Want me to do a book signing at your B&N?

**I would like to add that ALL large bookstores operate like this. If a small publisher makes their books non-returnable (to survive) they will not be put on the shelf by large bookstores for any reason (they can be ordered though. How nice!) Several small published authors, myself included, have had limited success with a few ventures at B&N but all in all they end in disaster!!!! Complete and utter disaster. The model is set up to deal with large publishers. Corporate could care less about small pubbbed authors. My local B&N actually let me do a book signing then refused to pay me for the books I BOUGHT IN AND SOLD because CORPORATE told them they didn't allow for this kind of signing anymore. Two years running and I still haven't been paid. They're not picking on me. This is how they treat all small pubbed authors. Small publishers are the new large publishers. Deal with it B&N or don't and you can end up just like Borders**


Want me to do a book signing at your Barnes &Noble?

Too bad.

Barnes & Noble is an outlet for large publishers ONLY! Always has been. Always will be. And they don't seem to be budging on the matter. In fact, they're only tightening the reins. Before they'd allow their CRM or Customer Relations Manger to humor small published authors who didn't have distribution through the "big two" Baker & Taylor and Ingram. They'd let the author bring their own copies to sell.

NOT ANY MORE!!!!

And to make matters worse, they don't allow book signings for any author who makes their books non-returnable which is the only way for Small Press to survive. If a small publisher doesn't make their books non-returnable, large bookstores like Barnes & Noble will order at will without a care in the world because of the deal they have set up with large publishers that Simon & Schuster started during the depression. They can return ALL books ordered whenever they want to for free, no matter what shape they're in and no matter when they do it AND they get there money back.

That's where all the books you see in Books-A-Million come from since they are only a reseller of "returned from the bookstore" books. Sadly, this model works for large publishers but will "sink" any small publisher because when the books are returned (as they ALWAYS are) the small publisher has to pay shipping and has to return any money to the bookstores!!!!! And guess what folks, nine times out of ten the books aren't returned at all. They're "supposedly" destroyed because the distributors don't want to pay the postage to have them returned. I say supposedly because I've had books show up for sale at Books-A-Million when BAM is a reseller of "returned from the bookstore books." That can't happen unless someone is lying. And no, I make nothing off the books sold from BAM.

To keep this from happening anymore, I've made my books non-returnable. But like I said, Barnes & Noble won't let me in to do a booksigning because this means they don't get to give the books back and charge my publisher shipping.

They can ORDER my books for you if you ask them even though most of the time they'll tell you they can't just because they don't want to mess with it.

So there ya go.

And you wonder why I hate Barnes & Nobles and ALL large bookstores.


Jerks!

Ya, so if you want to order ANY of my books, please visit Black Bed Sheet Books or my website suedent.net I invest a LOT of MONEY in making my books the best they can be. I can't keep doing that if they don't sell. Support small press. Don't support Barnes & Noble or other large bookstores. At least not until they support small press and quit "pooping" all over them. Big FAT bullies!!!!!

Thirsting for Blood Forum!

Aye, there be a new thread posted on my Thirsting for Blood Forum. When ye get a chance go and check it out. Arrrrghh!

All scallywags are invited. Only if I don't like ye, I'll cut off yer hands and feed 'em to the sharks. Mark my words. I'll do it. ;D

This be the place!!

*Peg-leg Sue hobbles off to write some more.*

Chain Bookstores going under?

One can only hope.

I made a comment recently along that line and of course many replied that I must be insane to wish that such a thing would happen. I did express concern about employees who would lose jobs but they should easily be able to find work at Independent bookstores that would flourish in the aftermath.

To understand my thinking one must understand the facts surrounding the publishing industry. Once upon a time all there was in the world were large publishing houses. Bookstores were a way for these houses to get their very large number of books to the public. Large publishers also used these chain bookstores to help warehouse all the books they had to print. You see, back in the day it was expensive to print books and publishers had to print A LOT of books at a time to justify the cost.

Come around to today and what we have are tons of Small QUALITY Publishing houses. There are Independent bookstores who showcase these talents but as you well know they are few and far between. Clearly, these small publishing houses would do much better IF they could get into these chain bookstores but that just isn't happening. Chain bookstores are more or less owned by large publishing houses and why would large publishing houses do anything to benefit their competition (or threat thereof.)

And that is why I could care less whether chain bookstores survive. They don't support small press authors and their attempts are feeble at best. Sort of like letting a cat participate in a dog show. They won't ever come around because they are pretty much in existence for the large publishing houses anyway (remember that used to be all there was.)

So let them go under. Independent bookstores are quite capable of filling the gaps left. You also have to keep in mind that a lot of best-selling authors have left the gravy train line (because the gravy was too thin) to self-publish. These authors can't even get into the chain stores so you readers are actually missing out on more quality fiction than you'd think you'd lose if chain bookstores fell under the weight of not supporting ALL quality fiction.

Of course you don't have to agree with me. I don't expect you to. Just like folks to understand why I don't care if chain bookstores meet their demise. It won't hurt my book sales at all or any other small press publisher.

Large publishers aren't the only ones in the game anymore. Not by a long shot.

Christian Chain Bookstores going under?

Well, since we're on a roll, the same logic applies here. Christian Chain Bookstores are even worse. Not only were they created to support ONLY publishers who pay a fee to belong to CBA or the Christian Booksellers Association, an Association formed to make sure all books put out by member publishers met strict and specific evangelical guidelines decided by them, they also say nay, nay to ANY other publisher large or small who isn't a paying member.

And yet their books find their way into chain bookstores due to the fact that larger publishers added CBA houses as imprints. So they get a double whammy from me. Can't wait to see these guys go because I've given up on them ever coming around. It would be an easy fix for them too. All chain Christian bookstores would have to do would be to state what kind of bookstore they are or allow all publishers who provide work that doesn't offend Christian readers of all faiths or at least most to come in. They've made no move to do either. So bye-bye to them. And yep, there are Independent Christian bookstores that treat all books by all publishers equally, affiliated or not. ;)

BAM! Books-A-Million does it again!!!

Oh don't I love BAM! They only sell returned-from-the-bookstore books or in this case liquidated books. As par for the course, they won't place ONE book of mine that I can actually make money off of. Noooooo. They buy dirt cheap copies from a liquidator and sell those. I never see a dime. How grand!!! Thanks BAM! Merry Christmas to you. So for all you readers who actually want to keep authors writing, don't shop at BAM. Buy from publishers.

Buy the way, those would be the hardbacks of Never Ceese and don't you dare pay retail or close to it for that book when you can get it on the internet all day long usually for under $5.00.

Actually, to give BAM some credit, those are resellers selling on BAM's on-line stores. But BAM brick and mortar won't carry my books unless it comes in as returned-from-the-bookstore because that's all their distributors supply them with. AND my books have all been made non-returnable so my publishers don't go under!!! ;)