A whole month since the last update... where did that month go! Sorry!
Well, on Tuesday 2nd November The Gutter Bookshop was one year-old. I'd planned to have a little party, or at least some cake and some balloons but we had been asked to host a book launch for Fintan O'Toole, an Irish Times journalist and economic commentator, for his new book 'Enough is Enough' which lays down a plan for re-building Ireland's economy and for creating a new Republic for Ireland. This seemed like such an apt way to end the first year. It's been a good year, better than I expected and I'm thrilled that we're still standing after the year - no mean feat in the current climate. And, that's the real worry now. I always thought the first year would be the hardest and that we could build from there but with the hardest budget ever to hit Irish people due in about 3 weeks we've noticed a real drop in sales over the past couple of weeks as people become much more cautious about their spending. Something tells me that year two might be just as tricky as year one.
But, I do want to thank everyone for all the support they've given us this year. The enthusiasm and encouragement we've received from customers and friends has made this year a wonderful one and we're delighted that so many people have supported the Gutter Bookshop.
September was such a busy month! Have to work out a way of getting this diary updated more often but I promise you it's not because I can't be bothered, it's just that time seems to be in short supply at the moment. Something I can't complain about too much as it means I'm definitely not sitting in the shop all day twiddling my thumbs and waiting for a customer to come along but it is amazing how quickly you can fall behind when there's a lot to get done.
The question came up again earlier this week about whether people should bother buying books from independent bookshops who don't discount heavily. Now, I must admit, I didn't manage to read the original article and don't seem to be able to find it online but I believe the general gist of it was 'you would be foolish to pay more for a book in one bookshop when you could get exactly the same item cheaper elsewhere'. The writer is someone who has bought books from us in the past and someone who I've had various conversations about the state of the booktrade with so I'm guessing it was a deliberate attempt to start a debate rather than a personally held statement but as with all these things, it did make me consider the validity of what we do.
The first thing I am always quite upfront with people about is that, if they are looking for the new Maeve Binchy or Cecelia Ahern, they will most likely find it cheaper (if not half-price) at Easons or Waterstone's down the road (a 15 minute walk away). That's not to say that we don't stock these books, we do, and we do in fact sell them to people too. Our biggest seller at the moment is Man Booker Shortlisted title 'Room' by Emma Donoghue. We sell at full price (approx 16 euro) whilst I imagine the big chains are selling it at around 13 euro. But I still believe we offer good value. Good value is more than just price and I believe that people understand this. People choose to buy books from us (knowing they could probably save 3 euro if they walked another 15 minutes) because we are convenient (like nipping to the cornershop instead of the supermarket) but also because we are careful about the books we select and promote. We take time to highlight books that we believe are worth reading rather than piling everything high and hoping that the customer picks something and hands over their money before they realise it's not actually very good. Every month our bestsellers come from our 'Staff Picks' bay - highlighting that readers love to be recommended a good book by someone else - something the chains still struggle to do effectively. We also make a large number of sales through our events. This month we actively participated in Culture Night 2010 - a great night that also brought lots of new people into our shop. Building a strong events programme and becoming an active member of the community was always part of our aim and again highlights the 'value' we give our customers. We talk to our customers, recommend books for them, hunt down difficult to find books and order them in. We share our knowledge and our love of reading. It's also worth mentioning that 95% of our books are exactly the same price or cheaper than they are in the chains so it's only really the big new bestsellers that we can't match them on. I think that adds up to pretty good value for our customers.
There's still stacks to say on independent businesses versus the chains but I've said a lot of it before and I think most people already understand the benefits of supporting indies in their communities. In the end, as with most things, time will tell. But at the 'almost end' of our first year in business I've been wonderfully surprised and thrilled with how our local community, and the Dublin book community, have embraced and supported us. I only hope that we can continue to build on it.
It's strange sometimes how running a business can affect you. I'm typing this at 6am after waking up over an hour ago with head full of stuff that I need to get done urgently. Practically, there's little of it I can actually get done at this time of day (I'm not sure it's such a good time to be phoning people!) but sometimes it's impossible to stop your head whirring when there's so much to get done. In practical terms, my sleepless nights over the viability of the business are pretty much over - (although I'll still be much happier once the first year is over at the start of November) but we're now at the stage where we have so many things going on that it's hard to keep up-to-date with all of them. Not such a bad place to be, but not a particularly stress-free one either!
