Lack Of Merchandise

Another independent book seller is going out of business. As reported in the NYT, Micawber Books in Princeton, NJ has been sold to the local university, and former owner Logan Fox is lamenting the changing times.

He's right, about the lack of good material with which to stock his shop. It is the fault of the publishing houses, since they are responsible for providing the books that line the shelves. But the publishers are going for the short term gain, and so they no longer nurture an up and coming writer. They leave that to the literary agents, who don't have the deep pockets needed to bring a writer along until they develop a strong following. It's the instant hit these days, the blockbuster, and agents are just as likely to look for a blockbuster author as well. The diamond in the rough is no longer a treasure; they want the polished gem stone.

On top of that, there is the plethora of so-called 'celebrity' books, be they memoirs, kiss and tell, or even cookbooks. Publishers are promoting the name of the starlet who obviously could not begin to write a book, but fame sells and so the local B&N is well stocked with trivial fluff. Those of us who look for a serious read don't buy, and we are the ones more likely to buy books. The quality has dropped, but the publishers continue to flog the dead horse of celebrity, and wonder why their bottom line grows weaker year by year.

The market is shrinking, in spite of the increasing number of titles published. The number of good books is going down, with publishers unwilling to take a chance and literary agents unwilling to sign on a potential, rather than proven, author. Add to that the expanding number of sales sites, from big box retailers to on-line sellers, and the indie gets squeezed out of existence.

Used books continue to be profitable. The old books, the classics, do one thing, the very thing that a reader asks of a book. They tell a story. Hard to make a living as in independent bookseller when your clients want good stories to read. The suppliers are not supplying.