The Boyfriend and I recently treated ourselves to a weekend getaway. On the first day of our mini-vacation we found ourselves with some time to kill and decided to do a little window shopping in a downtown area. As luck would have it, we came across a nice looking independent bookstore, and I convinced my man that I’d “only be a minute, promise!â€
Upon walking into the bookstore, I was once again reminded on why I don’t patronize 99% of independents. Want to guess how many romances I found?
One.
Yeah, one.
The paperback edition of High Noon by Nora Roberts.
The sad truth is that there were eight other romances on the New York Times Mass-Market Paperback Bestsellers List that week.
The Hollow by Nora Roberts, The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn, Always Dakota by Debbie Macomber, Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson, With Every Breath by Lynn Kurland, Damien by Jacquelyn Frank, Tempting Evil by Allison Brennan and Dark Desires After Dusk by Kresley Cole.
These titles were nowhere to be found. So if these bestsellers weren’t in stock, what do you think my chances were of finding a debut or midlist title?
As the Magic 8 Ball would say: Outlook Not So Good.
And yet these independents have the repeated nerve to wonder why some readers choose instead to support Big Box Bookstores, WalMart and/or Amazon? Editorials are written, speeches are given, about how we should move heaven and earth to support small business owners.
To which I say: Get A Clue.
The vast majority of independents have done an excellent job of convincing me over the years that my reading choices are 1) poor 2) not valid and 3) that I must be an uneducated moron with latent Fabio fantasies. So why exactly do I want to encourage their narrow-minded way of thinking by giving them my hard earned money? I’d much rather give my money to an evil corporation that has a well-stocked romance section.
Niche bookstores are one thing. If I walk into an independent that is clearly all about mystery or science fiction, not finding a single romance isn’t going to burn my biscuits. They advertise as a niche, and are there for that specific community. But to be an independent that touts itself as being about all books and then dismissing the best selling genre out there?
Thanks, but no thanks.
No related posts.
I know what you mean. There is one used bookstore where I live and the only romances they have are old Nora Roberts books that I bought new years ago. I have spent years feeling there were folks out there that want me to feel guilty about buying books from Wal-Mart or Brick and Mortar bookstores, but those are about the only places I can get them! I do find some in the library, but we have to depend on donations when it comes to paperbacks (which is how most romances I read are released) and we never get any of the really spicy stuff which I like, too.
Our local bookstores do not carry romance. I would love to patronize them, but I guess my tastes are too lowbrow
Have hope. My indy sells two shelves full of EC and Samhains, and many, many other shelves of romances. They’ve also hand sold me some of my favorite authors. (They’re a UBS, too, so I handed them a printout of RTs top 200, and slowly but surely they found me all of them)
How sad.
The independent bookstores in Alaska totally rock! 
Title Wave Bookstore in Anchorage is as close to perfect as a bookstore gets anywhere. Except that we no longer live anywhere near it. But…you get the point. 
I totally agree. I get the same sneering look at the indie book stores in my part of the woods.
But the Books-a-Million in my area rocks. They’ve got three really long rows of romances. And they know me by name and give me free coffee drinks
I don’t go into bricks and mortar bookstores that often (I’m an internet gal) but I’ve found that the smaller branches of the big chains usually have a slammin’ romance selection.
And they’ll order for me which in my mind, means the selection is unlimited.
Hi Wendy:
You have hit on a frustration of mine–also because of my suspicion that indies are weighted heavier by the NYT in how they determine the bestseller list. But that’s another story . . .
There are some indies that do well to cater to their community. There’s one in OC (a new and used) that I went to which had a well-stocked romance area. But they are few and far between.
I went to Tattered Cover, one of the biggest and best known indies. They have three beautiful stores, huge, with a huge selection of everything . . . but romance. Their romance section was essentially two bookshelves (they were large) but about
10% that of mystery. This is a store I would have loved to hang out in because of the fantastic atmosphere–and spend a lot of money–but I wouldn’t because I’d probably get that “look” when half the books I bought were from romance.
Since I straddle genres (I write romantic thrillers) I really have tried to get into mystery indie bookstores, but it’s been almost impossible. A few are good about carrying romantic suspense, but most don’t–and if you’re not in hardcover, they often don’t think you’re good enough to be in the store.
“Evil” Corporations are successful because (gasp) they stock items their consumers want to buy.
