Yesterday at the book store...

[bennyrex]

A co-worker of mine who loves Deep Space Nine has been asking me a lot of questions about the relaunch. This was the final nudge I needed to get me to buy the omnibus. I'll bring it to work and show it to him, and he can either borrow it or buy his own copy. (On that note, if he buys it, he'll be buying it online. Is there a place to go to buy Star Trek books where more money will be going to the authors, and less to mega-websites like Amazon?)

Anyway, at the store, I had an experience that I'd never had before. Someone else was browsing the Star Trek books! He had a copy of 'A Burning House' in his hands, so as I picked up 'Twist of Faith', I said to him. 'That one is awesome! If you like Klingons, you HAVE to buy that book.' He pointed at Twist of Faith and said 'Those are incredible too', and a huge grin spread across my face as I told him I knew, and that I was getting it for a friend. I reminded him that Fearful Symmetry would be out very soon, and we had some geek time together, pointing at books on the shelf that we loved. It seemed like we had similar tastes (he absolutely loved Orion's Hounds) So I tried to sell him Vanguard and Day of the Vipers, but I think he was only looking to buy one at the time. He walked away with A Burning House, saying he was buying it on my recommendation, and I felt very accomplished.

I also bought another copy of 'The Buried Age'. I'd originally bought it for my trip to British Columbia a while back, but before I even started it, a friend of a friend's landlord 'borrowed' it without asking, and didn't return it till I was back in Ontario. It's taken too long for the book to make it back here, so I've decided to bite the bullet and just buy another one. And I'm glad I did. There's something about Bennett's writing that just feel's... comfortable to me. Picard's excited lecture about archaeology... the long, meandering conversation with Guinan... I was a little worried when in another thread Christopher mentioned that he didn't think he'd ever top Orion's Hounds. Now that I'm into 'The Buried Age', I've stopped feeling that trepidation. With Christopher, I don't need to worry about whether a book will be 'topped' or not. I can just relax and realize that Christopher writes Star Trek the way I like to read it more than any other writer I can think of.

So yeah, a very nice trip to the bookstore. My one caveat is I'm sad I won't be able to follow up with the guy that bought 'A Burning House.' I'd love to know if he liked it or not, and if he'll ever get into Vanguard or the other books we were talking about. So, blue shirted guy that bought 'A Burning House' at the Eaton Centre Indigo in Toronto, if by sheer luck, you're a poster on these boards, lemme know if you liked it!

 

[Therin of Andor]

Is there a place to go to buy Star Trek books where more money will be going to the authors, and less to mega-websites like Amazon?)

It doesn't matter whether books are discounted or not, or if huge delivery charges are added, the authors get the same amount of royalty per book. But... if you buy a remaindered book, or a second hand book, the author gets get nothing.

 

[Christopher]

I also bought another copy of 'The Buried Age'. I'd originally bought it for my trip to British Columbia a while back, but before I even started it, a friend of a friend's landlord 'borrowed' it without asking, and didn't return it till I was back in Ontario. It's taken too long for the book to make it back here, so I've decided to bite the bullet and just buy another one. And I'm glad I did. There's something about Bennett's writing that just feel's... comfortable to me. Picard's excited lecture about archaeology... the long, meandering conversation with Guinan... I was a little worried when in another thread Christopher mentioned that he didn't think he'd ever top Orion's Hounds. Now that I'm into 'The Buried Age', I've stopped feeling that trepidation. With Christopher, I don't need to worry about whether a book will be 'topped' or not. I can just relax and realize that Christopher writes Star Trek the way I like to read it more than any other writer I can think of.

Thank you! That's good to hear.

 

[KRAD]

(On that note, if he buys it, he'll be buying it online. Is there a place to go to buy Star Trek books where more money will be going to the authors, and less to mega-websites like Amazon?)

As Ian said, as long as you're buying the book new, we get the same cut regardless. The royalty is a percentage of the cover price of the unit sold, not a percentage of the price it's sold for. So we get the same amount of money whether you buy it from Amazon, S&S's web site, or any other book dealer whether real or virtual.

