I’m not worried about the book publishing/selling industry precisely because the books that are being affected by Amazon were never, and would never, be carried by small bookstores anyhow. Small bookstores, the majority of them that aren’t offering used books/etc. have long been the power brokers, and now their power is broken I’m not feeling very much regret unless small bookstores respond in a way that justifies their continued participation in the community.

Small bookstores have mass market books. They are not boutique stores. Small presses have always struggled. But my small press isn’t helped whatsoever by small bookstores. I sell books on Amazon. Small bookstores look at me, even when I have a glossy sheet in hand, and “will get back to me”. However, if they are the ones struggling then they need to have the strength of their convictions and be proactive in seeking out participation in the community.

Amazon, and other online sellers, has been a huge boon to writers and the book community by allowing a marketplace for people who have something to say but who were laughed at or ignored by bookstores. So, I don’t feel a lot of loyalty, even if I really can see how a small bookstore might become a tremendous asset.

The issue for me here is books. Books and writers. How these are sold is not primary. Bookstores are middlemen, displaying a book for a reader. The less we have to depend on more middlemen deciding what is and what is not acceptable for their community the better chance we have to get messages out there. It’s hard for me to see how small bookstores alleviate mass marketing when mass marketed books are the only ones they will sell.

Get these stores to feature new and local and distinct writers and maybe they’ll find a place. Right now they have an equivalent of a Christendom attitude. So long they have been in control of reading they still, without adapting, expect people to just show up, and still leave a whole lot of writers and publishers out in the cold.

Distribution and access has become immensely better with Amazon. I know that personally and with many other small writers. I haven’t yet heard a reason for convictions other than a distaste for Amazon’s size.

Meanwhile they sell books of people I know and my book. That’s distribution and access for those otherwise left out in the cold, who bookstores ignore until they themselves feel the crunch of people making rational financial decisions.

Don’t get me wrong. I want small bookstores. I think we need them. But we need them to be something only they can uniquely become–involved and participating in their book communities and offering uniqueness, taking risks and becoming partners in local promotion. Not passive vendors with no clear system of access.