Comments for State of Independents

Comment on Sometimes the personal is the political by The Fidra Blog » Blog Archive » Okay, this isn’t the news I promised – I’m digressing…

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 17:32:16 +0000

[...] But if you want your high street to have a future that includes businesses other than huge conglomerates, that keeps jobs and investment and profits in your community then that’s in your own hands. Because voting in the election for the party you think might keep the country afloat is only part of it. We have another (sadly neglected at the moment) blog where we write about the trade side of bookselling and you can read about the latest shop local campaign being imported from the USA by the Booksellers Association here. [...]

Comment on Self Published Authors – before you send me your book bear this in mind… by The Fidra Blog » Blog Archive » Self-Published Books – another plea to budding writers

Thu, 20 May 2010 15:00:54 +0000

[...] I love being a bookseller but I never expected unsolicited approaches to stock self-published books to become the bane of my life and I feel inclined to issue some suggestions based on my own experiences. Vanessa has blogged about self publishing previously here: http://www.stateofindependents.co.uk/2010/03/self-published-authors-before-you-send-me-your-book-bea... [...]

Comment on Sometimes the personal is the political by Christine Coleman

Christine Coleman — Sun, 09 May 2010 17:38:02 +0000

This is something where I try to make small shift in readers’ attitudes to the issue of supporting small presses and Indie Book shops. I’ve produced a bookmark that I insert in every one of my books that I sell. I’ve removed the title of book and name of publisher as I don’t want to be thought to be trying to advertise my own wares.
I thought you might be interested in this as an idea you could maybe adapt for yourselves.

Without the existence of the small, independent publishers, some of the
books you have read and enjoyed, (including XX XXX) might never have been published. It is the sales and marketing team at the mainstream publishing houses who decide, often basing their judgement on whether or not a novel will appeal to the book-buyers at Tesco and other supermarkets.

You can support small publishers like XXXXX by writing reviews and spreading the word about the book, and by encouraging your friends to consider buying their own copy from the author’s website or independent book shops, to keep these books in print

Comment on Sometimes the personal is the political by Cat

Cat — Tue, 04 May 2010 21:44:25 +0000

Could not agree more….

Comment on Our trip to the London Book Fair by helen

helen — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 08:18:56 +0000

New Dorothy L Sayers book? How so? Thought DLS passed on a while back. I say that with respect.

Glad trip was fruitful.

Comment on Self Published Authors – before you send me your book bear this in mind… by Georgia Twynham

Georgia Twynham — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 20:33:17 +0000

Hi Vanessa,

My self-published title has just been put on the shelves of 75 Waterstones stores. So as excited as I am I have to agree with you. I paid good money for an Editor; we worked hard to find a strong cover. I spent time building a fan base then I went to Waterstones with proof of sales and audience. So on the one hand it can be done but on the other you had better be prepared to work 24/7 until you get it right and that’s just the beginning!
I must add that I couldn’t have done any of this without the constant help of my local Waterstones staff. Now I have to prove I deserve the 74 position!
If there are any grammatical errors in this document my editor doesn’t work on a Sunday night.
Best Wishes
Georgia Twynham

Comment on Our trip to the London Book Fair by Cat

Cat — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 22:07:38 +0000

Hmm…if you think Edinburgh is out of the way try my place at the very end of the a*** end of the world (as once famously described by a former Prime Minister). It comes alive writing wise for a week every second year. They are thinking of making it every year but I am not sure that will work.
To add insult to injury if we do the right thing and support our local indie it takes months and months to get books because of our publishing laws. Sigh….you really are at the very centre of the universe compared with us!

Comment on Our trip to the London Book Fair by Cat Anderson

Cat Anderson — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:12:06 +0000

Good summary and good points for publishers to take note of. In these challenging times one would hope that publishers are doing a hell of a lot to support the Independents…where I firmly believe the future of bookselling lies.
Very saddened by the “mostly schools and libraries” approach.
Can’t wait for the Louise Rennison and Moomins. Best publisher presentation I’ve ever been to was by Egmont – a quiz with a prize to wake us up followed by genuine enthusiam for the books due out. Oh and real filter coffee

Comment on An Education by Simon Cheshire

Simon Cheshire — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:17:46 +0000

‘Twas ever thus. It all boils down to individual teachers, in my experience.

If you’ve got an event that’s free, I’ve found that an ideal place to publicise it is the TES website’s noticeboard.

Comment on Self Published Authors – before you send me your book bear this in mind… by Dark Puss

Dark Puss — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 15:39:49 +0000

So you won’t be wanting my new kidult novel “Carmilla the Lesbian Vampyr Discovers Harry the Higgs Boson in Geneva” then?

Oh well back to writing for The Physical Review I suppose.