I’da called over my shoulder as I was walking out empty handed, “Gee, I would have blown my entire vacation budget in a good bookstore. Too bad this one has such a pathetic selection of romance.”
But I’m obnoxious like that.
I also think not buying a book that’s on the shelf because you don’t want to get “that look” only supports their decision not to stock romance novels because, lookee there, nobody buys them.
It’s just a look from a stuckup, narrowminded buffoon. Surely we’ve all endured worse.
I don’t often go to independent bookstores, mainly because theres a Books-a-Million down the street from my office. But I went to Turn the Page Bookstore (Nora Roberts’ store w/ her husband) this weekend for a book signing as was surprised at the amount of other types of books there were besides romance.
I find the same sort of issue arising with indie bookstores with respect to young adult novels as well, but with a slight difference– a lot of indie bookstores love to stock young adult novels if they’re the critical darlings or have a huge cult following (ala the Twilight series) or Gossip Girls but if it’s a commercial-type release, they tend to turn their noses up at it. I had a reading/signing at a very well known indie in Miami and they refused to put my release on the tables featuring the authors who were coming for signings/visits. Everyone else who was coming that month had a nice featured spot on a table with stacks of their books and a little sign advertising when they were going to be speaking. When I asked where mine were, they said “Oh, we’re keeping them stacked behind the register so it’s easier for our customers.”
Easier for WHAT? In the end, I just nodded, smiled, and gave my reading and talk, attracting people to the room as I did, including several store employees. When I was done, the assistant manager of the store came up to me and said, “Wow, I didn’t even know that MTV published books, let alone that they could be that good.”
No lie.
So between the decided lack of romance in most indies and their elitist attitude towards YA, I’m not a huge fan. Which is a shame, because I love the atmosphere of most indies and I’d love to support them. But how can I, if they don’t support us back?
Great column, Wendy!
“I’d much rather give my money to an evil corporation that has a well-stocked romance section.
That is exactly how I feel!! And my local SuperWal-Mart has Self-Checkout, so I can buy whatever I want without the idiot teenage cashier making comments
Well, if you ever happen to be in SE VA, AKA Hampton Roads or Tidewater, be sure to swing by Bargain Books at Wards Corner in Norfolk (at one time Wards Corner was known as the Times Square of the South). It is a full service independent new and used book store. It has new and used category romances, and new and used romances in all the subgenres. In the last couple of years they have created a set of special shelves for paranormal romance.
They cater to all reading tastes. In addition to romance, there are mysteries, sci/fi fantasy, mainstream fiction, all kinds of nonfiction. The store’s physical area is small, but its contents more than compensate for that. Never has one of its employees made me feel uncomfortable.
Kay
Thank you for ranting about this. ANY bookstore with a poorly stocked romance, mystery or sci-fi section is off my shopping list. For example, The Tattered Cover in Denver, is probably the largest independent bookseller in the state. Over the last ten years, though, as they’ve trying to compete with B&N and Amazon.com, their genre sections have been steadily decreasing. They used to have a whole corner of the bookstore for romance; the last time I was there, there was one shelf in the farthest corner of the bookstore with romance novels. What are they thinking??? The YA and children’s section, too, which used to take up an entire floor, is now down to one corner bookshelf. Neeless to say, since the last time I visited and saw the one-shelf (and a poorly stocked shelf at that) romance section, I have not returned to The Tattered Cover.
It’s hard to understand, but maybe if we asked them the logic behind their actions, it would make more sense? No matter how snobby they are, they have to realize they’re in the business of making money from books, so why are they not stocking books people want to read?
I frequent a bookshop that has nearly half the floor area stocked with romances. Makes it hard to decide what to get when one isn’t as well read as other romance fans!
Omg, I’m SOOOOOO with you on this one. There was a chain of indie bookstores in Northern California (in the wine country) that I pretty much refused to patronize because in all of their large stores they had one measly shelf of Nora Roberts book and not a single other romance anywhere in sight. I think you make a great point about why they’re in financial trouble – ignoring a huge segment of the NY Times and USA Today bestseller list must lose them lots of customers, not just us writers!
Thanks for the post. Even though I’m all steamed up again…..
I know the problem well… politically, I want to patronize our independent bookstores, but the selection is crapola. One of our local stores now features an online order capability, so I can order it through them and pick it up, which is a reasonably good solution, but I must confess, when I sneaked into a Borders and saw the rows upon rows of fabulous romances, well, it was hard to stay with my virtuous intentions, that’s for sure.
