Pub Date, 4 O'Clock: Perseus to Make a Book and Publish Live from the BEA Floor
This year at BEA, in addition to presenting forthcoming books the traditional way, Perseus Books Group will give over a prime slice of their booth to an ambitious project that makes transparent the entire process of creating and publishing book--and aspires to make it all happen in less than two days.
The book is called BOOK: The Sequel, and on an hour-by-hour schedule still being finalized, they intend to edit, design, produce, sell, publicize/promote and publish live before fairgoers' eyes (and with their participation)--one at a time via an Espresso Book Machine they expect to have in their booth but also in all major formats and platforms (audio; digital audio; ebook through all major vendors; and large-print.)
Think of it as going from "a crash book, to an exploded book," Perseus executive and creative spark behind the program Rick Joyce says. Think of it, too, as a potential reason to visit the Perseus booth and those of what could be a wide network of participating partners and vendors across the floor more than once during the show. Of course Perseus hopes people see the larger metaphors, too: a demonstration of their Constellation program that helps clients publish easily in multiple digital-driven formats, and "an x-ray of the business" as it is now that "shows we are as timely and creative, as savvy and integrated as any other medium."
Inspired by BEA show director Lance Fensterman's suggestion to rethink what happens in the booth, Joyce declares "these times demand a certain bravery," adding that "I want to get the most out of BEA that we can." He surmises that "if we weren't changing [as a company] it might not matter so much," but he sees the new concept as "a chance for constituents to engage with who we are."
The book itself will be crowdsourced ahead of the show. The charge is to "write the first sentence for a yet-to-be-written sequel to any book ever published," with submissions via
www.bookthesequel.com, open starting next Monday and running until May 28. Public Affairs editor Clive Priddle primarily conceptualized the idea and will edit the book, with Susan Weinberg as publisher and the rest of the team assembled from across the Perseus Book Group. According to plan, the published book that will be ready in print-on-demand version for their planned 4:00 in-booth launch party on Saturday afternoon will be a 10,000-word trade paperback.
By the end of the day Friday they'll have a bound manuscript for reviewers and an e-galley as well. First thing Saturday they will design a web site and Facebook page, write a readers group guide, commence publicity and promotion, record the audio version, offer foreign rights, design and select a jacket, solicit accounts live and more. Booth visitors can watch the process unfold on wall-mounted screens and weigh in at specific stages, including an editorial meeting, and a jacket design meeting.
With everything going so quickly the temptation is quip whether returns will be coming back by Sunday, but Perseus will follow the Saturday BEA launch with a traditional press run going on sale June 15. All royalties will go to the National Book Foundation.
from
Publishers Lunch Daily, April 24, 2009
