Timewaster's Guide Archive

I've thought about going, but it's unlikely. I'm not going to any other summer conventions, but work-wise I plan on being very busy during that time of year.

I have read that Alcatraz was written as a "Young Adult"  novel,

Actually, it's not even for young adults (ages 12-18)--it's written for children roughly ages 8-12. But personally I find the best books to be in both of those ranges.

That's the problem, though--B&N and Borders don't think that way. And it can only take enough customers demanding something for them to see the business they're missing out on. For example, we had a recent bestseller. B&N refused to stock it in the children's section, even though it was a children's book. They missed out on the sales that Borders and all the independents, not to mention Wal-Mart and Target, were getting from that book.

I was just suggesting that if you can wait for the order to come in, it might show the chain that perhaps they should think about actually stocking it. But a better solution would be to ask the same of your local independent, who is more likely to listen.

ETA: But I do agree overall--I generally avoid stores that consistently don't stock the books I want. But coming from the publisher perspective, sometimes I wish consumers were a little more demanding.

I'm just saying, so few people know they can order them, especially when ignorant booksellers, too lazy to realize how the big-corporate-chain structure works, tell people a book is out of print rather than go to the trouble of at the very least ordering a book.

It frustrates me to no end to not be able to find a book I want at the bookstore, especially a book I know for a fact to be in demand (whether it's part of a class list or because it's simply an insanely popular book that in earlier times would have been given the full year or two to find its audience). It's ridiculous that I can walk into a store now and not be able to find a book that came out in September (and that includes books I worked on).

But the only way we'll ever show the chains what books to remember to stock is from customer demand. If a customer just gives up and walks out (I mean really give up, walk out, and don't go to whatever local independent or online retailer they have at their disposal, but instead give up on the book altogether), then the chain never knows what business they were missing out on, you know?

You could always ask them to order them in. Takes a couple days, but they love doing that.

I will have to check stores here in AZ.  Considering Wal-Marts here carry LDS books hopefully Borders or Barnes and Noble have adjusted as well and have books by LDS authors.

The two ideas don't really have anything to do with each other. Tor is a national publisher, not an LDS publisher. They just happen to have a few authors who happen to be LDS.

Every year we do this, and every year I have the worst time coming up with anything interesting. Going back to "Stacer Claus" might be the sad, boring option for me.

He was the mysterious guy who showed up to Leading Edge in sunglasses at 8:30 pm, talked with SE and Alan for a while, yelled at the slush puppies to get to work, then disappeared downstairs.