books

Sunday, July 15, 2001

Read, then chat
Online book clubs connect authors, fans
By Don O’Briant
Cox News Service

Avid readers who were concerned that the Internet would mean the demise of printed books can relax now. Or, better yet, curl up in front of a computer screen and talk about the latest novel with fellow book lovers all over the country.

Instead of dampening the sales of books, the Internet actually has sparked interest through the expansion of online book clubs and chat rooms. These clubs are fast becoming the author’s — and publisher’s — best friends by combining the old-fashioned notion of word-of-mouth with technology.

“I think they’re great,” says novelist Walter Mosley, who was in Atlanta recently to promote his new mystery novel, Fearless Jones. “I love doing chats.”

Actually, Mosley is online even as he is speaking. Dressed in his familiar white fedora, the author of the Easy Rollins novel Devil in a Blue Dress was hunched over a computer at Innovox, an Atlanta cybercafe, with Carla McManus, president of the Sisters and Brothers of Hotlanta Book Club.

The online discussion is about Fearless Jones (Little, Brown & Co., $24.95), a novel set in 1950s Los Angeles and featuring Paris Minton, whose used book store is burned to the ground when he comes to the aid of a beautiful woman. Paris’ next step is to bail his friend Fearless out of jail to deal with the situation.

Sipping coffee, Mosley answers questions as they pop up on the screen from book club members and McManus keys them in. A fellow chatter named Andre wants to know if Mosley is attempting to show how greed can become a motivating factor.

“I really wasn’t thinking about greed when I was writing the book,” Mosley responds. “I was thinking about the black entrepreneurial class and how difficult it is to maintain a foothold in the economy.”

Will there be more Easy Rollins novels? asks another book club member. Mosley replies that he’s completing six stories to be added to the old books and reprinted. “Also, ABC is trying to make an Easy Rollins television series.”

An hour later, McManus signs off and the author prepares to be whisked away to a radio interview. “This is another way of reaching readers,” Mosley says. “The black book clubs I talk with are very literary and they ask good questions.”

A valuable connection

Online reading groups like McManus’ are becoming important resources for authors and publishers, says publicist Sally Anne McCartin, who contacted more than 250 book clubs by e-mail and sent them advance copies of Mosley’s novel.

“When they choose a book or put one on their suggested reading list, a network of talkers has been set in motion,” McCartin says. “The online component of these clubs makes it possible for author and members to have a direct dialogue.”

The ability to target niche audiences is another appealing aspect of online marketing, says Sue Fleming-Holland of Simon & Schuster. There are online book clubs for African-Americans, women, senior citizens, romance readers, science fiction fans and a number of other specialized audiences. For example, in Detroit, Walk Worthy Press publisher Denise Stinson started the Glory Girl Reading Clubs (www.walkworthypress.net) to promote her books and to reach black women who are interested in Christian novels.

“The traffic on these sites indicates people come initially for the niche information offered and come back because of the community they find in these book clubs,” Fleming-Holland says. “In fact, we’ve just launched a niche site of our own called www.blackbookscentral. com specifically to begin building an online book club community for the books featured on the site.”

Creating a dialogue

Other media tie-ins are being used as well. A&E has a book club on its Web site — www.aande. com — and in June Lifetime Television launched a readers’ club, Lifetime Recommends, at www. lifetimetv.com. The free club gives Lifetime’s viewers, who are mostly women, a chance to talk with other women about the books.

Of course, targeting women in general is too broad, so Lifetime is recommending books that are inspirational and uplifting. One of the first picks of the month is Entering Normal, Anne D. LeClaire’s novel about a mother dealing with grief over her son’s death.

“The idea for the book club came up when our research showed that our viewers had a high readership of books,” says Rick Haskins of Lifetime. “Forty million women watch Lifetime every month and we’re trying to find a way to connect with them and guide them in their reading choices.”

The Lifetime book club also is intended to create chat rooms and to invite viewers to start a dialogue and express opinions about the books they’ve read, Haskins says. “If there is a huge interest in a book in our club, we may turn it into a Lifetime original movie. Primarily, we want people to know that the book club is a safe harbor where viewers can talk to others who have similar experiences.”

Promoting interaction

Part of the appeal of online book discussion groups is the anonymity, but some book clubs still want face-to-face contact.

“That’s what’s so great about our club,” says McManus, a Web developer who started the Hotlanta reading group five years ago. “We not only discuss books online, but our chapter meets at different locations every month in Atlanta. I love people and I love books and I love the Internet. This way I’ve found I can enjoy all three.”

There is one problem, McManus says. “Now that I’m running the club, I don’t have as much time to read.”