It was the best of weeks, it was the worst of weeks……. and no one knew which.
This was, quite simply, a massively huge week in the publishing industry. All of the various pressures on the industry seemingly came to a head: the steady rise of e-books, downward pressure on book prices (due to bad economy/presence of e-books/competition with free content/used books/inevitability), the rising clout of e-tailers, an increasingly difficult landscape for independent bookstores, and the industry’s creeping dependence on a small handful of mega-bestselling authors.
First, several new e-readers are giving the Kindle a run for its money in both its functionality… and its bizarre name. Meet the Alex (yes, THE ALEX), the Que (yes, THE QUE) and the Nook (yes, THE okay that one doesn’t bother me so much). Also: I call dibs on ¿Qué? jokes for the next five years.
The Nook is perhaps the most notable of all as it is backed by Barnes & Noble, features wireless that you can use in a physical B&N to read/preview basically anything, and also allows you to “share” a book with a friend for 14 days, during which you can’t actually read it. Kind of like a real book.
It remains to be seen how popular all of these devices will be, but certainly e-book adoption is moving ever closer to the mainstream.
Meanwhile, WalMart dropped a megaton bomb more faster than you blink and sparked a ruthless price war with Amazon by announcing that they would sell 10 hotly anticipated titles for $9.99 through WalMart.com. Amazon quickly matched and announced same-day delivery in 7 cities, then WalMart countered by lowering the price to $8.99, which Amazon also matched. Then Target jumped in the fray, and so did Sears, who announced that if you by a $9 book from Amazon, Target or WalMart they will reimburse the entire amount if you buy something on Sears.com and spend $45. So, basically, you can get a free book when you buy your dog a pirate costume (come on, you know you want to click through to see that one).
Where does this end?
Where indeed.
Right now, even as WalMart, Amazon, Target and Sears fight it out for e-tailing primacy, publishers are still receiving the standard amount for every copy sold, or roughly 50% of the hardcover list price, meaning WalAmaTargEars are the ones taking a loss. So, assuming the deep discounts spur sales, in the short term this has turned into a huge cash cow for the few publishers/mega-bestsellers WalAmaTargEars have chosen.
But who loses? Well… potentially just about everyone else. In the words of literary agent David Gernert:
If readers come to believe that the value of a new book is $10, publishing as we know it is over. If you can buy Stephen King’s new novel or John Grisham’s ‘Ford County’ for $10, why would you buy a brilliant first novel for $25? I think we underestimate the effect to which extremely discounted best sellers take the consumer’s attention away from emerging writers.
And as Eric at Pimp My Novel notes, this could have huge impacts on independent bookstores, who simply can’t compete with the discounting. He also notes that if a few e-tailers cement their dominance over the bookselling market, they could have increasing clout to dictate terms and discounts.
There are some who are cautiously optimistic about the price war. An anonymous publishing executive told the Times: “If this is a short-term statement to let hundreds of millions of people know that they will be able to buy books from Walmart.com, it’s a good thing.”
But surely this isn’t temporary. These trends have been in the makings for years, from deep discounts (now something everyone takes for granted) to competition with other cheap media to the rise of e-books to the industry’s shedding of mid-list authors, their simultaneous aversion to small risks and dependence on big risks, and their increasing reliance on bestsellers, who they often overpay.
This doesn’t have to mean the end of publishing as we know it. As former editor Marion Maneker writes, this could spur publishers to reevaluate their deals with their top sellers, and he also notes that people are already accustomed to paying more for different products. Just because James Patterson’s latest is selling for $10 doesn’t mean someone won’t pay more for a book by someone who sells less.
But it looks as if book prices are coming down, one way or another. And that shift is going to send major shockwaves through the industry. Already Stephen King, an early e-book champion, announced that S&S will be delaying the release of the e-book edition of his new book, citing a desire to help bookstores, while simultaneously expressing concern that the deep print discounting “threatens the industry’s pricing structure.”
So is it the best of times or the worst of times? It’s too soon to know. Lower prices don’t have to be a bad thing provided people buy more books. Smaller authors don’t have to lose out provided consumers don’t flock en masse to the deeply discounted bestsellers.
But things are changing very, very quickly. The longtime trends that have been shaping the industry are only accelerating, and everyone in the business is holding on for the ride.
lynnrush says
Thanks for this viewpoint. All the recent activity has been mind-numbing to say the least.
dan radke says
Look on the bright side. With incredible TV shows, wondrous video games and 60 inch LCD LEDs, what more comfortable point in history has there been to give up on your dreams?
