Tag Archives: bookstores

Pieces and Pages – First 2 Find a Gem

Geocaching is a fun, year round activity. You take coordinates from the geocaching website, enter them into a GPS device such as an app on your phone, and go on a treasure hunt. It’s amazing the gems you can find. In geocaching there is a concept: First to Find (F2F). When a cache is set up, the first person to find it has bragging rights of F2F. Such is the case for this blog edition. I was looking for a place in Livonia to grab a quick dinner before joining fellow Deadwood Writers for an evening of…writing. As I was turning into a mini-strip mall in Livonia, my mental radar locked on a store sign that said “Books.” By sheer luck, I’d found an independent bookstore in a place that I’ve driven by many times. Usually, Yelp guides my travels to identify such gems, but I’d never expected to find some place in an area I’m very familiar with. As it turned out it was only six months old, which makes it new. It is my F2F that I hope that you will find on your travels.

Pieces & Pages: First to Find – a Gem by John McCarthy (Twitter)

My first impression on entering the store: spare and clean. The bookshelves in the middle of the room are spaced evenly and precisely apart. Additional bookshelves line three walls. Tables are set in the window front, which reminds me of the game stores that sell and encourage play of the many fantasy card games like Magic: the Gathering and Yu-gi-ou. My second impression was the welcoming atmosphere created by the storeowner, Jill, who greeted me on stepping inside and inquires if she can assist me.

Many genres are represented, offering recent and older classics that will tempt you. I’m always looking for some of the hard to find books, such as Piers Anthony’s Battle Circle series. I have the compilation already, and I found one of the stand-alone books in very good condition in the Science Fiction section.

The comic book section is small, containing current titles. Collectors can order and hold a series that may interest patrons. Tables are available to those who want to read before deciding on a purchase and for playing games that are kept in an Events schedule.

As independent stores go, this one is part of an emerging trend to combine the traditional bookstore with comics and gaming. I’ve visited several places that did this, but few that gave equal treatment to attract all audiences. Only the future will tell how successful this approach becomes. Store culture is an important key which is steered by the owner. In this case, Pieces & Pages has taken strides to meet the needs of its diverse audience.

Stop in and decide for yourself.

Pieces & Pages

BOOKS \ GAMES \ COMICS

31155 Plymouth Road, Livonia, Michigan 48150

Contact and Store Hours

Amazon, Hachette and “the wretched $9.99 price point”

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Print is dead.

At least, that’s what the Big Five publishing houses fear. One company is fighting the potential loss of sales and its possible demise in a public battle that affects readers and writers alike.

Before 2007 or so, the only way an author’s story was read was through a print copy in brick-and-mortar bookstores. The only way to get into a bookstore was through a major publisher. Knowing their control, these large publishers chose the stories and genres people read, the prices at which books were sold and what the authors got paid.

Now that snippy digital upstarts like me are snooting our way in and circumventing the system they so strategically designed, publishers are no longer needed. With digital formats, there is no gatekeeping; I can write and publish any book at any length in any genre I choose and at any price.

Without hardcover or paperback books, the publishers’ choking grip on the market disappears with the turn of a page. The Big Five lose all public prestige, respect, expertise, control and sales. Especially sales.

Welcome to the battle between Hachette and Amazon.

Hachette wants to charge high e-book prices to discourage electronic sales and boost paper sales. Amazon wants to keep prices of e-books favorable to consumers. This dispute has been going on for years. To understand the impact of today’s feud, let’s go back in time for a brief history…. (Shout out thanks to J.A. Konrath’s timeline for the format inspiration that I use.)

NOVEMBER 2007

Amazon releases the company’s Kindle e-reader.

NOVEMBER 2009

Barnes & Noble introduces the company’s Nook e-reader.

Retailers continue buying books and e-books using “wholesale pricing,” an agreement in which publishing houses charge half the printed cover price to those retailers. The booksellers then compete with each other by discounting books or offering sales. At this time, hardback book prices range from $15-30.

Amazon is a large company with a large share of the e-book market. They rarely sell at full price, offering book titles below the printed cost, even as far down as $9.99 for bestselling novels. The Big Five publishers make a lot of money through the sales of higher priced hardcover books, and this consumer-friendly price point might encourage more digital sales than paper. These companies didn’t want that to be the standard that consumers would expect to pay.

