The Virtual Sort

As I mentioned earlier, I'm in the process of trimming down my book collection. And as I sort through what stays and what goes, it occurs to me that my choices are very different then they would have been just a few years ago.

Then I might have chosen to keep the important books and discard the lesser works of fiction  "War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells is a classic. "If Dying Was All" by Ron Goulart isn't.

In the past, if I was keeping just a physical library, I might have chosen to keep the classic and ditch the lesser book. But now -- thanks mostly to e-books -- the classics are readily available all the time. I could (in theory) have a Kindle chock-full of the greatest works of Western Civilization, many more volumes than I could possible store in my home.

So in this case, as my copy of the "War of the Worlds" isn't a first edition or anything special (just a paperback from the 1970's), out it goes. I've read the book many times, and will again -- and will have no trouble obtaining a copy when I'm ready.

As for "If Dying..," that's a different matter. The text was published once in the mid-1960's, and that was it It's part of a series of mysteries featuring John Easy, and written in Ron Goulart's surreal and minimalist style (which is why I like them). The book isn't available electronically, and only occasionally shows up on eBay.

So the question becomes: will I reread this book? If not, there's no need to keep it. If so, then holding on to the hard copy makes sense. Well, I've read it a couple of times, and will most likely reread it a few more. So it stays.

My new sort criteria:

1) Will I reread this book? Yes - move to question two. No - it goes.
2) If the answer is yes, then is this readily (and inexpensively) available online? Yes - it goes. No, it stays.

A far different process than I would have used a few years ago, but one that's putting a lot of books back into circulation!

White Lies and the Social Network

I haven't talked about Sarah Honenberger and her book "White Lies" for a while, but she recently sent me an update, by way of a comment to one of our posts. The post talked about how online video clips can greatly expand audiences by making the content available for people to discover and watch on demand.

Honenberger sent the link to just such a clip. It's an interview she did at the Blue Ridge Regional Library in Henrico County, Virginia.

Click To Play

So now Honenberger's visit to the library extends far beyond the small number of people who had the opportunity to see her there.

Honenberger's experience in Internet marketing grows over the past year or so. We've had a number of conversations both online and off about blogs, websites and so on -- and her comment shows how much she's learned.

Rather than waiting for people to stumble across her interview, she posted the URL in our comments (and I'm assuming in other blogs as well). I'm sharing it as well, and I'm sure others will, too. She's using the social aspect of the Internet to get the word out.

And Honenberger's even working on a MySpace page. When it's ready, she can count on at least one friend request.

- Ralph

Reviewing White Lies

It's been a while since I've talked about Sarah Honenberger's book, "White Lies." When last I talked to the author (who was doing some touring for the book), it had just about sold through its first pressing, and a second printing seemed like a distinct possibility.

I finished reading "White Lies" a month ago, and it was a great experience. I pretty much read the last third non-stop, wanting to know what happened next.

Its a different kind of book than I normally read (my wife says that's an improvement). While some of the publicity and the reviews may suggest its a story about the coverups surrounding children damaged by manditory immunization, it's not the primary thrust of the narrative. This isn't the "Pelican Brief."

The book concerns itself with the mother of one such victim, and how her story impacts the life of her lawyer. "White Lies" traces the development of these two women, their relationship and how they change as the case moves its way through court.

Honenberger is an effective storyteller, writing with transparent prose. This keeps things moving along. The narrative efficiently says what it needs to, packing a great deal of information into very brief chapters.

The author draws on her experience as a practicing attorney to make the courtroom scenes realistic and believable. She also effectively explains in layman's terms the problems and legal concepts behind the lawsuit that drives the story.

If I have one complaint, it's that I felt the story ended about a chapter too soon. There's a compelling subplot involving the lawyer's son that gets resolved offstage in the epilogue. I really wanted to know more firsthand details about how he and his family resolved his conflict.

If you're looking for a story that rips the lid off the immunization coverup, then you need to keep looking. But if you want an examination of the personal cost of this, and how it impacts the lives of a family and community, then I highly recommend "White Lies."

And that's the truth.

- Ralph

Television's White Lies

At first blush, this will seem to be a post of only local interest -- but it doesn't have to be.

Sarah Honenberger, the author of "White Lies," will be appearing on WTVR, Channel 6 in Richmond, Virginia. She'll be a guest on "Virginia This Morning," on Monday, January 22. In olden days, only those who actually tuned in at 10 AM would see Honenberger -- a vanishingly small percentage of people. The publicity boost for her book would be welcome, but minimal.

But as anyone who's visited YouTube.com knows, things that happen on local television can now be viewed by anyone in the world. What does that mean for a small publishing house trying to get the word out?

Consider: if WTVR posts the video to thier website, or perhaps allow it to be posted on YouTube, Honenberger could link to it from her site. All of a sudden a five-minute piece that would have vanished into the air becomes something that folks can view again and again, garnering a much larger number of viewers potentially from anywhere in the world. And they can watch it next week, next month or even next year -- whenever they discover and want to know more about "White Lies."

A YouTube posting can be great publicity not only for Honenberger, but for WTVR as well. KZSW, a small local station in Temecula, California is now regularly posting local news segments on YouTube. They understand the potential of this new media stream. Does WTVR?

- Ralph

Barnes & Noblise Oblige

We received another comment from Sarah Honenberger for our post "Ignoble White Lies." According to Sally,

"Barnes & Noble confirms they can and will order WHITE LIES for any reader who asks at any B & N store. It's in their warehouse (they're actually on their second order from publisher's distributor), but they won't stock it right now. They will have it in Charlottesville store for the February 21 author's talk and reading."

