Women (Publishers) Can Be Heroes Too

As a girl growing up I didn’t have many female role models to choose from. Either the woman was the Florence Nightingale type, or a teacher. My sister, whom I worshipped desperately, was interesting because she was at least in science, even if it was nutrition, and she a terrible cook. I knew no female scientists, no female engineers. I met a few artists, but they were on a different planet. Even my high school teachers in an all girls prep school left the interesting subjects, Physics, Chemistry, History, to the men. I had one teacher, my biology teacher, who was single, beautiful, brilliant, and a scientist. Unfortunately, the first time I cut into a frog I passed out from formaldehyde – turns out I was allergic to the stuff. That ended my budding career as a biologist.

I’ve since met many women in the Computer Sciences, and admired many from afar. The Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, San Jose corridor offered up many women with brains and personality. And now that I’ve turned my sights towards information, and specifically, the publishing there of, I’m seeking out the women publishing heroes. In one place, the Tools of Change 2009 online seminars have two panel discussions: one on Publishing house CEOs and one on women digital publishers. These women all have one very special quality in common – they love being women. They advocate for women. They market to women. To them women are interesting and distinct from the other species that walks around on two legs. And they are very vocal about it. While three, Kassia Krosser, Angela James, and Malle Vallik all spoke about digital publishing, Eileen Gittens talked more about social publishing. In all cases they were speaking about emerging markets, and the buying power of those markets. These ladies and other like them are to be watched. They are moving, and I expect will be a major influence on future publishing of any information.

Kassia Krosser, Booksquare
Kassia Krosser moderated the panel “Smart Women Read eBooks”. Kassia is the main voice behind BookSquare and a founding partner of Medialoper. While her job on this panel was to facilitate the members, her spark and humor came through. I look forward to hearing more of her voice.

Angela James, Samhain Publishing
Angela James was a panel member on “Smart Women Read eBooks”. Women are very “adventurous readers”. They like the immediacy of ebooks and delve into non-traditional ideas in reading and technology.

Malle Vallik, Harlequin
Malle Vallik was a panel member on “Smart Women Read eBooks”. An ebook is a reading experience. And women readers experience “reading emergencies” – they want a book and they want it now. The American woman is an adapter, she can mold herself to any technology that is good. By doing that, she can purchase and download an ebook easily, quickly, and fill the reading emergency.

Sarah Wendell, Smart Bitches Trashy Books
Sarah Wendell was also a panel member “on Smart Women Read eBooks”. While not a publisher, Sarah is a mover and shaker in the digital publishing world by way of her website. The statistics she sites should cause anyone in the book industry to pause and think. 80% of fiction in the market today is read by women. And women buy in bulk. And they are very loyal readers, loyal customers. And as she says, (paraphrased) if you gain a woman as a consumer you’ve gained someone who will speak about you /your product everywhere she goes. Your woman consumer is a natural marketer, and you don’t even have to pay her for it.

Eileen Gittins, Blurb.com
Eileen Gittens was a panel member on “CEO Roundtable: The Changing Role of the Publisher”. Eileen took a “social” approach to publishing. She create Blurb.com where anyone and everyone can create and published their photos albums, family books, you name it. More importantly, the books are affordable. One outgrowth of the Blurb concept, in keeping with “social” publishing, is BlurbNation. This collection of professionals are available (at an affordable price) to help pull the book together with a professional edge. And not least are the Blurb forums, groups/discussions on publishing tips, ordering, printing, anything worth discussing as relates to publishing your book.