Scott Pack, Head Buyer at Waterstone’s and therefore the man that gets to decide which titles appear on the bookseller’s shelves, appears to be keeping up with literary blogs. Ian Hocking, Spike contributor and burgeoning novelist, recently wrote about getting an email from Mr Pack who agreed to read Ian’s novel Deja Vu – and, true to his word, sent a follow-up email evaluating the book. I have to admit when I first read about that on Ian’s blog I thought it so extraordinary that it had to be a wind-up. But evidently not.
Crockatt And Powell, one of my current favourite blogs about a second hand bookshop that’s just opened in South East London, has also just received an email from Mr Pack too. Clearly he’s monitoring mentions of his name using Technorati or similar.
There’s a lot of authorial fear and loathing engendered by Pack’s job – check this profile piece about Pack by Tim Adams from The Observer last September – but I think it’s heartening that someone who does wield such undoubted influence is taking an interest in the literary blogs and making direct contact in cases such as Ian’s. It sets an interesting precedent for a possible new level of directness between booksellers and writers. It wouild be good if Scott Pack talked about his own web browsing habits in an interview and whether he’s sees many books out there in the wild – like Ian’s, for example, self published and self promoted – that he thinks Waterstone’s would take on and actively promote.
It strikes me that the real issue is not getting your book published – it’s getting it promoted. And someone like Waterstone’s getting behind it would make a big difference. Conversely, someone like Waterstone’s agreeing to stock your book but merely putting it on the shelf would probably result in it selling very few copies. The idea that once a bookstore agrees to stock your book then sales will automatically roll in is – obviously – misguided. There’s potential here though for Waterstone’s to start talking to authors directly, providing distribution for their books directly rather than through a traditional publisher. Which means bigger profits for both author and bookshop.
More on Scott Pack:
Spike | Google | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Wikipedia
Open Directory | Technorati: Scott Pack
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Funnily enough Pack has his own blog as well – though produces it anonymously. Presumably aware that bloggers at Waterstone’s have a history of getting sacked for, er, blogging.
I met that Scott Pack once. I bought some TDK C90s off him.
Link for the Pack blog?
Ooh yes please would love to read SP’s secret blog. Meanwhile thanks for mentioning ours – professional necessity means that I have to correct you and say that in fact we sell new books, though we get in second hand copies of out-of-print titles to order. Advert over. Anyway SP has been back commenting on our blog again, we are getting rather fond of him over at C&P. In the end, I suppose he is just good at his job – the real evil move was the decision to get rid of the net book agreement and therefore allow anyone with the buying power to discount like crazy – that’s what’s really shafting small bookshops and imprints, not the likes of Mr Pack.
Sadly (or happily, depending on your point of view) I do not have a blog but perhaps I should start one. I’d happily answer any questions about self-publishing or small presses and how they get picked up or otherwise by retailers if someone thought that would help.
There is an amusing take on the Tim Adams piece here:
http://www.thefridayproject.co.uk/hi/vox/000446.php
Hope the link works.
Ian Hocking wasn’t self published, though he worked hard on the promotion himself (and imo is a brilliant radio interviewee).
He was published by the small UKA Press, who gave him editors to work with over half a year but let him decide himself on the final edit and the cover, etc.