[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-how-do-we-show-our-love-for-the-indies":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"I love independent bookshops: I love browsing books, sniffing them, seeing amazing creative shop displays, going to and taking part in interesting events, having somewhere to launch new books, talking with owners who really understand what they're selling and have a passion for good literature. And, like almost all the other writers and illustrators I know, I want to support them. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/923147_647085361984200_1218717858_n_zps4b6d5ae0-2cc6643774.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>Fleece Station studio mate Gary Northfield's Teenytinysaurs pre-launch party at \u003Ca href=\"http://www.booksellercrow.co.uk/\">Bookseller Crow\u003C/a>, Crystal Palace\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\nSo I read a couple articles in \u003Ca href=\"http://www.thebookseller.com/\">\u003Ci>The Bookseller\u003C/i>\u003C/a> this week which highlight criticism of authors for linking to Amazon on their websites:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/bookseller_amazonanger_zps63c384f7-13fbae76b0.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click for more under the cut!-->\\r\nAnd I first felt a sense of shame (because my links go to Amazon), then confusion about what to do, then I felt I needed to do something, because I can't see an easy solution. So I'm writing this blog post, posing questions.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/bookseller_indiesneedaction_zps83ddf110-bad4d82a68.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI asked my agent and one of my publicists about it, and my agent said, 'write a blog post about it, this is important!'. The publicist recommending linking to \u003Ca href=\"http://www.indieboundbookrecommendations.co.uk/stockists\">Indieboundbookrecommendations.co.uk\u003C/a>. Which is a good idea, but it requires the visitor to my website who is interested in a specific book to do a lot of research, finding a shop, working out their online selling system (if they have one), and trying to find the book. I'm not convinced that people on-line have particularly long attention spans, particularly someone with a casual interest in a book, who might buy it on a whim. I don't want to make it hard for people to find my book. If I give them a direct link to the Amazon page, they can buy in a couple clicks of the mouse. I'm not saying I want to support Amazon, I'm just trying to figure out my alternative options. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/gosh_london_fcbd_14-1_zps805c91ec-3b5402e276.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>Painting a Vern and Lettuce window at Gosh! in Soho\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\nFirst, let me look at my own buying habits. If I want to buy comics, I love heading to Soho to \u003Ca href=\"http://www.goshlondon.com/\">Gosh! Comics\u003C/a> to browse the latest titles and I make a point to buy them in the shop. But Gosh doesn't do online retail. I sometimes buy comics online from \u003Ca href=\"http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/\">Forbidden Planet International\u003C/a> because they have a \u003Ca href=\"http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/\">wonderful book blog\u003C/a>. When I've bought novels for book club, I've ordered them from \u003Ca href=\"http://www.booksellercrow.co.uk/\">Bookseller Crow\u003C/a>'s online shop. If I'm in central London, I make a beeline for \u003Ca href=\"http://www.foyles.co.uk/\">Foyles\u003C/a> because they sell such interesting titles and have been amazing about hosting events. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/foyles_magic_panel_zps4ca414c6-5007ef13b9.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nWhen my friends and I need a place to launch a book, we look to Gosh, Foyles Charing Cross and Southbank, \u003Ca href=\"http://www.reviewbookshop.co.uk/\">Review Bookshop\u003C/a> in Peckham, Bookseller Crow in Crystal Palace, \u003Ca href=\"http://www.dauntbooks.co.uk/\">Daunt Books\u003C/a> in Marylebone and Holland Park. \u003Ca href=\"http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/jsp/editorial/shops/SHOP36.jsp\">Blackwells Charing Cross\u003C/a> has hosted some fab Kitshies Awards parties. And we always end up buying books in the places that host the events. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/comics_goship_mcintyre_zps2e289f9d-2b5f3805b2.gif\">\\r\n\u003Ci>Doodle from a Gosh book club event\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\nBut if I need a slightly obscure title, or need something fast and I don't have time to pop out and get it, yes, I sometimes use Amazon. The thing is, it's easy to use and it gives lots of options. If they don't supply something, they'll link me to an indie shop who will sell it to me. If I need to find my book details quickly (such as my ISBN numbers), I'll use it as a database. Sometimes I'll look up a book on Amazon, read the reviews, then buy it elsewhere. I've asked my web designer (when he has a moment) to change my links to \u003Ca href=\"http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/navigate.do?pPageID=200003\">Waterstones\u003C/a> for now, because I know they're struggling and could use more of a boost than Amazon. Although I notice Waterstones list several of my hardcover editions as 'unavailable', so I'll link to Amazon for those for now, so anyone in the world can buy them. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/daunt_dfcgang_zps7742f1ae-e880bc7aa2.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>DFC Library party at Daunt Books, Holland Park\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\nSo what do I do? It seems crazy to link someone in, say, the Scottish book town of \u003Ca href=\"http://www.wigtown-booktown.co.uk/\">Wigtown\u003C/a> to buy a book from Bookseller Crow in London, when they have \u003Ca href=\"http://www.wigtown-booktown.co.uk/bookshop_info.asp?businessID=9\">Box of Frogs\u003C/a> just down the road.\\r\n \\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/wigtown3_zps7bb2477d-676110dddd.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAuthors could avoid the whole problem by linking to publisher websites instead of bookshops. But most publisher websites are run by some enormous, expensive, unnavigable engine that no one seems to be able to change, and often books aren't even listed, or are listed with strange pricing features or they might list the paperback but not the hardcover, etc. Once I even had one of my books listed as being illustrated by Nick Sharratt and it took nearly a year and desperate pleading to get this changed. (Apparently it had something to do with a faulty Nielson listing, but I never worked out the exact problem.) \\r\n\\r\nHere's what Keith Smith from \u003Ca href=\"http://www.warwickbooks.net/\">Warwick & Kenilworth Books\u003C/a> recommended in \u003Ci>The Bookseller\u003C/i>: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/bookseller_ideas_zpse407c7f3-aac1819fb0.gif\">\\r\n\\r\nI agree, this would be a great thing, if an indie bookshop could stock all my books, hardcover and paperback, and sell them online. Indies, would this be possible? Would you be able to stock even my hardcover books, despite lack of storage space? \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/justimagine_12jun11_2_zpse828f999-022af30e94.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>Author event at \u003Ca href=\"http://www.justimaginestorycentre.co.uk/\">Just Imagine\u003C/a>, Chelmsford\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\nSo Keith Smith's given one option. What else could happen if people clicked on my 'buy the book' link?\\r\n\\r\nWhen I send people to a link to buy my book, this is what I think they want:\\r\n* The book details (title, writer & illustrator names, ISBN, page count)\\r\n* A book cover image (this is reassuring, we know it's the right book)\\r\n* An easy way to buy the book with a minimum number of clicks\\r\n* Book availability\\r\n* A trusted place to give their personal information and bank card details\\r\n* speedy delivery\\r\n\\r\nI think they quite like reviews, too, like you get on Amazon, but we'll leave that for now.\\r\n\\r\nHere's my proposal: \u003Cb>Perhaps there could be a page for each of my books that gives the book details, reviews, then has a world map highlighting all the places that stock it. That would be awesome. We could zoom in, a bit like Google Earth. That's what I would REALLY like.\u003C/b> Who would build this website? It's a big job for an indie bookshop. Could The \u003Ca href=\"http://www.booksellers.org.uk/\">Booksellers Association\u003C/a> build it? Here's a very rough idea of what might go on to the first page you get when you click 'Buy the book' on my website. Then you could search the globe for a list of sellers who provide this exact book. I'm probably missing important things, but I'm putting the idea out there.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/mcintyre_indieweb_example_zps401d8291-97d16dddb0.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nSo of course I'd advise everyone to walk down the road and get the book from their local indie. But they want to buy online, I need a quick, easy way for them, not just to find their local bookshop, but to find my exact book. Indies, we all want to work with you! But what can we do about this?","2013-06-26T10:25:00.000Z","how-do-we-show-our-love-for-the-indies",[],"how do we show our love for the indies?",1776628725313]