tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375681131276548542.post7651948526704404573..comments2024-02-27T10:53:04.581+01:00Comments on paperpools: long and winding roadHelen DeWitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07619602559096610012noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375681131276548542.post-69574987603265115882009-05-15T08:56:00.000+00:002009-05-15T08:56:00.000+00:00These are the best two sentances I have read in ag...These are the best two sentances I have read in ages: "No one really knows how to orchestrate word of mouth, so it's haaaaaaaaaaaaaard, it's haaaaaaaaaaard, it's just so haaaaaaaaaaaaard. Mwaaaaaaaaaaah.""Post-Google" by TAR ART RAThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06164248659631146885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375681131276548542.post-86640690651221500932009-05-09T17:37:00.000+00:002009-05-09T17:37:00.000+00:00Many bookstores have a recommended reading shelf/s...Many bookstores have a recommended reading shelf/shelves. At least, many bookstores that I frequented (when I lived in the city) have these recommended reading shelves. One bookstore, Borders, even has specific shelves with recommended reading by the store staff themselves. And I think, Why can't customers recommend books to other customers without actually having to go up to a stranger and say 'Read this book!'? I took matters into my own hands. I started slyly switching books on the recommended reading shelves with books I thought more deserved of the spotlight. Hint hint.nsiqueiroshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11308615062238352158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375681131276548542.post-12486006726868117872009-04-30T18:25:00.000+00:002009-04-30T18:25:00.000+00:00Well, if somebody just wanted a supply on hand to ...Well, if somebody just wanted a supply on hand to sell their best bet would probably be to buy some As New copies for $0.28 on Amazon Marketplace and then slip me a few bob as a goodwill gesture.<br /><br />The thing that struck me, though, was that agents and editors these days are all keen for writers to get out and plug their books (rather than selfishly staying at home and writing new ones). The model they seem to have in mind, though, is rather embarrassingly ineffectual. If a writer goes out and gives a reading, for instance, one possibility is, of course, to encourage everyone to buy one copy per person to take away and read; a smarter move, one might think, would be to encourage everyone to find at least one friendly retailer who'd be willing to stock, as it might be, 5. One could have sheafs of promotional fliers to hand out, sparing people the embarrassment of personally buttonholing, as it might be, their hairdresser or barista. But this depends, obviously, on having the logistics sorted out ahead of time by the publisher.<br /><br />I feel a bit silly agitating on my own behalf - if I were going to go out knocking on doors I'd rather do it for Calvino's Invisible Cities, a book no home should be without, or Borges' Ficciones, or Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker. Renaud Camus's Tricks - a wonderful book. (In fact, come to think of it, maybe I'll go out and twist arms at some of my local gay-friendly cafés on behalf of the unimprovable Tricks.) As the author of The Last Samurai, though, I feel I have some sort of <I>right</I> to make a nuisance of myself.Helen DeWitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07619602559096610012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375681131276548542.post-58330964192558792142009-04-30T09:38:00.000+00:002009-04-30T09:38:00.000+00:00When the supermarkets were selling the latest Harr...When the supermarkets were selling the latest Harry Potter for thruppence hapenny a lot of the independents bought their stock at the supermarkets - maybe these people could just buy a few copies from a store (maybe on a 3 for 2) and sell them on.<br /><br />The Seven Stars pub in Carey Street London has a book shop consisting of 3 books perteninent to this ancient hostelry,Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375681131276548542.post-36048817884597176912009-04-29T23:36:00.000+00:002009-04-29T23:36:00.000+00:00I'm wondering if you could put these people in tou...I'm wondering if you could put these people in touch with each other, maybe set up some sort of cooperative to put up that $450, then distribute the books amongst themselves. This doesn't really solve the problem, of course. It does add needless complexity. But a possible solution, maybe one that could be used as an example to the publishing industry.SoftSilverTainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03358273036491446694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375681131276548542.post-4821835758004874362009-04-28T16:47:00.000+00:002009-04-28T16:47:00.000+00:00Anon, I don't think the $450 is some kind of membe...Anon, I don't think the $450 is some kind of membership fee, sounds more like a deposit. This struck me as unrealistic, though, as a payment upfront from someone who had obligingly agreed to stock 5 books or so in an outlet whose primary business was something completely different.Helen DeWitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07619602559096610012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375681131276548542.post-695231594719311262009-04-28T15:40:00.000+00:002009-04-28T15:40:00.000+00:00Indeed. Sadly, it seems that those who really care...Indeed. Sadly, it seems that those who really care about removing obstacles are always in the minority.<br /><br />Large organizations have grown up around their policies, and The Way Things Are Done never change until someone pushing from the very top decides to make that change a key priority.<br /><br />Even then, the high priests of the Way Things Are Done tend to push back quite a great deal. And the person at the top moves on in a few years, and the high priests remain.Colinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375681131276548542.post-82037057648132884202009-04-28T15:23:00.000+00:002009-04-28T15:23:00.000+00:00Wait, was the initial payment an account set-up fe...Wait, was the initial payment an account set-up fee lost in the wallet of the publisher or does it get applied towards the purchase of books?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375681131276548542.post-56021997591286118352009-04-28T15:22:00.000+00:002009-04-28T15:22:00.000+00:00NV, It may be that I did not fully grasp the ins a...NV, It may be that I did not fully grasp the ins and outs - I hate doing business by phone, and only called in the first place because my contact at Hyperion (who was not in sales) told me the phone number was the only way to get an answer. Now that I have the orders e-mail address, though, I can find out more. I would have thought if someone was willing to pay by credit card HarperCollins would have all the creditworthiness it needed to be getting on with.<br /><br />I guess the larger point is just the thing Nielsen talks about constantly in his work on usability. You want to make closing a sale as easy as possible.Helen DeWitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07619602559096610012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375681131276548542.post-20435237448899678352009-04-28T13:07:00.000+00:002009-04-28T13:07:00.000+00:00If the hardware store will pay cash up front for t...If the hardware store will pay cash up front for the book, the $450 thing probably won't apply. It's a way of establishing credit-worthiness I would guess, for 30-day payment terms. Seller does need some way to know buyer will pay. None of this is an excuse for giving you the runaround. Publishers do sell to small nonbook accounts all the time. It sucks for an author not to have a personal relationship with someone at the house who can make things happen.NVnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375681131276548542.post-84256476736101455042009-04-28T12:34:00.000+00:002009-04-28T12:34:00.000+00:00Do these people just not want to sell books? They ...Do these people just not want to sell books? They will kill their own industry at this rate. Their business model is broken and all they can do is make it worse!<br /><br />FTS!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10696910021125004214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375681131276548542.post-83483849999970072832009-04-28T12:17:00.000+00:002009-04-28T12:17:00.000+00:00As I came to the paragraph beginning "It seemed to...As I came to the paragraph beginning "It seemed to me..." I was inwardly saying "Oh NOOooooooooo....."Jenny Davidsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02295436498255927522noreply@blogger.com