November 9, 2011 - Beyond the Margins - Nichole Bernier - http://www.nicholebernier.com
Like many of you, I learned last week about the imminent closure of Riverrun Bookstore in Portsmouth, NH.
It’s a story all too familiar these days. A sequence of bad events drummed away at its viability—starting with an optimistic expansion when they were flush in 2006, followed by terrible winters in which they had to close a lot. And then came the Kindle.
I’m a solid hour away from the store even on a good day. But my affection for it has grown over just a few visits because of:
- the passion and personalities of the booksellers tweeting for the store;
- the author events streamed live online; and
- the excitement of fellow authors to read there, and of readers to attend high-profile readings in an adjacent music hall.
Like a codger reading the obits, I track bookstore closings for our blog’s newsfeed, @BTMargins. Unfortunately, there’s plenty of fodder for “Dept of Bad News” from all over the country, from Village Books and Copperfield’s Books closing in CA (though Copperfield’s reopens Friday in a less expensive location, which turns it into “Dept of Good News”) to Globe Corner Bookstore in Boston. Some might call it retail Darwinism; distribution models are changing, people are bypassing thick hardcovers and bountiful storefronts for lean online-only outlets and skinny e-readers. It’s not survival of the fittest. It’s survival of the thinnest.
But it’s not a book-eat-book world. Indies don’t need to take over the universe (fun as it might be to think about), and they aren’t out to cannibalize everyone in their niche. They just need to stay afloat in their community—communities that certainly don’t want them to go away, but don’t always put their purchasing habits in line with the browsing pleasure they take for granted.
A small burst in sales and awareness can go a long way.
Read the rest on Nichole's blog.
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