Of course any additional distribution is always good news (especially for smaller publishers), but I'd like to take a closer look -- and not to knock Barnes & Noble (although creating the headlines has been fun). It can, though, show the difficulties of a large retailer trying to match swift changes in the market.

First off, the book was released on November 30. On the second of January I get word through Sally's post that B&N is finally "officially" carrying it. Well, there goes the holiday buying season.

Secondly, B&N says they'll order the book for any reader who comes in and asks for it. So.... you can't find it on the shelves, but if you know the title and author, you can order it at the help desk. Well, if you know title and author, why not order it online? I suspect most already have.

Thirdly, the Charlottesville store will have copies in for the author's reading on February 21. But apparently not one second sooner than they have to (at least that's the way I read it).

B&N seems to be doing the absolute bare minimum they can with this book. And that's the point. Even with their whole-hearted support, "White Lies" probably won't do the numbers of "Hannibal Rising" for B&N. The big retailers can only put their support behind the big titles -- which is why the Internet is good news for authors and readers alike. B&N isn't the bad guy here. They're just too big to react quickly or appropriately.

The Charlottesville Barnes & Noble won't have Sally's book in stock for another full month -- at which time Amazon will have enjoyed three months of healthy sales. And that's what this post is really about.

- Ralph

BTW: Ken brought up an interesting point. I haven't had a chance to check local bookstores. If any reader goes to the New Dominion Bookstore or the University Bookstore in Charlottesville, please let us know in a post if "White Lies" was in stock.

IgNoble "White Lies"

As promised, I visited the Charlottesville Barnes & Noble, hoping the biggest book store in the town might have Sarah Honenberger's novel "White Lies."

I first looked in the rack for local writers. Sorry, only coffee table books with pretty pictures of the Blue Ridge and/or Monticello seemed to be available. There was a big cardboard display for John Grisham, but it wasn't any where near the local section.

I then trolled the shelves, and came up empty.

The help desk was slammed, and with the limited time I had available, I couldn't wait for assistance. Perhaps "White Lies" could be special-ordered, but I doubt it. I suspect that both the stores and website are pulling from the same inventory, so if it isn't available in one, it isn't in the other.

Your milage may vary, so if you have success ordering the book from Barnes & Noble, please leave a comment on this post. I'd like to know!

- Ralph

"White Lies" revisited

Sarah Collins Honenberger left a nice comment on my recent post titled “Publishing Pariah.” As you’ll see in her comments, she felt the title was a little off-putting. I assured her (and you, gentle reader), that it wasn’t a characterization of either her or her publisher, but rather where I believe independent publishers stood in the eyes of bookstore chain buyers.

To test my premise, I visited the websites of the three major bookstore chains.

Borders.com had the title available for sale on their site, and it was easy to find.

Barnes & Noble had a listing for the title as well. But you couldn't purchase it there. According to the site, "A new copy is not available from Barnes & Noble.com at this time."

Walden Books had “White Lies” available for sale on their site -- but only because they pull their website content from Amazon.com.

So one chain has “White Lies” for sale; another doesn’t. And a third has it only because it was already available on Amazon.com.

If we were to search for the latest John Grisham tome, would the results be the same?

I’ll swing by the Charlottesville Barnes & Noble tomorrow and see if I can find “White Lies” in the store. And while we're at it, let’s try for a little interactivity. If you happen to go into a bookstore anywhere anytime soon, look for “White Lies.” Post a comment to the blog and let us know what happened.

- Ralph

Publishing Pariah

In olden times (actually, just a few years ago), most people didn’t consider someone an author until a major publishing house put out their book. You could self-publish, but hardly anyone took the resulting tome seriously -- and if you came out on a small press you could expect to have copies in some specialty stores, but almost nothing on the shelves of the major booksellers.

Recently I went to a book-signing in Orange for a friend of ours. Sally Honenberger has been writing for some time, and her first novel “White Lies” came out November 30.

While this book is being brought out by a small publisher, there’s a good chance it will find its audience. Why? The Internet.

In the bad old days an author with a small publishing house could expect to sell a modest number of copies (with more than a few to friends and family), but that would be it. Chain bookstores only order from distributors, and distributors only carry the offerings of the established publishers. And there was very little possibility of creating any kind of a buzz. At major papers editorial space is tight, and the big releases from major publishers usually get that space.

So Cedar Creek has put out Sally's book, and she’s established a presence online. “White Lies” is available at the world’s largest bookstore -- Amazon.com. There’s a dedicated website for the author, with excerpts from the novel and some of her other writings – as well as a blog. The Amazon page already has some reviews – watch for more as the book starts selling. Expect to see some conversations started on her blog as well.

In the past, only the folks in Orange would have known about Sally’s book. Not now. Google her name, and you can quickly find out more about her and what she's doing. For example, you’ll see that she’s slated to be a panelist at the next Virginia Festival of the Book. Anyone in the world can discover Sally, read an excerpt of her book, and order a copy if they want to read the rest. More importantly, they can also leave feedback, write thier own reviews and participate in conversations with the author.

I’ve watched the traffic to our blog grow steadily over the months as more folks discover it, and I expect something similar to happen with “White Lies.”

Granted, this kind of gradual grassroots growth is nothing compared to the big push a publishing house could give it, but that's OK. "White Lies" is a book that -- through the Internet -- has the potential to reach all of its audience.

- Ralph