Tag: LDSBA

Had to make a run to the airport to send some authors home. Saw several other conventioneers catching their planes too. A few are staying through Education Week at BYU. In case you weren’t sure, the LDSBA convention is intentionally planned to be the week before Education Week so that those who want to do so can make it to both, instead of having to choose to attend one or the other. Now back to our photos.

This is the Cherished Moments booth. I couldn’t find their website, but here is a link to their products on DB.com. They sell some really cute bracelets for Young Women and CTR items.

Just past them you can see Latter-day Inspirations. They sell greeting cards and gift items with an LDS/Christian focus. Their cards are simple and minimalistic. I liked them.

Just have a few minutes this morning.

THE CONVENTION:
The convention is held at South Towne Convention Center in Sandy, Utah. It goes from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday; from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday, with an LDSBA member business meeting at 9:00 on Friday morning and a fun banquet with awards and entertainment on Thursday night.

THE BOOTHS:
We are encouraged to decorate our booths to fit the convention theme. Most do. It’s fun to see everyone’s take on it all. Here are a few descriptions. I will try to get pictures later, but I’ve been so busy that I’ve been forgetting.

Deseret Book Booth
Deseret Book has the biggest booth. It takes up 16 booth spaces, plus one aisle. To help you get an idea, a booth space is 10×10′. That means they had over 1600 square feet. That’s bigger than my house! I didn’t have a long time to browse their booth, just did a quick pass through. They go very classy with black walls and silver and glass displays and leather couches and chairs for people (read that, “buyers”) to lounge in.

The outsides of their booths curve around on each corner to make a little alcove. This is where their authors sit to do their book signings. You can always tell when they have a big name in there doing a signing, because it goes dead on the rest of the floor.

They had Kenneth Cope (I think it was) and John Bytheway signing at the same time and it was dead from about 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. I had two new authors doing a signing at that time. No one came to see them. It was dissappointing, but I had warned them ahead of time that it can happen. Since we don’t have access to any of the other vendors’ signing schedules, we make our own and hope for the best. But the authors didn’t feel too bad about it. They were so overwhelmed with the experience. And they had a good time chatting with us and visiting other booths to just look at all the stuff. They were really good sports.

The rest of the day we were really busy.

Oops. Just looked at the clock. Got to go. More later.

Stats have jumped on this site since I started the Convention Countdown. Is this topic really that interesting? When I started it, I was letting off steam. The next day, I felt bad about that and was going to delete the post entirely, but–surprise!–there were positive comments about it. So I guess I’ll continue the update until I get comments otherwise.

I will not be “working” today or tomorrow because I have some family events that require my physical presence, and at least half my attention. These people who have lived with me during the entire time that I’ve been a publisher stilll seem to think that summer is for vacations and fun and trips to the water park and theme parks and shopping and all. I tell them, “No, summer is for conventions and publishing. Go watch a video.” But they mutinied. And I either have to have fun this weekend or walk the plank. (Actually, they threatened to feed me to the Kraken.)

But back to the convention. Each year, the convention has a theme. This year it’s “Riding the Wave into the Future.” Here’s the convention logo. Isn’t it pretty?

We are encouraged to decorate our booths to reflect the theme. They even have prizes for the best decorated booths. We never win. I’m not that creative. I have no idea what we’re going to do in our booth yet. That is next week’s task. If you have any ideas for something cheap and easy, let me know ASAP.

This year is also the 25th anniversary of the association. What a huge milestone. I love this association. The people who are part of it are very committed to helping the industry grow and succeed. They have a passion for what they do; they’re excited about it. I think it’s a great vehical for helping vendors and buyers get to know each other on a personal basis. It makes selling and shopping easier for everyone. It also helps small publishers network together, sharing ideas, resources, problem-solving together. It’s a wonderful thing. I hope it lasts another 25 years.

(And anyone who says that the association has a hidden political agenda, or that it’s run by Deseret Book, or any of that other nonsense needs to go have their meds checked.)

