Sunday 15 November 2009

Amazon versus independent bookshops

It's that time of year again when I'm trying to find the best bargains for Christmas presents. I'm always torn between buying from Amazon for the convenience and if I'm truthful making my money stretch as far as possible or supporting local bookshops.

Just been catching up with some letters in the Guardian about the role of Waterstone's on the High Street and one of the letters came from Lynn Michell and Linen Press books in Edinburgh. She wrote about the economics of publishing and how the giants make it difficult for small publishers to do business via them.

As the publisher of my own books I know that if anyone buys my book via Amazon I'll just about break even. Buy direct from Writer's Little Book website and I make a small profit. The economics are driving me to create digital books for the future though I love and will continue to love 'proper' books.

The librarian is too much in my soul to want to move away from books on shelves but as a business person I have to be sensible.

So my Christmas mission has to be to support locals and small enterprises run by people with passion.

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