January 17, 2012

Reflections from Roger Pearse: Christian bookshops – the key part of the local church?

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Bookshops, Guest Posts | Tags: , , , , |
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MY THANKS to Roger Pearse for kind permission to reproduce this thought provoking and challenging post from his blog, all the more challenging given the number of bookshop closures we’ve seen over the last year or so. Roger’s observations echo many of the conversations we’ve had here over the years, going right back to my Christian Bookshops — who needs them? (2008) and The Future Shape of Christian Bookselling (2009) amongst others; but it’s a conversation that is far from over and, if we’re to find a way through the present crisis, it needs to continue — with even more urgency than we’ve pursued it before.

All comments and feedback welcome here, as always, but don’t miss the discussion emerging over on Roger’s original post…

Christian bookshops – the key part of the local church?

I did something unusual today. I didn’t buy a book from Amazon.

Not that I buy a book every day from Amazon: I mean that I decided to buy a book, but to order it in from my local Christian bookshop.

Almost certainly it will cost more. But the Christian bookshop is a funny thing. That’s because it isn’t really just a bookshop.

A friend gave me the name of the manager of my local one at Christmas, and I’ve popped in and introduced myself. Suddenly I find myself connected to a network of people who know people, or know of someone. Today I wanted to learn of someone connected to me who was working in the church in a town in the south of England, in order to help someone. The lady knew of someone. For the managers of these places effectively function as an information exchange.

The pastoral role of the Christian bookshop is invisible unless you know that it is there. Yet this too is critical — you can go in, and find people to talk to. The churches themselves — I mean real churches — are lamentably bad at working together in a single small town, and the common need of their members for books means that the bookshop acts as a centre, a place where notices are displayed and people congregate.

Some bookshops take it a step further and add on a coffee shop. St Aldates bookshop in Oxford ca. 1980 did just that. It was very cramped, but then students don’t mind that at all. I often went there as a convenient place to meet.

Christian bookshops came into being in the 60′s and 70′s because bookshops and news agents would not stock popular Christian paperback books or publications. You could order them, but this involved a long wait, no chance of browsing and often was frankly a faff.

Consequently the publishers started to set up retail outlets where their wares could be displayed. Since Christians always wanted the books of Michael Green or David Watson, they naturally became information exchanges.

The convenience of internet shopping means that it will usually be quicker and cheaper to buy a book at Amazon. That was not the case back in the day, since the Net Book Agreement standardised book prices anyway.

So the problem is that the modern Christian bookshop has no real economic basis. The publishers are finding them unviable. They can now sell their books through Amazon.

Yet the bookshop is needed. Indeed if you want some advice on books to buy — as I did today — what use is Amazon?

I don’t know what the answer is, I admit. Let us pray that God finds a way around this. Change is inevitable; but not at the price of wiping out the bookshop.

 

October 28, 2011

No change before Christmas as TMD prepares for “significant” reduction in range of suppliers

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Book Trade, Christian Suppliers, Wholesale Services | Tags: , , , , , , , |
[12] Comments 
Update, October 29, 2011: Eddie Olliffe reflects on the viability of specialist Christian wholesaling: Book Trade – Reflections on the UK specialist wholesaling model
TMD: Trust Media Distribution - The new name for STL Distribution

TMD: Trust Media Distribution

TWO ANNOUNCEMENTS in rapid succession from TMD this week have highlighted two of the constant challenges faced by Christian booksellers and retailers: stock availability and range.

In the first announcement, issued on Tuesday 25th October, TMD stated that their range of UK publishers would be “reduced significantly” following a review of their current supplier base. That review is now underway with conversations between TMD and suppliers that one, who did not wish to be named, described as “what appeared to be an ultimatum to improve terms or sever our relationship”.

Although TMD’s initial announcement specified that no significant changes would be made “until the New Year”, it nonetheless raised the inevitable spectre of previous disruptions to the supply chain in the run up to Christmas, and a second announcement reiterating that “Christmas supply will remain largely unaffected” was issued on Wednesday, a point that Pete Barnsley, TMD’s Supply Chain & Marketing Team Leader, was keen to emphasise in a conversation with him later that day: retailers can remain confident that it’s business as usual at TMD.