I can't believe it's taken me a month to write a dairy update! Apologies to anyone who has logged in hoping for a bit of news - it's been a tough month. The shop is still doing ok though, which is a relief. I think I'd just hit a personal exhaustion spot and really needed to chill out for a few days. I'm used to working for long periods without much of a break (the wonderful world of retail!) but I haven't really stopped since starting to set up The Gutter Bookshop in September last year so I think my batteries have just been completely worn down. Sadly, I still haven't managed more than 3 days off together but hopefully I can get another mini-break squeezed in before the Autumn season (see I'm trying to avoid the 'C' word honest!) kicks in. Saying that, I've just been updating our September Events page and we're going to be very busy... But I will write more diary entries, honest!
Ahh, Christmas... I know, and I'm sorry, but living in the world of retail that is a word that hangs over us for the entire year and causes both excitement and trepidation. Before opening up The Gutter Bookshop I worked as a book buyer for a chain of Irish bookshops called Hughes & Hughes and when we move into a new job we always take skills and knowledge from our previous careers with us. This means that, despite being a small independent bookshop, I have begun my preparations for the dreaded C (X?) word already...
Most publishers are currently compiling their 'Autumn Highlights' lists, those books which they hope will ignite readers' imaginations, and set tills ringing, this Christmas. Our job, as an independent bookshop is to sift through this information for the books that will work for us and that we are happy to recommend to our customers. Publishers will obviously focus on those books that will sell by the multiple thousands across the big bookselling chains - big women's fiction (if you know what I mean!), celebrity memoirs, famous chefs' latest cookery tome etc. All well and good but it does tend to mean that all the big bookselling chains end up looking the same in the run up to Christmas with the same books presented identically in each shop (normally swathed in an assortment of Half Price stickers). I see our role as offerring an alternative to this selection. We don't have to sell a thousand copies of something to make our money back on it so we can pick up some of the quirkier books out there that probably won't see the light of day in a big bookshop - no doubt they'll have it in stock somewhere but it certainly won't be prominently displayed. This year I've already spotted a couple of hidden gems that I think out customers will love and I can't wait to have them on our front table with an 'independently chosen for you - by us' sign above them.
And it's not all about books - everyone knows that there's more to bookshops than books these days. Last year we had a great success with our range of wonderful puppets. This year we've unearthed some different gifts that we feel compliment our book range. All arriving in September (see you need to plan ahead!)
Now, where did I put my Santa hat?....
Bearing in mind my last diary entry below I've been thinking about a conversation I had with a lady in the shop last week. She came to the counter to buy her book and complimented us on the bookshop - a lovely thing to do and one of the wonderful things about being an independent bookseller - people recognise that it's our business and want to tell us how much they enjoy shopping there. Anyway, as quite often happens she asked how long we had been open. I explained that we had been open for 8 months but that we're still finding our way really, adjusting our stock and layout as we learn more about what our customers want. 'You should try to get some press' she said 'to let people know that you're here'. 'Oh' I said 'Well we have managed to get a bit in the Irish Times and the Irish Independent, and The Dubliner did a nice piece on us, oh, and I have done a couple of telly bits as well'. 'Well, I haven't seen anything' she said to which of course I have no reply. What it does remind me is that Dublin is a big city and that whilst I may think that people are sick of the sight of me by now, in fact most people don't even know we exist so we have to keep trying to reach out to them as many ways as they can. What, of course, is wonderful about her comment is that she wished that she had heard about us sooner - an indication that we must be doing something right.
A very busy week last week with two book launches and our monthly Classics Book Group meeting. It's always great to the do the book launches and welcome new people into the bookshop - it's a constant reminder that although we've now been going for 7 months and I feel that I've managed to get our name into every bit of media under the sun, that in fact we've barely scratched the surface in terms of letting people know that we're here. Now, I'm not expecting everyone on the planet to start buying their books from us (I'd have to put in a second till for starters) but it's great to think that we've still got years of being 'discovered' ahead of us. Although I still have decide how long I can continue telling people that we're new... one telling factor is that when people walk into the shop these day they say 'oh, doesn't it smell nice' but they're talking about the smell of new books rather than the smell of fresh paint!
