Publishers Wring Hands Over Bookshelf Placement
In “The Big Think” by Sara Nelson, Editor-in-Chief of Publishers Weekly, 2/6/2006, Sara (I have met her, thank you.) writes about the angst publishers and booksellers have classifying books for shelving and display purposes: “Which books should be aimed at which niches, and which niches are most likely to buy.” (Let’s go out for a two hour coffee break and discuss it!) Me? I’m betting that it is the rare book that should be a one-niche, one-shelf book. I think it is good for business to shelve in multiple places. I’m for “serendipitous finds” that complement each other on the same shelf.
Let’s pretend you’re wandering around a bookstore looking for a new mystery written by a first-time British author. It’s a fabulous story about
- The most tempting kind of murder — spousal,
- A once-in-a-lifetime train ride in South Africa — The Blue Train,
- Protagonists who eat and drink themselves into daily and nightly stupors — in the most unique restaurants in Cape Town, and
- Two inseparable friends — who are sidesplittingly funny fellows
Should you look in New Fiction, Literature, International Travel, Staff Picks, Restaurant Guides, Gay Literature or Humor? (I asked a friend if I should include Marriage & The Family or the Addiction shelf in this list, but she said NO!) Or because there are so many categories and so many books–and it’s all so confusing–should you buy a Starbucks’ coffee and cruise the Relationships shelf looking for a date instead?
As a reader, I say: Put this book on all these shelves so I won’t miss it! As an author, I say: Put this book on all these shelves so I can live on more than glory! As a bookseller, I say: Put this book on all these shelves, see where it moves, and then put a few more there FAST!
February 10th, 2006 at 5:09 pm
As a reader, I get confused enough when wandering through a bookstore. Books always seem randomly placed. I look for a new book at the New Releases section and wind up finding it on the Sale Table rather than in both places. So I’m in favor of Ms. Scanlon’s suggestion. Shelve or stack your books in every category you can so I can find it!
Note from Wicked Witch of Publishing: I recognize this name! Katy is a contributor to The Southampton Press in the trendy Hamptons.
February 10th, 2006 at 5:13 pm
Ho! There are new layers to this perennial book-hunt/shelving category chestnut. Once you put aside the inevitability that the book you want is not going to be in stock anyway. I don’t know if this is a US trend or a Borders quirk, but I went into my local Borders in Brighton (in the UK) to search for Quicksands the new autobiographical volume by one of my favourite novelists Sybille Bedford. Now I know I am not in a majority when it comes to Bedford and that she is an acquired taste as you have to concentrate when reading her, but she IS quite acclaimed and often cited as a significant writer. Well, I did several laps of the shop failing miserably to find the Biography section before seeking help at the info desk. “Where is the Biography section?” I asked and the person on the other side of the desk looked a bit shifty before saying “Oh we’ve done away with that.” Now, I know Biography is a big selling category so I was somewhat stumped, but asked if this meant they’d stopped stocking biographies. Oh no, he said, we shelve them in the relevant subject area. I must at this point have started to look stupid because he went more slowly from that moment to clarify that if the biography or autobiography was by/about a film star it would be in Film, a scientist, in science, etc. “So what is Sybille Bedford?” he concluded. “A novelist.” “Oh, well her autobiography will be in fiction then, won’t it.”
Passively I trudged over to general fiction.
Needless to say, it was out of stock.
Note from the Wicked Witch of Publishing: Hey, another UKer! Welcome. Adrian runs RAFT, a public relations & marketing agency with clients in the video game industry, book & magazine publishing, and online & digital media. His short fiction has been published in Australia and the United Kingdom.
February 25th, 2006 at 6:58 pm
Browsing through a bookstore: another tough slog.
After surfing the shelves at Barnes & Nobles in search of some intelligent distraction in printed form, I came to the conclusion that book marketing is getting a little like a camp end-of-season ceremonies. I used to be drawn to those little scalloped circles in the upper right-hand corner signifying a mark of distinction for the attached work. Upon examining these stickers the other day, I found most of them to be shameless and silly self-promotion. The idea must be that folks might pick up the book without reading the putative prize. Several of the patches revealed accolades that were the equivalent of a statement that this book was written on odd days of the week or for the left-handed audience. Some prizes were modest claims such as “considered for a best-book award.” I guess that equates to second or third best-in-show or “nice try, fella or gal.” I have to wonder whether the author has a right to object to these pejorative emblems? Perhaps we can look forward to seals with microchips that beckon to the perspective reader. Tell me what does the future hold for this type of marketing?
February 26th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
I know, Ivar. You can’t judge a book by its cover.
How many times have you seen emblazoned on the jacket cover “6 Big Printings?” What does that mean? To the clueless reader, it implies that this book was so fabulous and so loved that thousands and thousands of readers purchased the book so the publisher had to go back to press. To the insider, “6 big printings” may mean back to press 6 times for a printing of 1000 copies each time.
This is why someone like Oprah has such an impact. I’m not crazy about any of Toni Morrison’s books and didn’t like Franzen’s “The Corrections,” but just about every other book Oprah has recommended, I’ve enjoyed…and would not necessarily have read without her recommendation. (They made for good reads on a two-and-half-hours-each-way commute I had in to and out of New York City for two years.) “Gap Creek?” Loved it. “I Know This Much Is True.” Really good. “Stones from the River.” Wonderful.
The Man Booker Prize? I have an eccentric friend who has bought every single winner and runner up he could get his hands on. He’s read them all. I’ve read a few. The Booker medallion that appears on these books only means a 50/50 chance that I’ll enjoy the book.
January 24th, 2007 at 9:40 am
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