I’m a big fan of new publisher Transita. I became aware of them when I was given a copy of Christine Coleman’s “The Dangerous Sports Euthanasia Society” by the guy running the Birmingham Book Festival. After reading it and posting my review on BookCrossing and the Transita website, I then sent it on a bookring. Every time I get a new review of it from there, I post it on Transita so the author can see what people are thinking about it. And at least one reader is lobbying Canadian book chains to stock books by this publisher.

That wasn’t my point, though. I then got anothe copy as part of a lovely box of books transita sent me to say thank you for writing an article for their website. OK, I didn’t get either of these copies through BookCrossing, but the idea’s the same.

Anyway – then Christine came along to the Unconvention on the Friday, and what did I do… I BOUGHT a copy of her book.

So yup -it does happen!

Keep up the good work

Liz

Skyring, I’m glad you got home safely and had a good time! It was great to meet you and your kindness was a highlight of the day.

I could even live with used books online if they weren’t sold before I had a chance to sell a few “new”.

Nic, PLR is a very useful addition to the author income.

Skyring, I hope your luggage catches up with you soon.

I bought a couple of copies of your books, and as you know I liked them. Romance writing is harder than it looks and I like romances with a bit of humour and fun, bubble and sparkle in them, which you supply in magnum loads.

I’ve been introduced to the writing of a great many authors through BookCrossing. Usually authors I would never have looked at by myself. But when a fellow BookCrosser says “You have GOT to read this!” and then thrusts the book into my hands, if I like the book I’ll generally buy more by the same author.

Lisa Wingate is one example where I’ve bought a book and sent it off on a bookring, and then gone hunting up others to buy new, most recently “Over the Moon at the Big Lizard Diner”, which I found in the World’s Biggest Bookstore in Toronto a couple of months back.

BookCrossing isn’t quite what it seems. Sure, we give books away, and we give the best ones to each other to read, but hey, everybody lends books to their friends, and the experience of keen BookCrossers is that they end up buying MORE books than otherwise.

My experience with my own book has been that BookCrossers buy a copy and then hand it around, but they still buy that first copy and oftentimes BookCrossers will then buy a copy for themselves.

I really don’t think that there’s any need to worry about losing sales to BookCrossers. If anything, it’s the reverse, because with word of mouth in the forums and glowing journal entries, sales are sparked from people who buy books on recommendation.

I don’t know the answer at all, which is why I was asking for opinions and experiences.

It was great to see you this weekend, looking well and happy! Now you just have to write more!

A book is a strange commodity too – it’s not like a box of chocolates, which is gone when it’s gone, nor a CD which will be enjoyed over and over again. A book, once read, stays there and although there are always a few books that are so loved that they will be read over and over again, most will languish on the bookshelf. There are so many books about, after all, and so little life in which to read them.

So rather than sit idly on the shelf, gathering dust, they can be passed on to be enjoyed by somebody else who may well be introduced to an author whose other books they will go on to buy. Whether this happens by personal giving, through a second-hand bookshop or a charity shop, or by being left to be found at random, is neither here not there.

Perhaps it’s the publishers that should really be to blame. After all, more books are published than ever before and yet it’s harder and harder to get published as the big media megacorporations and the big bookshop chains focus more and more on the bankable at the expense of new talent. When I was a student, a Penguin paperback and a packet of fags cost the same. Today, after taxes have been piled on the fags and the book remains zero-rated, the standard paperback costs about 50% more than the fags. Where’s the sense? Is it any wonder that readers try to keep their costs down?

100+ books read, Nic. I am totally jealous. One thing about writing and working full time is that my reading time is very limited. I used to devour books like crazy. I’m looking forward to the summer holiday when I can finally read for pleasure again.

PLR isn’t a whole lot, but it is something, and apparently it’s quite steady if you have a backlist.

Katisha I’m glad my workshop encouraged you to look out for my books!

Lin, Laura, Cyzaki, and Anna, thank you for stopping by and giving me your experience of the whole thing. As I said I could really see the positive attitude and love of reading at the conference–as a reader I appreciated it–and as an author it’s good too to hear what you say, that sharing books encourages you to buy books too. That’s exactly what I was curious to hear.

Lin and Laura, I’m really glad you enjoyed my workshop and that it encouraged you to write, Laura.

Several people have told me how the organisation has changed their lives along with their attitude toward reading and those stories are great to hear too.

I was a little bit nervous about posting this question online, for fear that people would be offended at my questioning the effect of the organisation, but your responses, with your experiences, were just what I was looking for. Thanks.