Summer is here and school is officially over in my area. The kids are
home and already bored. To start the summer, I decided to drag them all over
town to run errands and stock up the fridge. We live in a rural area of Vermont
so when we go into town it’s an all-day event. One store we hit was Barnes and
Noble.
Over the winter I discovered that both my kids have inherited my
competitive gene so we’re having a contest. Starting today until August 1st
we’ll see who reads the most books. Whoever wins gets to pick a local trip to
go on.
I haven’t been to Barnes and Noble in over a year so the changes were a
shock. Two things became very evident upon shopping:
1.
Genre shuffle
2.
Content for sale
First off, we went to the science fiction/fantasy isle for
my oldest. I did a double take when I found Charlaine Harris, JR Ward, Kim
Harrison, and Laurell K. Hamilton on the same shelves as Larry Niven, Tolkien,
and Terry Brooks. I would have expected them in romance. I shrugged and went to
the restroom. It’s on the second floor, way in the back of the store. THIS is
where I found the romance section. One isle, only on one side. The Harlequin
display was three small rows in the farthest corner of the store and NO ONE was
shopping it. My heart sank and is still sitting in my gut.
When did paranormal romance become science fiction/fantasy?
What happened to the three rows of romance books? And the shoppers I use to
bump elbows with?
Second, we went to kids section for my youngest to buy his
books. There were more LEGOS for sale than books. O_O All the kids in the area were playing with
the toys for sale. We were the only ones browsing books. This broke my heart.
Then we went down to the main floor. At this point my eyes
were open and searching the area, not as a mother but as a writer. Where were
all the hardcover book displays when people entered the store? There was one
small pyramid filled with books written my actors/comedians/reality TV stars. No
fiction.
OK.
The first floor consisted of their coffee shop, the check
out, and the huge NOOK center. (Not disappointed about the NOOK part. LOL) We
went to the back of the store and found massive shelves filled with all kinds
of mass market paperbacks. YAY!
Oh wait…
They’re all used books for sale.
WTF?
When did B&N start selling used books?
I had wanted to try looking for an agent next year and maybe
try my hand at the mass market paperback route of publishing but this makes me
worried. I know the industry is changing, sometimes so fast I can’t keep up.
(Obviously.) Who else sells these types
of books? Walmart, Costco, grocery stores? In my area, only the best sellers
hit those racks.
Now, like I mentioned, I don’t go to B&N often. I have a
NOOK because I live in a rural area and downloading a book is so much easier
than traveling the roads. Are your local B&N like this?
1 comment:
Wow, that is discouraging. I haven't been to a B&N for over a year but even then the % of books to other merchandise was definitely shrinking.
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