  More and more consumers are finding out what is happening at BEA and that is impacting books they are discovering.  That is being done by consumers through blog posts and what crosses over from the mainstream media but it has been without any support or resources directly from BEA.  That is not on purpose, because the fact is that BEA is a trade event - meaning it is solely for industry professionals in the world of publishing - as we view it internally - B2B.  

There is increasing value for engaging consumers directly while there is a growing appetite from consumers to know what is coming from their favorite authors and personalities that are writing books.  We think the time is coming for the publishing business to connect directly with consumers that we view as B2C.  BEA has begun to share our plans with BEA's Executive Advisory Committee, our association partners and will conduct research with our whole exhibitor base as well as some consumer focus groups.  This will not happen immediately, but are looking at 2013 to shift BEA to a Thursday - Friday - Saturday, leaving the trade portion exclusive on Thursday and Friday so the industry can continue to meet and conduct the B2B business that is inherent to BEA and open the doors on Saturday for consumers built around author events, but also allow them onto the show floor to look behind the curtain, see what new works from their favorite writes will be coming out like ComicCon does.  This will also give a day of exhibits on the weekend that small but vocal portion of librarians and booksellers miss. 

Nothing is baked and we have a ton of due diligence to conduct to insure that a BEA that includes consumers, is an event that serves the industry in the ways that were always viable as well is in a whole new and valuable way. 

A great balanced view to the aritcle in the Sunday NYT

The Times and Teicher on B&N and Indies, Respectively