Date: Sun, 07 Oct 2007 17:19:50 -0400
From: "Michael Walsh" <MJW at press.jhu.edu>
To: <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Getting the book fix, was  Re: Gaylaxicon gets a hotel
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

> omni at omniphile.com 10/07/07 4:46 PM >>>
>>At 10/7/2007 02:38 PM, you wrote:

>>I see plenty of large bookstores, with plenty of books and plenty of
>>customers, despite the high price of new books these days.
>
>I've seen a number of bookstores in my area, a fairly affluent one,
>close over the last 12 years.  Some of them have been part of large
>chains, not just underfinanced eclectic ones.

Speaking as someone whose income depends upon the book industry ...

Bookstores close for lots of reasons.

One of the more common is rent.  A wonderful DC art bookstore - Franz
Bader - has closed because of their rent going up.  There is a point
where there are no more costs to be cut and it's just time to close.

Crown Books closed essentially due to a family feud.

Olssons survives, but has had to close the Georgetown store a few
years.  Rent.  A Washington Post piece in 2001 notes that Olssons
credits their survival to ... Beanie Babies.  Google Olssons Beanie for
the story.

>>Last weekend I went to the National Book Festival on Saturday (at
>>which I saw several WSFAns), and the used book sale at Arlington
>>Library on Sunday.  Both events were very large and very crowded.
>
>And if I went to a buggy-whip manufacturer's convention I'd expect to

>see a lot of buggy-whip enthusiasts too.  Doesn't mean the industry is

>healthy.
>
>What is the trend in books published per year?  In number of
>publishers?  Number of people working in the industry?  Total
>revenue
>for the industry?  Average number of books owned per
>household?  Number of people who read for fun?

Very braodly speaking becasue I don't really have the time to research
the numbers ...  lots of books are being published.  Y'all might even
like a few of them.

The rise of desktop publishing software, cheap printing, and easier
distribution allows pretty much anyone to publish their stunning expose
of whatever that the New York houses are afraid to publish.

What has happened is that the number of independent bookstores have
shrunk.  Big Box Stores, the internet, and rent have killed them off.

Look ... in the past a small press (oh, like me) would be screwed if
Borders and/or B&N passed on a new publication, like the Howard Waldop
collection.  But anyone with a computer and a few neurons to rub
together can easily obtain a copy.

And yes, prices go up.  Everyone wants a piece of the action, from
printers, to distributors, to booksellers, to even those pesky authors.

mjw