The BookSmarts Podcast, with Joshua Tallent
Arts:Books
In this episode, Joshua talks with Andy Hunter, Founder & CEO of BookShop.org. Andy started BookShop out of a concern for the future of independent bookstores. As Amazon has grown and taken a larger share of the online book selling market, publishers have become more dependent on that one store. BookShop aims to give more power back to indie booksellers and to publishers, by providing a convenient platform both for bookstores and for consumers to use, and by providing access to an affiliate program that pays 10% of the sale price of a book.
Andy talks about his reasons for starting BookShop, and reflects on being surprised at just how many readers are willing to forego buying books at Amazon in order to support their local bookstores. He also talks about what metadata would most help him as a bookseller to sell more books, calling out specifically the need for a higher-level categorization system that is more consumer-friendly than BISAC and the need for more options around book spreads and samples for complex books.
Finally, Andy talks about where he sees hope for the future in publishing. He appreciates that he is seeing more focus on innovation and more understanding of the need for a diverse ecosystem and more consumer choice. Innovation, though, is still lacking; for example, the use of proprietary DRM makes it hard for consumers to read their ebooks wherever they want. There is a chance that the industry will be more supportive of innovators and of new ways of book selling, but there are some potential roadblocks to that hopeful future. Andy also expresses concern about the fracturing of the market with more publishers focusing on direct-to-consumer options instead of focusing support on current book selling options like indie bookstores.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/booksmarts/messageEpisode 42: Marika Flatt on Book Publicity
Episode 41: Jane Friedman on Spotify Audiobooks and Author Earnings
Episode 40: Tom Richardson on ONIX Best Practices & Standards
Episode 39: Kathi Inman Berens, Ph.D. & Rachel Noorda, Ph.D. on Gen Z and Millennial Survey
Episode 38: Miriam Warren on International Mergers & Acquisitions
Episode 37: Victoria Sutherland on Reviews and Opportunities for Independent Publishers
Episode 36: Klaus Krogh on Sustainable Typesetting and Bible Design
Episode 35: Mary Carlomagno on Book Visibility
Episode 34: Laura Brady on Accessibility
Episode 33: Michele Cobb on Publishing Associations and Awards Programs
Episode 32: Thad McIlroy on Publishing Startups
Episode 31: David Marlin on Royalty Management and Company Security
Episode 30: Emma Watson on Subscription Ebook Sales Models
Episode 29: Angela Bole on Independent Publishing
Episode 28: Charles Watkinson on Open Access
Episode 27: Kevin Franco on Book Marketing Strategies
Episode 26: Pete Larson on the Current Supply Chain Situation
Episode 25: BISG - Future Proofing Your Workflow
Episode 24: Cory Verner on the Growth of Audiobooks
Episode 23: Mark Herschberg How Books Might Escape the Page
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