Comments on: Mystery Entrepreneur Offers Advice to Independent Bookstore Owners: Future Boils Down to ONE Question!

By: Dorothy_Parka

Dorothy_Parka — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 01:08:45 +0000

I confess, I do most of my book shopping online, but I often wander into indie bookstores, especially when I want to see what’s new and interesting. You can’t really browse online like the mystery dude says. But I recently stopped in a chain bookstore and I was APPALLED at the amount of pure unadulterated garbage. For example, there was a $10 ukulele packaged with a $10 book that was being sold for $40. There were cheap, poorly made toys bearing the visage of formerly beloved children’s book characters. There were “deluxe” editions of classic books that were bound in cheap imitation leather, their gilt-edged paper was GROUNDWOOD (couldn’t have been more that 35# either) and the layout of the pages looked as if it had been scanned from a 1978 edition and adjusted to fit the oversized page. It was CRAP. I hope the chains continue to produce and push garbage like this. Eventually customers will be driven to their local stores.

By: Lisa Hunter

Lisa Hunter — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:17:43 +0000

I think indie bookstores should merge with indie art galleries. They are both looking for the same general audience, and both could use a break on overhead costs. It could be win-win.

By: Rick Teo

Rick Teo — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 06:13:16 +0000

What an interesting thought provoking site that I stumbled upon. We are what you will term as an ïndie” bookstore in a far far away place called Singapore. “Indie”reminds me of Indiana Jones. Maybe the 5th installment would be titled “Ïndiana Jones and the delerick bookstores” Distance is not a entry barrier for Borders for it came to our shores a few years back and is opening its second store soon this year. Yikes ! “This town aint big enough for the both of us” Clint Eastwood would have said that in his gunslinging cowboy days. I will certainly return to your mindbloggling sitre. Cheers : )

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 13:14:34 +0000

This is exactly what I expected to find out after reading the title Mystery Entrepreneur Offers Advice to Independent Bookstore Owners: Future Boils Down to ONE Question!. Thanks for informative article

By: Henry Bemis

Henry Bemis — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 21:23:20 +0000

One way for indi booksellers to “survive” is for a town’s indi booksellers to create a business collective rent or buy a building and put each of their unique bookstores into that one location. Act as if they’ve set up a department store. Keep their own businesses, accounts, etc., but just do it as a “collective”. It would work.

By: An Answer « Rhizome

An Answer « Rhizome — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 00:03:04 +0000

[...] On the Care & Cultivation of Books (& Writers) « Coincidentally An Answer February 11th, 2007 On this same subject of indie bookselling, finding meaning, and community,the Wicked Witch of Publishing sets up a pretend independent bookstore, and then through a series of discussions w/friends and community members, sets out to learn how to make the darn thing survive in this world of big biz bookselling. And, I agree with her findings: it’s that idea of being part of the community that makes sense to me — not in the sense of all that promotional BS, and drawing customers in with special events and deals, but reeaaally being part of the community — going out there and participating. Being real. We all need that nowadays. [...]

By: Lynne

Lynne — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 13:19:26 +0000

I’m working on my next posting right now.

I’m thinking of calling my pretend, “inherited” bookstore Treadwaters! (Hah!)

I’ll post later today or early tomorrow!

Lynne

By: Peter L. Winkler

Peter L. Winkler — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 18:13:27 +0000

Voice Literary Supplement
Chain Reaction
Do bookstores have a future?
by Paul Collins
May 22nd, 2006 5:50 PM

http://www.villagevoice.com/books/0621,collins,73282,10.html

Note from the Wicked Witch of Publishing (TM): Thanks, Peter. VERY interesting.

By: Kara

Kara — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 20:39:59 +0000

What a wonderful debate!

But did anyone ever start a bookstore with the aim of making Donald Trump money? Sorry, but that’s why Trump is in Real Estate. It is about finding out what your customer wants, but also what the bookseller wants.

It’s my guess that the booksellers who are still thriving in this environment are people who love and value literature and books and have devoted their time and patience and ingenuity for something that they value much more than money.

Starbucks does not just sell coffee. I would never go to a Starbucks if I couln’t sit for as long as I wanted and write on my computer. I can even bring my own food in. I don’t have to intereact with people, but I can see them working around me, and that is the perfect atmosphere for me to write in. The music is usually great. I think of it as my office. A bookstore where you were allowed to do that would do very well, and if you could read from the store library it would be even better.

I have been contemplating opening just such a place for a while now. Anyone interested?

Note from the Wicked Witch of Publishing (TM): Kara is finishing her MFA in fiction at Sarah Lawrence College this spring. She has a short piece coming out in a magazine devoted to writing on hair called: ‘Submerged - Tales from the Basin’, and another short story has been accepted at the New Ohio Review. She was a finalist in two short story contests this year, and was nominated for the 2007 ‘Best New American Voices’, She is working on her first novel.

By: Frazer

Frazer — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 19:20:21 +0000

Tim and Rowena are right on! And I love Clive’s story. That said, we do good with a few non-book items. We tried some jigsaw puzzles this season–I, being the cheap person with the checkbook, objected, but Sally thought we could do well with them, and she was absolutely right. But no coffee.

But it is too bad it has to be a dry bar.