Here in Terre Haute, we have a Books A Million with a great romance section (with more romances shelved in “Literature” and “Christian Fiction,” so you have to look in all three places, a used bookstore that is huge and about 50/50 romance/mystery, and a Waldenbooks which has a little bit of everything. So I’ve not had the same experience. Still, I don’t get what you’ve described as the Tattered Cover’s strategy to increase their sales–reduce children’s and romance? That’s insane! How many women would go in to treat themselves to a good romance (and end up buying, oh, 5)? How many parents will forgo their own books but easily drop a guilt free $50 or more on books for their children? I don’t know who their financial advisors are, but they are obviously out of touch!
As for the indie lament that somehow we are all doing something immoral by shopping at Amazon, or BAM or whatever. I sympathize, but honestly, it’s irritating to have someone try to guilt you into supporting their business. Those large stores got so large because at some point they really tapped into their market, and managed their resources reasonably well; eventually they were large enough to offer, many times, a cheaper price. Did they muscle some people out of business? Yeah, but others were probably the victims of economic Darwinism. (Which you are describing here). As much as I love the idea of small, family run businesses succeeding, I have to admit that some of these indie complaints smack of sour grapes.
There are only four indy stores local to me and all of them give half their stores or more to romance. It’s too bad your local indy isn’t in the know. Our local stores are also wonderful about having booksignings. They do great promotion and had sell our books. Perhaps you can educate your local owners. They’re only hurting themselves.
The local indy store caters primarily (I believe) to tourists who want to buy books about the island. They do have a lot of non-fiction, and literary trade paperbacks, and a few romances, mysteries and such written by local authors, or with Galveston as a setting. But they have no mass-market paperbacks except for those few with the Galveston setting.
I honestly see it as a niche literary bookstore. They do exist. I just don’t shop there.
My problem with indie bookstores is that they are known to rage against corporations, but for the most part, their stock is published by corporate publishers. I find that hypocritical.
That said, I live in an amazing book town (and it’s not NYC or anywhere near NYC).
Here’s a rundown of what stores that I know of:
–Two are children’s bookstore that range from board books to YA.
–Another is an sf store.
–Two are mystery stores.
–One’s a women’s bookstore, but from a feminist and lesbian perspective. No romance section.
–Two stores are more literary in scope, one is owned by a famous writer who famously loves poetry, the other by a couple of literary-minded dudes and it doesn’t have any genre fiction sections at all. Nice gardening section, though.
–There’s another literary store that I’ve never visited (it’s 15+ miles away); though I hear it’s more women’s fiction oriented, but not romance oriented. (Think “The Red Tent” or “Girl With Pearl Earring”)
–One is an anarchist to leftist political store. No fiction at all.
–One literary store with a heavy Native-American focus owned by a famous literary author recently closed after a five year (or so) run.
–We have more than 24 used bookstores in our metropolitan area. There’s one used store devoted solely to romance. The owner is very, very nice. I’m contantly amazed by the depth of the backlist. The others have romance sections of various sizes, a couple no romances at all. A few are antiquarian, so they are collector-only destinations.
–There are close to two dozen chain stores (B&N, Borders, Waldenbooks, and B Dalton). All have romance sections, the size of each varies by location, as well as dozens of grocery stores, big box retailers, and drug stores with bestsellers and romances.
–We have four county library systems. One has an amazing breadth of romances, another has an ok, somewhat smaller selection. The other two I don’t know (never lived in those counties). At least one branch in one of the systems is a meeting place for a local RWA chapter (I’m not a member, but I see the meeting notices in the library).
It’s easy to find a romance novel in this town. Just not always at an indie.
OMG! I just had a d’uh moment! Thanks for your rant! Of course I never patronize my local indie and most of the ubs in my neighborhood! They don’t carry what I want to read! Did I make a good faith effort to become a loyal customer? You bet your sweet bippy. Did I ever go back after the first visit? No!
I feel so free.
Okay, um I’m a little slow.
I’m usually so pleased to find an indie bookstore, I don’t quibble too much about their selection. Whatever the shop’s specialty, I can usually find something to read. But I’m a browser. I’m happier wandering a store than dashing in for something specific, and the longer I browse, the more likely I am to get interested in a book I wouldn’t normally choose off Amazon.
