rant: independent bookstores or e-books?
February 9, 2010 
Realized I should say this first: This post is aimed at authors, illustrators, book folks in general, and mostly, mostly, mostly myself. I need to be accountable and that's why I'm posting it here. The rest of you? Well, enjoy the rant. If it makes you buy a book at an independent I won't be sorry!
How much more can bookstores take and survive? There's Amazon's free shipping, discounted prices everywhere, and now e-books. I hear about bookstores closing and I hate it.
At a recent conference, a publishing leader basically said that though things didn't look so good for bookstores, it looked good for us authors. Look at all these "platforms" needing "content" from "content-creators." Didn't that sound good to us? It was true -- it did. It does. But it's also harsh because digital bypasses the bookstore. A bookstore owner in the room objected. Of course.
Bookstores survive on a thin margin. Even if we still buy from our local independent, if enough of us simply buy less than what we previously bought (because we're ordering from Amazon or an e-book on the Kindle) that might be enough for a bookstore to close. And then think what we've lost! We've lost some of the most passionate book people on the planet. These are people who would stake their income (and yes, their retirement) on a bookstore. This is the value they place on books. I don't know many people like this. Do you? As an author, are you willing to let these people, your biggest fans, go under for convenience?
A sidenote: it's not an issue of whether or not this particular bookstore has supported you as an author. Taste differs. One bookstore owner may love what you produce, another may not. Okay. But let's forget about that and think about the bigger picture. (See above.) Then add: independent bookstores add a ton more to the quality of life in a particular neighborhood. Admit it! You love to go in and browse. I know I do!
I live in an area without easy access to an independent. I do use Amazon. And I own a Kindle (so I'm buying books for it -- mostly for travel). But I'm starting to think that as an author my behavior is incredibly short-sighted. I want independent bookstores in Chicago to stay around. When I'm in another neighborhood, browsing a bookstore is one of my favorite activities. I've even been known to travel to other cities because they're known as bookstore towns (Ann Arbor, Michigan as a bookstore town can't be beat. From Chicago you can travel by Amtrak and land practically downtown -- fun!)
So here's what I've decided: I'm going to start ordering from an independent and have them ship my books to me. Yeah, it'll cost a lot more. Which means I'll probably order less (and use my library more). But I will be buying more books from the independent bookstores I love. So for them, this is an increase. It's only fair.
Rant done.
Some favorite, Chicago independents:
Amy Timberlake
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Reader Comments (1)
rant, and even rave, if you wish dear Amy, it's justified ! There's nothing like roaming through a bookstore, running your hands over dozens of shelves and enjoying the pleasure of intuitive choosing. You can't do that on Amazon.
Delphine