Where Authors, Publishers, and Booksellers Meet
From Zine Fests to the Fall Regional Indie Bookseller Association Trade Shows
Yes, as a lifelong zinester and someone who has attended many regional bookseller association trade shows, I am charting this thru-line…
The SF Zine Fest is happening this Sunday (Sept. 1). I know this because the poet
(one of my extraordinarily talented clients, by the way), will be tabling at the show representing Bored Wolves, a very cool new indie press publishing all kinds of amazing, artfully produced books, including her collection, Moonscape for a Child. If you are in the Bay Area, I definitely recommend checking it out, especially if you’ve never been to a zine fest. Make sure to stop by the Bored Wolves table and say hello to Allie.Zine fests are particularly meaningful to me, because it was at such an event where I tabled and sold my literary creations for the very first time. This was a million years ago, and yet I can remember it with the crystal clarity that is somehow afforded to the life and times of youth. Zines were a huge part of my mid-20s era, and it’s where I was able to truly discover my love for publishing. And working on zines is where I began to develop skills and insights that to this very day serve me well in how I approach the publishing process.
I think most people know what zines are — essentially an independently produced publication in its rawest form – usually photocopied and bound by staples — that is “self-distributed.” The focus of zines ranges wildly, and therein lies the frenetic beauty. These are true labors of love from start to finish. Never underestimate the literary and artistic power that lies in the freedom of that foundation.
There are so many practical things you learn when publishing zines. On a high level, you learn how to take an idea and develop it into a finished project that someone can hold in their hands and read. At the granular level, you have to do it all: write and gather the content, edit/copyedit the text, create or commission art, design and format the publication, print copies, and then work to get your zine into the hands of readers. You get to touch all aspects of the process. Editorial, production, marketing, distribution, events, sales. And it’s all yours (and your collaborators). There is no boss, no staff. It’s all on you. It is creatively exhilarating.
When Allie told me she was tabling at the SF Zine Fest, it brought back a lot of memories. I went into our storage room and pulled some boxes, and dug around to look for photos of my zine show past. (The photo at the top of the newsletter is of me tabling at a show a long time ago in a hotel ballroom far, far away — the Allied Media Conference in Bowling Green, OH, I believe). I also thought I might find copies of Factsheet Five, which was an amazing publication that not only reviewed thousands of zines, but was an incredible conduit to the thriving community of zinesters in the pre webzine/blogs/facebook/social media era. Unfortunately, I must have purged my collection at some point in the past.
But I did find a copy of one of the zines I published and sold at a San Francisco zine show — the Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair — all those years ago. Ah, youth.
I have a distinct memory of a guy grabbing a copy of this zine off my table, asking me how much it was, and when I told him, he threw quarters at me and walked away. Very punk rock. Those were the fucking days.
TAKEAWAYS
I really recommend checking out a zine show in your city, to meet some zinesters and to get creatively inspired. Simply google zine fest + your city — these events happen throughout the year, all over, big towns and small. I just did this search and discovered the upcoming Pete’s Mini Zine Fest happening in Brooklyn on September 14.
If you are a writer working to get that first book deal, creating a zine and participating in a zine fest is a great way to develop your ideas, experience the publishing process, and connect with a community. It’s creatively fulfilling and an amazing way to meet fellow writers and engage with the literary scene in your town.
Published authors who are in between books, working through ideas, or looking for an extra special item to share with readers at events or to giveaway as a bonus pre-order item as part of a current campaign — make a zine, and use the development of it to expand your creative horizons as well as give your readers a very special, limited edition publication.
And finally, wanted to mention that many independent bookstores have a small zine section. Make sure to seek that out, and pick up a zine or two. Not only are you supporting your local indie, but you are also supporting the most indie contingent of independent publishing.
REGIONAL INDIE BOOKSELLER ASSOCIATION FALL TRADE SHOWS
Speaking of publishing related events and gatherings, now that summer is coming to a close, the regional Fall Independent Bookseller Association Trade Shows are about to unfold in full force. These are really significant events, especially for small and mid-sized publishers, as well as for debut and mid-list authors. The reason is because it’s a chance for publishers’ representatives, authors, and booksellers to connect in-person in a meaningful way.
But first, here’s some info about what these gatherings are: These are trade shows put on by the regional Independent Bookseller Associations. Publishers and rep groups table at these events to showcase upcoming books — the Fall 2024 show focuses on forthcoming/Spring 2025 titles — and booksellers attend. There is lots of author programming — author panels, signings, and more, as well as educational panels for booksellers. These events are rational in size and scope — they are usually held in a hotel ballroom (not a huge convention hall like the Javits Center in NYC), over the course of 2 or 3 days. If you attend one of these events, you could conceivably meet every person in attendance — not just the booksellers, but the authors and exhibitors as well.
