Shrinking ST Selection in Bookstores

[William Leisner]

Therin of Andor said:

AuntKate said:
I have been in a couple of Borders lately and noticed that the number of SW books greatly outnumber ST books

It will be the reverse by about October this year. All stores will be responding to the the media blitz that will herald the coming of... JJ Abrams' "Star Trek".

When TMP and ST IV were being promoted thusly,[...]

2008 is not 1979 or 1986. The book industry -- both the publishing and retailing sides -- has changed dramatically in the past decades, changes which have led to the situation pointed out by the original poster. Those changes will not be suddenly reversed by a single record-breaking blockbuster film.

WalMart will probably stock the STXI novelization, and maybe Star Trek 101. But if you've never seen a SF book at your local supermarket, you probably won't see either there.

As for the big bookstore chains... well, the S&S sales team managed to get a few copies per store of Planet X out to coincide with the last X-Men film, so who knows what they have planned for their fall sales calls? But I would be very, very surprised if anyone notices their local Trek section expanding in any way.

 

[Christopher]

^^Well, sure, if their "local Trek section" is at a supermarket. But it might be a different story if we're talking about actual bookstores.

 

[William Leisner]

^ Sorry. I would have thought it was obvious that "big chains" that dealt with S&S sales reps weren't big supermarket chains. I've edited the previous post for clarity.

 

[Therin of Andor]

William Leisner said:
2008 is not 1979 or 1986. The book industry -- both the publishing and retailing sides -- has changed dramatically in the past decades, changes which have led to the situation pointed out by the original poster. Those changes will not be suddenly reversed by a single record-breaking blockbuster film.

I disagree. Bookshops still make use of what's available (ie. upcoming films, and related marketing gear such as cardboard shelfmarkers, mobiles, posters, inflatables, free bookmarks, branded cardboard bookstands), and for whatever they think will be the Next Big Buzz.

Bookshops transformed whole corners for "Lord of the Rings", "Harry Potter", "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "The Golden Compass". I'm sure some of these nooks will be become "Starfleet Headquarters" by October, and many shops will order in as much backstock of ST novels as they can.

A big book store in Sydney recently transformed a large area into the "Secret Book Sharing Corner" and when you go inside the alcove, it's actually a mini Disney bookshop for kids inside the main shop, complete with a storytelling chair and interactive screens.

 

[Sxottlan]

Therin of Andor said:

and I never see ST books in WalMart or grocery stores.

You will...

Eh, I doubt that. At least around here anyway. Wal-Marts have carried Trek books around here in years. Doing massive film tie-in areas isn't something local book stores do either.

The only book that would make sense to me to heavily push would be new original TOS books with the new crew on the cover. As it is, it doesn't sound like Pocket is really ramping up anything special. That could change of course.

 

[TheAlmanac]

William Leisner said:

Therin of Andor said:

AuntKate said:
I have been in a couple of Borders lately and noticed that the number of SW books greatly outnumber ST books

It will be the reverse by about October this year. All stores will be responding to the the media blitz that will herald the coming of... JJ Abrams' "Star Trek".

When TMP and ST IV were being promoted thusly,[...]

2008 is not 1979 or 1986. The book industry -- both the publishing and retailing sides -- has changed dramatically in the past decades, changes which have led to the situation pointed out by the original poster. Those changes will not be suddenly reversed by a single record-breaking blockbuster film.

WalMart will probably stock the STXI novelization, and maybe Star Trek 101. But if you've never seen a SF book at your local supermarket, you probably won't see either there.

As for the big bookstore chains... well, the S&S sales team managed to get a few copies per store of Planet X out to coincide with the last X-Men film, so who knows what they have planned for their fall sales calls? But I would be very, very surprised if anyone notices their local Trek section expanding in any way.

I'll echo some of the earlier posters in noting that generally, the Trek selection in my local bookstores has decreased over the past few years. Sometimes, the difference between that selection and the number of Star Wars books is small, but sometimes it's striking--just a few ST titles versus several shelves of SW titles.

Having said that, I do agree with Therin that the movie should prove to be good news for the existing line of Star Trek titles. When the Star Wars prequel publicity machine began in earnest in 1999, most of the Expanded Universe titles which had been released up to that point suddenly became more visible in bookstores, along with all of the newer titles. Even now, that continues to be the case (to a certain extent--the last movie was a couple of years ago), and I expect the same mix of old and new to appear as Abrams's movie approaches.

 

[kimc]

Stores stock what they think will sell. Since the quality of Trek books has taken a sharp downturn in recent years many Trek fans (myself included) aren't buying. Consequently, stores aren't stocking.

 

[JD]

I couldn't disagree more, at least about the quality of Trek books having "taken a sharp downturn", in fact I would say the opposite is true. As lack of sales (if there is a lack of sales), I really think it has more to do with the fact that there is no Trek on screen, and the fact that alot of people weren't happy with the last two series, than the quality of the books.

 

[Therin of Andor]

kimc said:
Stores stock what they think will sell. Since the quality of Trek books has taken a sharp downturn in recent years many Trek fans (myself included) aren't buying. Consequently, stores aren't stocking.

What?

Obviously you haven't read anything since about... 2003?