 

[Amy Sisson]

I know the author gets the same cut no matter where the book is purchased new, but I wonder if the publisher gets the same cut no matter where it's purchased new. I wouldn't be surprised if some sellers (such as Amazon) have arranged (forced?) publishers to give them larger discounts, such that Amazon gets more and the publisher gets less.

 

[Trent Roman]

Do large men with unpleasant childhoods and Amazon.com nametags pay occasional visit to the Pocket offices? Lean on desks, get into your personal space, maybe tap people on the cheek saying: "You don't want to get the 'com angry, Marky-boy. 'Cause people the 'com don't like, their books got a way of... disappearin' from the site, capeesh?".

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Therin of Andor]

I wouldn't be surprised if some sellers (such as Amazon) have arranged (forced?) publishers to give them larger discounts, such that Amazon gets more and the publisher gets less.

What about publishers who "force" wholesalers into tricky deals? Such as, "If you want the new, exclusive, eagerly-awaited "xxxxxxx" title, you'll have to agree to take these other shitty books we can't get rid of."

As for Pocket Books, every title carries a message from the publisher that they can do "special discounts for bulk purchases".

 

[Amy Sisson]

I wouldn't be surprised if some sellers (such as Amazon) have arranged (forced?) publishers to give them larger discounts, such that Amazon gets more and the publisher gets less.

What about publishers who "force" wholesalers into tricky deals? Such as, "If you want the new, exclusive, eagerly-awaited "xxxxxxx" title, you'll have to agree to take these other shitty books we can't get rid of."

As for Pocket Books, every title carries a message from the publisher that they can do "special discounts for bulk purchases".

I'm shouldn't have given the impression that I consider Amazon to be everything that is Big and Bad and Evil. Not so, and I buy plenty from them. However, I've been reading lately that publishers are nervous about certain "things" Amazon wants. I think in the latest Locus there was a short article about just that, although I think it was about Amazon UK. (I can't post a link because that's a print magazine!)

I'm not sure the Pocket Books "special discounts for bulk purchases" necessarily applies here -- does Amazon actually buy the books from publishers, since they can return the hardcovers and trade paperbacks, and strip the mass market covers and return those too? Or do they merely house them for a while and facilitate the sales? I honestly don't know.

In any case, I still don't know if buying from Amazon versus an independent bookstore that doesn't discount prices makes a different to what the publisher gets for the book.

 

[LightningStorm]

I'm shouldn't have given the impression that I consider Amazon to be everything that is Big and Bad and Evil.

I hope not, everybody knows that title belongs exclusively to Wal-Mart.

 

[PhoenixIreland]

Hang on I'm confused

Say writer...Bill...writes a book, and his publisher sells 2000 copies to say...Easons bookstores...do they not automatically get a cut of the sale to easons or do they have to wait to get a cut of individualy sold books from the store?

 

[William Leisner]

Hang on I'm confused

Say writer...Bill...writes a book, and his publisher sells 2000 copies to say...Easons bookstores...do they not automatically get a cut of the sale to easons or do they have to wait to get a cut of individualy sold books from the store?

Oh, no. Because Easons buys Bill's book on a returnable basis. So, say of the 2000 books Easons buys, they only sell 100. Easons can then decide to return all 1900 unsold copies of this Bill guy's stiff of a book to the publisher.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Because Easons buys Bill's book on a returnable basis. So, say of the 2000 books Easons buys, they only sell 100. Easons can then decide to return all 1900 unsold copies of this Bill guy's stiff of a book to the publisher.

They could also choose to take books on a non-returnable basis, but might only buy in batches of 20 so they don't get caught with too much shelf stock. Depends on the wholesale rates on offer.

Or, they might only order to fill pre-orders, with very few for the shelf.

 

[PhoenixIreland]

Sounds like a very unstable living financially!
But I suppose the publisher would not put the book out there without a good chance of it selling.

 

[Therin of Andor]

But I suppose the publisher would not put the book out there without a good chance of it selling.

Movies, books, plays, CDs, DVDs: all are calculated risks. Some bomb, some are sleeper hits, others are blockbusters.

Research, marketing, reputation, luck: all essential elements.