Why Buy Books From Independent Booksellers?

National chain bookstores' dirty little secrets may alarm you. Buy independent for variety, local flavor, and to support new authors.

We want to buy knitting books - what are our choices?

1. Those tiny little mall chain bookstores (Waldenbooks or whatever they're called) - way too small to provide the selection you really want.

2. The book racks at drug and grocery stores - could anything be smaller? These can only hold what's in the NY Times Top 20 or so.

3. Superstores have a much bigger selection and can backorder, so are an improvement, but they still have some terrible practices.

National chain bookstores send pre-orders to publishers, based on how many copies of the author's last books were sold. If you are a new author and manage to get printed, you have to be a bestseller in days or you're dead. Your books are hauled off the shelves and sent back to the publisher.

Do you know how books are "returned to the publisher"? Booksellers rip the covers off of unsold paperback books and ship them back to publishers for a 100% refund. On the average, booksellers sell only half of the books they buy.

Publishers are now basing the number of copies they will print and ship on pre-orders they receive from the bookstore chains and distributors, who in turn base their orders on the number of copies the author's last book sold. So if you're an established writer, your books will be ordered even if you no longer write anything of value, while exciting new authors can't break into the market.

Decisions of what books to sell in these national chain bookstores are made on the national level (which determines what books are pre-ordered and therefore printed), so there's also a built-in prejudice against local authors or books with regional interest.

In essence, book buyers on the east and west coast decide what books will be printed and sold in Indiana or Colorado or Saskatchewan.

Independent booksellers, on the other hand, would rather try to sell books than destroy them. They'll take the time to talk with you, make personal recommendations, and they'll offer presentations and book signings by local authors. They aren't afraid to specialize, and they'll search for books you want that they don't carry.

So on this website you'll find links to a few of my favorite online independent bookstores, and a link to a search engine that will locate stores near you.

Just as there's nothing like seeing and feeling yarn in person, there's also nothing as inspiring as holding a vibrantly colorful knitting book.

Support your local independent bookstore:

Buy online:

Denver, Colorado:
Tattered Cover Bookstore lists over 1000 knitting books.

Portland, Oregon:
If you love books, Powell's makes a trip to Portland worth it, no matter where on the planet you live. Powell's is the largest independent seller of new and used books in the world. You have to see it to comprehend it. I would like to live there; it's big enough that, if I move in, they may not find me. 526 knitting titles

Find an independent bookstore near you.

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