We've been open for 6 months! Where did the time go?! We're actually not far off 7 months now (we opened on 3rd November 2009) but this is the first time I've really had a chance to think about it. It's getting a bit funny with customers now when they say 'how long have you been here? - I try to say 'only 6 months' in my nicest possible way but you can see them suddenly realise the last time they came shopping in our part of town. I've decided that we can remain 'new' for at least a year though and I feel that we still have a very 'new' feel about us - hopefully in a 'fresh' way, not in a 'haven't got a clue what we're doing' way.
In June we're participating in Independent Bookseller's Week (I know, it does sound like one of those made up industry things like 'Fromage Frais Day' etc.) and I guess it is but it does allow us to shout about our status as an independent business and all the things we get up to - see our Events list for more information and come along and support us if you can!
Last week saw the launch of the UK and Irish branch of IndieBound, an American community-oriented movement set up by the American Booksellers Association to encourage people to support their local independent retailers. Their aims, according to the website are to:
"bring together booksellers, readers, indie retailers, local business alliances, and anyone else with a passionate belief that healthy local economies help communities thrive. Supporting local, indie businesses means that dollars, jobs, diversity, choice, and taxes stay local, creating strong, unique communities and happy citizens."
We've signed up to be involved with IndieBound and received our first batch of posters, bookmarks and other promotional material last week. We'll be using it to tie-in with Independent Booksellers Week which runs 14th - 21st June 2010 in order to maximise people's awareness of our status as an independent bookshop, and to tie-in with various events we're planning for this week.
But why does it matter?
It's a question I'm always asking myself. We can get everything we could possibly need from the supermarkets, the big brand chain stores, and the internet. Small, local stores were important in the days where we had restricted access to goods and information, and relied on our local communities for support and conversation. Why would we stick with small and local when we can have huge and global?
I do have some answers, but I can't even pretend that I'm sure they're right. I'm not going to offer them here. I think it's a question can consider for themselves and decide what works for them. I hope there's enough people who come to the same conclusions as me otherwise the bookshop won't keep on working. The good news is that it seems to be doing ok at the moment which suggests that small and local does still have a place in a big big world.
I've been struggling for the past couple of weeks. The Gutter Bookshop has now been open for almost 6 months (my, how the time has flown) and I think I've run out of energy! I'm still struggling through a huge pile of work and feel like I'm way behind on where I want to be - lots of emails I've been meaning to write and a to-do list that seems to get endlessly longer rather than shorter.
One problem with running your own business is that there's no-one to give you a kick up the backside when you most need it - you have to dig deep and rediscover your own enthusiasm and energy. At the moment, I'm coming up dry.
Saying that, we are of course succeeding in many ways. Our lovely customers have been so supportive and positive about having us here and our events programme continues to grow and attract new people into the shop. The Gutter Bookshop has allowed me to meet, and get to know, so many wonderfully interesting people and I've learnt so much from them over the last 6 months.
My plan for re-finding my path is to make two lists - one for the urgent projects that I need to get resolved in the next two weeks so that I can concentrate on getting them done. The other list will be those long term goals I want to achieve but don't need to be dealt with urgently. I'm going to write it out and put it away for the next two weeks so that I don't even have to think about it. By giving myself the short-term goals I won't be so daunted by a huge list of tasks I can't possibly complete. The rule is, that even if I haven't finished all of the short-term goals, the other list reappears after two weeks and gets revised - even if I end up with another list of short-term tasks!
Wish me luck...
I can't believe it's been 2 weeks again before I've had a chance to update this diary but it does lead me onto the subject that I wanted to write about - where does the time go?!
We've now been trading for just over 5 months and, whilst I feel a bit more settled into our systems (I've worked out how to pay the bills on time - just about!) I still feel we have a long way to go before we're truly settled into the rhythm of the shop - and have a slight suspicion that we never really will.
I always think of the times when I've started any new job - those first few weeks when you don't really know what you're doing and there doesn't seem to be quite enough work to keep you busy (but that's ok because it takes you twice as long to do everything anyway). Then, suddenly, after about 3 weeks you discover you're inbox is overflowing, you seem to be spending your entire life in meetings, and you realise that there's never going to be enough hours in the day. That's the stage I feel that we're at at the moment.