Scott says
Hard to tell what's happening. My hope is that more affordable books means people will buy two instead of one, which in turn will mean they'll burn through the big names and start looking for more arcane fair. If you push your book hard enough with a website and an intelligent use of media, you just might be the "indie band" of the season.
Would I pay more for an exciting, new talent? Something tells me I would, as long as the costs for the other stuff were down.
Dara says
Well…hopefully by the time I'm ready to query my book, things will settle down a bit…
Times are certainly changing!
Jean says
I don't know if it is the worst of times, best of times, or just plain old changing. JA Konrath displayed his e-book royalty statements (rights held through a publishing house vs. rights he owned) on his blog and it was a wee bit mind blowing.
The world is changing. It's exciting and frightening all at the same time.
Jean
Alan Orloff says
Please fasten your safety belts, don your crash helmets, and keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle.
Enjoy the ride!
Ken Hannahs says
The Nook looks very promising. This week has definitely been a game-changer in many ways, and I think that your worries about nobody wanting to spend $25 on first-time authors is well-founded. I think what you will see (hopefully) is fewer first-time authors have hardcover releases. Instead you will have a straight-to-paperback release which could spur on more sales as long as the books sold well. I still think there should be a "New Authors" section at the major bookstores where they only hold a few copies of books and they can use it as a litmus to see how they do.
Similarly, a question was asked today by @Weegee which asked "Publishers: Please solve this problem. Wand [sic] to read new hardcover. Can't afford. Library waiting list 300 long. Answer?"
I think the answer will change the future of publishing as well. The idea of "rented" books is something that can be done with much more ease now than it ever could before. Microtransactions are getting bigger in the U.S. and being able to "rent" a book for a number of days might encourage people to read newer authors.
Just an idea.
-Ken
Lisa Dez says
The whole “lost leader” concept by the big boxes is designed specifically to put every competitor out of business. As a new writer who’s agent just went on submission to editors this week, I find that more than a little frightening.
It’s going to be a huge hit to publishing in general and the reading public as a whole if the big boxes succeed. As a reader, your only options for buying books will be Amazon, et al, and your choices will be severely limited.
As a new writer…well, let’s just say the future’s not looking so bright if your name’s not Stephen King or Stephenie Meyer. (Am I allowed to use them in the same sentence?) Publishers will shy away from new talent because, if the boxes won’t buy it, they can’t sell it. There won’t be anyone else to sell it to.
So, enjoy your cheap books while you can because, as soon as they’ve put all the little to medium sized guys out of business, they’ll jack their prices right back up. As a consumer, please don’t shoot yourself in the foot!
Margaret Yang says
Okay, okay, okay. I remember in the late 80's/early 90's when POD was going to CHANGE PUBLISHING AS WE KNOW IT. End of bookstores, end of publishers, end of the midlist, etc. People were freaking out!! Some were throwing up their hands and quitting the whole business. Some were seeing how POD could benefit them. Most were just watching and worrying.
I know that the technology is different, but still…. I'm not freaking out. Heck, my agent still thinks he can get me a hardcover deal for my first novel. Bless his heart.
John Ross Harvey says
As an author hoping to publish his 6th book, the one I think will finally take me to notoriety, Walmart and company slashing for already best selling authors is problematic to my book ever being read. This is a career I intend to pursue full on, and this kind of ignorance by chains for lack of a better term is disheartening. Yes, the Ma and Pa bookstore is in trouble too, and the authors you don't know yet like me. Certainly many authors are known by word of mouth more than advertising (save perhaps Rowling and Brown) but how do the little guys/gals like me get a break? My current project (in editorial hands right now) is in my reviewers opinion THE NEXT NOTEBOOK. How will anyone know if it goes for $12.95 when Walmart is selling Dan Brown for $8.99 for an example? I'm using a psuedonym for the obvious reasons of genre and a namesake primarily. If I win an award, then I may make waves, so look out Walmart, I'm not going down without a fight. I've also won every legal battle I've faced.
Charlie says
I still believe that too many people prefer books printed on paper for the Brick and Mortor stores to go under. (Then again, I said that about CD's)The bargin hunters that buy celeb bio's as gifts for the holidays might be good for the industry, but real readers will hunt out great stories by the emerging writers no matter what.
