Today from Shelf Awareness: “In the world of literary culture, the small press is probably the closest equivalent to your local farmer’s market.” So true that it couldn’t be stated any better. I would extend that to indie bookstores, which are mouthpieces of new and independent authors who do not have consignment deal with the mega-lo-marts. I overheard this conversation at coffee this morning:
A: Whatcha doin’ this weekend?
B: I really should go out since the weather is gorgeous. But I wanna get my Christmas shopping done.
A: You’re doin’ that online?
B: Yeah. Walmart got this free shipping thing goin’ without minimum purchase. They even got books and stuffs.
I know we’re all tightening up the purse string and find ways to economize. When mego-lo-marts go this far to boost sales, what they really do in the long run is driving local business to destruction. Like farms that locally grow produce, there are tons of small presses and independent booksellers, spread out over the country, and they’re often run at either no-profit or a loss. But these small businesses can flourish and become viable alternatives with our support. The everyday low prices at Walmart are made possible by outsourcing manufacturing to China and other third-world countries where labor is dirt cheap. Every penny spent is indirectly responsible for taking someone’s job and wiping out local manufacturers because the competitive low prices contribute to a vicious cycle. For the book industry, we’re lucky that most books (except oversized glossy coffee table hardbounds) are still printed in the United States, outsourcing won’t play as much a role as in general retails. But the effect of heavy discounts on the part of big chains is that indie bookstores will go under, sooner or later. I always hear people sighing over a vacant retail space left behind by a CD store or a bookseller. I am even more amazed by how shocked people are. Do they really have no clue what really drives the stores out of business?
Yes I’m always mildly surprised at people who are shocked at stores going out of business… when they won’t shop local themselves!
Unfortunately for me my local bookstores have quite bad selection. Especially my local indie
I try to buy local when possible. The closest indie bookstore is well over 2 hours from my house, but when I’m in the neighborhood I always stop and end up leaving $$ behind
I like to support Mystery Lovers Bookshop using their mail order. They ship free from Pittsburgh to Kauai for a minimum $10 purchase. Even though they can’t discount like Amazon, etc., they offer personal service which I like. Years ago when I lived in Pennsylvania I would shop there in person.
You’re kidding me. Who buys print these days. Indies have to wake up acculturate, innovate and just get with it. It’s web world. It’s not a distribution or price problem. Print is dead. OK dying. Think outside the box? Save the trees Matt. But I’ll give my thumb up for your romanticism.
I disagree. Some readers switch to electronic books but real prints would still exist. I for once don’t want to be deprived of my reading when there’s power outage and/or when wi-fi signal is shaky.
I don’t shop at Walmart and wouldn’t think to buy a book there.
great post. i have sometimes confused feelings on indie bookstores – one part of me thinks, “if they can’t compete, they should go out of business” and another, bigger part of me thinks, like you write, that the indies are a valuable ground for supporting authors who can’t get pushed in the chain bookstores.
i’ve worked in two independent bookstores, and this has certainly impacted my opinion of them. for one, that it’s a hard business, because even people who have a fantastic used bookstore just down the street from them will drive 10 miles to a Borders or Barnes & Noble. but also that these small bookstores are a fantastic community. (i’ve read arguments that there are other places, like libraries & community centers, that exist to serve this purpose – that we don’t need to support businesses in order to have another “community.” but pushing on…) the used bookstore i worked at, i had shopped at since i was 7 or 8 years old. as soon as it was legal i was hired on and worked until college. now that i’m in the peace corps, it’s my old boss from that store who is giving her time to collect and ship used books for a library i’m building. i can’t imagine a larger company doing this sort of thing, and it’s reaffirmed my sense of the importance of indie bookstores.
they can support authors, like you say, but they’re also a place to build community and maybe to better remember the community they’re a part of.