Books, Books, Books!

Could books be on an upswing? With so many formats to choose from, could books actually challenge TV and video for our involvement?

My daughter-in-law, Stef, has recently opened a bookstore*, a tiny wedge of space tucked between two retail stores like an afterthought, but perfect for her targeted age group, from the very young to the older yet young enough to enjoy a good tale. Her product source is anywhere anyone has too many books, whether an estate sale, library fundraiser, or inherited shelves of dusty volumes left by a great aunt. She wants to keep used books relevant and out of landfills.

With such low overhead, her experiment is to see who will still buy hold-in-hand physical books, who still feels the magic of discovery waiting in printed words under a tattered cardboard cover. So far, her experiment has been a great success.

As a book writer (and hopeful seller), I have seen sales of my eBooks outdistance those of my paperbacks by a large margin. My sales have been through Amazon and a local bookstore or two. But while I understand and, in fact, personally utilize the efficiency and handiness of digital reading, I delight in the tactile sense of a physical book when held in my hand and its visual appearance while residing on my shelves.

I have been fortunate with my cover artists. Their creations are so good that I keep pictures of them in frames on the walls of my workspace. There is a large difference between digital and physical book covers. Ebook covers on digital shelves are meant to draw the reader but are so small when presented among all the others that information about the book itself must be limited. Often, the color scheme alone draws the eye.

I delight in a full cover, where the theme carries across the spine to the back of the book, where, in a few punchy words, the author can describe the adventure that awaits in a font married to the image. A treasure chest, indeed.

Now that Zack Tolliver, FBI, is with Vinci Books, the original covers will be changing. I knew this before signing the contract, and hesitated because of it. I love my covers. But when I recently viewed a new cover concept for THE OTHER by the Vinci cover artist, I was pleasantly surprised. It is simpler; the theme is stated more subtly, yet effectively, and the colors draw the eye. A sense of what adventures may dwell inside is strong.

So I get it. But I have a complete physical collection of all fourteen original books from Zack Tolliver, FBI, on a special shelf I can visit whenever I want. I also have several boxes of some of the series books, which will soon become obsolete (and rare). I will sign those and offer them for sale to those who want a book from the series in the original cover. **

As to the future of physical, hold-in-your-hand books, I have no doubt that they will always be in demand. So long as there are book shelves to fill, there will be books to fill them. Just ask Stef.

*The Phoenix Used Book Store, 501 Magnolia Ave, Larkspur, CA 94939
**For more information, email me @ rlawsongamble@gmail.com.