Notes From Big D (that's "D" as in "Disaster")

I spent the last several days in Dallas, attending the first-ever Christian Book Expo. I had really been looking forward to CBE -- a books-only version of ICRS. I thought it would pull together everyone in Christian publishing, draw in the reading public, and forego the people shilling Gospel Ties, WWJD belt buckles, and Thomas Kinkade soap-on-a-rope. The big concept was that this would be a consumer show, not a trade show. So the goal was to get consumers (i.e., readers) to come visit, meet authors, and buy books.

That's the goal. As loyal readers know, I've been a fan of the idea from Day One. I made my plans early to attend, blogged about the show, and encouraged everyone I could to be there. I honestly think the basic idea behind CBE is wonderful. And I had fun.

But let's face facts... The show, in terms of what it was supposed to be, was a disaster. Now don't get me wrong -- I had a good time. Saw lots of great authors. Connected with publishers. Heard some fabulous presentations. But in terms of what it was supposed to be, the show was an unmitigated disaster. And not just your run-of-the-mill disaster, but a Joaquin-Phoenix-On-David-Letterman type of disaster. You're going to read a bunch of reviews, and many of them will try to spin this into something happy, but I'm not buying it.

The problem is that consumers didn't show up. They were planning on hosting 15,000 people at the show. I asked the folks at registration how many tickets they had sold and was told they "did not reach 1500." Ouch. (And Christian Retailing says that 275 of those were kids... who got in free.) The first day consisted of publishers, authors, and agents -- insiders all, walking around and talking to each other. It was like somebody decided to throw a Christian publishing potluck. There were more industry professionals on the floor than there were consumers (and no, that's not an exaggeration).

The organization failed to explain the concept. Hear me out: It cost $29 to attend for a day. And what do you get for your $29? A chance to go buy books. That concept didn't make sense to people. I mean, you can buy books at Barnes & Noble for nothing. When I go Christmas shopping at the mall, they don't charge me twenty bucks for the privilege of going in and spending money. Whether the organization wants to admit it or not, most consumers couldn't get over the high price tag for an event that was basically a chance to spend money. (More on this in a moment.)

The venue was all wrong. Why do this at an expensive place like the Dallas Convention Center? That's where trade shows take place, not consumer shows. Why not move it out to one of the centers in the suburbs that are considerably cheaper? Or why not have it at a mega-church that has the space to host it? For that matter, if they really want to make it similar to some of the "book celebrations" that are hosted in various cities around the world, why not do it outside somewhere, so it has more of a festival feel to it? Going back to my Christmas shopping example, the mall not only invites me to come, they offer me a nice food court and free parking. The food at the Dallas Convention Center was, in a word, awful. And any consumer who wanted to drive to downtown Dallas had to pay to park. All of this worked against the show's success.

The author events were great... and almost completely ignored. Back to my point about the cost of the show -- the reason you'd pay money to get in would be to meet authors, correct? Consumers are willing to pay something for access to insights and insiders -- we'll pay ten bucks to go to a home-and-garden show, for example, or to attend a boat show that offers us stuff we can't find at the local stores. But some of the workshops on Friday had nobody in attendance. At others, a half-dozen people showed up. Can you imagine the embarrassment to have a good author prepare to speak and have nobody show up to hear him? I don't want to embarrass any particular author, since this clearly was not their fault, but I saw some great authors sitting at their signings with nothing to do. Not a single person in line to talk with them. I counted at least ten bestselling authors standing around with no one to sign for. That's a shame (to say nothing of it being a costly mess for the publishers who paid to fly in authors and put them up at downtown hotels).

There were too many signings -- a strange thought, when you consider the interest our culture has in celebrity. In fact, the lack of people at famous author signings is all you really need to know about the reading public's response to this event. You're a book lover -- don't you enjoy getting the chance to meet some of your favorite authors? Don't you love walking up and having a chat with some beloved authors and getting them to sign their books? This is a celebrity-driven business -- and even great celebrities had a tough time drawing a crowd.

