The difference between the marketing for fiction and nonfiction continues to impress me. We found using PR for fiction to be much more difficult and at BEA it became clear that new marketing activities were developing but there were many more possibilities for nonfiction.

In using PR there were niches for nonfiction which could be exploited which was typically not the case for fiction. And now Amazon is entering the fray to sell parts of books. Using Amazon Update opens new possibilities but when it comes to fiction why someone would want to buy part of a novel escapes me.

But for many types of nonfiction there might be very useful pieces. At the same time I can understand the hysteria attached when agents, publishers and authors look at the possibilities. A specific part of a nonfiction book might be all someone really needs and so they could get the information they needed for a fraction of the cost of the book. And to the publisher that means for a fraction of what it cost to produce the book.

So, how much should be charged and what does one do about security if indeed security is even very good. And so it goes. There are clearly going to be a lot of missteps and disappointments as we find our way into our brave new world.

Maybe it's not so bad that fiction may not have to fight those battles in those ways.