Book Sales: Zero-Sum Game?

Hi there, Barry Eisler here.  MJ, thanks as always for letting me guest blog on BBH.

Recently I received a message on FaceBook from a chain store bookseller who was upset that I put International Buy Indie Day on my calendar.  It occurred to me that the resulting exchange illuminates a zero-sum species of thinking relevant not just to the book business, but to economic policy generally.  Accordingly, I'm posting the anonymized exchange here.  I'm curious what others think:  to what extent are book sales, and book recommendations, a zero-sum game?  To what extent can a book bought or recommended in one store lead to business for another?  And what's the right approach?

********************

Bookseller:  Barry, Int'l Indie Day seems to encourage the purchasing of books on May 1st from Independant Bookstores.  As a bookseller... I use the term loosely... I know that not making our sales goal for a single day further endangers our store and our jobs.  Yes, something as simple as 1 day where our customers are ridiculously convinced to shop somewhere else can get me laid-off.  So on May 1st when you "invite" your readers to shop other than where I work... will your books be other than where you expect?

Me:  Well, I work hard with all my distributors -- Indies, Amazon, B&N, Borders, the big box stores -- to help them sell my books.  One way of looking at this is to believe that an effort on behalf of one distributor is provided at a cost to the others -- that is, that working with different distributors is fundamentally a zero sum game.  Another way of looking at it is that my efforts help grow the pie overall:  that a reader who's moved to buy a book at an Indie today because he wants to help that particular store will get hooked on the book and buy more books as a result, perhaps at other stores.  I tend to hold a "grow the pie" outlook, but I know not everyone does.  For example, I've been castigated by Indies for doing signings at Borders & B&N.

Tell you what, A, I'll encourage people to buy books only at your store if your store will carry only my books.  Deal?  If not, why not?  And how is your point different?

Anyway, I hope I'm understanding you correctly.  I still don't follow your question, "So on May 1st when you 'invite' your readers to shop other than where I work... will your books be other than where you expect?"  My response is my best guess at what you mean.

Bookseller:  Hey there Barry, playing the devil's advocate has been fun and pointing out to you that many of our jobs are circling the drain is sobering, but my only point to all of this was that it appears to me on the surface that you would encourage your readers avoid my store though Im telling you that I would never tell my customers to avoid your books for a day.

Admittedly I am not the talented author who is laughing all the way to the bank, I am a minimum-wage bookseller who was laid-off as a manager and lobbied for ANY job just to pay my rent.

What you do, just between the 2 of us, has huge real-world outcome. Its a painful economy and a horrible job market.

Me:  A, you haven't responded to anything I've said and at the same time you're piling on new assumptions.  I haven't told anyone to avoid your store, and you're assuming that anyone who is moved to buy a book from an Indie on a certain day would have bought the book from you, instead.  What evidence do you have for this belief?

You say you would never tell your customers to avoid my books.  Really?  Do you recommend any books to your customers besides mine?  If you do recommend other books, by your logic, each time you do so, aren't you discouraging your customers from reading my books?  If you tell someone he ought to try Author A, aren't you implicitly suggesting he avoid Author B?

Again, I believe that getting people to buy books, however and wherever, tends to be good for all booksellers because doing so creates new and more committed readers.  That I disagree with your zero-sum view doesn't mean I'm "laughing all the way to the bank" or in any other way unsympathetic to how difficult the market is or to the pain it's causing in people's lives.  On the contrary:  I care a great deal, and I'm glad to agree that what I do "has real-world outcome."  I just think your zero-sum, assume-all-sales-are-cannibalistic approach would make the real-world outcome worse, while mine stands a chance of making things better.

There's a common logical fallacy, to the effect:  "you don't agree with my policy, therefore you disagree with my objectives."  As in, for example, "You oppose going to war in Iraq, therefore you must support Saddam Hussein."  You may not realize it, but in your frustration and apparent desire to find someone to blame, you're engaging in that fallacy here.  I'm not to blame for your troubles, nor is anyone else who one way or another creates new readers and encourages them to buy more books.

I'm sorry you're going through hard times and wish you the best.

********************

One thing I might have added, but didn't because it didn't occur to me until later, is that Indies are not the enemies of chain stores -- in certain respects, their efforts are complimentary.  Indies specialize in discovering and breaking out new authors, who then become big names and command big sales from customers who tend to shop at the chains.  The continued health of Indies should therefore be of substantial concern to chains, for whom the Indies' pioneering efforts create new customers.

But when times are tough, as they are now, or indeed anytime we're in pain, our horizons tend to narrow.  The resulting tunnel vision, which looks at someone else's gain is requiring our loss, can lead to terrible mistakes, not just in a given industry but at the national policy level, too.  Think protectionism; think Smoot-Hawley.  In the current economic climate, we need to guard against such myopia or we'll likely repeat the mistakes of the past, and for the same mistaken reasons.

-- Barry

Comments

[Guyot]

That's what you get for being on Facebook.

:-b

[David J. Montgomery]

Rest assured, Barry, if I ever open a bookstore, it will ONLY sell your books.

[Guyot]

EISLER'S ENCLAVE.

Selling first edition, paperback, remainder stock, audio, and electronic versions of every book ever written by Barry Eisler.

Open Mon-Sat, 9am to 6pm. Closed on Sundays as that's the day we worship at Eisler's Altar.

*Extended hours during all Japanese holidays.

Please join us on Barry's birthday when the first 100 people will receive a free consultation from Barry's very own hairstylist!

[Guyot]

I said consultation only, people.

You want Barry's hair? Keep dreaming. Hairstylists are not miracle workers.

[David J. Montgomery]

If I had a hairstylist, she'd HAVE to be a miracle worker.

To have even half of Barry's follicles! T'would be bliss.

[Anna]

Wow, it's really sobering to be told that because one author is mentioning an idea concerning the sell of books that he's putting all of these people out work. It seems to me that said author is actually helping the smaller businesses who can't really afford to invest in advertising.

[Jessa Slade]

A rising tide lifts all boats... except the ones anchored to old ideas. Those get swamped.