Long before I was an editor, I
worked in bookstores—first for many years at Webster’s Books,
an independent on Milwaukee’s East Side, and then, years later, for a short run at Europa Books, also in Milwaukee. I grew up in a
book-loving home, and I remember well our frequent visits to the local
bookstore. Working at a bookstore seemed almost inevitable, though it wasn’t
planned at all.
In
the late 1970s, when I was in and out of college, I started buying hardcovers
of Thomas Mann’s works—one at a time, as I could afford them. In those days, my
favorite bookstore was Desforges Books in downtown Milwaukee, a vestige (as I
recall) from the golden era of Old Milwaukee. I became friendly with one of the
clerks, who knew me as the “Thomas Mann guy.” A year or two later, I stumbled
upon a new store, Webster’s Books. Inside was the Desforges clerk, now running
her own store, and she literally jumped over the counter and hired me on the
spot.
Webster’s
Books is long gone, but in its place now is Boswell Book Co., a fine
independent run by Daniel Goldin. His blog, Boswell and Books, is a daily
treat—full of information for anyone interested in books and bookselling.
In
a recent post, Goldin refers to a piece he wrote for Publishing Trends on the
“state of the business from a bookseller’s perspective.” Among other things, he
touches on the growth of e-books, and what they mean for his business:
“One of my worries is not so much about our store
itself, but the changing nature of publishing as the model tilts towards
e-books, and for us, print on demand. We’ve had more customers rejecting books
because of bad paper, print quality, and large price increases as backlist
moves from traditional printing to POD. My argument to one customer that she
could double her reading speed by reading both sides of the page without
turning it held no water. And another core backlist book (a novel with a local
setting) that jumped 50% in price when it moved to POD is now simply
unsellable, despite the continuation of trade terms. I fear that these are all
moves that will inadvertently move my customers to e-readers. What happened to
the focus on quality that publishers tossed around at panels?”
Along with Goldin, publisher David Rosenthal and literary agent Jacqueline Murphy also share their views on the state of the industry today.