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Bookstore Chain Goes “Long Tail”

February 15, 2008 by Grael Norton, Acquisitions Manager
Borders has announced that it's bringing the "Long Tail" of publishing into its stores, the first being a reworked 28,000-square-foot outlet in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The article notes that the new store concept centers around a "Digital Center" that will "enable customers to download books, burn CDs, self-publish their own books and research their family background."

I received a press release that gave me a little more insight into what the "self-publishing" part refers to: Borders has partnered with Lulu.com to provide kiosks in their stores for self-publishing.

I couldn't figure out exactly what that means, but I'm guessing that customers can upload files to Lulu's site, then order copies of the book to be picked up at the store at a later date.

I'll keep an eye out for further details, but it certain seems that—if nothing else—independent authors are going to play a major role in 21st century bookstores.

A final note: I wonder how this move will affect Borders' relationship with its customer-authors? Barnes and Noble had a terrible problem regarding the customer service involved with this kind of relationship when it was a part-owner of iUniverse, another self-publishing service (customers kept asking when their books would be carried on B & N bookstore shelves; the answer almost always disappointed them).

The problems were so severe, apparently, that they eventually led to B & N severing its relationship with iUniverse altogether last year.

I guess Borders—a bookseller whose financial problems have been well-reported over the last few years (in large part because they completely missed the boat on online bookselling)—has decided that the possible rewards are worth the risks.

To read the full article, click here.

Tags: book sales, bookstores, authors, self-publishing
Filed Under: News,

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