There will always be a need for good writers.
Fran says
So, we have a weapons race against the rest of the entertainment industry, and a race to the bottom to sell books.
It's not a good time to have a dull pencil.
GrrlgeniusBklyn says
Unfortunately the same thing has happened to the music and movie industry, which haven't figured out a way to make up for loss of display space for music, DVDS, and discounts and exclusives with Wal-mart only can just as easily backfire even for A-list artists. The movie studios are a bit more pro-active inventing high quality like Blu-ray and the impending Disney operation Keychest.
Even if quality of the books is less at Wal-mart, consumers are going to look at their bottom lines. Can they get the latest novels for less? Does that let them feel better about spending in this economy where job security is a myth? Yes, it's not going to trouble them to loss the glossy covers for a lesser price.
As much as I've made a living off growing digital entertainment, the Internet has streamlined creativity to being less of a premium. Power to the people. They still need someone to direct them towards great content.
In NYC I have only seen two Kindles in the subway, the second of which was two days ago (several on planes, where you are less likely to get mugged for it.) If anything manufacturers are more interested in selling devices which fetch high prices, even when discounted like the iPhone at $99. Books are large, they take up a lot of space.
Personally I'm not as ready to give up on the physical side of books as I have with music (although not completely, I still love vinyl.)
On the upside, as Scott hopes…. consumership on the music side is up. It's just people don't pay for it. I started to read Chris Anderson's "Free" for Free on Google books and lost interest after a few chapters reading it that way. I'd rather hit up the library and have the sensation of flipping pages when I lie in the sand.
JenniferWriter says
Thanks, Nathan, for distilling this week's craziness into a single, sane post. I've got a big knot in my stomach after reading, but what can we do? I'll continue to write because I have to and I'll continue to buy books and support local bookstores–because I love them, not because I want them to exist long enough for me to sell my books.
For now I think that's all I can do.
Anonymous says
Seems like a good time to bring this up:
https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/3/9/
Ghost Girl says
I've got the criss-cross, send-me-screaming-upside-down-in-loop-the-loop-terror straps buckled and I'm ready for the ride. Okay…I make no guarantees that I won't wet myself or puke before it's all over, but I'm hoping for the best in all this.
I'll refrain from repeating the petulant little doomsday track running through my brain because I'm just too damn optimistic… Really, I am…
Stephanie says
What a week. I have to believe that those of us who love books will find a way to keep things going. After all, if we can dream up new worlds, plots and people, we can certainly figure a way out of all of this.
My first very small step will be to stop shopping at these stores.
Anna says
All I can think is this what's happened to music over the last ten years.
What it means for writers is still unknown. But musicians and singers still trade their wares, albeit in somewhat different forms than pre-web days. While authors don't have the luxury of concert tours from which to make some cash, a BOOK is still a BOOK, and maybe that format will outlast vinyl, cassettes, 8-tracks, CD's, etc.
We will see…
Bobby says
I think moves like the ones mentioned in the post are rapidly pushing more and more writers towards independent publishing – I like that phrase better than self-publishing 🙂
Why even try to go the traditional route if you're a new writer when the deck is so stacked against you?
Anne Dayton says
I want someone to invent a device that reads a book for me. Anyone?
Thermocline says
Who knew the executives at Sears were so devious? Luring customers with free money for making a competitor take a loss is pure evil genius.
Charlie Pratt says
No matter how zealous we are about our books, history has shown time and time again that low prices, by and large, will win the day. Whether that's paper and ink or plastic and pixels, people will ultimately choose the path of least resistance. I personally love books with paper and ink. Does that matter? Not if economics has anything to say about it.
owlandsparrow says
What a thought-provoking post. Thanks for shedding some insight on what's going on. In general, I think we all just need to promote paying for quality goods and not just what's cheap, popular, or both cheap-and-popular. Not that the popular options don't become that way for a reason – some do. That said, lots of great work goes unrecognized, because too many people take other people's word for what's worth their limited free time and hard-earned money, instead of checking out all the options themselves.
Anonymous says
S**t. What's the point of even finishing the dang book now. Maybe I should change my name to Dan Brown.
Samuel says
I think Nathan meant 'lose out' and not 'love not' in the penultimate paragraph. Though 'love out' has its own lovely logic.
