The Wall Street Journal outlined the sales potential of The Power by Rhonda Byrne, which Atria is publishing tomorrow with a first printing of a million copies. The book, which "assures that people have the power within to create the life of their dreams . . . promises to be a bright spot at a time when the industry is struggling." Already Atria says that advance orders for The Power, by the author of The Secret, total 924,000 copies.
In the four years since the appearance of The Secret, which has sold more than 19 million copies worldwide, "the bookselling landscape [is] markedly different," the Journal noted. Because of the growth of e-books, "many retailers large and small have cut back on their initial orders for new titles, preferring instead to re-order when necessary."
But Barnes & Noble v-p of marketing Patricia Bostelman said, "Books still break out of the pack and sell in big numbers." She added that The Power's "category is strong because people are always looking for ways to improve their lives."
The e-book version of The Power won't affect sales of the printed book at least initially: the e-edition has been delayed for "fine tuning."
Although author Byrne isn't giving interviews, Atria is running ads on radio and TV, "including 15-second and 30-second spots aimed at adults aged 25 to 54," ads on billboards and posters in trains and subways. It also has the obligatory Facebook site.
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Local bookstores "are thriving" in central New York State, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard,
which reported that their key to success "is an independent store's
ability to provide personalized customer service and cater to
niche needs and wants, even if it means higher prices."
Erika Davis, who opened Creekside Books & Coffee,
Skaneateles, six years ago, said, "It was not just about opening a
bookstore, but creating a community gathering place which had been
previously missing."
Bill Reilly, owner of River's End Bookstore,
Oswego, observed: "We're not wed to a corporate dictate so we have
freedom and flexibility in the books we feature. The big guys' shelf
space is spoken for and purchased by publishers who are pushing
blockbuster titles."
In Ithaca, Buffalo Street Books
has built a strong community base, owner Gary Weissbrot said, adding
that "he understands the comfort associated with big names like Barnes
& Noble and likens it to an American eating McDonald's fast food in
Paris--a city known for its culinary talents. He said serendipitous
discovery is what real book lovers prefer," the Post-Standard wrote.
At recently opened Downtown Books and Coffee,
Auburn, manager John Colvin said "he's already encountered many
customers who seek out independent bookstores as an alternative to
online retailers or big-box media sellers. 'People really want this to
succeed, so they are willing to pay a couple dollars more.... You can't
really put anything over that interaction between two book enthusiasts
talking and handing a book to one another.' "
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Frogtown Books, Toledo, Ohio, will close its bricks-and-mortar operation September 30. WTVG-TV
reported that owners Cheryl and Pete Baughman "will continue to sell
rare books online. The owners have decided to close the store because
they weren't getting enough business and it became too expensive."
"I will miss my customers," Cheryl told WTOL-TV.
"I love talking to all my customers. They've expanded my understanding
and my horizon of people and of different areas of interest. I will also
miss the constant stream of books coming in and going out and making
customers happy."
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Now forever archived on BookTV: the fall 2010 book preview interview with Shelf Awareness publisher Jenn Risko! See her here.
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Cool idea of the day: at the Bookshop Santa Cruz celebration last month of the 50th anniversary of the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird (Shelf Awareness, July 21, 2010), public defender Larry Biggam was asked if he felt any
lawyer could live up to the standards of Atticus Finch. He said he didn't think anyone could be so perfect and said that before starting any important discussion with his teenaged son, he asked himself, "What would Atticus do?"
Struck by this response, the store has created two bumper stickers--one has Biggam's query, the other reads, "What would Scout do?" The bumper stickers are available for $3 each on the store's website.
Owner Casey Coonerty Protti added that Bookshop Santa Cruz is holding a community competition to see which sells the best.
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Book line trailer of the day: Workman's Indestructible line, as promoted by Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, Wash.
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Book trailer of the day (more Workman!): My Blind Date Went Blind! by Virginia Vitzthum (Workman), which features an all-Workman employees cast.
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Happy birthday to Charles Bukowski, who would have been 90 today. To celebrate, Classics Rock!: Books Shelved in Songs is featuring several songs inspired by Bukowski, including "Bukowski" by Modest Mouse and "Dirty Day" by U2.
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Among training sessions that will be held during the Great American Bargain Book Show, Thursday and Friday, August 19-20, at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Mass.:
Remainder Buying: Plain, Simple and Profitable, on August 19, will be moderated by Larry May, co-owner of the show. Panelists include:
Susan Little, owner of Jabberwocky Bookshop at the Tannery, Newburyport, Mass.
Sean Concannon, a principal of Parson Weems Publisher Services.
Alie Hess, books and remainders buyer for Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, Mass.
EESY CHIT: Easy, Effective Strategies You Can Happily Implement Today, will be held August 20, presented by Karin Wilson, owner of Page & Palette, Fairhope, Ala.
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In anticipation of Amazon's launch of the Kindle in the U.K. on
August 27, some major retailers are cutting the prices of e-books and
e-readers, the Bookseller reported.
W.H. Smith has trimmed the prices of its top 100 fiction e-books by 66% so that now, for example, The Short Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer costs £4.07 (US$6.25) and The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown costs £2.78 (US$4.27). Both Smith and Waterstone's are selling the Sony Pocket e-book reader for £99 (US$152).
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In MacWorld, Jonathan Seff considered how the iPad has changed his reading habits.
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Sony Insider
reported that "there is word that two new touchscreen Sony Reader
devices (PRS-350 and PRS-650) with E-Ink technology are coming to the
market soon.... The two new Sony Reader devices will be very
attractively priced, and are definitely much more compact and lighter
than previous models with a possible width under 10mm (extremely thin).
From what we’re hearing the new models will also have improved contrast
and faster page turns."
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The South Korean e-book
market "will struggle to reach 50,000 sales by the end of this year, a
mark that would be significantly lower than the pre-year expectations,"
according to the Korea Times.
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Is there a market for a color E Ink e-reader? Dan Nosowitz expressed his doubts in a Fast Company
article, observing: "Color and touchscreen e-book readers would require
a substantial increase in price, to accommodate the new technology. But
that's exactly the wrong way to advance E-ink--the price needs to
remain as low as possible. Why is E-Ink pretending that features like
color and touch interfaces are important, necessary, or even desirable
for its product? E-ink readers like the Kindle offer the best digital
reading experience on the market--why muck it up with expensive and
useless features?"