The Well-Stocked Book Shop

One of the more rewarding moments for booksellers is getting the perfect book to its perfect reader. Sometimes this can be done months before the book is actually released when the book buyer is pouring over the catalogues filled with hundreds or even thousands of titles from multiple publishers. Choosing the books for your store … Read more

Why Did Amazon Fail to Kill the Independent Bookstore Industry?

“Independent bookstores provide a story of hope for community-led businesses” – Ryan L. Raffaelli. In 1995, when Amazon appeared on the bookselling scene, analysts predicted that it was the doom of the independent bookselling industry. Indeed, there was a significant decline in the number of Independent bookstores across the USA. With Amazon offering a seemingly … Read more

Current Challenges and Opportunities Facing Book Publishers

Reporting on an Ingram Content Group webinar. Ingram Content Group runs a fantastic free webinar series called Publishers Lunch: Publisher Insights With Ingram. Last week, on Wednesday, Sep. 14, the webinar was The Health of Today’s Publishing Industry. Here’s the summary of the webinar: “We’re all familiar with today’s global marketplace challenges—the pandemic threw things … Read more

How are Booksellers Responding to the Global Paper Shortage?

In happy news for booksellers, demand for books is on the rise. The pandemic-driven boom in book sales also boosted some genres to dizzying new heights. Until recently, self-help and business books were best-sellers. Now, educational books for kids and emergency prepping books are increasingly popular. And, of course, the adult fiction genre is shooting … Read more

Selling Books – Above & Beyond Social Media

We all love social media, but it cannot be our only or main strategy to sell books, as booksellers, authors, or publishers. With ever-changing unhelpful algorithms, increased costs, and competition, we may be pouring in time and resources for very little return. There’s so much pressure to grow a brand and build a following. But … Read more

Buying an ebook

I don’t have a kindle, nook, ipad, or any other device in which to download books, unless you count my brand new used 4 iphone. Which I don’t. Reading a book on that would be like deciphering the written word from a dollhouse library. And yet, I was almost willing to try. Almost. Who is … Read more

The Affair at Royalties–Best 100 Mysteries of All Time

The Affair At Royalties-George Baxt–1971-OOP I must be honest. I’ve no memory whatsoever of this book–what I mean is, I’ve no remembrance of the plot, characters or setting. The reason–I read it as a teen, and was struck enough by the story to carry around George Baxt’s name in my wallet, in case something else … Read more