That Borders thing at Tobias Buckell Online

Journal Entry

That Borders thing

So a number of people refound my comment in my blog about the fact that Borders does not carry the hardcover of Sly Mongoose, for the most part, and it’s been passed around a little due to Pat Cadigan’s and Greg Frost’s discussions about the book biz.

For a while now, people have been writing and commenting in my blog complaining about not being able to find my books in their local Borders, and I’ve commented in passing that, yes, it’s pretty much true. B&N or an indy store or ordering online net better results.

People often get very outraged on my behalf, though I do try to just offer this nugget of info up without extra commentary. I appreciate the outrage, but I don’t know how helpful it all is.

The thing is, really, I’m doing okay. More than half of my income comes from fiction writing, please don’t go out and buy my books out of some sense of needing to ’support’ me. Buy my books if you actually feel compelled. Seriously. I’m 29, I’ve been shortlisted for a couple awards, gotten some nice reviews, and am just getting started and getting my name out there. I intend on being around and selling even more books.

This is a brutal business I chose, a mixing of creativity, art, business, and luck. Back when the first book came out, I remember sitting with another author at a party and trading what our pen names would be if the order-to-net death spiral killed our first book series. We were hopeful, but realistic.

So I’m still in the mix, and quite happy.

But would I like to be doing better? Oh yes sir, of course. I wouldn’t mind moving from 60% fiction income to 100%. Who wouldn’t?

So, it is with all that in mind that I say, yes, Borders pretty much doesn’t have Sly Mongoose shelved in most locations. With the second book, Ragamuffin, a hold was placed on it that stopped it from being reordered after people purchased it in 2007.

For example. In Toledo the Borders rep told me they’d sold 40-50 copies of Crystal Rain, it was one of their top selling titles for that store. Not surprising, as a lot of family and friends are in Toledo. With Ragamuffin, as Borders has a top-down book ordering policy, 2 copies were stocked. Those two sold the first morning they were put out (by two best friends). They were never restocked, as they had a ‘do not restock’ order on the books. No copies of Sly Mongoose were stocked.

This is because Borders central chooses what books to roll out across the entire chain, and across the entire chain, I wasn’t doing very well. Borders stores for the most part aren’t allowed to respond to in-house movement, and are not very independent. When I go around and sign stock (copies of any book stores happen to have on hand) and talk to managers, individual Borders are not able to change their orders.

That is how the hardcovers are doing at Borders.

At a signing recently a Borders employee who handsells my book told me they were not allowed to bring Sly Mongoose in store, despite their desire to sell it, and had purchased a copy of my book from another store to have me sign it.

Some readers have told me they are being told at Borders that they are not allowed to special order Sly Mongoose either.

I contrast this to chain bookstore Barnes and Noble. At B&N I often drop by to sign stock. I introduce myself to the CRM (community relations manager), a publicist for the store who handles signings, publicity, and community integration for the store. At Borders, there is usually confusion about who should talk to an author; is it the manager, asst. manager, etc. At a B&N, I sign copies of my book if they are there, and if the CRM is intrigued, they’ll often order my backlist and make sure its on hand for the next time I think I’ll swing through so that they can have autographed copies on hand.

Sometimes a B&N CRM will note that SF/F doesn’t do well for their store, and decline, which is fine by me. I’m always impressed and willing to listen. At Borders, even if they have my book, backlists do not get similarly reordered, I’m told that ‘central’ doesn’t like that.

Of late, supposedly, Borders is supposed to be changing to be more like B&N, where stores are more independent, but let’s just say that with the above experience, I’m not particularly surprised that in 2007 B&N had a profit, and Borders was some hundreds of millions in the hole.

I see now that Borders has narrowed the titles on shelves to focus even more on just bestsellers, and increased non-book related floorspace for items with higher profit margins (notebooks, pens, journals, etc).

But am I upset or bitter about this?

No not really. It’s Border’s problem more than mine. They’re running in the red and dying. I work for a finance website, their problems are not unknown. Heck, until I see on the ground improvement as an author I actually short their stock, so I’m making money off the back end of this.

I can’t even work up an anti-chain rant, because I live out in the middle of podunk. Until last year we had *no* non-mall bookstores within 60 miles of where I live, and in other places I can drive to the independents were snobbish about SF/F and had a *horrible* selection. I’d kill to have a Borders or a B&N in Lima, OH.

Also, this effects my *hardcovers* mainly. Borders carries my paperbacks, not as well stocked as I would like (and not my backlist), so there’s a chance you’ll find Ragamuffin in a Borders if you look. So the sky is hardly falling. And for right now, until I walk into a series of Borders and see them paying attention to what sells and not just repeating the words ‘central’ over and over again, I’ll continue happily shorting their stock with some of my advance money. I like easy money.

But here is the funny thing. I often go stock signing with a fellow author who has the exact opposite problem I do. They can’t find any of their books in B&N. It makes our stock signing trips funny, b/c if we alternate stores we alternate who gets to sign stock!

