What's the biggest book promotion achievement you can imagine? Oprah's Book Club? The New York Times bestseller list? The Publisher Weekly bestseller list?
Novelist Chris Bohjalian has scored every book promotion coup you can name. Yet, in yesterday's Sun Sentinel article penned by Chauncey Mabe, Bohjalian admits that he feels professionally challenged by the digital age and the fact that, with more choices available to them, fewer people are reading traditional books. Bohjalian, who wrote the enormously successful Skeletons at the Feast, joked about someday having to wait tables.
On the other hand, Bohjalian also said he enjoys connecting with his fans via the Internet. Online book clubs couldn't exist outside of the digital revolution, so Bohjalian's biggest threat has also provided him with new opportunities to connect with his readers.
I'd say that's a pretty fair trade-off. And, somehow, I'd guess that Bohjalian himself would agree.