When I first started publishing, it was the norm for the publishers to bring authors to LDSBA to sign books for the vendors. Now I’m noticing that authors aren’t being invited as much. Is this just the case with my publisher (don’t they love me anymore?) or are all publishers being more selective about who they bring to LDSBA?

Thanks for the question, Anonymous. It is so much easier for me to respond to questions than to make something up out of the blue.

This is how it works–You can’t get into the convention without a name badge. Each 10×10 booth gets 15 free name badges. So if you have a double booth, you get 30 name badges; if you have an octobooth (that’s the professional term for a ginormous 8 space booth), you get…well, 15 X 8 name badges. (It’s late and I just ended a 14 hour workday, so you do the math.)

First priority name badges go to the employees who will work in the booth. Remember, the purpose of this convention is to sell books. Second priority are the authors/artists for book/CD/print signings.

We don’t have enough name badges for all of our authors to come, so we limit it to those authors who have new product being introduced at the convention and/or to those authors who are “hot” names and will draw a crowd of people who want to simply touch their hem and breathe the same air so they can go back home and brag to all their neighbors that they are now good friends with whats-his/her-name.

And there are a limited number of hours to actually have book signings, so that is a factor too.

One of the biggest limiting factors is simply space in the booth. Deseret Book always has several big names signing at their booth. Covenant, Granite and Cedar Fort do too. They all have big booths with plenty of room and special little nooks and tables where their authors can sit and do a signing without interfering with the business end of the booth.

Smaller publishers with only a 10×10 have to cram everything into that space. If you get really busy with buyers, the signing authors sometimes are a hindrance. Not because of their personality or anything–just spatial logistics. Some smaller publishers have decided it’s just too hard to do it. Even though I don’t have an octobooth, I think it’s worthwhile to have the authors there because their excitement about their book is a great selling tool. Usually.

So my guess is–it has nothing to do with how much they like you.

We have just under three weeks until the LDS Bookseller’s Convention, which will be held at the South Towne Convention Center in Sandy, UT, August 16 – 18. I thought it might be fun to give you a little peek into that crazy world.

The LDS Booksellers Association is an organization comprised of LDS vendors, resellers and others engaged in the distribution and sale of LDS products. It is guided by a board of directors from a variety of companies across the U.S. and Canada. Each year, the association sponsors classes and seminars for both Wholesalers and Retailers; provides a network of resources making it easier for resellers to find and order product; and (drum roll, please) hosts a huge convention for members only.

This convention is the one time all year that vendors and resellers get to mix and mingle, talk shop, and get to know each other better. It’s also the time when vendors present their new products, get feedback about what the “market” wants and needs, and hopefully, the time when resellers place huge orders in preparation for Christmas sales.

Impressions made at this convention, both by company representatives and product line, can be long lasting and effect sales for months to come. We like to imagine that we will handle the weeks leading up to the convention with an elegance and grace that informs the well-prepared. Instead, it’s a madhouse–a flurry of frantic activity trying to get everything ready for the show.

For example, I am still–three weeks before the show–signing new product to distribute. Because I’m still negotiating on a book that I think will sell well in this market, I’ve postponed printing my catalog. That means I missed the deadline for a pre-convention mailing. (Drat!)

I also have titles arriving almost daily from various printers–batches coming from the east coast, the mid-west and even China. I have to spot check all this new product to make sure it was done right (no upside-down pages, no streaks across the covers, etc.). Then I have to inventory it and get it into the computer system. And somehow I have to find a place to put it so that no one will trip over it and sue me.

I also have to come up with a booth layout and decor that will be attractive, inviting and appropriately feng shui-ed. I have no clue how I’m going to do that.

Anyway, I’ve exhausted myself just thinking about this, so I’m stopping now. But I’ll comment more about it and describe some of the preparations in more detail later.

(If this is a totally boring topic for you, then please e-mail questions or queries and I’ll respond to them instead.)