I asked Pete what the reduction in range implied for STL/TMD’s one-time ambition to be the “One Stop Shop” for Christian retailers and he acknowledged that those days were over, admitting that in some cases it makes more sense for retailers to go direct to publishers for better terms and availability.

Given that the publishers listed in the initial announcement fall largely into the evangelical/pop/USA categories, I also asked what the range reduction implied for the more academic, catholic, liberal and mainstream UK Christian publishers: is this a theological narrowing of the range or a focus on the “big guys”? Pete wouldn’t be drawn on who might be in or out until the review is complete but emphasised that TMD’s aim is to serve the entire Christian marketplace across denominational boundaries, and that publishers with a single line were as likely to be included in the new mix as those with hundreds of lines.

The situation, Pete explained, is a case of facing up to reality: better to focus on what TMD can do in terms of publishers whose product availability they can be confident of rather than raise unrealistic expectations amongst retailers and end up letting both them and, ultimately, their customers down.

Retailers whom I contacted were broadly empathetic: the “One Stop Shop” was a fantasy and few, if any, have been wholly reliant upon STL/TMD, sourcing elsewhere as necessary despite the inconvenience of the extra admin involved in dealing with smaller orders and extra invoices.

The question remaining is whether other distributors or wholesalers can step up to the mark? No one was available to comment from Norwich Books & Music, but Phil Burnham, CLC’s UK Director, advised that CLC Wholesale would be willing to assist where appropriate:

CLC Wholesale would be very happy to hear from booksellers if there are items in keeping with our Statement of Faith that they would regularly source from us if we carried them. I’ll pass on any related comments to my wholesale colleagues for their consideration.

 

October 24, 2011

How to Sell a Book: Radical thinking for authors, publishers and readers

Posted by Phil Groom under Book Trade Ramblings, Christian Book Trade, Musings... | Tags: , , , , |
[4] Comments 

THIS POST EMERGES out of a conversation in the Christian Authors, Booksellers and Publishers facebook group, in which we were discussing (amongst other things) the pros and cons of authors self-publishing v/s going with an established publisher. It’s a tough call for authors in the present economic climate, especially if your book doesn’t quite fit into a clearly-defined niche; and it’s a tough call for publishers: faced by the choice of investing in a debut work from an unknown writer or a new title from an established writer with a good track record, what would you do?

And if you’re a bookseller, how do you decide what to stock? Is the extra admin involved in stocking titles from self-published authors or smaller publishing houses really worth it? Is it better to wave them away, to tell them to go strike a deal with a distributor/wholesaler?

When I was running the bookshop at LST (a distant memory now) my approach was simple: if I thought a title from a small publisher / self-published author was likely to be of interest to my customers, then I’d take it, but initial stock had to be either 100% sale or return or 100% see-safe, carriage paid both ways by the supplier. It generally worked well enough — yes, there was some extra admin involved in dealing with small invoices and parceling up returns, but no big deal really, and I’d encourage any retailer to give it a go. Remember this, people: The Shack started off as self-published — by helping out a small publisher / self-published author in this way, you could be giving the next ‘Shack’ a kick-start!!

So far, not so radical; however…

For Authors and Publishers: Here’s a challenge for authors and publishers: do you believe in your book? Do you want to see it on booksellers’ shelves? Then start the ball rolling by sending them a complimentary copy and tell them it’s theirs to sell or give away; but if they opt to sell it, then when — when, not if! — it sells, they have to use the proceeds of the sale to buy another copy (less whatever your trade discount is, of course). Cost to you: one book + p&p; but potential winnings … who can say? And a straight win for them whether they sell it or give it away: either money for nothing or a happy customer gets a freebie and — another win for you — tells their friends about the lovely book…

It’s a risky strategy, of course: I can hear all the objections and questions already after so many publishers and suppliers have had their fingers burnt and worse in the last few years in the SPCK-SSG/STL-Wesley Owen/Living Oasis fiascos; but as someone far wiser than me once observed, faith is spelt r-i-s-k. If we, as Christ’s disciples, aren’t willing to trust one another, aren’t willing to live out our faith by taking such risks, then what hope is there for the rest of society? And what, exactly, is the point of running a Christian business? What message do our business relationships convey to the rest of society?

For Booksellers: Now the challenge for booksellers: would you be willing to take part in such a scheme? Would you be willing to accept complimentary initial stock from authors/publishers on this basis? Not sale or return; not see-safe; but sale and restock when sold or give away — to commit yourself to not simply relegating the book to a back room or obscure shelf somewhere but actively supporting this vision?

