Amazon’s Kindle Lending Library–What Does it Mean For Publishers? IBPA Wants to Know What You Think

Following are two perspectives on the Kindle Lending Library. The first piece entitled “Controversy Rages: Amazon to Lend Books” was originally written by IBPA Board Chair Stephen Blake Mettee for his blog, The Write Thought and appears here with his permission. The second piece, written by IBPA President Florrie Binford Kichler, raises some questions for publishers and a request for feedback. We want to know what publishers think about the Amazon Kindle Lending Library so please leave your comments!

Controversy Rages: Amazon to Lend Books

by Stephen Blake Mettee

There’s been quite a ruckus in the book publishing world lately. Amazon.com has recently announced its long-anticipated foray into lending e-books.

Kindle owners who are also Amazon Prime members, in addition to getting free two-day shipping on their orders and “unlimited instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows,” can also borrow books to read without an additional payment (Amazon Prime membership costs $79 per year). There doesn’t appear to be any limit on how long a book can be borrowed but only one book can be borrowed at a time.

Amazon says its lending library offers over 5,000 titles including 100 New York Times bestsellers. This is a far cry from the millions of print titles available on Amazon or the hundreds of thousands of e-books available as Kindle editions, but it is a toe in the water and publishers, authors, and literary agents are nervous.

How’s it work?

Amazon Prime members who are also Kindle owners are now presented with a “Borrow for Free” button next to the “Buy” button on selected books. When the member chooses to borrow a title, Amazon credits the publisher’s account with the same dollar amount as if the e-book was sold rather than loaned. At this point, the Amazon Prime member gets to read the book as a part of his or her yearly fee and the publisher effectively gets a full-priced sale.

So, why the controversy?

This sounds fair to me. I’d sign The Write Thought titles up. So why the hubbub?

I think the concern from the publishers—most publishers with titles among those available for loan weren’t notified that their titles would be included in this program—is that they haven’t agreed to Amazon “lending” titles even if Amazon pays as if they sold it.

Also, apparently Amazon plans to report revenue from this program to publishers as a lump sum leaving the publishers to allocate this revenue their authors. Amazon is said to be basing this lump sum by looking at the 12-month sales history of titles included in the program. A rather nebulous reporting method at best.

I think the Authors Guild and the Association of Authors’ Representatives (literary agents), two groups that have spoken out about this, are concerned since most contracts between authors and publishers have a set royalty paid to the author based on revenue from each e-books sale, say 25% of net revenue and a different amount on revenue generated from rights sales, say 50% of net.

The question being, which is this? Revenue from the sale of a book or revenue from a subsidiary right? And, of course, how is a publisher to properly allocate each of its author’s revenue share if Amazon doesn’t supply a complete breakdown by title?

Another concern, of course, is if this is simply Amazon’s first salvo; will Amazon attempt to morph the program into something else. For instance, can Amazon purchase one copy of an e-book and “lend” or “rent” it as many times as it likes? Pay the publisher once and rent or loan it many times. Libraries do this and many years ago so did bookstores.

The world is still hazy when it comes to e-books.

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Kindle Lending Library—What Does it Mean for Publishers?

by Florrie Binford Kichler

Amazon recently announced that it was going to begin “lending” e-books to its Amazon Prime customers.

Quoting from Amazon’s news release:

“With an Amazon Prime membership, Kindle owners can now choose from thousands of books to borrow for free – including over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers – as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates.”

“Titles in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library come from a range of publishers under a variety of terms. For the vast majority of titles, Amazon has reached agreement with publishers to include titles for a fixed fee. In some cases, Amazon is purchasing a title each time it is borrowed by a reader under standard wholesale terms as a no-risk trial to demonstrate to publishers the incremental growth and revenue opportunity that this new service presents.”

The Big Six publishers did not sign onto the Lending Library program. The Author’s Guild contends that nonetheless Amazon has included many publishers’ titles (not the Big Six) without the publisher’s permission. In addition, the Guild says that those publishers who have submitted their books to the Lending Library program “signed licensing agreements with Amazon for a selection of their titles, providing for a flat annual fee per title. While these publishers generally have the right to license e-book uses for many of their authors’ titles (just as most trade publishers do), our reading of the standard terms of these contracts is that they do not have the right to do so without the prior approval of the books’ authors.”

