I think that any time I have an opinion or a question regarding the media industry in general, I’m going to post that picture of “girl on laptop” because to me, that epitomizes where we are right now as a society. We are all sitting by ourselves, connected to the internet, while the clock ticks endlessly forward, wondering what the future holds.

A recent piece in AdAge asks if we are ready to pay for content online, content that, if we do enough searching and sifting, we should be able to find for free somewhere else. And what is happening to the quality of this content?

According to a survey released this week by PWR New Media, a leading e-marketing firm based in Chicago, Illinois, 60% of journalists responded that they now contribute to a blog or other on-line site. 39% of these journalists said they acquired these responsibilities in the past year and 71% added on-line work to their duties in the past two years.

Kelley & Hall is mentioned in the newest issue of Writer’s Digest on sale now! Brunonia Barry, author of THE LACE READER, talks about her breakout success story and how it was with our help she was able to garner the attention that lead to such a significant deal. The issue covers all aspects of self-publishing and provides valuable advice. There is also an interview with James Patterson who discusses the importance of branding yourself as an author.

Salem is taking the publishing world by storm. Over the next few months, bookstores will be seeing a rise in novels based in Salem, MA. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry (William Morrow, August 2008), Sisters of Misery by Megan Kelley Hall (Kensington, August 2008) and The Heretics Daughter by Kathleen Kent (Little, Brown, September 2008) all focus on life in the same, small New England town that is steeped in tragic history.

This is an exciting trend that will only increase the amount of attention that this particular corner of our world already receives. There is movie buzz already for all three books and each one deals with a different aspect of Salem’s vibrant history. The Lace Reader and Sisters of Misery are both modern day stories with hints to the influential and ever-present history and The Heretics Daughter is an historical novel.

They are all novels that are being given a large presence in their respective publishing houses. The Lace Reader was a self-published novel that received one of the largest advances for a self-published novel, Sisters of Misery is launching Kensington’s young adult line and The Heretics Daughter was one of the most talked about books at Book Expo America with Little, Brown giving out an extraordinary number of galleys to booksellers.

USA Today just ran a piece in today’s paper about this exciting trend in literature. Check it out!

Kelley & Hall worked as the publicist for Brunonia Barry’s originally self-published novel, The Lace Reader. We helped to secure coverage that eventually led to a multi-million dollar deal with William Morrow.

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry launches later this month. We worked with Brunonia Barry on her journey from being a self-published author to landing a deal with William Morrow. Here is an interview with Barry from Book Club Girl at the ALA.