Susan Quinn says
I'm not a fan of rollercoasters, but give me a good free market thrill ride and I'm happy.
I love books, stories and reading.
I love technology, free markets, innovation and change.
And, I'm a die-hard, steely-eyed optimist.
So.
I think this is going to settle out in a net positive way for writers, but the creative destruction will leave a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth in its wake. With more and better ways for writers to connect with readers, more every day, I think there will be more opportunity in the future for authors. But it will come through self-publishing, e-books, a revamped (revitalized?) publishing industry and ways that you and I can't yet dream up, because we're still reeling from the pace of change today.
It won't be pretty. But in the end I think it will be better.
You can keep the Que jokes (!) – I'll be curling up in a nook with my Nook, reading the e-tomes I haven't (yet) shared with my friends.
Bane of Anubis says
Makes me think of the South Park Episode "Something Wal-mart this way comes."
People expect to get things on the cheap (if not free) nowadays and it's up to the publishing industry to adapt to the new model (and overcome any e-version it might have… I'm telling you, advertising is gonna be the game of the future… both genre-related and, 10 years from now, individually targeted).
Anne says
I always will purchase a hardcover to a paperback, but do shop around and hardly ever buy when first release. This is more due to my financial situation than to the actual worth of the book [in most cases].
To what ends must we get our one-stop shopping fix! Another fine example of our economy gone awry. So sad.
The Que? Really?
Nathan Bransford says
Samuel-
Freudian slip, or at least wishful thinking.
Sorry for the large number of typos in the original post!
Sam Blake says
When Penguin introduced paperbacks in the 1930's it was the end of publishing, but the biz evolved. Times are certainly a-changing but I wonder if the cost structure of traditional print needs reviewing -would first time authors be happy to take a bigger royalty than an advance, would they be prepared to get out there and market their books generating PR through editorial and public apprearence rather than straight advertising, creating whispering campaigns through social media? It's hard work launching a business on a micro budget, but if you can do it with a business can you not apply the same principles to a book? It means thinking outside the box, harnessing the e-book boom (which it might be eventually) and providing a hardcopy follow up. There will always be something uncertain about technology – we back up our laptops using all sorts of methods, perhaps print publishing needs to reinvent itself. Hard to accept it might be the back up, but the very fact that a book is tangible gives it value. That very 'tangibliity'will become its USP.
T. Anne says
Honestly, I can't see me shelling out $35 for King's new e-book and that's because Amazon's set a precedence with there $9 pricing for new Kindle books. The consumer in me likes the price wars, the author in me isn't sure what to make of it. Looks like the tower of publishing is starting to crumble.
Beth Barany says
Best/worst of times? Nope. How about "these times they are a changin.'" Again. Rocky seas? Yep! And opportunities abound. Like people will rush out and buy these cheap big names authors at WalAmaTargEars (great! Nathan) for curiosity's sake, then ditch them at the used book stores, because frankly, they aren't that good. (Dan Brown, your plots are fun, but your writing stinks!) So, three cheers for the everlasting used bookstores! And I don't know about other ravenous readers, but I discover new authors at the library and used bookstore. Then, when I've fallen in love (Sharon Shinn, anyone?), I buy ALL of their books. Hey, I need my fix! (Two cents from an independent author, and book coach.)
jjdebenedictis says
I want someone to invent a device that reads a book for me. Anyone?
Anne Dayton: They have! I think it was the Kindle they wanted to install the technology on, but then a snarl exploded over whether the publisher needed audio rights for that.
Jokes aside, it would be awesome for the visually impaired.
Beth Barany says
Sam Blake: I like the way you think. The tangibility of books is a huge added value, for those of us that love the physical form.
J. Nelson Leith says
The market for physical books could be buttressed a bit by flipping the traditional hard-to-soft paradigm.
To me, from a buyer's perspective, a hardcover edition is for a proven winner of a book that I intend to keep, mark up, reference, and read again and again.
It has always seemed counter-intuitive as a reader to see the "keeper" hardcover version of a book come out before the "trial" softcover version.
My advice: put out everything softcover/digital first, thus reducing upfront cost and risk, and then the books that really etch themselves into the public consciousness can merit a hardcover "permanent collection" printing only after they've proven themselves worthy of the investment.
Also… perhaps a recycling discount when you turn in the softcover to buy the hardcover.