There are eight bookseller associations that hold Fall trade shows (noting that some associations do joint trade shows, and that SIBA and NAIBA’s joint show already took place in August):
California Independent Booksellers (CALIBA)
Great Lakes Independent Booksellers (GLIBA)
Midwest Independent Booksellers (MIBA)
Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers (MPIBA)
New Atlantic Independent Booksellers (NAIBA)
New England Independent Booksellers (NEIBA)
Pacific Northwest Independent Booksellers (PNBA)
Southern Independent Booksellers (SIBA)
I’ll let you visit the websites of those associations to get the specifics of the states that make up their regions, but you can get a sense of the way the country is divided up based on the names of the organizations.
I’ve had the good fortune of working the table at three of these shows: NAIBA, PNBA, and SIBA. And I’ve been responsible for getting authors on programming at all of them.
As someone working a show from the publisher side of things, I truly enjoyed getting to meet (or reconnect) and have conversations with booksellers. Yes, I was able to pitch my publisher’s books, but I also got to learn about people’s bookstores and the cities where they were located, find out what books and authors they were excited about, get insights into how we could better support independent bookstores, etc. Getting face time with booksellers — owners, buyers, managers, staffers — helps establish meaningful relationships and lays the groundwork for more bookseller support for a publisher’s books and authors. And that support is foundational to making a book successful. Without it, it’s a real uphill battle.
Especially if you are working for a small or mid-size publisher, that doesn’t have a huge team of sales representatives (something that only the biggest publishers have), these regional trade shows are vital for these personalized interactions and relationship building.
TAKEAWAYS FOR AUTHORS
— If you’ve got a book under contract, make sure you are aware of these independent bookseller associations, especially the one that is relevant to your geographic location/hometown.
— I would inquire with your publisher about getting submitted for a panel at your regional show, especially if the trade show is being hosted in or near your city (they move around and are not in the same hotels/cities every year). Keep in mind that author programming for these shows is set well in advance. Publishers have to submit for author panels by a deadline, usually in the Spring. Know the deadlines, as well as the trade show date and location, and advocate for yourself.
— If you are fortunate enough to get on the show program, prep for your panel and make a strong impression with this specific audience in mind — booksellers. And be sure to connect with as many booksellers as you can over the course of your time at the show. (If it’s okay with your publisher, spend time at the table). This is your chance to forge connections with booksellers from all over your region, which can have a significant impact not just on your forthcoming book, but over the long haul of your career as an author.
KEY POINTS
A constant theme of this newsletter is how so much of a book’s trajectory is determined well before its pub date. The indie bookseller shows are yet another example of this — publishers are mostly showcasing their FORTHCOMING titles at the Fall trade shows. Deadlines for the author programming are usually late Spring, which could be a full year before those authors’ books are going to be published. Understanding the industry’s timelines, programming, and decision-making processes can help you plan accordingly.
And in an upcoming newsletter, I’ll be digging into the Indie Next list. But I wanted to mention here that conversations and relationships developed, as well as author appearances, at these indie bookseller association shows are always instrumental in helping to secure nominations for Indie Next campaigns.
Thank you to
of Publishing Insider for reading my recent pre-order series, and then writing a newsletter sharing her take on the subject.I very much appreciated her insights and perspective, as well as the comments and feedback from her community of readers.
I recommend that you give it a read, if you haven’t already.
We clearly have different takes on the subject, and I truly value hearing from people who do things differently than me, or have a different point of view. I may not fully come around to their position or agree with it, but I am most certainly going to learn something that will ultimately help me better understand the overall issue and make potential changes in my approach.
My pre-order focused newsletters were a four-part series — you can read them here:
Part 1: The Never-Ending Pre-Order Asks.
Part 2: How Publishers Incentivize Pre-Orders.
Part 3: The Pre-Order Ask Dilemma.
Part 4: Pre-Order Campaigns Are a Tell on How a Book Is Going to Perform
Huge thank you for reading, sharing, and subscribing. If you currently publish a zine, used to publish one in the past, or have a favorite zine that you recall or are currently reading, drop a note in the comments and share the details. Long live the zine!
Have a wonderful and thoroughly relaxing Labor Day weekend.
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ABOUT THE WRITER OF THIS NEWSLETTER
Jeffrey Yamaguchi spent a good portion of his mid-20s strategizing on how to get surreptitious access to photocopy machines so that he could print his zines for free. All part of the grind.
Full bio is here.
Learn about the book marketing and publicity services I provide, and how you can work with me.
I love hearing about your early zine days, and it was incredible to see one of your first zines! Thank you for talking up zines and zine shows. I include as many of these shows in my tours as I can and like you I'm a lifelong zinester. Like you said, "Never underestimate the literary and artistic power that lies in the freedom of that foundation."