The "downturn" you mention may have been in reaction to a memo that put certain resistrictions in place, but only from 1989 till 1991, and it took a while for the authors to bounce back.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Therin of Andor said:
Obviously you haven't read anything since about... 2003?
The "downturn" you mention way have been in reaction to a memo that put certain resistrictions in place, but only from 1989 till 1991, and it took a while for the authors to bounce back.

And what a comeback. Trek now is better than it has ever been and the current crop of authors is outstanding.

 

[CaptainDonovin]

^ Oh I agree, since New Frontier and DS9-R the quality has been very good from what I've read. Even the 1 or 2 e-books weren't bad.

 

[JWolf]

kimc said:
Stores stock what they think will sell. Since the quality of Trek books has taken a sharp downturn in recent years many Trek fans (myself included) aren't buying. Consequently, stores aren't stocking.

I highly disagree. Trek is actually better then ever. It's taking into account canon and a lot of the books acknowledge other books. So we are getting (IMHO) a proper Trek universe overall. Now is the time to actually stock more trek books, not less. But I do think the movie might get bookstores to give Trek more shelf space.

 

[kimc]

JWolf said:

kimc said:
Stores stock what they think will sell. Since the quality of Trek books has taken a sharp downturn in recent years many Trek fans (myself included) aren't buying. Consequently, stores aren't stocking.

I highly disagree. Trek is actually better then ever. It's taking into account canon and a lot of the books acknowledge other books. So we are getting (IMHO) a proper Trek universe overall. Now is the time to actually stock more trek books, not less. But I do think the movie might get bookstores to give Trek more shelf space.

Unfortunately that's not the case if you're a Voyager fan.

 

[Saxman1]

The B & N kitty corner from where I work in downtown Chicago used to have an entire shelf of ST books - now it's about a 1/2 shelf. As books are sold out, they aren't restocked, it's as simple as that. The SW section seems to get bigger and bigger and bigger - it's at least 3 sheves....and GROWING!

The Borders a few blocks down used to have a ST shelf - now it's a handful of the most recent titles while yes, the SW section is ever-growing!

 

[terpette]

I think physical bookstores are starting to feel the crunch of people buying books online, to be honest... and they seem to have a fairly quick merch turnover on fiction. I walk into my local Borders and if I want a book that came out a few months ago, in any genre, I have a hard time finding it. Not so with Amazon or Powells. My Borders has a few shelves of Trek, but only the most recent stuff. They will special order, though.

And not to sound cold or anything, but... I don't think that most "fans" who are drawn out by the movie hype are ones who will stick around long when Trek goes back into visual media hibernation. Are casual fans the ones who will drop $50 a month on Trek books and comics?

Karen

 

[JD]

I just went to my local Borders for the first time in a while (to pick up The Color of Magic and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, neither of which I've read yet) and they cut their Trek supply from about 3 or 4 shelves to about 1 1/2 or so. This really suprised me because their Trek supply had been pretty consistant up to this point.

 

[Christopher]

I keep looking at the thread title and wondering if "Shrinking ST Selection" means "The Terratin Incident," "One Little Ship," Aftermath, and Small World.

 

[Therin of Andor]

terpette said:
I think physical bookstores are starting to feel the crunch of people buying books online, to be honest... and they seem to have a fairly quick merch turnover on fiction... They will special order, though.

Yep. It's amazing how many people report here, and on Psi Phi, that they checked the shelves and walked out empty-handed. If they don't tell the manager what they couldn't find, he doesn't know what to order in.

And if people refuse to special order older titles, what do they expect shops to carry in stock? One copy of every book ever published, just in case?

I don't think that most "fans" who are drawn out by the movie hype are ones who will stick around long when Trek goes back into visual media hibernation. Are casual fans the ones who will drop $50 a month on Trek books and comics?

They have to come from somewhere! They did buy up big after ST IV and "First Contact", when ST sales rode high.

How do you convert casual fans into rabid fans? Give 'em exactly what you want them to think they need. And make it so good they come back for more.

I was a casual ST fan. In December 1979, ST:TMP's novelization - not the film first - blew me away and I was hooked. Presumably for life.

 

[RandyS]

Yeah, I've noticed my Borders reducing the shelf space for Star Trek books, but what REALLY annoys me is that they moved the one shelf to the VERY TOP of a six self setup. Not a problem, typically, but when you're in a wheelchair, they're hard to reach. Luckily, I always go with friends.

As to the Walmart discussion, mine also stopped carrying Star Trek books. Of course, they no longer carry Star Wars books either.

 

[Ro_Laren]

Dayton Ward said:

Ro_Laren said:
My local bookstores carry more SW than ST. And their ST stock has been shrinking as well. And as we all no Wal-Mart no longer sells Star Trek books.

More accurately, the Wal-Marts in your area no longer sell Trek books. Two of the three in my immediate area have them. When I last was in one of them (a couple of weeks ago), they had copies of Forged In Fire and Sword of Damocles.

It's all about what sells. In your area, Wal-Mart can't move the Trek books, so they quit stocking them, but that's apparently where Trekkies in my area continue to get their Trek fix.

My bad, I thought that all Wal-Marts had stopped stocking Trek books. There was a post on here sometime within the last year about Wal-Mart & Trek books. Someone came on the board and said that they worked at Wal-Mart and that all Wal-Marts were no longer going to stock the books. When I saw the Trek books disappear from the shelves I assumed he was correct.