JANUARY 2010

Apple prepares to release its iPad, but if they offer books in their iBookstore at a price to compete with Amazon, the company will lose money. A publishing executive blames Amazon’s “wretched $9.99 price point.” Apple and the Big Five publishers work out an agreement that benefits everyone. The publishers switch book distribution away from wholesale pricing to the new and improved “agency pricing” model. In this agreement, publishers control the price of the e-book rather than the retailer. Sales percentages are split favorably, as well: 30% to Apple and 70% to publishers. In this scenario, consumers who choose to buy e-books instead of physical copies are, in a sense, be punished for affecting paper sales.

The only caveat is that all publishing houses have to sell this way to all of Apple’s competing retailers, including Amazon. Amazon pushes back, but with everyone else agreeing to this method of distribution, the company has to accept these terms. Book prices on Amazon’s site rise to $12.99 and $14.99. The term “colluded” is later used when referring to this agency pricing arrangement.

APRIL 2010

Apple releases the iPad.

JULY 2010

Amazon reports that digital e-books outsell hardcover books for the first time in history. The agency pricing continues for two years before the U.S. government steps in.

APRIL 2012

The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) accuses Apple and the publishers of conspiring to raise e-book prices and filed a civil antitrust lawsuit. By developing and utilizing agency model, “the publishers prevented retail price competition resulting in consumers paying millions of dollars more for their e-books” especially for the most popular titles by big-name, best-selling authors.

Three of the Big Five publishing houses, which include Hachette, settle immediately. Retailers resume discounting and offering sales. The publishers pay financial restitutions to consumers and are “prohibited for two years from entering into new agreements that constrain retailers’ ability to offer discounts or other promotions to consumers….” The DoJ settled with two other publishers and Apple by 2013, yet Apple appeals the decision.

Now fast forward to the present year. Apple’s appeal is ongoing as of this post.

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2014

The 2-year contracts are ending, so new ones need to be negotiated or extended. Amazon sends a contract to Hachette. Because they do not receive a response from Hachette, Amazon removes the site’s pre-order buttons and stops discounting Hachette titles.

MARCH 2014

Hachette’s contract to sell books with Amazon expires, but Amazon extends it into April while both sides negotiate. Because the outcome is uncertain and shipping dates cannot be guaranteed, Amazon reduces the print inventory of Hachette titles.

APRIL 2014

There is now no longer any contract for Amazon to sell Hachette titles on Amazon. Hachette finally makes counter offer, Amazon rejects it.

MAY-JUNE 2014

Hachette authors notice slower sales, so Amazon makes several proposals that they and Hachette offer financial provisions for the authors during negotiations. Hachette declines all of them.

JULY-AUGUST 18, 2014

Here’s when media runs wild with statements, press releases and proposals, oh my!

Hachette compiles its press releases and statements regarding Amazon here.

Propaganda or perspective? Article from Random House editorial assistant Alison Herman with intriguing links at the end.

Big Five authors want print to thrive. Who can blame them? Without physical books, bestselling authors like Stephen King, John Grisham and James Patterson lose their dedicated personal assistants and vacation beach houses. They each become “just another little writer” in a writer’s ocean.

There is a letter from Douglas Preston, a Council Member of the Author’s Guild, signed by authors supporting Hachette. As of August 9, the letter had approximately 900 signatures, published as a full 2-page $110,000 advertisement in the New York Times as “A Letter to Our Readers.”

There is a petition by Change.org urging readers and writers to support the company who supports readers and authors. As of August 9, the petition reached 8000 electronic signatures. (8466 as of my post)

On August 9, The Amazon Books Team releases a letter discussing their point of view from within the negotiation. There are some good links at the end. It’s worth a read through.

The email reply from Hachette CEO Michael Pietsch in response to Amazon’s August 9 letter request for consumers to contact executives about the negotiations.

Amazon releases a statement justifying the $9.99 price point: “For every copy an e-book would sell at $14.99, it would sell 1.74 copies if priced at $9.99. So, for example, if customers would buy 100,000 copies of a particular e-book at $14.99, then customers would buy 174,000 copies of that same e-book at $9.99. Total revenue at $14.99 would be $1,499,000. Total revenue at $9.99 is $1,738,000.”