Christa says
As usual, very concise and informative, Nathan. I did have one question, and this is probably more reflective of my naivete in the business side of the industry, but what hold does Amazon really have over publishers?
My take on the current pricing is that other etailers are competing with Amazon for market share of books/e-books. And right now, the price war is focused on that goal.
When the losses prove to be too much, Amazon will try to bully publishers into reducing their costs to meet Amazon's e-book model. The problem is, with other e-tailers offering similar services, Amazon doesn't have much leverage. They may have the largest market share, but if publishers refuse to meet their demands, Amazon either has to adjust their prices back up to make money or keep their prices where they are and hope to outlast the other etailers losing money.
I guess I keep coming back to this: if the publishers, and thus authors, are still getting their full share of profit from the sales at these prices, they have no incentive to reduce their rates. And if that request comes to them from Amazon or other etailers, why can't they just say no? Unless a majority of currently published authors decide to go independent and self-publish (not likely to happen), then the publishing industry holds the prize and ultimately calls the shots on pricing.
People will still by the books, whether from Amazon or somewhere else. But Amazon or other etailers can't go somewhere else to get books to sell.
Like I said, I really don't understand the dominoe effect this will cause further down the road, so please let me know what I'm missing.
Ken Hannahs says
I like what Sam Blake said about marketing yourself. Creating grass-roots hype about your project months before the book is released is really going to amp up the excitement about the book. I know one thing that I plan on doing is trying to get people to know about me now through my blog and twitter and other means so that by the time it is time to market my book, I will already have the followers there!
Advertising campaigns are relatively useless to the general public for the large majority of fiction. It is only through the real bibliophiles that people will break out in this industry. Word of mouth and social media will sell more books than a poster in the subway. (I don't know if this is true, but I believe it… ha ha)
Paul Neuhardt says
I see Nora Ephron penning a sequel to "You've Got Mail" in which Fox Books is put out of business by Wally World and Kathleen Kelly yells, "In your face, Fox!" She will then suffer a cute little fit of angst over her rude behavior, he will forgive her, and the sequel wil be just like the original, only not as good.
Seriously, I'm more concerned about the impact of the WalTarEarsAzon price battle than I am over eReaders.
Have you ever seen the selection of books in a WallMart or a Target? Kathleen Kelly's The Shop Around The Corner had a larger selection, and a better one too.
WalMart has gained tremendous influence over which music and which movies get sold and which don't. They have done so by undercutting everyone else on the few items they choose to stock on their limited shelf space. The rub is that limited shelf space in a bazillion stores is still several bazillion CD's and DVD's being moved, and thus they gain significant influence. I can see them doing the same with books.
We as writers can rant on all we want to about how "real readers" will still look for lesser-known works in our corner book stores, but will they? How many people are going to pay $25.95 for the same book they can get for $10? People only have so many dollars to spend and the more that are spent in WalMart, the fewer spent elsewhere.
With publishers wanting (and deserving) to make a profit, they may be forced to focus on those few titles that WalMart (and their closest competitors) will carry. Go look in a WalMart: That is going to be a very short list.
My question is: What do we do about it? Or more to the point, what CAN we do about it?
Nathan Bransford says
christa-
You're right that if the e-tailers are competing against each other it limits the clout of any one company somewhat. But still, that's a lot of power in just a few hands.
Also, I (and lots of other people) just got a press release that the American Booksellers Association is asking the Department of Justice to examine the book price wars.
Vegas Linda Lou says
Glad I'm not playing in that ballpark. (Yet, anyway.) So far I'm very happy with my decision to self-publish–I just ordered my second run within a month today. My readers are psyched and I love having $10 per book end up back in my pocket. Maybe there's something to be said for small potatoes after all.
Marilyn Peake says
I’ve been following these news stories all week. I think the road has already been taken, and we’re not veering off it anytime soon. My prediction is that within the next few years and lasting at least the next two or three decades, writers will be a mostly unpaid group. We’ve been heading in that direction for quite some time now, with many cheering on the individual pieces of the puzzle that are now falling into place. It’s not like this hasn’t happened before. Writers haven’t always been well-paid.
RKCharron says
Hi Nathan 🙂
Thank you for the great insightful post. I am looking forward to buying all 10 of those books. (Early Christmas presents for myself). Did you know that Under The Dome ebook is to be sold for $35?
It is a book publishing renaissance.