So many people have contacted us with great ideas of events we can hold in the shop, we have so many ideas of our own on how we can improve the shop for our customers, and there's still all the day-to-day things to be done as well (I really need to find the time to complete that end of 2009 VAT Return!). After the initial period of just getting the shop open everyday and setting up some basic systems we're now deep into a period of trying to grasp all the opportunities that are starting to become apparent. A few late nights might be called for I think...
One thing I must say is how wonderfully supportive people have been - from publishers and authors who have popped in to see us and arranged events with us, to our wonderful customers who tell us how much they love our shop and who keep us going by buying their books from us. It's a lovely feeling, at the end of the day, to know that people like you being there. And it's what makes our business work.
Last Saturday I was out of the bookshop in order to attend the Irish Booksellers' Association Annual Conference and as the taxi driver said to the UK and Irish President Sharon Murray on the way to the hotel 'sounds like a waste of a good day'! But it turned out to be a highly interesting and beneficial day for the bookshop.
Firstly, I have to admit I sit on the Irish BA Council so have a vested interest in promoting the Conference, but from an independent bookshop's point-of-view I can honestly say that the day had benefits for the shop that outweigh the costs (which were by the way €150 for the day conference and €60 for the evening dinner dance). I'm aware that a number of other independent booksellers had decided not to attend given the current economic climate and because they felt that this did not offer value for money. I guess with all these things, you get what you put into it and take from it what you want.
I won't go into details of what we covered at conference, needless to say the Irish economy was dealt with along with the future of printed books as well as practical sessions on cost-cutting and team-building. What interests me most about these kind of events is the additional things you take away from them that recoups your costs so here is a brief synopsis of what I got for my conference fee:
Knowledge that we should have free access to Ireland's Top 1,000 Chart every week to check we have all the bestsellers in stock, lots of free books - some of which are 'proofs' (i.e. pre-publication reading copies to entice you to order and recommend them to customers) but the majority of which can be added to store stock and sold to customers (publishers shouldn't mind this because if we sell one we'll order more so everyone wins!), a new contact who can supply us with travel guides to Ireland in foreign languages - something we get asked for regularly but have trouble supplying, a number of new publisher contacts who we can work with on events and promotions, one new children's event where we just need to firm up details on, and one booklaunch for a very big Irish author which we will announcing in the next few days.
All of which, when put together, will earn us way more than the entry fee. So, would I recommend people to attend their Annual Conferences (regardless of the business they're in)? - Yes. But remember, you only get out of it what you put into it.
Before starting The Gutter Bookshop I'd never been part of a Reading Group, or had any great desire to join one. I felt that reading was a private affair, and what I took from the books I read was mine to do with as I pleased. If I particularly enjoyed a book I would tell a friend about it, or quite often insist that they borrowed my copy in the knowledge that I'd probably never see it again (I wonder how that will work in the age of the eBook?), but being thrilled to know that they would enjoy it every bit as much as me. We knew that running a successful independent bookshop would mean spending a lot of time organising, and participating in, a wide range of events and that reading groups would most likely be a part of that. So, with a slight reluctance, I launched our 2 book groups in January of this year.
I'm now a Reading Group convert! Despite sometimes being a heavy reading load (2 x 600 page giants last month!) that can be a distraction from all those other books I just have to read, I really look forward to our monthly meetings. It helps that both groups are full of enthusiastic readers who, whilst not always enjoying the chosen book, are always interested in talking about it and the things they liked (or quite often didn't like) about the book. It's also very revealing to discuss the books with other people who have often taken a different view of the book, and I always feel that I've learnt something from the other Reading Group members.
In March our book groups discussed 'The Woman in White' by Wilkie Collins (Classics group) and 'The Poisonwood Bible' by Barbara Kingsolver (General group). Both these groups are currently full but if you'd like to join please email us at info@gutterbookshop.com or phone us on 01-6799206 and we'll add you to the Waiting List.
In April, in conjunction with Temple Bar Cultural Trust's new 'Get Active' programme for the Over 55's we are launching a new daytime Reading Group. If you are interested in joining this new group please see the details in Events or contact Eimear Chaomhanach at TBCT on 01-6772255 or see www.templebar.ie
Apologies for the delay in updating the website - the last few weeks have been very busy (not something I'm complaining about!) The shop finally feels as though it's falling into a steady rhythm but I still feel that we have a long way to go before we're offering the best possible range and experience to our customers. It's difficult when you have a very strong vision of what you would like the shop to be to admit that it will take time and a lot of effort to get there - and that you have to keep on tweaking your vision based on customer's comments and feedback. There's also lots of extra things that we'd love to introduce into the shop that we simply can't afford at the moment - when all of the stock is being funded out of your personal savings you have to keep a tight lid on your spending!