Our local UBS seems to not be normal, then. Basically Books in Cedar Rapids, IA is incredibly romance friendly. In fact, most of the store is romance. They also have a great selection of new books and since they give a 20% discount on those, I try to head there before ever going to Barnes and Noble.
So, if you’re ever in this part of Iowa, I recommend going there.
And our Half Price Books has a lot of romance (says I, who works there).
Whoa, Susan–what an amazing town! I wanna move there!
I love my Indie bookstore, but like RfP, I tend to browse there, looking for interesting books I might not find elsewhere.
I suppose I could complain to them about the lack of Romance, but would I be the only one? Because I suspect I would be (or one of a few), because most readers looking for Romance are simply patronizing Costco or Target or Walmart or wherever else, not even thinking about going to the Indie to look for Romance. So the problem persists.
Generally speaking, though, I’m a bit put off by the moral tenor to some arguments in favor of Indie bookstores — as if my patronage of anything else is the equivalent of animal torture or something. I DO patronize my Indie bookstore, but not for Romance. And if that bookstore stopped carrying anything that interested me, I wouldn’t shop there at all. But I don’t want to be made to feel that it’s my fault, somehow, if my Indie doesn’t make it. I mean, is there any serious bookseller that’s ignorant of how much of the market Romance claims? I figure that if they’re not carrying a ton of Romance, they’ve made a conscious decision to rise or fall on the basis of other sorts of books.
Interestingly, though, in my town, the Indie has a large UBS downstairs, which carries a bunch of Romance. I found several copies of Judith Ivory’s Dance there a few years ago, at the basic 1/2 of the cover price. Although with the popularity of eBay and half.com, that has changed, lol.
I should add that there is a UBS about 30 minutes from my house called ROMANTIC PAGES. Need I say how much I LOVE that store??!!
I’m sorry
to hear you had such a bad experience at an indepedent bookstore. I have to say that I have met only a few independent bookstores that didn’t have that many romance books. I have 8-10 in my area and they all have huge romance sections both used and new.
Personally I prefer purchasing from them than a big bookstore. The staff I’ve dealt with knows their patrons, what they like and keep stock aside for them. I go every week to at least one store. My bank balance shows
Susan, do you live in Minneapolis-St. Paul? Because I was ticking off the names of the stores in my head as you described them. Well, except for the UBS specializing in romance — which one is that?
I’m a bit put off by the moral tenor to some arguments in favor of Indie bookstores
It’s offputting and wrongheaded on several fronts, BUT.
Indies are sometimes the main bookstores that carry small authors and presses. Without indies, we can find romance at WalMart–but where can we find local authors, obscure mid-list names, and genre-pushing works? The indies near me are the ones preserving variety, while the B&Ns, supermarkets, and Costcos all carry the same stock. (Borders too, but at least they carry erotic romance.)
Leaving aside the moral “we need indies” argument, it’s all about what kind of reader you are. If I’m looking for something specific, I check the local indies, then get online. If I want to browse for a romance, I hit an indie or a Borders. If I want to stumble on an *unexpectedly* good read, I hit an indie.
Although with the popularity of eBay and half.com, that has changed, lol.
What’s changed for my local indies is that their used sections are now for sale online through AbeBooks, etc. So a couple of stores’ used sections used to be chaos but are now organized and computerized.
I agree, absolutely. [nod] I’ve noticed the lack of romances in too many independent bookstores too, or the anemic two or three shelves grudgingly allotted to “that trash.”
My first trip to this one store — gorgeous, well stocked with everything else, all sorts of stuff I’d never seen anywhere else — was also my last when I went up to the counter with an armload of books, mentioned to the clerk that the place was great but I was disappointed with their romance section, and he smirked and said, “You mean because it exists at all?” No, actually that wasn’t what I meant. But if the clerk’s attitude reflected that of the owner, I’d doubtless found the reason why the section sucked. I never went in there again, despite how great the rest of the store was.
Too many people who’ve never read a romance still think it’s perfectly acceptable –and even cool and hip and smart — to smirk and snark and trash romances and their readers. Screw ‘em. They’re not getting any of my money either.
Angie
if the clerk’s attitude reflected that of the owner, I’d doubtless found the reason why the section sucked. I never went in there again, despite how great the rest of the store was.
Too many people who’ve never read a romance still think it’s perfectly acceptable –and even cool and hip and smart — to smirk and snark and trash romances and their readers. Screw ‘em. They’re not getting any of my money either.
