Some Ypulse Books Pre-Conference Highlights
Posted by alli on 07-18-2008
The Ypulse Books Publishing Pre-Conference at the Mashup on Monday was a blast and we've already received some really encouraging feedback. My mind is sort of on information overload right now, but I wanted to share some of what happened and also touch on a few highlights. If you attended, please feel free to send me your insights/feedback. I'd love to hear from you.
Our keynote speaker, David Levithan, was wonderful. I felt like he set the tone for the whole morning. He got straight to the point about what is up and coming in YA today but with a casual and fun energy. He started off by telling us about three signs he'd taken note of recently that he felt symbolized the inevitable future of children's publishing: Apparently, in an Entertainment Weekly interview Stephenie Meyer offhandedly stated she'd been working on a prequel to Twilight without a publisher, and she just might publish it online….free. The new Iphone 3G is out with an "App Store" offering all sorts of reader applications (Could books go the way of iTunes?). The last "sign" he noted was that reading material will be offered on airplanes on the seat-back screens just like movies and music.
Levithan also talked about The 39 Clues, a project in which he is heavily involved (New York Times, reg. required) that will be released this September. Steven Speiberg has just acquired the rights for the movie that will accompany the 10-book series. An extreme multi-platform experience, the project is an excellent example of the direction the publishing industry is now moving, offering many points of entry for kids, including games.
Likening it to the way of the music industry and referring to a "Radiohead moment," Levithan talked about making material free online, making it accessible on electronic devices that kids already have, like their phones, and the entire multi-platfom ethos to which we must pay attention. What does this all mean for reading and books? Levithan says the industry will certainly see a seachange but that reading, interest in stories and good storytelling will not change.
The Visual Storytelling panel was awesome! They were super vibrant and offered all sorts of cool impassioned information on the world of graphic novels — not really anything super surprising in the future for graphic novels or comics, just that they are here to stay! They also talked quite a bit about the role of girls in the industry and how they are among some of the most avid readers. I found this particularly interesting: Andrew Farago pointed out that in pre-war American EVERYBODY read "the comics" and there were few distinctions across gender. After the War, it somehow became a boy thing and the stigma has persisted even though girls today read a ton of graphic novels, manga and comics.
A question a lot of folks wanted to address was how to deal with parents that dismiss manga and the like as not serious reading… a waste of time. The panelists agreed that emphasizing the characters and their righteous moral journeys was one way to sway them. Farago reminded us of the mainstream popularity of Persepolis, and that American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang won the Michael L Printz Award and was a National Book Award finalist in 2005. The literary world is taking this genre seriously. This might offer some validation to those that need it.
Reluctant readers (aka boys) want action and honesty, and both authors and publishers talked about how alternative tie-ins like games are a great way to attract readers. Also, non-fiction still provides an important draw. I was particularly interested in Jeff Savage's experience with his mostly boy fan base. He talked about how he thinks his books are so popular simply because of his readers love of the subject matter: sports. Seems like a no-brainer, right? But it's a genre, if you will, and one that I hadn't ever paid much attention to. I will now.
From Juicy Tubes to snow boards, all of our authors were fabulous and shared tons of marketing and promoting advice. The gist of it being: Writers have to think outside the box and get out there in any way that makes sense to their particular books, build a community online and make yourself accessible to your fans. Most importantly, YOU are the most important person in the promotion of your book. Justiina Chen-Headley also shared her particular mission to promote social activism and responsibility along with each of her books.
All in all, I felt really good about our first Ypulse Books event. Everything seemed organic and all of the parts very interrelated. We covered a lot of ground from which I am still reeling and I hope that it will naturally continue to seep into my posts in the days and weeks to follow. The event gave me a really solid blue-print for the rest of the year too, which was both refreshing and exciting.
