Lots of books, lots of options, stay open and be flexible. (And it’s fascinating!)

That’s what I took away from the Federation of B.C. Writers’ “Books Alive Brown Bag Publishing Fair” at the Vancouver Public Library on Saturday. I’m still new to the writing scene in this province, so I enjoyed meeting others and also hearing presentations from a variety of industry specialists. A few things that grabbed my attention from three of them:

Jamie Broadhurst of Raincoast Books: Did he say 250,000 new titles published in North America each year, maybe triple that self-published? If I got that right, it’s no wonder I can’t keep up! He also said Canada is currently the most successful English language trade market, for a number of reasons, one of them being that libraries here have healthy acquisition budgets.

Paul Whitney, former chief librarian of Vancouver: Do we need more books (see previous paragraph)? His answer: “The impetus to create is powerful.” The key issue, he said, is the reader’s time. He spoke of “the stressed reader.” And this: “The library provides an afterlife for a book, after its commercial life.”

Betsy Warland, writing coach and author: “You have to be more flexible and imaginative [today] in how you get your work out there… Stay open and keep being informed about alternatives… We’re earning less and having to put more money in… Be inventive, playful… Have to be very self-reliant, way more than [before], have to have a platform, bigger skill set… Not much money but a completely fascinating profession.”