If Gone with the Wind could survive the Great Depression, so can publishing.
Over at the NY Times, Motoko Rich wrote a think-piece about the recent spate of gloomy publishing news–layoffs at Doubleday and concerns about Borders. The article reminded us that Margaret Mitchell’s Civil War epic sold a million copies in the middle of the worst financial crisis in American history–people won’t stop reading in our recession.
Besides that hopeful reminder, the article also looked at innovative ways booksellers are keeping the sales coming. Here’s some good news:
“At Book Passage, an independent bookseller in San Francisco and Corte Madera, Calif., Elaine Petrocelli, an owner, said she recently instituted a policy giving priority seating at book readings to those who purchase the book. Last month she sold 160 copies at a reading by Katherine Neville, author of “The Fire,” a thriller about a chess prodigy.”
This is not the end of publishing. Add your recession-era book-selling advice in the comments section.