Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival

Its a first for me at the Bud Lit festival and I wasn't disappointed. I attended a talk with the, 'highly knowledgeable on all things publishing gal' Susanna Wadeson out of Transworld Publishing. The talk ran well and truly over the one hour because the audience couldn't get enough and Susanna was very generous and graceful with her information and time. I like to think I'm pretty au fait with the general course a book takes from the author's cave to your local book shop - but evidently I live in LaLa land - because despite my research there are more steps than climbing to the temple at Batu. Now I'm aware of the process - I'm thinking, it requires a great deal of expertise and a killer sense of humour. Yup - these guys earn their percentage. 
What did I learn? - The publishing process, costs, expectations of publishers, possible pitfalls for writers. What publishers think of Literary Agents (they're essential for good business). Whats up and coming in the literary race for every readers dosh. (We're talking audio books). And more besides - you had to be there!
So all-in-all an absolute must for anyone in, or associated with the literary industry.