The Guild says that such a “bulk licensing program” is outside the scope of most publishing contracts and that publishers need to get permission from their authors to participate along with a contract amendment. They urge their members to contact their publishers if their books are in the Kindle Lending Library program.

The Bigger Picture

The reality is that Amazon has leveled the playing field for smaller publishers, enabling them to reach readers online in huge numbers, and publish their content quickly, easily and efficiently.

But at what cost?

The Author’s Guild claims that Amazon has included publishers’ titles in the Kindle Lending Program without consent but no publishers to this point have confirmed that publicly. If that is indeed the case, should Amazon have asked first? Or, as the company says, is “purchasing a title each time it is borrowed by a reader” plus a flat licensing fee simply another sale under standard contract terms, requiring no special handling?

“Purchasing a title each time it is borrowed by a reader” sounds like a sale, which is a good thing.  But could Amazon decide to begin lending titles more than once to multiple readers without compensating the publisher (and the author)? And if so, what recourse would publishers have?

More questions than answers. What do you think? Is the Kindle Lending Library a way for Amazon to increase device sales at the publisher’s and author’s expense or a “no-risk trial to demonstrate to publishers the incremental growth and revenue opportunity that this new service presents.”? Are you currently participating in the Kindle Lending Library and if so, how’s your experience been so far?  Would you include your titles if asked?

Let us know by commenting on this blog. Member feedback will help determine  IBPA’s  position on this issue.

10 Things to Consider when Pricing E-Books

by Stephen Blake Mettee, IBPA Board Chair, founder of Quill Driver Books and The Write Thought, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DROID by Motorola showing Kindle App

 

To reuse a couple of ‘graphs from my previous blog, “Book Pricing, Finding the Sweet Spot”:

One grand thing about e-books is, since there is no printing involved, once edited, designed, typeset, and formatted, the cost of an e-book is zero. Another is that the retail price a publisher sets can vary day to day.

But, with these two advantages, what does a publisher need to be concerned about when pricing an e-book? Vook, the innovative company that melds books with video, has issued a splendid white paper that goes a long way toward answering this question.

Here are Vook’s Golden Rules of Pricing annotated by yours truly:

1. Zero variable cost means it’s OK to significantly lower prices to maximize revenue.

Week to week—or even day to day—price changes are easy, as are limited-time specials.

2. Optimal pricing is highly content specific.

Business books may command a higher price than books on how to write.

3. Certain pricing thresholds trigger psychological “automatic” purchases.

Lower prices increase impulse buying.

4. Categorization has a large role in optimal pricing and discoverability.

A book that lists calories in popular packaged foods is likely to be found by readers more often if it is placed in the category of “Health Care and Fitness” rather than “Reference.”

5. Merchandising whole catalogs is more effective than single titles: “A rising tide lifts all boats.”

The Write Thought publishes a catalog of writing titles under the Classic Wisdom on Writing series. It is our hope that we will see a synergistic effect on revenue because of this grouping.

6. Containers are critical to driving upsell in App environment.

My understanding of the term “container” as used here is the same as “series.”

7. Lift effects through savvy launch promotions have a profound impact on sales.

For instance, it is suggested that a publisher may wish, when launching a title, to place a low price on it for a period of a few days to a couple of weeks in an effort to get sales to a level that will be noticed by a retailer’s algorithms. Books that stand out sales-wise are used to populate “you may also like” recommendations generating additional sales creating a cyclical effect.

8. In general apps cannot support as high price points as eBooks.

Apple has begun declining apps that are effectively unenhanced e-books, referring publishers to the iBookstore. This basically leaves the android app market for plain Jane e-book Apps.

9. Real‐time sales tracking is necessary to adjust pricing in a dynamic eBook world.

Just like any data, you have to watch what’s happening and adjust accordingly.

10. For each retailer there are distinct best practices to maximize discoverability and revenues.

Pricing doesn’t need to be the same for each retailer. The sweet spot for an e-book in Apple’s iBookstore may be higher than the sweet spot for the same title in Amazon’s Kindle Store.

It’s a new world out there full of challenges and rewards. Sharpen your spear and forge forth.

Just a write thought.

