What Would A World Without Borders Look Like?

Yes, I'm referring to the bookstore, not a world where sovereign nations are a thing of the past.  And the bookstore looks so pretty in this picture...if only there were customers inside to appreciate it.  If you're not in the industry you might not be aware that Borders is in a major state of crisis.  In the third quarter of 2010 they posted a $74.4 million dollar loss.  They have about $445 million in trade accounts payable and in December they showed up at the door of the major New York publishing houses with their hand out asking if the houses would be cool with waiting three years to be paid what they're owed.  Theoretically if publishing houses agree to hold off on collecting the debt Borders would have time to refinance with the possible help of GE and avoid Chapter 11.  The publishing industry has been less than enthusiastic.  In fact some publishers have stopped shipping to Borders all together.  And don't expect any A-list authors to be doing signings at Borders...particularly since the chain seems to be firing many of their special events coordinators along with a few regional managers and completely closing down a Tennessee distribution center thereby eliminating 310 jobs in that area alone.  

Barnes and Noble and a few other booksellers are balking at Borders request for debt leniency demanding that if publishers are going to cut Borders a break they need to cut all booksellers the exact same break. Publishers can't afford to do that and for this reason among many others they may refuse Borders request which means the company will have to go into Chapter 11.  But that's really the least of Borders concerns.  If more publishers stop shipping to Borders it's difficult to see how the time afforded them by a Chapter 11 filing is going to help them stay alive.

You can read the details of this unfolding story in articles printed in various different periodicals: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times among others.

But not a lot of people are writing about how this will affect the publishing industry as a whole and no one seems to be writing about how or if this will affect authors.  For instance, if Borders does go under who will absorb their sales? Some will inevitably go to Barnes and Noble and independent booksellers but BN is making most of its profits now from their online presence, e-books and e-readers.  I don't know that they are going to sell that many more paperbacks/hardcovers if Borders falls.  If anything my guess is that this will push a lot more readers to turn to e-books.  I could be wrong but the fun of going to a bookstore is being able to walk around and browse and then maybe a novel (hopefully a novel with a bright pink cover) strikes your fancy and you buy that book. But this is dependent on there being a bookstore convenient for you to browse in.  Barnes and Noble has been closing lots of stores over the last year, even in areas where there are no other bookstores.   It's difficult to imagine they're going to open more if Borders disappears.  So if there is not store to browse in and you want a book you're going to have to go online...but browsing online is a little different than browsing in a bookstore.  You will see the books that Amazon and Barnes and Noble are pimping on their home page but you won't see the books that might have been faced out on their designated shelves by an individual employee.  Midlisters will have even less visibility than they have now (and we really don't have a lot of visibility now).  

And what about this debt that the publishing houses aren't going to be able to collect on? How exactly are they going to be making up for that loss? Publishing is not a high-profit game.  My guess is that they're going to have to save by cutting back in areas of acquisitions, marketing and publicity.  The A-listers will still get a decent marketing budget and I don't begrudge them that.  After all, they're the only ones keeping publishing industry afloat.  But I think midlisters and first time novelists are going to have to come to terms with the fact that we are now on the same level as indie rock bands.  We have some followers, some diehard fans, but not enough of either to actually make us a decent living and the only way a "record label" is going to give us more than the time of day is if WE ARE the record label.

Yes, I'm talking about self-publishing again.  For the record, things are looking good for the Sophie series right now but I'm still not 100% convinced that I should put her in the hands of a major publishing house at this point.  Why share the profits with someone who is going to do nothing more than operate as a printing press?  With fewer and fewer stores to distribute to and e-books sales up 165% does it really makes sense to partner with an industry struggling to adjust?  When I asked Facebook followers what form they prefer their books in less than a fourth listed off paperbacks and/or hardcovers as their medium of choice.  Ebooks and audiobooks were clearly a convenience that a lot of people were understandably eager to take advantage of.

I don't have any definitive answers (I really, really wish I did).  But if you're a midlist author with an indie-rock band type following you should at the very least be considering these questions.  Borders closing is a symptom of a much larger issue.  It's an issue that requires the publishers to readjust their thinking.  Authors would be wise to do the same.  

Kyra Davis

Bestselling Author of:

The Sophie Katz Mystery Series

and

So Much For My Happy Ending

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