Spring finally seems to have arrived on Cow's Lane though - we've had a couple of week's of dry weather and the sun has been shining which makes all the difference to the feel of the street (and my mood). The Design Market has started again this morning and there seems to be a much stronger selection of different arts and crafts available this year - I hope it does well, not just because it benefits us to have something interesting going on on the street, but because these are the first steps for a few people in starting their own small businesses - difficult enough at the best of times, and twice as difficult in a downturn like now.
What an exhausting week! Ann and Sinead are looking after the store this weekend whilst I sleep for 48 hours. It'll certainly be good to wave a grey February goodbye - March is the start of Spring for me (I know others argue February is Spring but I just can't see it myself!). But I'm not complaining about the store - our customers continue to be wonderfully supportive and we're now getting to recognise faces who are returning to us for more books, always a wonderfully positive sign that we're getting something right. Saying that, we're constantly looking for ways to improve the shop and it'll certainly be a while yet before we feel satisfied that the shop is looking, and behaving, in the way that we would like.
So, thank you to everyone who has supported us so far, do let us know what you think - in person or by email if you prefer. And don't be afraid to tell us what would make the store better - we'll only get better if we listen to what we're being told!
Where does the time go? It's been a busy couple of weeks with various events (both in the happening, and in the planning) taking up lots of time, plus the shop has been busier than predicted - hurrah! - in both January and February, and I've been putting lots of time into tweaking our stock profile and lining up some new stationery/gift suppliers to take us through the Spring. I feel like I've finished that first period you get in any new job where you're getting to learn how things work and are never quite sure what to do next, and am now in the thick of an overflowing inbox and not enough hours in the day. It's a common complaint from me - and a lot of other people - and I know it's all about time management and priorities and there's endless books on how you can be a successful business person on just 5 hours a week but I'm happy to stand up and say that I'm a perfectionist and a workaholic - I love working and it brings me an enormous amount of joy and self-fulfillment. What I need to work on is accepting that I can't do it all today - some of it just has to wait for tomorrow, and always will.
On a different track, I was inspired by Haruki Murakami's book 'What I Talk About When I Talk About Running' and by a friend who is currently training to run her first half-marathon to take up running as a hobby. We'll see how it works out (I've never been a great one for fitness regimes) but I have invested €100 in a proper pair of running shoes so I'd better get out there and use them.
Earlier this week I was made aware of an interesting American campaign called the 3/50 Project. The basic idea is that you choose 3 local independent shops that you value and would like to remain in business, and aim to spend 50 euro/dollars/whatever in those 3 stores over the period of one month. The originator of the campaign claims that for each $100 spent in an independent store, $68 of that money is returned into your local community via taxes, payroll and other expenditure. This compares with $43 if you shop in a chain or $0 if you shop online (presumably this doesn't quite take into account that an online supplier may be based in your area and providing local jobs but chances are that they're not). Obviously, these figures will vary slightly for Ireland and the UK but it sounds pretty universal.
Obviously, as an independent business, there's a straightforward reason why I would favour a campaign like this but it did make me think about the businesses I support, and spend money in. For the past few years I've consciously chosen to spend money in Irish supermarkets rather than UK ones. I've supported local farmers' markets and, where possible, bought from small businesses rather than chains but the power of advertising and big brands can be hard to resist, and when money is tight it's hard to justify spending money in one place when you can get the same product cheaper in a big store just around the corner. But sometimes you realise that shopping isn't always about cheapest, it's often about best value and having an enjoyable experience, with good customer service and a sense that your supporting local people can be worth spending a couple of extra euro on.
So, where does this leave us? I've always said that I wouldn't want anyone to buy books from us out of pity. We aim to provide something different than the chains - we certainly can't afford to sell Cecelia Ahern books at half price because we simply can't afford to buy 1,000 of them at a time. It's telling that our bestselling books never bear much resemblance to the official charts. Our individual Staff Picks remain our best-selling books and we aim to provide great customer service and a personal touch. It's value of a different kind I guess. I certainly don't believe that all independent businesses deserve to be supported - but the good ones, the ones that add something to their local communities and make us smile when we buy something from them, they really do deserve our support.