The way you tell this, it sounds like that’s what he thought *your* attitude would be. Which probably means the store gets complaints about “trashy” fiction from busybody customers.
Most independent bookshops seem to specialize in one or two areas, e.g. local interest, feminist fiction, highbrow literary fiction, science fiction and fantasy, etc… Hence, an indie specializing in local authors is not going to have a big romance section, unless a romance author happens to be local. A science fiction and fantasy specialist may carry paranormals (Forbidden Planet in London has a paranormal romance section these days), but one won’t find historicals there. There’s nothing wrong with that, because finding a specialised niche is what helps those independent stores to survive.
We had a great small independent store here before the owner got married and moved with her new husband. Can you believe that?
Anyway, I think it can be done right by just making a browser feel welcome by having something from one of the most popular genres out there. Ive been in indy stores in lots of different places and some of them definitely give you the air that only high brow lit-rah-ture is sold there.
RfP — The way you tell this, it sounds like that’s what he thought *your* attitude would be. Which probably means the store gets complaints about “trashy†fiction from busybody customers.
It’s hard to explain, since it’s all about facial expression and tone, and that quirk of the lips when someone’s half smiling and half sneering, but that’s not the impression I got. If I’m recalling correctly, he asked me the usual, “Did you find everything you wanted?” kind of question, and I said something like, “Yes, everything’s great except I was kind of disappointed with your romance section.” I’m sure he knew exactly what I meant when he responded, and would bet that he fully intended to be twitting me about reading romances.
Someone who shared his negative attitude about romance wouldn’t have phrased it that way, and I wasn’t putting out any “I’m being ironic” signals in either my expression or tone. Although it wouldn’t surprise me if he’d planned to claim he misunderstood me, if I’d complained to his boss.
I might well be the one misinterpreting here, but I honestly don’t think so. I’ve known enough people who sneer at romances and romance readers to be pretty sure he was another such.
Cora — sure, a lot of independents focus on a particular area, and I wouldn’t expect a bookstore that’s focused on, say, SF, to carry genre romances. As a data point, though, the bookstore I mentioned above carried pretty much every genre and area of nonfiction. This was back before Borders and B&N, and at the time it was one of the best-stocked bookstores I’d ever seen, except for the 2.5 shelves of romances. It was pretty clear that the owner intended it to be full-spectrum, except for romance.
Angie
I just want to say that my husband owns an indie and you’ll find plenty of Romance novels there. Bestsellers, midlist, debut, backlist.
I don’t understand and never will why some indies refuse to stock what people want to read. And then, yes, whine because readers don’t patronize their store.
Wowzers, lots of comments! Hi everybody!
The best romance friendly bookstores I’ve been in have been UBSes that sell some new titles on the side. That being said – I’ve yet to walk into an indy that solely sells new books that has a fantabulous romance section. Do they exist? Obviously, since some of you have commented that they do. It’s just been my dumb luck that I’ve never run across one.
Nora, any chance your husband would open a second store on the west coast?
Oh, and I want to second someone’s comment above (Kimber Chin, I think?) that some of the smaller “chain” stores have great romance sections. I agree! Some of the very best romance sections I’ve ever seen have been in small, mall, store-front Waldenbooks.
Wendy — I’ve noticed that too. I suspect it’s because the big chains are all about the bottom line, which romance will help them achieve, whereas being independent gives the owner more scope for ideals and the freedom to refuse to carry anything they think is trashy, if they’re that sort. [eyeroll]
Angie
Chicklet, Yeah; I live in Mpls., and am ashamed to admit that I haven’t visited Common Good Books yet. Oh well.
The UBS I referred to is in the Har Mar mall (near the grocery store). I usually buy new at the B&N, then head down the hall to the UBS.
Bella Andre ,
I know the chain you mean! I love to shop there for kids’ books, and for some sci-fi and fantasy, but I honestly never thought to look there for romance until recently. Imagine my surprise to find that their romance section didn’t exist. I’ve since been in several of their other branches…same thing. No romance. I read a lot of stuff from our fabulous public library system, but if I need a book they haven’t put in the collection, I automatically go to Borders now. Which means I end up buying other things (kids’ books, sci-fi, literary fiction) there that I would formerly have bought at the locally owned indie chain. Their loss.
[...] another RTB post, Wendy Crutcher points out that many independent bookstores with declining sales might be partly to [...]