BEA: Change is Coming -- Are You Ready?

Of all the articles I read summarizing BEA and the current state of the industry, this one -- from an outside source -- summed it up best. The quote from Menaker sums up the old guard in this industry so well.

"At my age (64), I wish it was as simple as holding on to the older way of doing things," says Daniel Menaker, executive editor-in-chief at the Random House Publishing Group. "This is a convention that is haunted by questions about the future."

Not surprisingly, we spent most of our time on Friday meeting with some of the very companies they mention -- Google, Amazon, BookSurge, Lightening Source, Ingram, etc. -- strengthening existing relationships and building new ones. We're comfortable with change -- and in fact, very comfortable with new ways of publishing books while still maintaining the quality needed to be part of mainstream publishing. I doubt many execs would be surprised to find there are a lot of smart publishing professionals out here on the edge. It sure is refreshing after the stifling atmosphere of the old NY publishing traditional that aren't just stifling this business, but smothering it.