I do have my frustrations with what I’m doing. But I’d rather be frustrated doing this than have an easy time of just about any other job.

Filed under the topic Journal on September 15th 2008 at 8:37 am. You can subscribe to the RSS feed for this entry to keep track of comments. You can also use to trackback.

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24 Responses so far

1. Ken McConnell on Sep 15th, 2008 at 8:50 am
For what its worth, I no longer purchase books from Borders. I really don’t buy from B&N either. I order my fiction books from my local independently owned and operated book store. I have a relationship with them personally, as a reader and a budding author. I realize that such stores are rare these days, but if you have one near you, please use it.
As for Amazon, I order from them when I support new authors whose books are not readily available or are trying to make a name for themselves by boosting their Amazon rankings.
I’m sure the big chains don’t miss my dollars, but the little guys, really do appreciate my business.
2. Catherine Shaffer on Sep 15th, 2008 at 9:12 am
I’m glad you’re not letting this get to you, because it sounds like there’s nothing you can do. Still and all, it’s not right, and whether or not Borders has financial trouble, they are a major influence in the marketplace, and that IS impacting your bottom line. On a more positive note, I do see that business models such as Borders are fading away in the media marketplace, and consumers are seeking out and buying books, music, content that they like from whatever outlet carries it, rather than wandering into a store like Borders or Walmart (!) and having it spoon fed to them. So in the long term, you and I will survive this, but I don’t know if Borders will. It depends on whether they can perceive the trends and turnaround in such a way as to respond to them.
3. jerry jesion on Sep 15th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I tried to get Sly Mongoose at a Borders last week. It was not available, but an offer was made to special order it. I declined since I was quite a ways away from my home, and I was not likely to get out there soon. I will order on line.
Regards,
Jerry
4. Kelly on Sep 15th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
As I am not an author nor an expert on the industry, I can’t comment on the procedural aspects of Borders or B&N (as a Canadian fan, I ordered Sly Mongoose online from Indigo – a large Canadian chain – because I couldn’t find it on the shelves).
I did want to add to your comment on the lack of bookstores in your area however. My “significant other” and I were down in Troy, Ohio for a conference (he’s a blacksmith – yes, a blacksmith which is interesting but not at all relevant to my comment other than to explain why we were in the area as there is a big show down there every September). We both love to read and love to spend time browsing bookstores of all shapes and sizes, so we started looking for a bookstore in Troy…then we started expanding our search…and expanding it again. When we asked employees in other stores in the area where we might find a bookstore, we got that “puzzled dog” look – you know, the cocked head and downward eyebrows of someone who is trying to figure out if you’re truly insane and thus dangerous or just a slightly confused out-of-towner who doesn’t realise that getting to a bookstore requires a full tank of gas and provisions.
We finally ended up locating both a B&N and a Borders just south of Dayton…and felt very sorry for anyone who has to drive that far to do some book browsing.
5. Peggy on Sep 15th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
While I still enjoy browsing through books at B&N (the only book store in my area), if there is a specific book I want to buy I order it online. It’s faster and easier and pretty much guaranteed to have what I’m looking for – and often at a lower price. I would love to have a good independent bookstore nearby, but I don’t know how it could survive financially if even the big guys are having problems.
6. Joshua Bilmes on Sep 15th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
It’s getting hard to short their stock now; it can’t go much lower
7. Wyman Cooke on Sep 15th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Sounds like Borders is in a death spiral of its own. I think I have a $25 gift card. I should get cracking and use it before too long.
I hope they pull out of it, but that would require pulling their headquarters out of their hindquarters….
8. Tobias Buckell on Sep 15th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
$21-$7 isn’t back for $18 months return. I haven’t made up my mind yet on if it has lower to reach, I may reverse into owning the stock if it gets below $5 b/c then it’s starting to become a solid buy-out candidate…
9. amanda on Sep 15th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
aww, we’re some of your best friends? i feel special. and all i had to do was buy your book on release day!:) seriously though, we have not had luck finding sly mongoose up here in t-town, i’m going to have to order it…
10. Wyman Cooke on Sep 15th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Let me know. I may actually have money to invest.
11. Joel on Sep 16th, 2008 at 1:06 am
thanks for the update on sly mongoose and borders.
12. DMcCunney on Sep 16th, 2008 at 9:11 am
The note on Borders is saddening but not a surprise. Borders is not doing well, and there were rumors that B&N might acquire them. But aside from the question of “Can two sick companies make one healthy one?”, there was the bigger question of where B&N would get the money to buy Borders. B&N has its own problems, and the credit market is rather tight these days.
Meanwhile, the issue at Borders is symptomatic. I knew a woman who managed a unit of a small bookstore chain. Like Borders, ordering was centralized at the headquarters store, based on what patrons *there* bought. Her store had different demographics and sales patterns, and she was near tears with frustration trying to get across to her superiors that what sold at the HQ store wasn’t what sold at hers.
