Borders Financial Woes
With rising cost of fuel and the residual inflation that trails in it’s wake, consumers have chosen to forego luxuries for basic need items. Unfortunately for small time authors like me and many of my friends we’re now left to worry about where those decisions will leave us. With fewer sales last year and this year looking even bleaker, Borders, the book store chain who takes chances on new faces in writing is facing a financial crises, one that unfortunately will probably effect thousands of authors.
The most recent rumors include a possibly buy out by rival B&N who not only has a horrible romance department, but carries very few titles from publishers such as Samhain Publishing and The Wild Rose Press, choosing instead to work with the larger and more established NY publishers. If B&N ends up controlling Borders most of us small time authors can kiss any chances of seeing out books in stores goodbye.
But even if the rumors aren’t true, Borders is in the process of revamping their stores and trying a new selling practice by facing their titles out on the shelf with the cover showing. This means less shelf space, less stock and less selections to choose from. For us smaller authors, it also mean our titles will be passed over in favor of more established authors with established track records for sales. Financially, it’s a smart move, but again for the small time author, just trying to make it, without the support of the big boys like Borders, having any chance of breaking into the print market without selling our souls to the devil and becoming part of the NY publishing conglomerates is slim. For authors like me and my friends, it truly is a scary time.
