Update from the London Book Fair.

This is an amazing, fascinating and exhausting experience.

As I slept in my lucid night talking state, I was mentally running over what I would write on my blog today.

It went like this:-

People everywhere - stressed, smiling, bored, polite, dismissive, curious, tactful, patronising, focussed and intent ...

The scene in EC2

Two exhibition halls on the ground floor -so large - at least two or three times larger than the Sydney Exhibition Centre.
Extended escalators going up to the 2nd floor where all the agents are - the IRC area - as it's known.

The IRC area.

If you're an author even with a badge you can't get up there.  You have to be some kind of wholesaler or middle man.

Don't kid yourself that you'll be able to just go up and have a look.
The security is extraordinary.

Guys in black, with wireless receivers in their ears, wearing coats or jackets hiding guns, looking like ex paratroopers, patrol all the vital areas, e.g. the IRC level.  Even a couple of interesting, hot (I think is the term today) James Bond types. You have no hope of getting past them.  They see nothing, yet everything.

They parade through the Pavilions, especially the feature country area - this year it's China.
There's much debate about freedom of speech.

The big name publishers don't even have editorial people on their stand, only marketing, distributing and sales.  It's the business side of publishing - not the creative.

Checkout this link:-                       http://www.londonbookfair.co.uk/live

also                                               images for the london book fair - Google Search


My guardian angels are looking after me:-

Amazon's CEO is here.  Seeing him today.

Llewellyn's CEO is here.  I was introduced to him, showed him Downloading Spirit.
When I told him my experience with book submission not even being read, he asked me to re-submit direct to him ... and he guaranteed to have one of his editors read the book.

Wandering down Aisle H, I encountered a group of Scottish publishers.
Remembering one of my psychic friends saying to me ... You'll find a publisher in Scotland ... I went to their reception desk.

I was referred to two of the publishers ... again their CEO's.
Both were women, efficient, matter of fact, knowing immediately if the book was suitable to their lists.
In a few moments one politely and tactfully said: Not what we'd publish.
The other looked at the back cover, saw what John Woodcock had written in the Foreward:
Janet belongs to the stream inaugurated by Rudolph Steiner ... and immediately asked me to submit a PDF to give to her specialist editor who'd be in Edinburgh working for her over the summer.  This publisher specialises in anything that evolves from or is related to the thinking of Steiner.

A good back cover definitely draws people in.

I left at 5.30 pm.  I felt both exhilarated and exhausted.
Went back to my apartment for asparagus and scrambled eggs, a glass of wine and slice of bread, and found I'd shaken off about three hours of jet lag.  Slowly acclimatising.

The Australian Self Publishing Group I employed to represent me here, and enable me to get my entrance pass, showed Downloading Spirit to different wholesalers and distributors, but no success there.  However, tomorrow they're going up to the sacrosanct IRC where the agents hold court.  They're seeing a Chinese agent ... who knows?  I can't help but wonder what Downloading Spirit would look like in Mandarin.  Let's face it, I've explored the Tao in my book to some extent ... who knows, they might be interested.  We'll see.

So far serendipity has been very kind to me ...

Guess I'd better go and get dressed in my best business clothes and, God help me, high heels.
I haven't done this kind of thing in years, like thirty years.  It's a shock to a 68 year old's system.
But I have to say, I'm enjoying this experience ... and I'm learning so much.

I'm off for now, to shower, put on the glad rags and war paint, and venture forth again into the world of publishing, wholesaling, distribution, marketing, digital publishing and promoting.

Wish me luck.  Whatever happens today, I feel the effort has already been worthwhile.