Publishers lost a ton of money. If there is anything that could doom future CBE's, it's the fact that publishers spent a bunch of money and got zero return. Let's say you're a publisher who shipped 100 cases of books to Dallas for the show. You only sold a few books, so now you have to pay to ship all those books back. Ouch. (I happen to know that some publishers simply went to chains and distributors, and asked them if they'd buy the entire leftover mess at a huge discount. They figured they'd lose less money dumping them for pennies on the dollar than having to bother with re-boxing and re-shipping the whole mess back to the warehouse.) Publishers didn't find a bunch of new readers at this show. They didn't get much press. And remember, this all took place in a terrible publishing economy, with publishers cutting jobs, reducing inventory, and watching sales sag. While I'd love to see CBE continue, I think the leadership at ECPA is going to have a hard time convincing member publishers to pony up any money for a future event. They are already pulling out of the ICRS show in July, and this looked like it was a colossal financial loss for the publishers who participated.

There was certainly good stuff that happened. I'm really not trying to be overly negative. As I said, many of the workshops and talks were well done. Susan Meissner's Shape of Mercy won Novel of the Year at the ECPA Awards Banquet. That was well-deserved (and here I'll admit that I can be accused of bias, since I represented that novel, but it's one of the best CBA novels I've read in years). The downside: The banquet lasted roughly as long as the weekend -- in fact, it might still be going on. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but... five hours? Should giving out six awards really take longer than the 50+ that it takes to hand out the Academy Awards? (And a mea culpa: I got delayed and missed the big show, sad to say. So the criticism of the length is admittedly second hand, but it's supported by numerous TB sufferers.)

Another nice thing is that Crossway's ESV Study Bible won the overall Book of the Year award. You don't normally see a Bible win something like that, so it put a unique spin on the award. I happen to be a huge fan of the ESV, and maybe this will get more people to pick up a copy and acquaint themselves with it. The nonfiction book winner was John Piper's Spectacular Sins, which I'll admit I have yet to read.

The movie Collision could be a hit. The film is a debate between famous atheist Christoper Hitchens and Christian apologist Douglas Wilson, done in sort of an art-house style. A fascinating piece for people who think. It premiered at CBE, but didn't get quite the press it deserved.

The biggest buzz was probably the live debate that featured a bunch of Christian theologians taking on Christopher Hitchens. I'd have to say that Doug Wilson did a nice job of stating his case, and Lee Strobel seemed to be the only one on the panel who didn't buy into the "we have to be respectful to Mr. Hitchens' ideas because we want to show you how polite we are" line. Good grief, why didn't somebody say, "This guy is actively trying to destroy lives, and it's not healthy"? Look, Mr. Hitchens is charming, but he didn't once respond to a question with an answer. He's making a buck off saying "I don't think God exists, and you shouldn't either," but he can't ever answer a question with any sort of reason. (When asked a straight question, he smirks and says, "Let me tell you a story..." -- which never actually gets around to having a point, other than revealing what a charming guy he is. I kept waiting for one of the Christians to shout, "Answer the damn question!") So I found the whole thing rather frustrating. I'm sure if they had a debate with Hitler, the Christians would all be polite and try to find areas of agreement, rather than saying, "You're an evil nutcase whose ideas don't merit serious consideration." But perhaps this is why I'm not an academic.

So what lessons do we take away? I still think a Christian Book Expo is a fine idea, but it needs to be cheaper, needs to be marketed better, and needs more than just a few tweaks to make work. And no, I don't think it will happen. I think the losses the publishers took will scare many away from investing in something of this size again... which is a shame, but probably reality. My guess is that a large publisher might see great advantage in doing this sort of thing themselves (I could see Thomas Nelson hosting their own version of this in Nashville, for example).  I honestly think the leadership at ECPA swung for the fences, and there's something to be said for that. They whiffed this time. And, in the end, that's probably all that matters.

[Addendum: The leaders at the larger publishing houses (Dwight Baker at BPG, Mike Hyatt at Thomas Nelson, Mark Taylor of Tyndale) were all quoted today as saying they saw value in the event, and would try to make the event work in a better venue, with a different pricing plan and better marketing. That's good news. CBE is still a good idea, if done right.]

Comments

[Chip]

Oh! One more thing -- the "kidzone" area invaded the book space. So instead of having readers walk around looking at covers and talking with authors and salespeople about their titles, you'd get two sentences out and suddenly be interrupted with the most annoying shrieking from speakers aimed at little kids. The concept of a kids area is fine -- but having noisy games and shrill speakers with microphones right next to people trying to sell thoughtful books... ouch. Didn't work at all.