For Readers: And last but not least, a challenge for readers, for those like me on the outside looking in, watching the demise of bookshops around the country and wondering what we can do: adopt an author, a bookshop and/or a publisher! If there’s a book you’d like to see on sale in a particular bookshop, go to the author/publisher and pay for them to supply it to your nominated shop with your compliments.

Imagine, if you dare, the difference this could make if enough of us did it: not just me, not just you, but your friends too, the members of your church.

The future of Christian bookselling is in our hands, my friends: let’s seize the day!

 

June 4, 2011

Glenn Myers: Why I started telling stories to tell the truth

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Book Trade, Guest Posts | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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Glenn Myers

Glenn Myers

SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT over the weekend from Glenn Myers, indie publisher and author at Fizz Books as well as Mission Journalist and Website Editor at WEC International. Glenn has published extensively with Authentic Media, Christian Focus, Scripture Union and WEC Publications, titles ranging from his fresh-out-of-college World Christian Starter Kit through to the more recent Life Lessons (Christian Focus, 2010).

Like so many others, Glenn has been watching the chaos within the Christian book trade over the last few years with some concern; here he reflects on the power and importance of storytelling and wonders whether that’s part of what’s missing from many of our bookshops…

Why I started telling stories to tell the truth

I have worked for around twenty years in mission journalism (and you may even have stocked some of my books), but I rediscovered something while walking the dog one summer evening about six years ago: my first love was comic fiction. So I went part-time at work and wrote a novel, didn’t sell it, formed my own publisher, and am now discovering the joys of indie publishing — a familiar enough story.

It has opened my eyes, though, to the power and virtues of storytelling. Here are a few:

  • Humans have an insatiable desire for stories.
  • We learn truth through stories, by putting ourselves somewhere in the intersection between the story we are living and the story we are being told. Who, for example, hasn’t heard the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector and not wanted to pray like the Tax Collector?
  • Stories bring a heart-learning, not a head-learning: exactly, in other words, where we want the gospel to go.
  • Three-quarters of the Bible is story.
  • Jesus told stories all the time (except when he was teaching his disciples). In fact, when he talks about the farmer sowing the seed, he’s not talking about ‘preaching the gospel’, he’s talking about telling stories.
  • Jesus’ stories were (a) highly entertaining and (b) designed to make the hearers yearn for reconciliation with God, for a better world.
  • Stories give people space to think things through for themselves, and thus learn deeper and better. Stories fit people’s hearts.

My experience of Christian bookshops is that they are not nearly so story-filled as our culture or our Bible. And I agree with Philip Yancey that it is curious what books Christian bookshops typically don’t stock.

To take a couple of random examples: I’ve just finished The Language of God by the former head of the Human Genome Project, Francis Collins. Published in the UK by Simon and Schuster, it’s a moving story of Francis Collins’ conversion to Christ, and it’s also as accomplished an account of the differing roles of science and faith as I have ever read. Or take the novels of Marilynne Robinson, which have won both the Pulitzer Prize and the Orange Prize for fiction and are just magnificent in their accounts of grace and prodigality within a context of Christian ministry and life. That’s before you start trawling the ocean of classic novels with their redemptive themes. It would be an interesting exercise to get Christian people to list the novels and biographies that cause their hearts to burn and yearn after God. And then stock them.

I expect there are many difficulties with this idea. But Christian bookshops have plenty of difficulties anyway! And isn’t this where Christian bookshops belong? Imagine a curated collection of novels and biographies, from whatever publisher, that are (a) very good and (b) cause people to yearn to meet God. This would be a bookshop that truly was for the High Street; that had a wonderful offering for anyone who was looking for a book for themselves or a present for a friend; and that truly did sow seeds of life.

Nice to dream anyway…

  • Which novels and biographies, as Glenn puts it, make your heart “burn and yearn after God”?
  • Do you stock fiction in your shop?
  • If not, why not?
  • If so, which titles/publishers would you recommend to other booksellers wanting to get started in this area or expand their range?
 

