Lynne Scanlon has darkly roasted and robust conversations about modern bookselling at this post: “Wicked Witch of Publishing Takes Over Pretend Independent Bookstore. Will She Thrive—or Just Survive?” Post and comments, all very interesting, such as:
- Find ways to save money and make money simultaneously by renegotiating your building lease and subletting to authors or anyone who needs a bit o’ space.
- Answer the question “What would you have to believe about my store to be willing to come here and spend money here?”
- In the comments: what on earth does this say about the basic premise of even having an indie if you have to do all this to prop it up?
- If we had been voracious business people instead of voracious readers we might have had a chance — maybe.
- I believe that anybody should work for a minimum of 12 months alongside an experienced bookseller who has a proven sales record.
I don’t have anything to say about bookstores, but having been a small business owner for twenty years I can say there is no one I have more respect for. The forces against anyone who tries to operate a small business are immense. As an example; I had a favorite health food store (which I had to travel 25 miles to get to) and one day the mall changed hands and the ‘owners’ rent went up 300 percent. The lady in question (who had been there 20 years) had to give the place up. This is the kind of thing that can happen to you in a day when you operate a small business. As always I ask people to support small business; these are some of the best people in your community.