And it will get worse before it gets better. Consolidation in the book selling industry has mean that buying power is in fewer and fewer hands. There was an article in the Wall Street Journal a while back talking about the effect on book sales of places like CostCo and Sam’s Club. Yes, they sell books, too, with pricing that big chains like B&N have a hard time matching, and the buyers for those places have enormous clout. It would be interesting to know if your books are available there.
13. Laurie Mann on Sep 16th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
It is truly amazing how much Borders has sunk over the last 15 years.
I loved Borders in the early ’90s, and worked at one full time between 1993 and 1994. Back in those days, Borders was run by people who really understood books and databases. In order to work at a Borders, you had to pass a test of book/author knowledge. Each store had its on community representative, loads of events and its own newsletter. This was back in the days before Amazon; Borders was really good about managing special orders.
Somewhere later in the ’90s, Borders was bought and the stores were no longer managed by people who understood anything about the book industry. The attitude was “if you can sell things, that’s all that matters.” The stores had very little independence, fewer events, etc. Each store had fewer unique titles and more copies of the same books. Booksellers no longer needed to pass a book knowledge test.
It’s almost as if B&N and Borders have switched places over the last few years.
14. Jay Willson on Sep 16th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
God, I would love it if I ran across a signed book from you. That would just make my day.
I’m glad that you noted this information in your column, because I was just visiting both Borders and Barnes and Nobles that other day, and was surprised that there wasn’t a big difference between the stores. We have a Borders store that I frequent often that has one of the best science fiction selections in the state (Arizona), and they had copies of your book in hardcover, as well as copies of your previous books in PB. The Barnes and Nobles near me had the hardbacks, but not the paperbacks. We had another Borders built near my house recently, and when I checked there, your hardcover was there as well, although only a single copy of it.
I guess that means, at least in AZ, they like to carry your work. I’ve had no trouble finding your books out here.
15. Tor on Sep 18th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Well, for what it’s worth, I bought Sly Mongoose here in DC at a Borders. I actually went there just to buy it, and bought four other books that I just spotted or hadn’t realized were out. Hopefully, this Borders will continue to buck the trend and stock your books, because B&N is a longer walk.
16. Rachel on Sep 19th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
I work at Borders and we are constantly complaining about the lack of stock we have…and even I order from Amazon, and that’s still with my Borders discount.
17. Katie on Sep 19th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Weird about how few bookstores there seem to be in Ohio, considering how densely populated it is for such a small state. Between what you and Kelly said, and with my own experience, I’m actually starting to consider myself lucky for having two bookstores forty minutes from my house (the bookstores are just east of Cincinnati).
Thanks for this post. I’ve always wondered why so many books I want can’t be found at Borders. At a conference I recently attended, a Borders representative gave a presentation where she talked about all the ways Borders was better for authors than B&N. Hmm….Sounds like it wasn’t the whole truth.
18. MaggieDR on Sep 20th, 2008 at 6:46 am
I’m an employee of Borders, have worked there for five years in many capacities, including Special Orders. At this point, I only work about 12 hours a week shelving books. I love my store but I detest the corporation.
Reading your post nearly makes my eyeballs bleed, I am so frustrated with Border’s inventory process. As long as I’ve worked there, there has been no rhyme or reason to how stock is allocated, in spite of what corporate managers claim. We are verbally encouraged to special order titles we know about and wish to sell, but there is virtually no way to keep them on the shelves. On the other hand, the absolute waste of time, space, and man hours to stock and restock the same titles is simply mind-blowing. The ship is going down while the corporate office continues to put fixing their automated system on the backburner.
The person who should respond to authors in a store is the Sales Manager. It might help you to ask for the Sales Manager, and if they aren’t on duty at the time, the Service Manager should help you, but might put you off because the stores are horribly understaffed now with no extra resources for anything.
Employees *can* order your book for stock and I will do that this morning when I go to work. But you’re right, they will likely not stay on the shelf for long. Maybe you’ll gain one more fan though in the brief moment that you’re in our store, so its always worth your time to keep pushing at Borders.
19. Robert J. Sawyer on Oct 20th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
I admire your attitude, Toby. And you will prevail. Waldenbooks didn’t take any of one of my early novels (a mass-market original); you’ll come out on top, my friend.
20. Speakeasy on Oct 22nd, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Hi Tobias,
I think it is really short-sighted of Greg Frost to call for a boycott of Border’s. That won’t stop what’s happening with booksellers and publishing. The internet has done that. I work in an indie bookshop (indie bookshops still have quite a strong presence in Australia) so while I love everything that an indie store stands for I also understand that the book trade is changing and until booksellers change with it they are going to struggle. (I’m talking the outdated exercise of sale or return – there is no way we can sustain this practice.)

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