So my PC came down with something like the virus in 28 days later, and had to be wiped. If I hadn't had a backup storage that I keep my stories on, you would've heard my agonized, soul-wrenching shriek, I promise. I got my machine back from the repair place down the road on Thursday, only to find that my sound card still needed to be reconfigured. So it'll be Monday at the earliest before I am cyber aware again. I am grateful to my beloved wife for trusting me with her precious baby and letting me post.
At Con DFW, I asked a writer on one of the panels (I'll grant him anonymity) what effect he thought the filing of chapter 11 by Border's was going to have on the industry. His answer was that it's going to make Barnes and Noble's a bigger, stronger, 800 pound gorilla. He talked about how big storefront chains like Borders and Barnes and Noble have been struggling for a while now, against things like Amazon and the rise of e-readers like the Nook and Kindle and books you can download onto your phone.
Yesterday I went to go reacquaint myself with the gorilla. It's been a while since I really looked inside the Barnes and Noble's that I used to frequent, and walking in there with fresh eyes, I realized just how much of their floor space is dedicated to selling things other than books. They have racks of kits for things like origami and keepsake boxes. The kits have books in them, so I can see how it fits, but it's less of a book than a ready made craft set. They also sell toys, puzzles, and calenders. Those items, plus the non-fiction and the kid's and young adult section, took up half the store.
Over in the other half, there were sections for magazines, books on art, and travel books. In the fiction areas, I was really surprised to see how many reprints and collections of classics they had. I would guess that about a quarter of the stuff they had sitting out was by writers who were dead, if not long dead. I browsed around in the science fiction section for a while, and then in the general fiction. The sign I kept looking for, but didn't see, was 'Horror.' On my way out, I stopped by the information desk, and the young lady there informed me that they kept the horror mixed in with the general fiction. It wasn't a surprise, but it was disappointing.
Shall I add that Border's has a horror section, as does the Half-Price Books that my wife and I just got back from? If what Barnes and Noble's is doing helps them survive, then I'm all for it. There are other venues, but especially for a guy pounding out his first book, B&N is important. They will be the ones taking a book from an unknown writer and putting it up in front of the people who buy books. That's what will put money in the writer's pocket.
So with that in mind, I'm a little more forgiving of all the emphasis I've been hearing about how important it is for a writer to get out there into the world and sell both himself and his book. The book-buying public's options just became a little narrower. As writer's, part of our new job is to widen it again. Right now B&N seems to be adjusting to what the public wants, and if you can make them want you, guess what B&N might do?
So what, exactly, to do? Well, I heard a story, again at a convention, about how Larry McMurtry once asked his publishers just where his books were selling, and they told him they were doing well at truckstops and diners. So he went on the road with a van that dispensed coffee and beer out the back, and spent some face time with the working class folks who decided where his books ended up on the racks: down at the bottom, or up at face level. Something like that might not work today, but the example is a good one. The gorilla is not a single mind. It's made up of thousands of different people, each with their own priorities. That's the good news. For now, I'm off to hunt down some bananas.
*Note: When I initially wrote this entry, I had to rush. I've since smoothed it out a bit.*
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