| WHY I HATE BARNES AND NOBLE And every other �discount� bookstore Let me tell you the way it used to work. A gifted writer wrote a brilliant book and sent it to the publishing company. The editor, who keeps track of literary trends, knows that this genre of book is not on the bestseller list right now, but because it is a beautiful book, she publishes it anyway. She can sell it to small, independent bookstores who like this sort of thing, and make a profit. It won�t sell a million, but it will turn a profit. As a result, we have millions of quirky, strange, beautiful little novels nobody�s ever heard of, but are a good read on a rainy Saturday. And every now and then, one of those books nobody thought anybody would buy turns out to be a groundbreaking beginner of a whole new literary style. The art of writing � and publishing and reading � lived, changed, and grew. It was unpredictable, funky, and thrived with vitality. Then came the discount bookstore. Discount bookstores make their money by selling a high volume of books at a slightly lowered price. The higher the volume, the lower the price can be. This is basic economics. Because they can sell their books at a lower price than an independent bookstore (who could never move as many books as a high-powered chain), they put the mom and pop places out of business. One reason to hate them, but not the big one. Keep reading. Running under discount economics, stores like Barnes and Noble make their buying decisions based on what is on the bestseller list. They only buy what can be projected to sell 8 million copies. Naturally, this affects the publishing industry. The mom and pops are largely gone, and Barnes and Nobles wants nothing to do with these quirky little books, these weird works of genius that might only sell, say, 800,000 copies. There�s no profit in it. And if the publisher can�t sell it to the bookstores, the publisher can�t buy it from the writer. And so, this generation�s most talented writers, those who are gifted and able to offer us a new perspective, to add something to the human experience, the honestly and authentically change the way the world looks at things, are giving up on writing, because they can�t get published. And instead of a thousand interesting books on the bookstore shelf worth reading, we have a thousand identical copies of Tom Clancy. BARNES AND NOBLE IS KILLING ARTISTS. DON�T BUY BOOKS FROM DISCOUNT BOOKSTORES! Chances are, you won�t miss the presence of all the funky writers. After all, they only sell a couple thousand copies of their books. Most of the books that most of us read actually do sell 8 million copies, and so Barnes and Noble has everything we need. But for the sake of the artists, buy that book, that one you saw on Oprah�s Book Club, that one that will sell 8 million copies, from an independent bookstore. He�ll be carrying it, and if he doesn�t, he�ll be happy to order it from you. Help him stay alive, and battle the discount bookstores. Believe in the value of diversity in literature. Feed the artists. STORES TO AVOID: Barnes & Noble B.Dalton Borders Amazon.com Yahoo! Books Any other huge chain bookseller WHERE TO BUY INSTEAD: find that funky little bookstore that's struggling to stay in business. Buy there, even if you're buying a bestseller -- or the daily newspaper. on the internet, instead of Amazon.com, try Powells.com. Powell's is a truly wonderful independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon. It's huge, and they have most everything Amazon has. And usually cheaper. |
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