Last year I had two ‘mega goals’
- Build the business
- Write the novel
One was easier than the other (maybe I focussed on it more). Because the second was proving so hard, in September I signed up to a novel writing course with Faber & Faber. Last week, as part of the course, I had the privilege of hearing Stephen Page, Faber’s Executive Chair, talk about the publishing industry.
I know a bit about retail but not much about booksellers. I hadn’t realised just how far ahead of the curve booksellers are. They had to respond to the pressures of aggressive discounting and online retailers years before the rest of the high street, thanks to the dissolution of the net book agreement and the early years of Amazon (initially an online book retailer). Now, after a long (and painful) period of consolidaion bookshops are the success story of our high streets. The focus on the physical product, on the in-store experience of the buyer (and the browser) and see online not as a foe but a friend who helps with reach, marketing and information provision.
Got me thinking about what other retail sectors could learn from the rise and fall and rise again of the bookseller.
Oh, and I’m still only 20,000 words in (your average novel is at least 4 times that!).