[Darin]

"A Joaquin-Phoenix-On-David-Letterman type of disaster." That's a great word-picture!

[Nick]

I think part of the problem, too, is that for the most part, CBA readers are not "book people" in the same sense that general trade readers are. And the Christian readers who ARE book people would probably prefer to go to a (free) general trade book festival that has some Christian publishers in attendance than an all CBA publisher show.

[Randy]

I think Nick has a great point. Still, this is sad to see. As we Norwegians say in North Dakota when something doesn't look so good: Uff da!

[John Robinson]

Absent the few high points you mentioned, Chip, it sounds like it was a real cluster foxtrot. And that's a shame.

[Robbie Iobst]

Thanks Chip. I told a fellow writing friend I would've loved to go, but I live in Denver. All those authors, all those books! But I didn't know I would have to pay $29 to go. That is a steep price. If I'd heard that, I would've thought well, yes I can see and talk to a couple of my favorite authors but...I could go over to B and N and buy a book or two. Yep, I'd end up in a comfy chair at the bookstore.

[chip]

That's $29 per day, or $59 for the whole shebang. And really, this should probably be a two-day event, not a three-day event. Again, I love the concept of CBE, and I'm not at all sure I agree with the notion that "CBA readers aren't book people." I think this thing could have worked, but it would need a new venue, a lower price, and a scaled-back vision (in my opinion). I fear the response to this one from publishers offered the idea again will be "no thanks."

[Danica]

It's really too bad that it didn't work out better. I also think it was a great idea, and I was looking forward to hearing that it was a smashing success. But you make a lot of valid points. And with everyone's budget as tight as it is, it would be really hard to justify spending that much money to go buy books.

I hope they continue the idea, but find a way to make it more consumer-friendly in the future.

[Cheryl Barker]

So sorry to hear it wasn't a success. I hope the tweaks are made, and they give it another shot. I would like to try to attend one in the future. Just couldn't make it this year. For those of us who couldn't go, thanks for filling us in, Chip.

[Susan]

How disappointing--but thank you for sharing your experience there and thoughts.

I hope they try again and improve year on year. I'd love to go.

[Alison Strobel Morrow]

Egads. What a mess. I'm sorry to hear it was such a bust. Honestly, I think an outdoor festival type thing would be a WAY better approach--stripped down, just books and people and fun food in a fun city somewhere. Maybe someday...

But I'm glad to hear my dad didn't play Mr. Nice Guy with Hitchens!

[Lucille Zimmerman]

I guess I didn't even know it was something ordinary people could attend until I saw Michael Hyatt's invites on Twitter. Thanks for your honest opinion and great suggestions on what would make it better.

[Dee Stewart]

I had other reasons for why I didn't attend here http://christianfiction.blogspot.com/2009/03/5-christian-book-expo-no-no-i-want-go.html

However, I don't agree that the fee was too high. I don't think they should have charged a fee period. This weekend I saw hundreds of people in line at midnight to buy the Twilight DVD. If Blockbuster charged a fee, they still would have paid. I think CBE had bestselling and award winning authors but not marquee authors that would have had Dallas book buyers there in droves. There were too many local and state authors not in attendance.

[karen spears zacharias]

Mmm...I'm going to have to ponder Darin's suggestion that CBA readers aren't "book people." More Us & Them...
Here's the thing, Chip. They should never have charged for readers to come. Paula Watkins at South Carolina puts on one of the best trade shows in the biz. (admittance free) She knows how to create buzz about authors and how to stack a panel. Readers flock to the event not just to see their favorite authors but to learn about new ones. A good time is had by all. Trade shows like this are best when they are billed at a regional level.

[Timothy Fish]

The cover charge didn't help, but the thing that really killed CBE was that no one knew about it. I live in the area and I suspect that I'm the only one in my church who knew it was going on. In many ways, it was billed more like the publishing industry was getting together for a big party and the general public was welcome to come, for a price. Someone forgot to invite the guest of honor.

[Geoff Dennis]

Good comments Chip! I'm with Crossway and was very discouraged. We went "all in" on this event, trying our best to help make it a success (which in some ways it was, e.g., the ESV Study Bible receiving Book of the Year, talking with our brothers and sisters in the publishing ministry, etc.), but we were very embarrassed for the authors we brought. JI Packer only had about 15 people to sign books for, Jack Graham, a local pastor, only signed 8 books. I also feel very badly for ECPA and Mark Kuyper as he worked very, very hard to try to make this a success - all for naught!

