Ignore all those Henny Penny the sky is falling reports that print books are at death’s door. I recently returned from Book Expo America in NYC and the industry filled all 4 levels of the city-block-size Javitz Center. All the major U.S. publishers were there, along with industry representatives from several countries (China had the largest presence with a hotel lobby-size exhibit area and many programs). Indie publishers and individual authors were also highly visible. Just as important were all the supporting service companies promoting their capabilities. The place was buzzing and everywhere you looked, there were books, books, books, beautiful printed books.

This is great news for authors and booklovers alike. Over the next few weeks, I’ll share with you what I saw, heard and learned at BEA. Here are some of the key observations:

• The major publishers (you know their names) are the elephants in the room, big and powerful but they can’t tap dance.
• Smaller, indie publishers are gaining in recognition and respect, helping to launch more great authors and books that are overlooked by the majors.
• Self-published books continue to grow as a percentage of new titles each year.
• E-books continue to be popular but print dominates by a wide margin.
• Services supporting self-published authors and their books are becoming more sophisticated, effective, accessible and user friendly.
• Social media is an increasingly driving force behind book sales.
• There are exciting new players on the field; watch them run!

If you are an author, know an author or want to be an author, you’ll find (and, I hope, share) a wealth of useful information in the coming weeks of the Book●ed blog.