This month I will be buying my coffee and cakes from The Queen of Tarts or the Temple Bar Bakery. I'll be buying my hardware needs from Decwell's or, for home, from Malahide Hardwares. I'll be buying flowers from Malahide Florist and picking up veggies from the Temple Bar Market. These are all businesses I'd really miss if they were to go, so I'll be spending my €50 in the hope that my extra bit of cash will keep them alive.
Oh, and I'll be buying some greetings cards and books from The Gutter Bookshop, of course!
Where does the time go?! It's all been very busy over the last week or so with our events - Poetry Night last week, and the launch for Tiffany Murray and our Reading Group this week so I haven't had the chance to catch-up on lots of things including the website. Anyway, I've updated our February Events on the Homepage and it's shaping up well - the Reading groups and Poetry Night were all successful so we're doing them again next month, along with a launch for 'Saving Darfur' by Rob Crilly and our first schools' event with Irish children's writer Garrett Carr. It's great to see a strong events programme coming together because it's what will make us different than the other bookshops - we may not be able to offer you Jordan signing 'her' new 'novel' but hopefully we can bring like-minded literary people together for interesting and enjoyable events.
So, what else? Well, the iPad landed this week and after all my wittering on below it didn't rock my world in the way that I thought it would. Personally, I think it looks great and as a leisure PC I can see it appealing to lots of people - but I don't think it's going to stop people buying books. Strangely I can see it working well for magazines and newspapers where you dip in and out and where additional content could really add something, but for a linear storyline like most novels, where you are reading text ongoing for a couple of hours I don't think it'll be great off this kind of device. Strangely I'm more worried about the iBooks website which will be glitzy enough to make people want e-books whatever their device. But with no plans to make it available in the UK/Ireland anytime soon I'm not too worried just yet.
In other news... the shop continues to settle in and find its way. I sometimes forget that we've only been there for 10 weeks and it'll take a while to get everything in place. I've never been known for my patience... We've ordered more greetings cards to give a better range, we're developing the literary fiction side of things as this does well for us and we're hoping to bring in graphic novels too. We finally started selling stamps and we've agreed on February New Titles which means we will be better prepared next month. I'm still having some sleepless nights around cashflow and the overall financial position of the shop but despite a horrific start to January due to snow and ice we seem to be holding up well. Here's hoping February stays mild and dry!
This week I've been thinking about e-books and e-book readers. This is in no small part due to my Twitter addiction where the future of the book, and of writing, is one of the hottest topics under discussion. As a new, small, independent bookshop I feel it's important that we think about what the future may hold, and what our part in that future will be (and indeed, if we have a part...)
First of all, this will be a personal piece and you should know where I stand. I'm not particularly excited by new technology and I don't profess to have a huge wealth of knowledge about things technological. I'm not an 'early adopter' who runs out to buy the latest gadget and scans the internet for new and improved models of existing technology. It took me a long time to get around to buying a mobile phone and I still don't use it much, I do have an MP3 player but I've never had an iPod or iPhone, and whilst I taught myself web design (my family are all computer programmers so I was brought up with computers) I tend to use technology to communicate with real people rather than living in a virtual world. I rarely shop online (apart from things like plane and concert tickets) as I prefer to physically see what I'm purchasing before committing and I never seem to be around to accept deliveries. So, the first question that raises is - how outdated am I?
Last year saw the UK/Irish launch of the Amazon Kindle - an e-reader supplied exclusively via Amazon that allows you to wirelessly download books and read them on a screen that utilises new technology to give an experience similar to reading print. Sony Readers have been selling steadily on the High Street for the past couple of years. In the next month or so Apple will launch their own e-reader (possibly called the iSlate) which, like the iPod and iPhone, is expected to quickly become the market leader due to its combination of usability and design. The prediction in some camps is that books will follow a similar course to music with the adoption of e-readers growing and the sales of 'books' moving online where e-books can be downloaded onto the device quickly and easily. Physical bookshops, especially the large chains, will find it hard to make enough sales to cover their costs. Independent bookshops may survive through strong community links and by catering to a specialist market who still want printed books, like independent record shops who sell vinyl to enthusiasts.
