Bookstores like Yogurt Shops

Actually Pinkberry frozen yogurt is doing quite well.

I am actually glad books are sold in other places, such as Walmarts and grocery stores.

Parking for my truck is usually an issue.

Why all the fear over change?
Change can be a very good thing.

Thanks to change we have indoor plumbing!! The 'good old days' weren't always so good. Women couldn't vote, got paid less, and very, very few drove a truck.

Wherever they are bought, whatever form they are read in ... books will *always* be there. The written word isn't going anywhere.

Bookstores probably will go the way of the hardware stores. You could find even the smallest part at a hardware store, but Home Depot and other big box stores drove them out of business. Now you will not find that small part at Home Depot.
Unless you can force people to patronize the specialty stores I don't think anything can reverse the trend. It's unfortunate, but true.

Personally, I think the future of book buying and selling is in online stores, both big and small and in major retaliers like Wal-Mart. It costs significantly less for a small business to have an online store than for them to have a brick and morter store and for that reason and because shopping online is convenient (you don't have to use any gas to shop online) I think online shopping is the future for books and many (probably most) other products.

Dick Stodghill wrote:

Bookstores probably will go the way of the hardware stores. You could find even the smallest part at a hardware store, but Home Depot and other big box stores drove them out of business. Now you will not find that small part at Home Depot.
Unless you can force people to patronize the specialty stores I don't think anything can reverse the trend. It's unfortunate, but true.

Dick's point is what I'm getting at. Selection wiil be limited to big name authors and the hot celeb/tell-all fare. The issue is from a new author standpoint the opportunities for exposure and shelf space wiil be sparse. It's not a fear of change but one more of our more cultured life aspects that is going mass market and being blended into a cookie cutter merchandising system.

There is precious little left in this society that is more art/craft vs. mass production.

www.DTPollard.com

dtpollard wrote:

Dick Stodghill wrote:

Bookstores probably will go the way of the hardware stores. You could find even the smallest part at a hardware store, but Home Depot and other big box stores drove them out of business. Now you will not find that small part at Home Depot.
Unless you can force people to patronize the specialty stores I don't think anything can reverse the trend. It's unfortunate, but true.

Dick's point is what I'm getting at. Selection wiil be limited to big name authors and the hot celeb/tell-all fare. The issue is from a new author standpoint the opportunities for exposure and shelf space wiil be sparse. It's not a fear of change but one more of our more cultured life aspects that is going mass market and being blended into a cookie cutter merchandising system.

There is precious little left in this society that is more art/craft vs. mass production.

www.DTPollard.com

Of course the selection of books in grocer stores is limited to what will sell. Why try to sell things that won't sell?
It isn't about whether an author is 'new'. It is about whether the author's book will sell. When Harry Potter hit big, JK Rowling was a "new" author. Her books were in grocery stores. She was 'new', but her books sold.

Why blame businesses for trying to find the best way to make money?
Isn't that what free enterprise is about?

Yes, if you live in a larger metro area the little shops and mom & pop places are being run off by large mega stores. But I have driven all across this country and in the smaller towns and communities the local grocer, local book store, local hardware store are still around.

Exposure and shelf space always has and will probably always be limited (or non-existent) to the many, many (and most of us are among them) of the unknown, unproven, undiscovered multitude of writers trying to be heard.

It isn't the fault of the big publishers or stores if our books aren't on their shelves. Sheesh, you can't expect them to stock and promote the books of every Tom, Dick, or Harry who dreams of becoming a bestseller ... they just don't have the shelf space. We've all been to the forums, there are thousands of us out there. We can't expect them to fall in love with books of every writer who thinks they have something special any more than Hollywood can turn every aspiring actress into a star.
Art is not stepping aside for mass production. Art is still there. But the world is growing and it operates on supply and demand. The demand requires mass production. It isn't replacing art. Quality literature still sells.

The simple truth is, and we all knew this even as we were writing our very first novel, the chance of making it in this business is very slim.

We can work hard at our craft, promote, keep trying, not give up ... but in the end ... most of us will remain among the unknown.

It isn't a reason to give up. It is simply the way it is.

Exactly, Dick. The "Home Despot" effect is also visible in office supplies. All the downtown stores are gone and "Office Despot" doesn't carry everything.

In the future there were only be one book for sale, but you can buy it everywhere.

"Of course the selection of books in grocer stores is limited to what will sell. Why try to sell things that won't sell?"

What some of us know is that bookstores and groceries and other book sellers simply don't know what is going to sell and what isn't. They display the books their supplier sends them, and the supplier is in turn dictated to by someone else. This all comes down to a handful of someones, somewhere, deciding what the public will have the opportunity to buy at the stores where books are displayed.

Sadly, I too don't see any thing that can be done about it. Older, established authors with proven readership will continue to get their shelf space, as will the thousands of celebrities of one kind or another. The new authors will have to depend on someone taking up their case and promoting their books until someone else takes a chance and puts them on a shelf.

You and I, we don't stand much of a chance. Hmmm. About the same as a plastic fly in hell, I would think.

"About the same as a plastic fly in hell, I would think." That good?

You know I do think there is an answer. It is not a perfect answer, but books and authors will have to adopt an underground culture that is akin to the spoken word performers. In fact authors reading snipets of their work at open mike night may be the way to go. Getting the words off of the page and into the ears of readers is basic. Corporate culture has taken the independent spirit out of this business.

Agents, publishers and retailers are in a pretty closed loop. Music sales were tanking until the digital revolution came along and the industry was Napstered into following. An outside of the industry breakthrough will be needed to get the door opened to new talent again.

www.DTPollard.com

We may be seeing some backlash (finally) to the corporate homogenization of the world. Home Despot is beginning to close stores, and in many towns the local hardware company outlived the Home Depot across the street simply because they did what the chain couldn't: customer service and stocking of obscure parts.

The same is happening for coffee shops as Starbucks is now losing ground in some cities to the new, indie coffee culture springing up around artesinal brews.

How this will work with books is still a mystery, but it is possible.