🙂
All the best,
RKCharron
🙂
PS – It's Stephen King not Steven King
🙂
Steph Damore says
This is why I read your blog Nathan. It's been a massively huge week in the publishing industry?! Really?! See, I did not know this. Somehow this news has yet to penetrate the perfect publishing bubble that I live in.
I'm also with JenniferWriter who said: I'll continue to write because I have to and I'll continue to buy books and support local bookstores–because I love them – Nicely put girl.
David says
That is not a happy dog.
GrrlgeniusBklyn says
I'm glad the book industry is standing up for itself because the publishers are the ones who made these deals with the discounted pricing. This isn't a time to panic, it's a time to band together and figure things out before the discount powerhouses do the deciding for you. It's pricing to sell devices that hurts the content makers.
The newspaper industry gave their content away willingly and now want to have readers pay .03 cents to access an article. Um, good luck with that Rupert Murdoch. The NY Times iPhone app was given away for free….they have 25 million users online. They didn't even have a one time fee of $5 but people are willing to pay that much for a virtual koi pond!
Unfortunately for music, sales went down another 20% from last year and digital sales don't make up for the gap. Most labels do not get a slice of touring profits. I could go on, but there are parallels to learn from so other industries that have been effected by technological advances.
Interesting books/music/movies content will always sell, not every country is as tech savvy and the Japanese have sold millions of books that were written and freely consumed in microblogging.
re: for the 'read the book for me' posting, I volunteer at Reading For The Blind, there are devices and everything from text books to novels get recorded. There are tons of books on CD (I get these for my Dad) you can pick up too, great for long drives or sitting in traffic.
Nathan Bransford says
GrrlgeniusBklyn-
Actually, the publishers don't have any say over what the retailers charge and didn't craft special deals to help this happen. They have a "suggested" cover price listed on books, but they can't control what people actually charge for them.
Ravenous Romance says
Publisher's don't get 50% of the revenue from the price of a book – it goes to the bookseller and the wholesaler and the ridiculous depression-era publishing practice of reserves against returns. If more books were bought outright by stores, which is what WalAmTarSears is doing, then the publisher can get a break on the cost of the print run and pass that break on to the consumer. And the writer still gets his/her 10/12/15% or 7 1/2/% or 8/10% of what the publishers get, so no one looses out but the middle man. It's more important to get more readers than to keep book chains in business. Readers should be retrained to but their books directly from the publishers digitally, which cuts the cost of everything and gives more money to the writer and saves the planet.
Ash. Elizabeth says
Maybe it's just me, but I don't buy books based on prices or name. I read the blurb, first couple of pages, and check the cover out. . .If I like these things, I get it. One of the benefits of having two jobs.
To me, the prices don't bother me, but I'll admit I do hold off on hardcovers unless I MUST have it. I don't do the kindle or nook or whatever. Just staring at the comp too long bothers my eyes.
Chris Bates says
Books are ridiculously over-priced.
Cover price is around $25 in the US for a hardcover, then discounted.
In Australia cover price is $45 to $50 … discounted to $35 to $40.
This is not a sustainable model in a day and age where the internet and associated visual media dominates the landscape. Some rethink needs to happen at the publishing company end. No advance for authors. Lower price points.
How much do you reckon 5000 copies of a 400page hardcover book, stitched and banded interior pages, foiled and embossed jacket will cost?
Five bucks? Four? Three?
Nope.
I'll print it, insure it and ship it to a US port for under a buck fifty.
Let's not even talk about B format softcover books under 200 pages.
Mark up, anyone?!
Leila Austin says
I work at an independant.
One thing that people often forget when the whole 'price' thing comes up is that price is not the only factor in buying books. It is a big factor, but it's not the only one. For a lot of us, it's also about the experience. Generally with selling books, the cheaper you get, the more impersonal you get. And a lot of people don't like their book buying experience being an impersonal one.
Walking into an independant bookstore and having staff chat with you and track down the perfect book to suit your needs is very, very different to going to a huge chain and pulling the same book out of a bargain bin, and very different again to buying an electronic version online. A lot of my customers are people I know by name, people who come back over and over. And while there's a large number of people who are obsessed with getting the lowest possible price, and people who find it more conveniant to buy online, these people are not generally my customers to start off with.
But am I scared? God yes. It's always been a tough fight for an independant bookshop to stay afloat, and it only seems to be getting harder.
I know the experience of buying books is important. I'm just hoping it's important enough.