So, is this what will happen? And if so, how quickly? Firstly, there is a difference between books and music. Listening to your favourite band is the same whether you use an MP3 player or a CD player. But reading a book on an electronic device is a different way of accessing the media, and the experience is different. I'm 37 and whilst I believe many people under 25 may be as happy reading text from a screen as in a book I think there's a lot of people who will struggle to switch their reading habit into an electronic format. Then there's the format itself - carrying a mobile CD player was bulky and you had to carry CDs as well, MP3 players were smaller, better and had numerous immediate benefits over the CD players. E-readers don't have a lot of these benefits (yet?) - yes, they can store large quantities of books at a time, but only a minority of people want more than one book at a time and the cost difference between a printed and a downloadable book is not currently that great. E-Readers require charging and looking after, and they can't be swapped or left behind like a lot people do with their books whilst travelling. These may seem like weak arguments in the face of new technology, but I'm genuinely interested in the idea that large scale adoption of new technology is always based on the fact that it is easier and better than that which it replaces. As e-readers become more multifunctional - with access to magazines, newspapers, documents and photos perhaps the benefits begin to make it a better format for reading than a printed book.
One thing that also intrigues me is what happens to book festivals, author events and signings when the physical books don't exist anymore? A big draw for these events is to obtain a signed copy of a favourite book. And how does anyone actually make any money when (if the music industry is the closest example) everyone begins to believe that they should have access to the material for free? In a world where people can talk to their favourite authors via Twitter or other networking sites, do they need to have a book signed by them? Events, launches and readings are big parts of how independent bookshops survive these days and whilst fans will pay good money to see their music heroes play live gigs, and thus create a new form of revenue for the artist, does the same apply for writers? Authors need to make money from their writing to make it a viable career so how do they create that income?
I'm sure I'll come back to this topic again in the next few weeks - it's done me good to get some thoughts out of my head but I'm well aware that I've not reached any conclusions and have certainly asked more questions than I've answered - something tells me that everyone else in in the same boat. For now, we're watching the development of e-readers and e-books and wondering if it's worth us selling them, and their accessories, as another revenue stream. Or are we better off letting the new technology look after itself whilst we cater to our possibly-soon-to-be specialist market of people who like printed books?
Darn, ended on another question...
I've drawn from lots of different places to write this little piece, but the people who have interested me the most in the e-reader debate so far have been Jose Afonso Furtado and Eoin Purcell - but you can't move on the Net at the minute for e-reader debate, even Margaret Atwood has a say in her own inimitable style!
I've become addicted to Twitter recently. It was something I avoided at first because I couldn’t work out how it would drive customers into the shop to buy things, and therefore didn’t seem relevant to expanding our business. But I thought I’d better give it a go with my ‘no stone left unturned’ kind of attitude and now I can see why it’s completely relevant to what we’re doing with an independent bookshop.
The first thing that hits you with Twitter is the constant stream of information – like listening to 20 conversations at the same time, but it’s amazing how quickly your brain learns to filter and adapt to new methods of communication, and whilst it can still feel overwhelming at times, it soon becomes second nature like any other new IT habit. But how does it help my business? Well, one thing you quickly find is that it’s not simply a marketing platform. If you spend your time shouting ‘come to my shop and buy things’ (in 140 characters or less) nobody pays you any attention and you may as well give up. In my mind, if email was stage one, and social networking sites such as Facebook are stage two in terms of keeping in touch with people around you, then Twitter takes it to stage three. People who choose to follow you, and people you choose to follow, are like friends. At first you may not know them that well but as you listen and communicate with them you discover they each have individual voices and opinions - and most importantly, stacks of knowledge that is just dying to be utilised. You also tend to find that they are ‘early adopters’ (as I believe the marketing term is) – they’re interested in discovering new things, and ways of doing things, that may not have hit the mainstream yet – which can give you an insight into new opportunities and ideas.
All well and good but, in practical terms, what has this done for my business? Well, at least three of our followers have made the trip into our store and spent money because they know (and like) us via Twitter. Ok, not a life-changing figure but we’re still very new and I'm not about to sniff at any sale. We’ve also been offered a great children’s book event via Twitter – which will bring in more people and create more coverage for the store. But Twitter users are also incredibly supportive and enthusiastic about we're doing - and on a day when you're down and wondering if you've made the right decisions, a band of like-minded people around you offering support and encouragement is a truly wonderful thing.