Book Pricing: Finding the Sweet Spot

by Stephen Blake Mettee, IBPA Board Chair, founder of Quill Driver Books and The Write Thought, Inc.

At Quill Driver Books we put a lot of thought into the pricing of each title we published.
Here is an abbreviated list of things we considered:

• How big we anticipated the market for the title would be. A small, concentrated market may support a higher price because there are fewer books for those who are in this market to choose from. Large general markets may require a competitive price.
• The buyer demographics: Is this book for poor, starving writers or successful business people?
• How are competing titles priced? The last thing we wanted to do was to compete on price, but we knew the retailers were sensitive to pricing and might not stock a book they felt was overpriced.
• What the demand for the book would be. We felt we could get a couple of extra bucks for a book written by an author with a huge platform. Duh.
• What it cost us to print the book.

With all these factors—and more—to consider, we likely missed the optimum price, that is, the price that would return the largest profit to us. This price is often called the “sweet spot.”
For instance, if we priced a book so we netted $3 on each copy and sold 10,000 copies, we would make $30,000. But, if we priced it with $6 in it for us and sold 40 percent less, or 6,000 copies, we would make $36,000, a 20 percent increase in profit. Of course if the price that returned $6 each cut our sales to 3,000 copies we would make only $18,000.
Until a title sold down and we went back to press on it, we were stuck with the price we set since it was printed on the back cover.
I say, we “likely” missed the optimum price because, how could we ever know unless we published the identical book at different prices in identical parallel universes?
You can see why we gave it so much thought.

Enter E-Books
One grand thing about e-books is, since there is no printing involved, once edited, designed, typeset, and formatted, the cost of an e-book is zero. Another is that the retail price a publisher sets can vary day to day.
But, with these two advantages, what does a publisher need to be concerned about when pricing an e-book? Vook, the innovative company that melds books with video, has issued a splendid white paper that goes a long way toward answering this question. I’ll let you in on what it has to say in an upcoming blog.

Clever, Clever
Crown Publishing is rushing out a $.99 e-book on Rick Perry, the latest candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination. The book is actually one chapter from The Victory Lab a fall 2011 release by Sasha Issenberg. According to Crown, Victory will present a broad coverage of electoral strategies and the motivations behind the voting decisions people make and isn’t solely about Perry. This is doubly clever, because the $.99 book will sell on its own and act as an ad for the whole book.

Just a write thought.

http://www.vook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/PricingWhitePaper-FINAL-II-2.pdf

Help for Libraries: Overdue, but Not Too Late

by Florrie Binford Kichler
President, IBPA

Your library is your paradise.—Erasmus

After 30 years on the line, Dan was let go by the factory. In a technology-driven economy, he had no computer skills, no job prospects, and no money for training.

They helped him find a job.

A class of 4-year-olds from low-income backgrounds took part in a program that combined literature with technology-based learning experiences—and fun.

They helped them find a future

Who are “they,” and why should we care?

They’re librarians—the heart of the library, and our trading partners on the front lines of distributing our content to readers. Selling to libraries has always been publishers’ bread and butter. Libraries purchase large quantities for branches; returns are minimal, and payment usually arrives within 30 days (and does arrive). If there were any such thing as the perfect customer, the library would come pretty close.

Even now, as change rocks the book industry, computers elbow out bookshelves, and e-books replace stacks, the library, though buying less because of budget constraints, is still buying.

As publishers, we count on libraries for our livelihood. Now libraries are counting on us for theirs.

Paying for Free

Not just an information hub, the library of today—and tomorrow—is a community center, providing free access to services, education, and technology. Historically funded by tax dollars, the library is one of the very few places open to all citizens.

During the most recent recession, as discretionary spending and tax dollars decreased, businesses suffered, consumers clung to their wallets, and many lost their jobs. With money unavailable for entertainment or job training or job hunting, where could people go for help, no questions asked and no forms to fill out in triplicate?

To the library.

And they did—in droves. According to a Harris Poll of a cross-section of Americans, the ALA’s 2011 State of America’s Libraries reports, “Library use continues to increase. Overall, the library’s most highly valued services pertain to the provision of free information and programs that promote education and lifelong learning. Ninety-one percent (up 5 percentage points from the previous year) place great value in the library’s provision of information for school and work.