And here we are, readers and writers, reeling in the wake of potential propaganda from both sides. Marketers in any company can spin numbers any way they want to make the numbers show in their favor. I don’t necessarily believe in Amazon’s exact number or those calculations empirically, but the rationale behind it is solid. If I had $15, would I spend it on one book? Am I more inclined to buy a $9.99 book and a coffee and muffin to enjoy while reading the book? If a purchase like that gives me that pleasure, then I’m encouraged to buy another similarly priced book for a similar experience.

“Why should e-books cost as much as, or more than, a printed copy?” my husband asked me. “There’s no shipping or printing.” He’s a chemist and not in the publishing industry. If this is so elementary to someone outside the industry, how is it lost on someone in the publishing business?

I’m not necessarily pro-Amazon, but I am pro-information. Some people do not have the drive or desire to do it all, so turning their work over to a Big Five publisher is the best option for them. But how is Hachette assisting and nurturing its authors when it let their contract with Amazon expire, and thus all its authors’ contracts as well?

If Amazon wins this battle, they will dominate the market…for now. At some point, all Amazon authors could be stuck with a business model that no longer offers today’s benefits, and then Amazon becomes the Big One publisher. If that happens, authors are not stuck.

Unlike print, where the only way to publish was through a publisher, there are now numerous electronic options. No doubt any number of smaller publishers and retailers will develop online stores. Any author can sell directly from their website. These were options never available before.

Who needs who more, Amazon or Hachette?

Who, or what, do authors need?

Print may be dying, but books and stories never will.

Entering the Ogre’s Cave: Book Castle’s Movie World

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Metaphors can be a tool for building strong visual connections and entertain. I’ve thought often about this gem of a store that I found hidden in the most unlikely place. What follows is my attempt to bring to life the emotional links to a place worth visiting if you’re ever in downtown Burbank, CA.

Book Castle’s Movie World in Burbank, CA by John McCarthy

There was once a bright shiny kingdom where the homes and castle were pristine from the care by the townspeople. The farms resided along a river that sparkled at night and provided crisp cold water for crops and an abundance of fish to feed everyone. But one day an ogre ventured into the area. It devoured the crops, drained the river with it’s insatiable thirst, and gathered all the fish for it’s personal store. The townspeople pleaded for help, and the King’s son, a brave and well loved protector, rode from the castle on a great stead, and an army at his beck. At the ogre’s cave, half hidden by a garden of flowers and thick trees, the prince shouted,

“Monster, I challenge you to single–”

The ogre, stung by being called a monster, roared, “Combat!”

“No.” The prince was no fool. Fighting this gigantic monster would likely mean his own death. “I challenge you to a drinking contest. Winner gains all that you have stolen.” At the sweep of his arms, soldiers rolled forth two large casks.

The Ogre laughed. “I’ll not be tricked into drinking poisoned ale.” It thundered forward, swinging a mammoth club carved from some of the hardest oak.

“Ah monster, you wound my honor. I shall drink from both casks to prove that both are the same.” The prince quickly poured a cup from each, and with a flourish, drained both mugs.

The Ogre paused. It’d been long since he’d had such fare, and the victory was assured given his greater mass. “I accept, and after I’ve won I will grind your bones into my fish soup!”

The Ogre ripped a hole into one cask and drained it before the prince could finish his next cup. “I win.” The Ogre roared, before draining the other cask.

“As do I. You shall sleep deeply for a thousand years,” The prince said.

“But you drank it too.” The Ogre thumped to it’s knees.

“Aye. And I took the antidote before coming here. Now sleep without dreams,” the prince commanded. The Ogre fell forward, deeply asleep.

On exploring the cave, amidst the piles of bones from fish and beasts, the prince and his soldiers recovered the crops and found many hidden treasures that helped the kingdom recover.

. . .

Downtown Burbank is a trendy area with a mix of stores and restaurants ranging from trendy to local hangouts. Less than a 30-minute drive to downtown LA—depending on time of day and traffic—it reminds me of being the little sister to downtown Berkley where the museum quality space of Book, Inc. resides. Great weather for walks through a nice area. It’s a couple of blocks away from a mini-outdoor mall that is anchored by a Barnes and Noble (BN). BN maintains a standard spacious two story storefront with pristine shelves filled with the current titles across many genres, and the sound of the blender draws you to its café where you can get a drink and a snack, while reading from your literary selection. The real adventure is found several blocks away.

