As many writers—and readers—out there know, Amazon is now in the publishing game. This prompted Barnes and Noble in January to announce they would not stock anything published by the online book retailer due to “Amazon’s continued push for exclusivity with publishers, agents and the authors they represent.” As a result, a number of books were instantly banished from Barnes and Noble stores. You can read about it at the Author’s Guild website.
This parochial approach to publishing and book selling hurts authors and readers. Why can’t book retailers simply do what they’re meant to do, which is sell books? This sort of attitude was a major source of frustration several years ago when my book War of Words was published by Union Square Press in 2009. Union Square is a subsidiary of Sterling Publishing, which is—or was, at the time—owned by Barnes and Noble. When the publisher purchased my book, I was promised great placement in all Barnes and Nobles across the country. They all but guaranteed I’d have a bestseller on my hands.
The book details the colorful newspaper wars in 1800s San Francisco, focusing primarily on the bloody birth of the San Francisco Chronicle and the deadly public feud between that paper’s founder and the sex-crazed Baptist minister who became the city’s mayor. I thought having the book released by a publisher backed by Barnes and Noble would be a major benefit—instead, it came back to shoot me in the foot.
I travelled all over Northern California, pitching my book to independent bookstores prior to its release. The vast majority of stores I visited refused to carry the book because the publisher was tied to Barnes and Noble. Most Borders I visited rejected the book for the same reason. The real humdinger came when Barnes and Noble stores I visited outside the San Francisco Bay Area refused to stock the book. They said no one outside San Francisco would want to read it. Right—and no one outside of Holcomb, Kansas, wants to read In Cold Blood? What about folks outside Chicago reading Devil in the White City?
It seems to me book retailers are placing far too many restrictions and guidelines on what they’re willing to sell–especially when brick-and-mortar bookstores seem to be an endangered species. How about simply stocking books and letting the customers decide what they want to read? Perhaps I’m being naïve.
Its all about marketing… You can’t convince a bookstore unless you showed them that you have a marketing plan.
A good approach is to find a new bookstore and try to get some selling numbers to let other bookstores know you better.
And by the way… the best way to show good numbers is if you were able to sell through amazon.com
Hi, Ahamin . . . well, you need to present a marketing plan when your book is initially pitched to a publisher. I’ve had seven books published and have never needed a marketing plan to get one stocked in a bookstore. Generally, it’s up to the publisher’s sales department to get the book on shelves. Another thing to keep in mind: You could have the world’s greatest marketing plan, but it won’t do you any good if your book isn’t on shelves where people can find it.
The sales ranking on Amazon is not actually a very good indication of how a book is selling, as it doesn’t give you specific numbers (although I think you can now get numbers through Amazon’s Author Central). Your book might sell only one copy, yet your sales ranking could jump by 100,000.
I’ve been reading about the politics of bookselling–Amazon vs. the World, etc.–but I didn’t realize those sorts of things happened to authors with such good publishers. If Union Square Press offered me a book contract, I probably would have thought I had the golden ticket too. Thank you for sharing this story.
Is that book still in print? If so, what bookstores still offer it on their shelves?
Hey, Hannah . . . Indeed, I didn’t think such things happened, either, until I experienced it for myself. War of Words is still in print, though I doubt you’ll find it in stores. It’s still available on Amazon . . .
Cheers!
Do you get royalties from books sold on Amazon, though? My publishing company (the one I work for) sells our books on our own website. Is it better to buy books off your publisher’s website, from an author’s point of view?
Indeed, I still score royalties for books sold on Amazon–so whether someone buys the book from the publisher’s website or Amazon doesn’t impact me . . . I’m simply grateful either way!
As someone who lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia, I have to admit that my first reaction upon reading a description of War of Words was, “San Francisco? Where the heck is that?” But then I did some research and found that it’s actually a fairly populated and much-loved city in the state of California. (Who knew?) And the SF Chronicle, it turns out, is a respected journal of record, so I figured, “What the heck?” I subsequently read the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, I’m visiting the in-laws this weekend, and am giving a copy of War of Words to my father-in-law for his birthday. That’s how much I enjoyed it.
Ha! Brilliant . . .
Marc, your enthusiasm for War of Words is greatly appreciated! I’m honored you purchased a copy for your father-in-law. I hope he enjoys it!
Many thanks for your support!
That is a nervewracking story. Some writers would have given up after that, I bet. I’m flabbergasted over the claim that no one living outside of SF would want to read a book about SF. Shouldn’t the story itself be enough–whether it took place in Tucson or Boston–it’s the story, not the city. Right? I’m scratching my head over that one.
Hi, Kate . . . that was my argument: What about the story?
After the Barnes and Noble debacle, I came very close to giving up on writing. I eventually came around, but something’s definitely been taken out of it.
I hear you. I’m glad you pulled through it, and so are all of your readers I’m sure.
I don’t think the childish one-up-manship between publishing retailers does anything for their brands. It damages the author and as you point out and in terms of their business strategy, it damages their customers, so how can that be a good thing? For me Amazon has already severely diluted their brand by allowing independent sellers through Amazon marketplace where sellers can add high postage costs and there’s not necessarily a guarantee of quality. They need to beware – consumers don’t like a bully and a competitor that could offer the same value for money but with a more ethical culture would fare well (although difficult to achieve now). If Barnes & Noble gets drawn into such possessive disputes it means they lose any high ground they might have had.
Ha-ha, what a ridiculous idea that no-one outside of San Francisco would want to read a book set in San Francisco. That’s too stupid to even respond to!
Hi, Sally . . . I completely agree with you regarding independent sellers on Amazon. There have been many occasions where I’ve ordered a book from an independent dealer, only to receive a product that does not live up to the seller’s description.
Barnes & Noble sort of lost high ground with me following the War of Words episode. I’m wondering, if when my next book comes out, they’ll refuse to stock it because they think Americans don’t want to read a story set in Europe.
I guess I don’t know if bookstores have to buy books in large quantities, but it seems like it couldn’t hurt to stock at least a few of any given book, even if though don’t believe in it. If it doesn’t sell, they aren’t out too much money, and if it does, then they can order more. Maybe that’s too simple a view.
Whether it’s a simple view or not, I feel the same way. What I can tell you for sure is that getting a book published is just the beginning . . . Trying to get it on shelves and scoring publicity is the real challenge!
Oh god, publicity. I can’t even think past revisions right now. One step at a time…