“And almost all Americans (93 percent) believe that it is important that library services are free.”

Free—but at a cost. The same economy that sent people to the “free” library in search of information, entertainment, and services caused (and is still causing) state and local budgets to take a nosedive—the very budgets that fund your public libraries. Branches are closing, reducing hours, laying off staff—in short, doing everything that businesses do when customers go away—except that the library’s “customers” are increasing at the very moment that their resources are vanishing.

Four Easy Actions

What can each one of us do, as a publisher and citizen, to support our local library? The good news is that you don’t have to be a millionaire to help, and the better news is that by taking one or more of the steps suggested below, you’ll not only be helping the library in your town; you’ll be supporting the community where you live and work.

Join the Friends of the Library. In Indianapolis, where I live, membership in the Friends of the Library costs $25 a year. You get a card recognizing you as a Friend, early access to the library’s book sales, and preferred seating at a (free) annual lecture event. Although $25 may not sound like much, if 1,000 people chose to give up six-plus low-fat lattes each and became a Friend instead—well, you do the math.

Serve on a library board. My service on the board of the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation continues to be tremendously rewarding (and eye-opening). The stories about Dan and the preschoolers were just two examples of the many lives our library touches. It’s a privilege to be able to contribute to that effort.

Support local book, author, and reading events. The Indianapolis Library, with backing from local foundations and businesses, sponsors a yearly Indiana Author Award that recognizes emerging, regional, and national authors from our state. That’s just one example. Check with your city’s library for upcoming events. Get involved—there are many ways to participate even if you don’t have big bucks for a sponsorship.

Volunteer. I know, who has time? But could you spare a couple of hours on a Saturday once every few months to teach a workshop about some aspect of book publishing? Libraries need to convince local government that they are fulfilling their charter in order to receive funding—and a workshop that provides education and information will help in that effort.

For Meeting More Needs

Dan went to the library in search of computer and job-hunting knowledge—and the librarians delivered.

The children went to the library to learn the computer skills that will be critical to their success in school and life—and the librarians taught them.

Our libraries are struggling, and they need our help: as publishers, as citizens, as readers. Your business, your community, and your culture are at stake.

Please support your local library.

First published in the July, 2011 issue of the IBPA Independent, publication of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Calling All Publishers to Enter the 24th Annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards™

You are invited…

to enter the 24th Annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards™ competition for excellence in publishing throughout the year 2011.

The IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards™, which includes fifty-five categories recognizing excellence in both editorial and design, is regarded as one of the highest national honors in small and independent publishing. The award program is administered by the Independent Book Publishers Association with the help of more than 160 book publishing professionals from the library, bookstore, reviewer, designer, publicity and editorial industry segments.

The IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards™ are unique in that entrants receive direct, written feedback from the judging panel. The actual judging forms are returned to all participating publishers, providing valuable insight into how their books are perceived by industry professionals.

All finalists will be announced in April 2012. Two silver award winners and one gold award winner will be awarded in each category. All publishers are invited to celebrate with us at the 2012 gala awards ceremony.

We look forward to recognizing and cheering on the publishers who set the standards of excellence within the publishing community.

To enter today or for more information, please visit: The Benjamin Franklin Awards™ website or call the IBPA office at 310/546-1818.

Bowker Manuscript Services for IBPA members

IBPA has partnered with Bowker to bring a new no-cost service to our members.

Bowker’s Manuscript Submission Service is an online tool providing users with an efficient channel for reviewing unsolicited manuscripts.

There is no cost for publishers, and for IBPA members only Bowker has waived the requirement for a minimum number of titles in print to participate.

This new service allows publishers and/or acquisition editors access to clearly identify manuscripts they find most interesting and marketable. Each proposal includes subject category, topic, the writer’s background and publishing history, a book synopsis, and writing sample allowing you easy access for filtering and targeting relevant manuscripts to your publishing needs.

IBPA members are invited to participate in a web demonstration where they will learn how to effectively use this time-saving service to identify potential manuscripts that may fit their publishing program. Bowker will be presenting these webinars periodically live to IBPA members and members may also access them after the fact via a link from the IPBA website .

