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| Hearsay: |
Are book swaps the literary event of the future? I can’t tell because even after reading this I still don’t really understand what the hell they are. Robert McCrum seems to like it though.
It certainly was an evening with a difference. The Fire Station, recently decommissioned, now has a raked auditorium with seats for about 150, and a small stage, which Pack and Phillips had transformed into a passable imitation of a student bedsit (collapsed sofa, piles of books, tea, coffee etc.) Pack’s obsession, apparently, is cake. The evening was punctuated by offers of cake, macaroons, biscuits and so forth.
And all Jessica and I had to do was bring along a book we wanted to swap with a member of the audience, and explain what we were swapping. It sounds corny, but it worked wonderfully well.
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August 26th, 2009 at 10:05 am
They’re like neighborhood wife swaps, but without all the sheepish glances the next day.
August 26th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Nice.
August 26th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
How do people make money by swapping books? The owner of the Fire Station probably collected a fee for renting the building, and the grocer made a few bucks by selling cakes, tea and macaroons, but how do authors and publishers make money? Am I missing something?
August 26th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
I actually posted on the same article this morning! I was thinking about the idea and how it could make money – and I like it. I can see these actually becoming pretty popular events if hosted correctly. (Though, I’m not sure a hall is really the best venue). For example – an Indie Bookshop could host one of these, with a theme such as Poetry Swap night, Mystery Swap night, etc. – and then have a table with a prominent display of books on the topic. If you have an author participating, even though it’s a swap, you can still have an area with his/her books displayed for sale (and have them signed). I think the key is that it’s a little less formal than a book reading/signing, and more of a mingle or a social event. The obvious results are traffic into the shop, people talking about books, making recommendations to each other, and hopefully following up on those recommendations.
Its got to be better than a book discussion group!
August 26th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
I don’t know. If I were a bookseller, I could see a lot of people coming into the store to get rid of their old books but not to spend any money. I could see people trying to trade damaged paperbacks for new hardbacks. A bookseller could see a lot of traffic and endure some hassle but not sell many books.
August 26th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I see your point. But if its hosted as an event, where people swap paperbacks between each other, the cost to the bookshop would be minimal. And when competing with the big box booksellers, I think any traffic coming into an Indie Store is good traffic.
As for individual authors and publishers, I’m less sure what their motivation would be for taking part. Other than a new author trying to get his/her name out, or as an alternative to reading a few pages out of their current book and answering questions, I agree that I don’t see how it would help to sell a specific book.
August 26th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Does it even have to be about making money? Why can’t the book swap event just be for the love of books? Is that such a strange concept? Motivation for taking part? Maybe to learn of a new book or author you’d never heard of before. Hasn’t anyone here ever written about a book or an author in the hopes of having others learn and benefit?
August 26th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Dave – I agree with you. On the side of the people going to the events, it makes perfect sense and of course is just about the love of books. But I don’t really think that’s the motivation for the booksellers, authors and publishers who would be holding them. Maybe I’m just cynical.
August 27th, 2009 at 5:34 am
It’s not that big a stretch from some other promotional activities. In theory, you bring people in to swap a book, but you hope that, while they’re there, they buy another. Like a loss-leader for an electronics store or a grocery store. Publishers might think something similar – that it’s the opportunity to meet a writer that matters more than the reading, and people will buy the book just to get it signed. Authors just like to get their pasty selves out of the cave, scrape off the barnacles and exercise the voice box a bit. And maccaroons. Writers love maccaroons. I saw that on Shark week once – blood on the water all because a box of maccaroons fell off of a cruise ship holding an event for first time novelists.
August 27th, 2009 at 7:54 am
I’ve been swapping books for years at bookcrossing meetings and in at least 3 different cities I’ve lived. They’re usually held in cafes or pubs (so they make money from people ordering), and it’s not 1 for 1, you bring whatever, take whatever, and leave what you don’t want to take home at a “bookcrossing shelf” or “release it in the wild”.
We never get a huge turnout, but I always love finding great new books I would have never read otherwise, and knowing that someone will enjoy the book I just read as much as I did. I have no idea why they’re not more popular.