The Bookseller.com

3rd December 2008

Joel Rickett

Joel Rickett is deputy editor of The Bookseller, and also writes columns for the Guardian and Screen International.

Ten and out

10.07.08

I can remember my first front-page news story at The Bookseller. It was a rainy afternoon in early 1999 and I'd spent hours calling around local authorities asking them about their plans for libraries. Perhaps unsurprisingly I found many were in the midst of shutting down several branches. So the headline blared “Libraries in closure crisis”. Over the years since, I (and colleagues) have churned out countless versions of this story – stringing them all together you'd think libraries were in a perpetual state of crisis. Yet there have been other, much more positive, library stories too – as publishers and the wider world have woken up to their power to connect authors and readers (rather than just as handy dumping grounds for hardbacks).

These two strands – the repetitively gloomy and the green shoots – run through much of my experience reporting on the book industry for the last (near) decade. And in fact most significant changes in the market have been simultaneously viewed in both ways. I won't bore you with the circular stuff – and as The Bookseller's 150th anniversary edition showed, these recurring issues go back far further than 10 years. Nor do I want to repeat the various cultural book trends recapped by Robert McCrum.

Instead here's a gallop through some of the tradey changes that have happened in the decade – sometimes surprisingly quickly for an industry often described as change-resistant.

In retail, Amazon has grown from a Seattle upstart to the cusp of becoming the UK's largest bookseller. Borders went from an American concept store to a million square feet of retail space. Some family names disappeared (Hammicks, Thins), others were perpetually reinvented (Blackwell). Ottakar's rose, fell, gloriously rose again, and was promptly swallowed up. Its acquirer Waterstone's went from a state of chaotic civil war to a slick modernised chain – and has now set about recapturing the energy of its early years. And City analysts still claim to not know the “point” of W H Smith, despite the fact it's still shifting lots of books. Channels which were hidden or marginal have gone mainstream, with The Book People and Tesco each shifting £100m-plus of books a year.

In publishing, I won't be surprising anyone when I say the biggest have got bigger – Hachette and Random hoovering up the ocean floor– while many of the finest independents have thrived. The people are largely the same, so I don't agree with those who feel the industry has become more bland. All that's happened is the mavericks have had their edges knocked off by some stark commercial realities.

That means more of dreaded word, “focus”. The seasonal publisher presentations that we sit through have been transformed. Most (with a few notable exceptions) used to reel through endless lists of barely distinguishable titles, giving no sense as to what or why readers should be interested. Everything was a “stunning achievement” or a “tour de force” . . . zzzz. Now most publishers have clear plan for every book: why it's brilliant (of course), but also who it will appeal to and how to reach them.

Any list of the wider phenomena that have shaped the trade would have to include Harry Potter and the children's books boom, The Da Vinci Code, R&J, celebrity books, quirky festive hits, the rise of the literary prize, mis mems, reading groups, festivals. They all point to people's yearning for stories, their deep attachment to books, the power of an edited choice delivered to them in a compelling way. And they all show that this industry should never set false barriers to its own growth: that there are millions of people out there who'll still lap up books.

So it's a lesson in confidence, really. Don't let the digital buzz distract us from forging ahead with that mission to link authors and readers, to create great things. Don't be overawed the next time a new type of retailer or TV personality or web player wants to take the product on. Use the force wisely.

Before this sounds too much like Star Wars, I'll sign off. You can tell how much I've loved this business because instead of walking away down the journalism road, I'm jumping in as a publisher. Thanks to everyone who has helped out down the years and I'll see you soon.

Joel Rickett Penguin The Bookseller