Join Bowker for a no-charge 30-minute demonstration for IBPA members:

Date: July 27, 2011

Time: 2:00 pm ET

Register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/594202138

IBPA members should have already received their unique login information to the Bowker Manuscript Services site in an earlier email from IBPA.

To access the website directly, simply go to http://www.bowkermanuscriptsubmissions.com/IBPA/ and enter the login information you received from IBPA.

Additional information can be found at the FAQ page.

Please NOTE that this service is free to publishers who wish to view manuscripts on the site. If you wish to submit a manuscript, you may access that program (fees apply) at http://www.bowkermanuscriptsubmissions.com/author/

Any questions will be happily answered by the IBPA office. Why not take a look at Bowker Manuscript Services and see if it might work for you?

Christopher Hitchens–the art of writing and dying

by Stephen Blake Mettee, Board Chair, IBPA

I don’t subscribe to Vanity Fair, but, like with the New Yorker (To which I also don’t subscribe; I quit my subscription as a minor vice on which I both spent too much time and felt guilty for not spending more—the darn thing comes weekly!), whenever I crack the cover, I find remarkable writing.

It was no different when a friend loaned (or is it “lent”) me the June issue of Vanity Fair. Christopher Hitchens, who has spent the past year “living dyingly,” has written an intimate piece that is at once poignant journal and solid writing advice.

To set the stage, Hitchens, who has written critiques for a number of magazines and is known for his controversial and confrontational debating style, opens with a few lines of T.S, Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”:

I have seen the moment of my greatness
flicker.

And I have seen the eternal Footman hold
my coat, and snicker.

And in short, I was afraid.

Hitchens’ says he doesn’t “so much object to his holding my coat in that marked manner, as if mutely reminding me that it’s time to be on my way. No, it’s the snickering that gets me down.”

The snickering of “a teasing special of the day, or a flavor of the month. It might be random sores and ulcers, on the tongue or in the mouth. Or why not a touch of peripheral neuropathy, involving numb and chilly feet?”

An atheist—he prefers the term “antitheist”—Hitchens likens the effects of his cancer to the wooden-legged piglet that belonged to a “sadistically sentimental family that could bear to eat him only a chunk at a time.”

The latest chunk to be devoured was his voice. Literally. The cancer, in attacking his vocal cords, struck him dumb “like a silly cat that had abruptly lost its meow.”

Hitchens says he owes a “vast debt” (I’m quoting a “vast” bit from the article because I so enjoy Hitchens’ exacting word choices. A level to which all of we-who-write should so aspire.) to an early critic who advised he should write “more like the way that you talk.”

I remember a 1960s high school English class where we were taught to take the “I” out of our essays. I guess we were being taught to emulate the mind-numbing high school text books they issued us.

IMHO, in everything you write, write like you are in the room with the reader discussing a subject you are passionate about. Let the “you” come through. Your opinions, your views, your biases (okay, keep your biases out of straight journalistic reporting), your vocabulary.

Make the reader feel you. Put the “I” into your writing.

Hitchens advises: “If something is worth hearing or listening to, it’s very probably worth reading. So, this above all: Find your own voice.”

Get a copy of the June Vanity Fair and read Hitchen’s article. It’s both a lesson in writing and a lesson in dying.

Just a write thought.

Will Books Go the Way of Music CDs?

by Stephen Blake Mettee, The Write Thought and IBPA board treasurer


According to a recent USA Today article, retailers such as Best Buy, Target, Barnes & Noble, and Wal-Mart are cutting back on their CD selections. A Best Buy spokesperson is quoted as saying, “As people buy less, we stock less.” Sounds like a self-fulfilling cycle to this observer, but, sadly, one that isn’t likely to be reversed.


There’s more bad news….


In 2010, CD sales fell 19% and are down 8.8% this year.


Pretty dire, huh?


But wait.


Downloaded albums sales are up a healthy 16.8% and downloaded tracks are up 9.6%.


Overall music sales are up 1.6%.


Yep, you read right, music sales are up.


Music isn’t going away. Albums aren’t going away. And according to Dave Bakula of Neilson, a company which tracks weekly sales statistics, “CDs are going to be around for a long time.”


So, to summarize what’s happening:
Downloads are growing, brick and mortar store sales are slipping, online sales of CDs are strong. Music is a growing industry.