[Randy]

To clarify (ahem!). When I think of Christian "book people" I think of Calvin College's Festival of Faith & Writing crowd. I've never been to it, but man I'd love to go.

When I think of CBA *readers* I think of my mother-in-law and half the women in my church (or more). Would they be drawn to something like CBE if it were local and free? Possibly, although honestly even then I don't think some of them would care all that much. 100 or more miles away with a fee? Probably not.

[Richard Mabry]

Chip,
Good to see you in Dallas. I must agree with your assessment. The publicity was essentially non-existent; nothing on local radio or TV, one newspaper article that hyped the "great debate."

I went because my publisher got me a pass so I could sign my non-fiction book for them...and by the time my signing came around, they were giving the book away to anyone who walked by (so they wouldn't have to ship it back). It still rankled to have to navigate downtown streets and pay for parking when there was room at so many local megachurches (including the one I attend) for an event like this.

You forgot to mention that this was scheduled on a weekend when local schools were on spring break, so lots of folks were gone or had other plans. Didn't anyone consider this?

I applaud the concept. As for way it was carried out? I'm reminded of the football coach who was asked what he thought about his offense's' execution. "I'm for it."

[Kaci]

Hum. I honestly wanted to go (I also am relatively close), but for some reason I thought it was a lot more expensive than that. I could have gone the whole weekend.

But I found out about it via someone's website. Honestly, the Expo website was difficult to navigate - I couldn't figure out what it was about. And I know several of those names. Sigh. I'll pay better attention next year. Friend asked me why I wasn't going...

[Daniel Decker]

Seems like there were some serious disconnects. The rest of this post I also shared on Michael Hyatt’s blog but it’s relevant here as well. Seems like there may have been a lack of consumer marketing and a lot of bad assumptions.

"Curious if anyone asked book buyers what they wanted in an event or was it all assumed? Asking them what would make them come out? Are there any post event surveys being done to those CBE marketed to by member publishers and local churches to try and assess where the gap / disconnect was? Compensating them for their time in responding by offering a % off or some downloadable? I don't know all the details but sure seems that in the conference / event world (overall), far too often there are too many assumptions in play without finding answers from those whom the event was supposed to be directed towards (prior to putting the event on). Shoot first and ask questions later (if it fails) type of thing."

[Lucy Moll]

Among your best observations, Chip: The regular folks didn't come because they didn't know it was a consumuer event. I read lots of tweets and blog posts re: CBE and assumed it was a trade show. You know the old line: If it looks like a duck and quacks like a . . .

[Stephanie Reed]

The event should have been free. Last November I signed my books at Books by the Banks in Cincinnati. The books were supplied by Borders and admission was free:

http://www.booksbythebanks.org/

In May I will sign books at the Ohioana Book Festival here in Columbus:
http://library.ohio.gov/Marketing/Newsletters/TheNews/2009/January/ctro

Again, admission is free and the books will be supplied by Barnes & Noble. Publishers don't have to lug their books anywhere. I lugged some extra copies of my own to Books by the Banks, and the aide/runner assigned to my shared table was an angel. She kept my table supplied with books and provided a form to fill out in case they bought extra copies from me. After I signed, consumers took their books to well-staffed check-out counters near the door.

The place where these two stellar events could have done even better is publicity. Same goes for CBE.

I don't have a marketing degree, but if my goal is to entice comsumers to visit, give them a chance to meet authors, and sell them books, I'm going to offer the first two privileges for free.

[Linda M Au]

I dunno, Chip. You gotta learn how not to mince words. :)

Great post, as usual. Let's hope those in charge of the event read your blog. (Wait, doesn't everyone read your blog?)

[Krista Phillips]

Completely agree on the charge thing. $29 a day is pretty steep. Curious for those who proposed a "no-charge" event, do you then suggest that the publishers pay a fee to participate? The expo is becoming the 'bookstore' and expenses do need to be paid somehow, whether out of profits from books sold, by publishers, or by attendees.

If it is marketed well, and relatively inexpensive--you're so right that a cheaper location than the DCC would have been much better-- the venue still has potential merit. It does sound like the first try was a flop, but here's to hoping some smart marketing person takes over next year and gets the job done.