February 28, 2011

Wider Book Trade – Phew, 8 weeks that started the year

Posted by eddieolliffe under Guest Posts | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
1 Comment 

This list documents extraordinary activity in the wider Book Trade in a few short weeks;

  • UK book sales fell 3% in 2010, selling £56m less than in 2009
  • NIV Bible eBook tops the USA bestseller list over the New Year
  • 2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible
  • Barnes & Noble USA do well over Christmas – thanks to their Nook eReader
  • Physical book sales continue to decline around the world
  • British Bookshops and Stationers go into administration
  • eBook debate intensifies – but with little clarity emerging
  • Digital Book World Conference is held in New York
  • Kindle; the most popular eBook reader – with sales overtaking paperbacks
  • Amazon record their first £10bn sales quarter
  • Waterstones owner HMV; shuts 11 UK stores, cuts HO jobs
  • WH Smith buy 22 British Bookshops and Stationers stores
  • UK Libraries under massive pressure due to imminent spending cuts
  • Borders USA enters Chapter 11 – and is effectively bankrupt
  • REDgroup Australia goes bust – leaving big UK debts
  • Borders Singapore shuts its doors
  • Zondervan loses its President and CEO, Moe Girkins 
  • Gardners launches the HIVE website in the UK
  • STL Distribution UK rebrands as Trust Media Distribution
  • Living Oasis has its ups and downs, causing some uncertainty

Only another 10 months left for this year – don’t hold your breath!

 

February 12, 2011

A Christian Bookseller’s Prayer

Posted by Phil Groom under Bookshop Ramblings | Tags: , , , , |
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Adapted with kind permission from One Bookstore Owner’s Prayer:

Dear Lord,

When we started out it all seemed so easy. You opened doors and directed our paths. We saw your hand in everything in those early days. We have our victory stories.

But now it’s different. Changing market conditions and rising costs are closing in on us. We’re stretched in so many ways. We have to work so much harder for the same results. Like soldiers in a battle, we grow weary and discouraged as we watch fellow-soldiers falling all around us. We’re pained and hurting from those who were once closest to us — local church staff — who no longer support our stores with their church purchasing; bulk sales we really need to make everything else possible.

Yes, we’re still reaching people. There’s nothing like the feeling that comes with selling a child or a teenager their first Bible. Or a middle-aged person who is connecting with you for the first time. There’s nothing like being there for someone in the middle of a life crisis, to offer a resource, or just to say, “We’ll remember you in prayer.” (And then to remember!) There’s nothing like helping a young worship leader locate that song they heard on the radio, or having a greeting card that puts perfectly into words the hope and encouragement someone wishes to offer.

But it’s getting harder and harder. We keep saying, “The ministry side only happens when the business side is viable.” These days, the financial side of things just isn’t happening.

Lord, we need wisdom. Lots of it. Probably a lot more than other people in retail. We need a sense of your direction for our lives as we seek to respond to an ever-changing landscape. We also need assurance, encouragement, confirmation. We need to find favour with our suppliers, our landlords, various levels of government, local churches and parachurch organizations, and even a renewed sense of common purpose with our employees. We need opportunities to help out other bookshops who are struggling, and interactions with other stores who might be able to help us out.

We also need revival. As individuals. As local communities. As the Church as a whole in this land. We know that if people hunger and thirst after you, they will also hunger and thirst to read the Bible, to study the scriptures, to reach out to their friends and neighbours and co-workers, to fill their homes with Christian music and Christian literature.

So many Christian radio stations, television stations, websites, megachurches, books being published; so why do those of us who have taken Christian resources to the marketplace struggle so much right now?

We face a time when people are apathetic about reading which converges with a time when people are spiritually apathetic. We need people to once again learn to love the word and to love The Word.

Lord renew our passion for you first, and then, secondly for the things of you. Help us to find the means and the methods to lift your name in the middle of a hurting world. Keep us from buying products that do not truly exalt you. Keep us from being caught up in enthusiasm and emotion and purchasing things our local customers neither need nor want. Help us to have what it is that broken people are searching for at the time they most require it.

Help us to continue to show your love in the part of the world where you have placed us. Help us to be gracious when our closest friends and Church staff don’t support us. Help us to do our best to place the book and music items we have into homes and families.

Lord, we don’t deserve your blessing. But we humbly ask you to be merciful to us as we face unprecedented challenges.

For the honour of your name and the building of your kingdom, we pray;

Amen.

 

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