Almost hidden in plain sight is a dark space between two stores. From a distance it looks like a store that’s been closed, yet is cluttered with movie posters from an era of beta and vhs cassettes. A sign reads Movie World. Tables piled with books sit outside of the store like guardians of a dark cave that—in such a trendy neighborhood—draws one’s eyes away from the store like a magical protection ward that transmits the psychic message, “Pass this place by. There is nothing of interest for you.”

I ignored the warning and peered deeper into the shadows to find an open door where more books lay. Curiosity pulled me inside to find a world, vastly different from the outside. The ogre’s cave had tall bookshelves that carved narrow labyrinths to the back of the store space. Like piles of bones left by the ogre, books are stacked on the floor and crammed into shelves, thus creating narrow paths to explore. All genres are present and grouped accordingly. The books are in good condition, despite the untidy piles and tightly packed shelves.

It’s best to be like an archeologist who explores a past civilization than a treasure hunter. If you know what author or title you seek, you have a better chance of making great finds than to scan and hope to stumble on something special. There is simply too many books in a system that appears composed of random piles of books grouped by genres.

The smell of paper and bindings is strong, like the breath of the ogre—but lacks discomfort. Hunters of books in their earlier printings will make interesting discoveries, such as a boxed set of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia next to a stack of John Norman books from his Gor series, or many movie posters from movies that you may not have heard of before.

There is much to find in Book Castle’s Movie World. If you can get past the Ogre’s magical ward, you’ll find treasures well worth the experience. But beware, the labyrinth of books and artifacts can suck you in for many hours, in which time, the Ogre could awaken.

Voyaging at the Dawn Treader

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When writing non-fiction, there is much from fiction that can be incorporated. Metaphors and storytelling are important tools in such a writer’s toolbox. In what may be a series of pieces about bookstores across the United States, and a few other countries along my travels, I will explore these locations with an eye for using tools that are similar to writing fiction. I hope you share this journey. Please share your favorite bookstores in the comments section. If I pass through your area, I’ll visit, and bring the experience to this blog… John McCarthy

The Dawn Treader is one of those ports of call that from the outside appears to be a typical storefront. Bookshelves line the sidewalk in front with the bargain books for a dollar or less. All are used or well loved in usage depending on your view point. Like any seafaring ship, you must enter to find the treasure inside. And oh what plunder there is to be gained.

On first setting foot inside, I’m reminded of the time I took my son on a sleepover in a submarine. For such a small vessel, the inside was packed with compartments that, had I’d not known better, I’d think the sub was much larger from the outside. The same illusion occurs on first entering the Dawn Treader. The store entrance is spacious and open–that is if you consider a 6’ by 10 foot area surrounded by bookshelves as open. On the left is the cash register with stacks of books on the floor and desk, siren’s temptation that calls to you when making a purchase—“buy me, just one more book.” There are a few shallow steps up into what can only be described as narrow winding passageways of shelves filled with books. The different paths take you deep into the store–more so than one would believe could be the capacity from the view outside of the store front.

Antiquities to contemporary books pack the shelves. Along one passage there is a cart of mystery and suspense novels that are all signed by the authors. On this sojourn, I found two such treasures, King of the Corner by Loren D. Estelman and The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer–both 1st editions & 1st printings.

At the furthest depths of the store the “passageway” opens up into the best collection of Science Fiction/Fantasy that I’ve seen anywhere. It rivals even King Bookstore, a 5 story monolith bookstore in the heart of Detroit. A curving 20-30’ wall contains floor to ceiling shelves of tightly packed hardcovers. Three rows of 2 sets of bookshelves, also floor to ceiling, are tightly packed with paperbacks. Many decades are well represented by great stories, such as the 1970s. I uncovered original paperbacks from classic, and still incredible series, such as Thieves’ World, Conan, and the original Star Trek.

Part of lore for the magical world of the Fey is that time spent there does not measure in the same way as the mortal world. Time exploring the “decks” of the Dawn Treader is the same. Beware of entering the store, thinking you have ten minutes to kill, as an hour will pass when next you leave the premises. Enter if you dare.

Dawn Treader – Established since 1992 (per website)

514 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor, MI 48104

(734) 995-1008
11 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday,
11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday,
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

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Exploring writing with & for writers and readers.

Tag Archives: bookstores

Pieces and Pages – First 2 Find a Gem

Amazon, Hachette and “the wretched $9.99 price point”

Entering the Ogre’s Cave: Book Castle’s Movie World

Voyaging at the Dawn Treader