(By the way CDs are enjoying the “long-tail” effect: Amazon.com offers 4,000,000 CDs. Great for lesser-known songsters.)


Should we look for the same things to happen in books?


Yes.


The future is bright. Keep on writing and publishing.


Just a write thought.

Want to Sell More Books? It can be as simple as….

….making sure that all the information that accompanies your books is correct. That information is called “metadata” and it simply means the ISBN number, the table of contents, the format (paper, hardback, audio, e, etc.), the number of pages—in short, anything that describes your title. If all the components of your title description are correct, your title can be discovered by readers.


If your title description is incorrect, your title will not be found. It’s as simple as that.


BISG is presenting a 4-part series of webcasts to help you learn more about how to make the most of your title’s metadata. The organizer of the series, Sally Dedecker of Sally Dedecker Enterprises, was kind enough to answer some questions, posed by an IBPA member, as to why publishers need to get educated on this critical topic.


1. Do distributors or publishers input metadata?
The publisher creates the metadata and submits it to the distributor. The distributor takes what the publisher creates and disseminates it. If the publisher is creating incorrect data and then sends it to the distributor, the distributor will forward that incorrect data to customers and other industry databases. The distributor will only send to Ingram, B&N, independent booksellers and others what the publisher sends. With this series of webcasts, we are suggesting that all publishers get a good handle on metadata so that what they send is correct and will help readers discover their books.


2. What is “enhanced metadata”?
Enhanced metadata is the fun part of the book’s information…and really helps made the sale! Enhanced metadata covers book reviews, author summaries, author bio, reviews, and sample chapters, really giving the reader the flavor of the book! Search engines pick up on this and this is what keys a reader.


3. Can you give an example of a metadata component and why it is important?
The BISAC Subject Heading is a perfect example. What many publishers may not know is that those subject codes are used to pull recommended title lists for library markets. If you don’t have the code that describes your title (or your code is incorrect), you could be missing sales opportunities. Those codes are available for all publishers’ use here.


4. In a nutshell, what can I expect from the 4 webcasts?
The goal of the series is to really give people and understanding of why metadata is important– booksellers, librarians and others are using metadata to make buying decisions. Incorrect metadata causes missed sales.
We want to encourage publishers to start using the terms and abbreviations and other key core elements that have been established as metadata standards.
You are the publisher, and you should control the information about your books. Having a good plan to create your metadata puts publishers in the driver’s seat.


As a supporting organization, IBPA invites you to join the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) for a 4-part webcast series, Selling more Books with Best Practice in Metadata, that will provide the all-important foundation and hands-on instruction publishers need to take real responsibility for their product metadata. IBPA members receive a 20% discount!


Note that the webcasts will not be posted to the BISG site and will not be made free to those who do not attend. Those who register for the series will have access to the content for review and to use as a guide.
For more information, go to the IBPA home page and click on “BISG Webcast Series.”

Are Publishers Irrelevant? The Great Debate at IBPA Publishing University

by Florrie Binford Kichler

First introduced at the 2011 London Book Fair, the “Great Debate” will make its North American debut at the 27th Annual IBPA Publishing University! Don’t miss this lively give-and-take (audience participation required!) as four well-known industry pundits argue the question:

“Authors and readers are all that matter. Publishers will soon be irrelevant.”

Guaranteed to be a lively, informative (and entertaining) look at a question that EVERYONE is asking, publishing’s answer to “Family Feud” will kick off at noon. Moderators will be Susan Danziger, CEO of DailyLit and Michael Healy, Executive Director of the Google Book Rights Registry, and debaters will be:

Rudy Shur, Publisher of Square One Publishers and a consistent stand out on Publishers Weekly’s Top 10 Fast Growing Independent Publishers list
Richard Nash, former head of Soft Skull Press, founder of Cursor, and named by Utne Reader as one of 50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World
Daphne Kis, SheWrites.com, longtime publisher and new media advisor
Mark Coker, founder and CEO of Smashwords, and named by the Wall Street Journal as one of “Eight Stars of Self-Publishing”

The audience will vote for or against the question both before and after the debate. So whatever you think about the proposition may change depending on the verbal skills of our competitors.

A good time is guaranteed for all—be there!