Come October, when others are
contemplating pumpkins, scarecrows, and costumes, the publishing
rights world is packing its bags with business clothes, practical but
fab shoes, and materials to let the world know about its amazing
books.
The Frankfurt Book Fair is the largest
and longest-running book fair in the world. It began soon after
Guttenberg invented the printing press as a printer's convention.
Now it spans numerous halls and floors that can take days to see.
Publishers from every country come to set up a stand and display
their wares or recently published books in the hopes of selling them
for translation into other countries. Editors from around the world
get their exercise running from meeting to meeting to find their next
imported gems to translate and make into a success in their language
as well.
As agents, we have our special section
at the fair – Hall 6.0 – otherwise known as the Literary Agents and Scouts Center. For me, my home for three days was table 12-O, a
nondescript white table with four chairs and an electrical cord
hanging down from the rafters. On the table, I laid out my lists of
our wonderful fiction, nonfiction, and kids' books, business cards,
and various notes to help me navigate the next 75 meetings. Yes, I
did say 75 meetings!!!!! These meetings actually start two days
before the fair in hotel lounges and coffee shops and continue each
day after hours, during dinner and over drinks (I have learned the
joys of Apfelwein!).
Every 30 minutes, a different editor
finds my table and sits down to hear me talk about our books. I
listen to their likes and dislikes, ferret out what is working in
their country, and then steer them towards the books that would be
the perfect fit. Invariably they leave with lists of titles to read,
consider, and hopefully purchase for translation.
It is true that, at times, I feel like
a wind-up doll, unwound until the butt hits the seat opposite me. I
then animate and become a storyteller, trying to convey to my
audience the specific elements that make a particular book wonderful
and special in its own way. Luckily I am blessed to be in an agency
where our agents have excellent and varied taste. I get to read and discuss kick-ass action, beautiful prose, and illuminating facts.
I also get a snapshot of how the world
is doing, admittedly through the prism of books. Spain is in dire
straights with one publisher telling me business is down 40% from
last year. In Greece, our co-agent loves to come to Frankfurt just to
escape the sad faces he is constantly seeing in his own country.
Russia has recently lost their major bookstore chain and their
biggest publisher is being investigated by the tax authorities, BUT
this has opened up opportunities for the smaller publishers to expand
their lists. Poland is obsessed with stories centered around the two
World Wars. Historicals don't sell for love or money in Holland, but
they are just what many of the Eastern European countries are looking
for. Everyone has recently found, or is frantically looking for,
their erotica novel, even though no one has any idea if it will
perform.
In kids' books, realistic fiction is on
the rise, picture books are more challenging to acquire with the
recession hitting hard on the high cost of books, Korean manga is big
worldwide, and many people want to find a funny middle grade. In
genre publishing, romance is huge, science fiction is dead, crime is
locked up by Scandinavian authors, and horror depends on the
publisher. As long as publishers don't have an expert in their
country to draw upon, prescriptive nonfiction has a chance –
especially about sex and relationships. Great narrative or very
serious nonfiction will make the right editor's eyes shine. And, as
always, amazing reviews and/or sales can trump everything!
At the end of the week, the left-over
papers and many notes get packed away, and we all grab our flights
with sore throats and bleary eyes - satisfied that we have spread the
word about our wonderful authors. Next stop: to the cobbler to resole
our fab shoes in readiness to do it all again next year!
Favorite quote of the fair from an
Italian editor about erotica novels – “We do it, we don't read
it.”
The essentials: JVNLA rights lists, fab shoes,
a map of Frankfurt, and a backpack to carry it all!
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