Okay, as a guy out here in small press world mostly doing my own thing my with self-published books and books from a few (great) small presses, finding wider traction is rough business. And while it seems writers and publishers and bookstores all want the same thing — people reading books — the truth, as usual, is that the true dynamics of the thing are a lot more nuanced. Now, I could be wrong, but it seems that:
Writers want their books available on bookshelves forever, to be discovered by new readers over and over.
Publishers want to get all their copies sold quick…and then new printings to be stocked and sold too.
Bookstores want all the copies they’ve bought ANYWHERE EXCEPT sitting on shelves — they want them quickly bought up and sold out.
So for folks like me, out here in the barren steppes of publishing, there’s no cover. It’s unwieldy to manage consignment deals, even as I understand that shelf space is a bookstore’s prime real estate — one they can’t waste on expensive inventory that sits collecting dust, hoping it’ll someday turn a small profit.
And there’s the crux.
We haven’t figured out a better way to do things. Even before the plague hit, there seemed no way for everyone to get what they want. And since the pandemic began…things are even more dire. So, how can I help? What can I do?
How about this: I’ll send free books (a few, I ain’t rich!) to any bookstore that’s interested.
Then they can sell the books for whatever they can get for them, and keep the scratch as a way to support all they do to Keep Books Dangerous. Maybe I even find a new reader or two in the process, which is always a treat for me.
The cost? I’m out a little dough…which, honestly, I wish I was off spending in bookstores anyway. This way we can accomplish most of the goals, for most of the folks involved — and that feels like a good thing to me.
So tell your local bookshop they can now stock one of your favorite writers at absolutely no risk to them. Have them get in touch with me here if they’re interested:
