The Argument for Online Literary Journals

There have been many times when I sit back and think about the shape my industry is in and just scratch my head. How did it get this bad? My answer is always the same: the industry is getting old and tired and the corporations that run it have no idea who readers are and don't seem to care to know. It is all just product to them. Therefore, it's dying.

I also always come up with the same answer to solving this crisis: the Internet and small presses. The Internet has saved us from so much disaster already. The online communities that have been built on it has saved the US politically. It has produced jobs, not enough to save everyone, but a number have been created. It has also saved a lot of people from the loneliness and isolation we've all felt during these rough emotional Bush years.

So how can the Internet save the book industry? Online literary Journals: we need lots of them. Journals akin to The Huffington Post and The Daily Beast and io9. Journals with book reviews, short stories from new and upcoming authors, commentary, op-ed pieces, columns/blogs/cross-posts by authors and editors, even insider rumors about the industry, and blogs, lots and lots of lit blogs. I tried to turn Indigocafe.com into this. Maybe I will try again. Some -- most -- don't see my vision. I'm getting used to this. Sometimes I see into the future too far for others to understand what I'm saying and it comes out sounding like crazy talk. But I know this is the future. A future where new authors are discovered by tons and tons of small online lit magazines. Maybe they will be the frontend of small presses that produce the books of these new writers -- and make a profit.

Someone will start this. That someone will make a little money, not a lot, just a little. And it will catch on. They will discover, just as the SciFi world already knows, that the way to survive in the book industry is to have a constant flow of fresh new authors. To find them you must have open submissions. The new authors are out there just waiting to be discovered.

This will bring excitement and new energy into the book industry that is now tired. The authors in the mainstream are getting old. Yes, Toni Morrison will sell books, so will John Updike, and Cormac McCarthy, but let's be serious these greats can't live forever. The whole industry can't rest on the works of people who are getting on in years. As for younger authors there is Jhumpa Lahiri and Colson Whitehead and the "Johnathan's." But does it make sense that you can count on your hand the number of young authors who can excite people into buying new books?

The corporations that currently own the publishing industry have long given up on cultivating new writers. They think of this as an expense that can be cut in lieu of producing (actually over-producing) books with a "proven market." Mistake, mistake, mistake! Those who love books should follow the lead of people like Wildside Press who produce books for the fantasy industry. Their model is an exceptional one and is forward thinking. They have online magazines that thus give them the authors who write their books and the audience who will read them. It is a smart, good business model. It is a smart good book business model.

This is my advice to the industry for the next year. I wonder if anyone will listen.

It looks like Simon & Schuster is in trouble, too

"Layoffs at Random House, Simon & Schuster" —
(From Salon by Hillel Italie)

Simon & Schuster has been helped by President-elect Barack Obama's embrace of Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team of Rivals," but not enough to save some 35 positions, about 2 percent of the staff. CEO Carolyn Reidy said in a company memo Wednesday that "today's action is an unavoidable acknowledgment of the current book-selling marketplace and what may very well be a prolonged period of economic instability."

Major Shake-up at Random House

Maud Newton blogs about a major change in the internal structure at Random House:
"What does the Random House reorg. mean?" —

... here’s a trusted friend’s analysis:

even though they say the imprints will maintain editorial independence and their own individual identities, soon enough some will disappear and others will blend into one another. More consolidation also means less competition among publishers for authors and agents. Consolidation on this scale also means big time job cuts coming in all departments - editorial, publicity, rights, etc.

Houghton Mifflin Has Suspended Acquisitions of New Manuscripts

Bad news for all you hopeful writers out there, HM is not accepting new manuscripts for a while. As you can already guess the economic crisis is affecting even the book industry. I know, I know, I'm just as surprised as you are that the book industry is exhibiting financial problems. But it's true, writing books is not the fasted or best way to make money.

"Book Publisher Suspends New Acquisitions" —
(From New York Times by Mokoto Rich)

“There is a freeze-lite,” [Josef Blumenfeld, vice president of communications of HM] said. “There is a way in so it is not a hard freeze but for right now, there is a temporary — call it a freeze if you want.”

He added, “Every new manuscript that comes in is going to be subjected to a higher degree of scrutiny and consideration than has previously been the case.”

He said he could not be specific about what criteria would govern decisions about what manuscripts to buy, but said that editors would have to prove to an acquisitions committee that the book showed concrete evidence of “market interest.”

If you ask me this is all bullshit. Like the big presses have been giving good thought to what they have been releasing on the shelves anyway. They have always thought about the bottom line before they thought about the quality of the books they published. Which is exactly the opposite way to make money in this business long term. Perennials, perennials, my kingdom for a perennial.

But do not despair, my lovelies. There are small presses out there. (Thank God!) So Support them. Buy from them. Send your really awesome manuscripts to them. (And did I say buy from them!) While your at it, support the small independent bookstores, too. These small guys may be the last ones standing after this is all over.

The Comics Industry Endorses Obama

From Newsarama by Steve Ekstrom:
"Taking Sides: Comics Industry for Obama" —

With the fervor of the upcoming Presidential Election reaching a fevered pitch, it’s no surprise that folks from within the comic book industry are starting to use their voices more and more as the United States closes in on Election Day on November, 4th. With creators like Erik Larsen endorsing Barack Obama in Savage Dragon as well as a number of biographical comics based on popular candidates hitting shelves in the coming months, it’s no surprise that vocal comic book creators have their own personal opinions as to who they’d like to have as the next President of the United States.

Visit www.comicsindustryforobama.com.

Idlewild: A New Bookstore in NYC!!

Idlewild Books is a new bookstore near Union Sq. "specializing in travel and international literature."

Idlewild Books [Google Map]
12 W.19th St. (near 5th Ave)
New York, NY 10011

Open every day:
Mon-Fri 11-8
Sat-Sun 12-7

Good luck Idlewild and all to book lovers in NYC be sure to support it!!

The State of Science Fiction Short Stories

I often speak here on this blog about the state of the book industry. Here is another take on the industry that is mostly under the radar screen for most general readers: Science Fiction Short Stories. I've always been impressed with the science fiction genre. It seemed to have figured out a way to identify, cultivate, and publish new writers and exciting new material. There are so many online (and some print) magazines whose life blood are new writers. There are many writing workshops and organizations, from Critters to Clarion, focused on grooming new writers. I've always thought that if general literature was doing the same, instead of pushing the Creative Writing Masters degree route, we would be getting better literature and a more diverse set of writers, both in terms of color and material.

So is this genre going away? SFSignal's column "Mind Meld" asks the question: Is the Short Fiction Market in Trouble? —

David Moles, a finalist for the 2008 Hugo Award, says...

The SF short fiction market is toast. And if you've ever stayed at a London bed and breakfast, you'll know the sort of toast I mean: toast that's been out of the toaster and cooling on a toast rack till the only reason you can spread butter on it is that it's acquired the consistency and tensile strength of a silicone rubber trivet. If you want to know what short SF's future looks like, look at poetry's present. Then subtract all the teaching jobs and grant money...

Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Hugo Award winning short story writer, says...

According to Locus, about 3000 new short stories were published last year in the science fiction and fantasy genre. Someone wrote that we're in the new golden age of sf short fiction, and I agree. So in the number of stories published, no, the market isn't in trouble. It's doing well...

Jeffrey Ford, a short story writer, says... (I really love this guy. He has such a great way of putting things)

The short fiction market? You mean like money? From this writer's point of view, and that's the only point of view I can legitimately speak for on this topic, it seems to me like the pay pretty roundly blows. I suppose, if you really hustled, you could make a living at it, but even then you'd be shitting a slim turd...

Borders going bust

The end is near. I can feel it. I don't know if it's wise to cheer though. I first heard the news that Borders was going up for sale from a reading at Melville House on C-SPAN. I've now got my confirmation that it's true. The country's largest book chainstore is going bust. B&N is thinking of mopping them up. Yeah.

From Associated Content by Les Jacobs:
"Borders Bookstores May Be Up for Sale" —

Borders Group Inc., the second-largest bookstore chain in the United States after Barnes & Noble Inc., announced today that it will be exploring strategic alternatives, including the sale of the company or its divisions in order to maximize shareholder value, according to a statement released to PR Newswire.

...To jump-start sales, the bookstore chain is sharply increasing the number of titles it displays on shelves with the covers face-out, according to the Wall Street Journal. Because that takes up more room than how books are traditionally displayed in Borders stores, the new approach will require a typical Borders superstore to shrink its number of titles by 5% to 10%.

This is more than a credit problem. Trust me on this one. This is just the beginning. I know that facing out strategy. It means your running out of books and your "turn" is out of wack. ("Turn" meaning replacement of books sold.) Those who have put all their eggs into the basket of a large corporate book distribution system are about to get the beating of their life. Books are not widgets. Books are a part of our culture and should be treated as such. Making them into throw away goods is bound to lead to disaster. The best way to handle books is like how we should handle food: small scale and local. But the corporate entities and the customer's don't want to see it like that. Bigger is always better, right? And so here we go. I've got my popcorn, so let the show begin.

Bookselling Comments Answered

The comments on one of my blog posts raised some interesting questions. I think that my answers bear repeating--

Comments from my blog post:
"Neil Gaiman chimes in about books, bookselling, and reading" —

Elizabeth K. Burton said...

Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. For the last five years, since I was first thrust into a publisher's hat, I've heard independent booksellers complain that they can't compete with the superchains and the big boxes and Amazon...and then continue to do try and do precisely that.

In the world according to Wal-Mart, small stores have survived by offering customers what the big retailers can't and won't, yet over and over booksellers have refused to even look at excellent books published by new authors for one reason: no returns. This despite we as the publisher offering a 50% discount for direct fulfillment.

That 75% discount publishers have to give the big retailers may look good, but it also translates into thousands of copies returned. As far as I know, no one has yet calculated the environmental impact of returns, but how can it not be significant?

Independent booksellers are the conduit by which readers can discover new and talented writers. Independent publishers, especially those of us developing the digital publishing model, have the ability to ensure those talented people get published. It would seem that the potential benefit of a collaboration between us is well worth looking into.

jenn said...

This is about to sound mean but here goes...You don't know what the hell you are talking about.

Quote:
“yet over and over booksellers have refused to even look at excellent books published by new authors for one reason: no returns.”

Independent Booksellers have championed many books from many new authors. That's how many of the books that are considered perennial classics got made to be perennial classics

Quote:
“This despite we as the publisher offering a 50% discount for direct fulfillment.”

50% is still minuscule and doesn't pay the rent. Besides the smaller presses are not the ones that can fill our stores. In the end and empty store is a store that is going out of business. As for me, I sell online and this is still a real challenge because of the shipping costs.

Quote:
“That 75% discount publishers have to give the big retailers may look good, but it also translates into thousands of copies returned.”

And as for returns, it is the large chains who are doing all the returning, Independents rarely do returns. It is because we know our customers and know what will sell. The chains are the ones putting the discount book business on steroids and causing the prices of books to rise exponentially, thus causing many of the woes of the Independents. Read Andrew Laities' book the "Rebel Bookseller" he does and excellent job explaining this.

Quote:
“Independent booksellers are the conduit by which readers can discover new and talented writers. Independent publishers, especially those of us developing the digital publishing model, have the ability to ensure those talented people get published. It would seem that the potential benefit of a collaboration between us is well worth looking into.”

We have always championed new writers. I can't even count the number of new writers that I've personally championed and helped get their careers going. Forgive me for sounding pissed, but I really don't feel like being lectured to by someone who obviously thinks that Independent booksellers are idiots. We've been treated this way by the whole industry. Like we are the ones doing evil stupid things that have caused our own demise. It is the industry that has decided that Booksellers are to go the way of the dinosaur and with us goes the very heart of the business

Neil Gaiman chimes in about books, bookselling, and reading

Neil Gaimain, because he is Neil Gaiman, has been offered by his publisher, HarperCollins, the deal of selecting a book of his to be free as an eBook on their site. A bookseller in Alaska wrote to him thus --

From Neil Gaiman's Blog:
"More on free and suchlike" —

Hello Mr. Gaiman:

As a bookseller, I am a bit surprised by your recent comment about free books and the HarperCollins download. When you say, "the problem isn't that books are given away or that people read books they haven't paid for. The problem is that the majority of people don't read for pleasure," you seem to miss the point that all of us booksellers are hoping to sell your book to READERS as well as non-readers. Our situation improves as more non-readers become readers, but we can't survive when the readers go elsewhere. I am not at all against free literature--I firmly believe that the more people read the more people read--but somehow, if we independents are to survive, we need to be included somewhere in the formula. I also believe that we independents have no RIGHT to exist, that our time may have passed or be passing, but it would be nice if we could survive; ...

Gee, I think that this bookseller is a little off his noodle. I know intimately how hard a time that we booksellers are having but jumping on Gaimain's back about a free eBook is not the way to deal with our problems. If anything I think that it is a positive thing that a book will be available like this. It is an enticement for more books to be sold.

Our problems are more from the collusion of large publishers and the chain stores to put us out of business.

Our problems are from us, Independent booksellers, getting a lousy 40% discount while the large chains and Amazon getting the sweet 75% discount (because the are considered distributors). This is just plain unfair.

Our problems are from not having an organization that advocates for us, but for the industry, which means the larger established chain bookstores (that are somehow considered independent) and the large publishers. Yes, I'm taking about the ABA. I think that they abandoned us long ago.

So yelling at Neil Gaiman is silly. Stop it. It's embarrassing. Gainman's answer...

I don't believe that anybody out there who can afford a copy of American Gods is going to not buy it (or another of my books) because it's available out there on line for nothing ... I don't see it as taking money from the pockets of booksellers.

...is exactly right, IMHO. Our profession has been hit by much larger missiles.

DUMBO Bookshop Tour

Yesterday Geoff and I went on a bookshop tour of the DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) area of Brooklyn and I must admit that I had a surprisingly good time. It is not often these days that you get to go into a new bookstore, and here I was walking into three! The DUMBO area has been attracting many new arts and cultural institutions and thankfully this includes bookstores. We spent the afternoon wandering through bookshops, browsing and buying books, and even stopped in on one of the little cafes for cappuccinos and pastries. Nice way to spend a weekend afternoon!

We were even able to spend a little time talking with the bookseller at Melville Books who is a really nice guy and incredibly knowledgeable about his trade. Melville Bookshop has been open for about a week so they were our main reason for visiting the area. The owner told us that he is planning to be a seller of indie titles from Akashic, Soft Skull, and City Lights as well as his own Melville Press titles. Very Cool! Go check out these shops and let them know that I sent you!

Personally, I think it would be great to have an area focused on independent bookselling in NYC and Brooklyn is ripe for this. Here are my photos of the shops on Flickr.

	P.S. Bookshop 145a Front Street Hours: 7 days, 10am - 8pm Buyers and sellers of quality used books.
	PowerHouse Arena 37 Main Street Hours: M-F 10am - 7pm, Sat-Sun 11am-7pm Photography books, and many new retail books including a wonderful selection of classic children's titles. Also has a nice gallery space.
	Melville House Bookshop 145 Plymouth Street Hours: Tues-Sun 12pm - 6pm Indie press bookshop featuring jaw-droppingly important political books.

The Washington Post Chimes in on Karibu Books Closing

The comments on the article are, of course, filled with the usual confused folk. Some are sad, some don't give a damn, and a few racists get to gloat over the dying body. Fun. Sometimes I can't stand this country.

Having personally gone through a store closing, I can attest that the next few months will be pure hell for the owners. Watching the vulture customers that had refused to patronize my business before, pick my shelves clean for bargains was like having little nails hammered into my heart. It took me years to get over the closing of my store.

A bookstore is not like any other business, it's a community. It's a place where our deepest wounds are shared, where we try to find the answers. Big business will never understand that; small-minded customers never will either. But for those that do feel the loss, God bless you. It was the emails and good-bye visits from them that helped me make it through some of the darkest days of my life. Please do the same for the owners of Karibu.

From The Washington Post by Lonnae O'Neal Parker and Hamil R. Harris:
"Black Readers Are Jolted by a Chain's Demise" —

Christopher Chambers, a Silver Spring author and Georgetown University professor who has done readings and moderated panels at Karibu, which is pronounced ka-ree-boo and means "welcome" in Swahili, said he had received more than a dozen e-mails about Karibu by yesterday morning, including one from bestselling author Walter Mosley. By the afternoon, he had 20. Chambers said the reaction to the news of the closings was "shock."

Karibu Books Closes

This is truly sad news. Karibu Books, the Largest African American Bookstore Chain, will close. I don't know what to say. This is devistativing.

From Eisa Nefertari Ulen's Blog:
"Karibu Books, the Largest African American Bookstore Chain, Closes" —

After 15 years of service within the Washington, DC metropolitan area, Karibu Books, a Black bookstore chain will be closing its doors. We sincerely thank each and every one of you for your patronage and support. We are optimistic that our mission to empower and educate through a comprehensive selection of books by and about people of African descent will continue to resonate within the communities we proudly served.

The Three Largest Black Booksellers Join Forces

It's been reported by the blog Electronic Village that the three largest sellers of African-American Literature: AALBC.com, Cushcity.com, and MosaicBooks.com have joined forces. I haven't been able to independently verify that this is true but I thought that I pass the info along. It is a very good idea. I've been doing this bookselling thing online all alone for a while now and I have to say that it's really hard. So good luck guys and best wishes for your mutual success. You give 'em heck!

Brownstone Books @ BAM?

Wow! This is something unexpected. Brownstone Books will be opening a second location in Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)! Brownstone was kind of like a sister store to me when we had the storefront. They are located in Bed-Stuy and it looks like they are opening another spot in the BAM complex that will be open during Opera House performances. It looks like Shakespeare & Co is still in the BAM complex also.

From the Brownstone Books website —

Brownstone Books is thrilled to announce the opening of our second store! Located at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, NY) Brownstone Books at BAM features a broad array of performing arts titles alongside the latest in adult fiction and non-fiction.

Personally, I hate BAM with a singular passion, but for Crystal, Brownstone Books' owner, I will shed my animosity and support her efforts. Good luck with the new store!

Melville House to Come to Brooklyn

It's been reported by several sources that the publisher Melville House will be moving to the DUMBO area of Brooklyn. They are the publisher of the intriguing book Who Killed Daniel Pearl? by Bernard-Henri Levy.

Melville House is a wonderful new addition to the growing list of small independent publishers that now live in Brooklyn. The list of publishers include: Akashic Books, Soft Skull, PowerHouse Books, Hanging Loose, and many others.

Legendary Bookseller Lawrence Ferlinghetti of City Lights Books on DN

On today's Democracy Now! Legendary Beat Generation Bookseller and Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti of City Lights Books on the 50th Anniversary of Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road”, Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” and Poetry As Insurgent Art

Fifty years ago this year Viking Press published Jack Kerouac’s novel On The Road. Today we will talk with City Lights Books’ publisher and poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. In 1953, Ferlinghetti co-founded City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, the first all-paperbound bookshop in the country. Two years later he launched the City Lights publishing house. Both institutions are still running half of a century later.

Bookseller Paradise

Maybe this is the place where I should retire to, The Pioneer Valley, "arguably the most author-saturated, book-cherishing, literature-celebrating place in the nation." Or, maybe I'll just visit for vacation one day.

From The New York Times by ROGER MUMMERT:
"In the Valley of the Literate" —

Popular leisure outings here include browsing a dusty used bookstore, taking in an art book show, attending a workshop in bookbinding or letterpress printing, or chatting with an author (while buying a signed first edition of his work) at a public reading.

“That’s what we do for fun,” said Bonnie Isman, director of the Jones Library. “It’s part of life here.” While the library has several author readings each month, the independent bookstores of the area are adding still more, she said.

Ahh, sounds heavenly...

Dan Simon and Johnny Temple talk about Independent Publishing

Today Dan Simon of Seven Stories Press and Johnny Temple of Akashic Press were on the Cat Radio Cafe to talk about the state of independent publishing and the 20th Annual Independent and Small Press Fair. Kind of a weird show but definitely worth a listen for Johnny and Dan.

The 2007 Independent & Small Press Book Fair

December 1 & 2, 2007

General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen Landmark Building
20 West 44th Street (bet. 5th and 6th Aves) in midtown Manhattan

Admission: FREE and open to the public

For More Information

The New York Center for Independent Publishing does it again! This weekend they will host the Independent & Small Press Book Fair.

Highlights include:

• December 1, 2:00pm - 2:50pm: Ian MacKaye (Fugazi) on Independent Culture: Q&A with an introduction by Ian Svenonius

• December 1, 4:00pm - 4:50pm: Celebrate 20 Years of our Book Fair: Tama Janowitz (Slaves of New York) & Arthur Nersesian (The F*ck-Up) read from their iconic 1980s novels

• December 2, 3:00pm - 3:50pm: Rugged and Raw: Cutting-edge Urban Readings from Amiri Baraka, Hattie Gossett, and Aaron Petrovich