The Opportunities in Change
December 7, 2008

Blogs that follow (or lead) the publishing industry have, for the last two weeks, been filled with news and increasingly frantic posts about the woes of the houses, and the editors, authors, publicists, agents, booksellers, and others who depend on a relatively vibrant economy. Reading them can give one the impression that Chicken Little was right. The hysteria appears to be building though it is not without reason. Fewer books are being published. Mid-list authors—those whose sales numbers would be perfectly respectable, even desirable, at smaller houses—are going to have more difficulty finding homes for their books with the larger houses. One possible long-term result is that industry return policies, which have been in place for decades and allowed bookstores to return unsold books for full credit to the detriment of publishers, may either come to an end or change drastically. Though no one knows for certain how the changes will shake out at the readers’ level, it is likely to mean not only fewer books on the shelves but fewer choices because of higher risks to the bookseller. After all, how many chances can they take on new authors when they have no idea if anyone knows about that author?

Online stores have unlimited “shelf” space, but there again is the question: If you don’t know it exists how do you find it? I am equally happy “browsing” both physical bookstores and online ones. I regularly visit Powell’s Books to buy, but I am finding I prefer browsing the catalogs of independent publishers to discover new books. I find that even with the book discussions on places like Book Balloon, Readerville, Book Talk, bookbuffet, and others that too many excellent books, notably those from the smaller and less visible publishers, get missed. Though the book discussion forums are valuable resources, as are reliable blogs and websites, and I use both to supplement my knowledge of books worth acquiring and reading I want to go deeper. I want to see a much greater variety than I find in any of those places.

My own sense about this change in the industry is that however painful the change is for those in it, it is going to be good for smart readers, for those who are willing to explore these new “electronified” venues of information. If you are, read on. I have created a list of the publishers covering all genres whose catalogs I regularly check for books to buy. It is my hope that you will also use it to find wonderful books you might not otherwise have encountered, and to give support in the form of purchases to those publishers who have new opportunities amid the changes.

Ultimately, I don’t believe fewer choices will result from the current woes, but I do believe these are the opening pains that will eventually birth a different publishing industry and a different book-buying experience for readers. It’s trite, but often true that when one door closes another opens. And every one of us who loves books—readers, booksellers, authors, agents, editors, publishers—needs to accept that things are not going to continue as they have. The only question in my mind is how can we sculpt the changes to best feed our reading appetites.

Upcoming Book Festivals:
There are none this week.

The Pub House:
Abbeville Press is the publisher to visit if you are looking for beautiful books! They specialize in a range of fine art and illustrated books that cover, among other subjects, alphabets, architecture, art, biography, design, fashion and jewelry, food, gardening, inspirational, literature, media and music, pets and animals, photography, sports and travel. They also have the Abbeville Family division, which publishes books for children, guides for parents and other family-oriented material. Yes, some of the two-volume, slipcased art books can be expensive. But they also carry many reasonably-priced ones.

They also have a blog, the Abbeville Manual of Style—and I can recommend this. In a world where many blogs have similar styles, this one stands out for its graceful beauty and fascinating words. One of its regular features is the Design Corner, where their art director (or in Abbeville’s words, their Arbiter of Style) provides “a privileged glimpse inside the hermetic art of book design or what their mission statement calls “production savoir-faire.”

Of Interest:
Our weekly book giveaway continues. This week I have a fine art photography book, Fit Girls (Volume 1) by John Stutz. If you are interested in winning it, send me an email with your name and mailing address. If I get more than one person who wants the book I’ll put names into a jar and draw the winner. Note that no one in the same household can win more than two books during the course of this giveaway, which runs through the end of January.

This Week:
Angel City Press, a regional publisher that specializes in books about Southern California cultural and social history, is doing something different this month by having many of its authors appear and sign books at the Library Store of the Los Angeles Central Library for two hours each day from December 9-12. You can get specific details about this week-long event with this calendar .

Until next week, read well, read often and read on!

Lauren