[Stephanie Reed]

Krista, neither event I cited was paid for by my publisher or me. Both events have sponsors--Books by the Banks was organized by Borders Books, CET, Cincinnati Magazine, The Mercantile Library, The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, and the University of Cincinnati Libraries. Major sponsors were Target and The Scripps Howard Foundation. It was the second year for the event.

[Brandt Dodson]

I agree that the event wasn't the success we had all hoped it would be - and for the reasons you have stated, Chip. I also know, from talking to several of the publishers in attendance, that most of them do NOT plan to attend a similar event again. This is understandable.
However, I still think this can work if it is re-thought and re-imagined from the ground up. It would be nice to incorporate the publishers in the planning stages as well. I'm not sure this was done this time around. But in any instance, we shouldn't cease to imagine what could be - and work toward that - because of a snafu the first time out.

CBA people are book people. I'm a "book people" and I'm CBA. In this instance, though, most of them simply didn't know about it or were discouraged from attending because of the cost involved.
You don't throw a party and then charge the invitees.

[genny]

This was interesting to read; thanks for sharing the information and your experience!

[Carla]

Chip, it was great seeing you and Sandra again in Dallas. I agree with all that you said. I really felt for the publishers standing around twiddling their thumbs, hoping someone would buy some books (I did!). Seeing so many fabulous authors on panels was a highlight for me, and I had a great time visiting, but I know that wasn't the purpose of the event. Great analysis from you.

[Jodi Whisenhunt]

I'm a Christian writer/editor in the Dallas area, and I attended CBE on Friday. I had an excellent experience and met many authors and industry professionals. The workshops/speaking events were incredible and informative.

That said, I avoid downtown Dallas like the plague, so I didn't like the venue at all. The Convention Center is a nice facility, but it's difficult to get into/out of, parking cost $10, and once in the building, I had no idea where the CBE was occurring! There were no signs directing people, and it was a very long hike from the parking garage. A smaller suburban venue like Plano Center or Prestonwood Baptist or Stonebriar Church would be a wiser choice.

I think lack of publicity contributed to low attendance. I saw NO local advertising. As I said, I live here, and I saw no billboards and heard no radio spots. I found out about CBE by an online search for Christian book conferences.

I really do hope the organizers try again next year.

[T. Suzanne Eller (Suzie)]

I could only imagine the dollars, hours, and dreams that swished down the toilet at the show. The sad thing is that it had great elements. Where else could you go and hear some of the best speakers, or enjoy the worship that swept me to my feet on Friday night? The panel with Mary DeMuth and Donald Miller and others was fascinating.

Perhaps instead of a book/author show, it could be featured as a conference with great musical artists, workshops, kids activities, and opportunities to meet your favorite authors. You see, nothing would have to change. That was all there. The books would have simply been a resource, a giant book store complete with authors and great conversation.

If it were held in a church (like Watermark or others), it would be in a central location, with a built-in audience, free parking.

ECPA is about books, I get that. But if you take the same event, the same well-orchestrated workshops and inspirational night services, and advertise it as a conference rather than "pay to buy books", then it totally makes sense.

It was a learning experience, it appears. I hope they try it again and come at it from a different marketing angle. It was good stuff. Just no one knew it.

[Marj Atkinson]

I pre-registered and had a coupon found through Twitter and churches got discount codes, so my cost wasn't the $29 per day. Plus I got tons of free books that more than paid for the cost of admission. Getting to meet authors, get autographs, even though I'm not a celebrity hound, and attend sessions was all worth the effort. The evening worship was awesome. I agree about the location and food. Living locally and riding DART to the dark DCC tunnel is a bit scary, but I was too cheap to pay for parking. It could have been advertised better. My biggest problem was figuring how to lug all my purchases home, so I didn't buy as much as I would have liked (better for my budget) But I'm planning on going again, because I got great bargains, free books and got to hear top authors!

[kellyg]

While the logistics of this event failed it is in the philosophy of this event that was it’s true demise. The Christian products industry is deeply fractured. Groups have decided to host their own shows instead of pulling together. If CBA, MUNCE, Strang, GMA and ECPA actually could work together a successful show might be possible, but until that happens all you are getting is a bunch of failed shows that is deeply hurting the market. I am open to proactive solutions, but it doesn’t take a genius to recognize this show was D.O.A (Dead on Arrival) even before the recession. Failed philosophy = Failed event.