With occasional headlines proclaiming that fewer people are reading books these days, you may think that the publishing business is getting beaten to a pulp.
Turns out, it’s pulp that’s beating up the industry — that is, a scarcity of actual pages.
“Even the lowest-level publishing employee right now is very aware of what’s going on in the world of paper because it’s impacting their day-to-day,” says Meg Reid, executive director of Spartanburg’s Hub City Press, the award-winning independent publisher.
Last year, sales in the printed book market showed year-over-year growth of nearly 9%, with more than 825 million units sold, according to Statista in June.
Still, physical, curl-up-with-a-mug-of-tea books have suffered much the same fate as so many other consumer goods, from cars to cat food. As Reid says, “We’ve been dealing with a year of really intense stuff like supply chain disruptions and slowdowns, and there’s a lot of root causes.”
For one, most of the world’s paper is made in Asia, Statista reported in June. And Reid says industry peers are telling her that much of it has been going to the more-profitable manufacture of corrugated cardboard for boxes filled with all your Amazon orders.
Another issue, as national and trade media have reported, is that shipping containers are in short supply. Worse, the price to lease a 40-foot metal container, which can hold 35,000 copies, shot past $10,300 this time last year, compared with the five-year average of roughly $3,700 apiece, according to a maritime consultancy.
And so, like everything else, book prices have gone up. New paperbacks now cost $17 each, up from $15. That fresh-ink-smell hardback, which used to cost $28, now sets you back $32, says Reid, whose press publishes seven to 10 titles a year and sells them at its Hub City Bookshop in the Masonic Temple at 186 W. Main St. in downtown Spartanburg.
Oh, but the plot twists go on.
Copies of that red-hot bestseller may be scarcer now at your local bookstore; the industry itself is in turmoil with the U.S. Justice Department filing an antitrust lawsuit last November against the nation’s two biggest publishing houses, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, the former of which is seeking to acquire the latter; and your favorite authors are seeing publication dates pushed back as much as a year, Reid and others say.
Still, as in a great thriller, the hero overcomes obstacles.
Deb Richardson-Moore, the Greenville newspaperwoman-turned-pastor-turned novelist, found a British publisher that distributed her five mysteries in the United States. For her upcoming book, tentatively titled, “Through Any Window,” she moved to another U.K. press, Red Adept Publishing.
Unlike her previous publisher, Red Adept Publishing offers print-on-demand and more promotion for e-books than most book manufacturers; so-called legacy houses typically offer neither, she says.
“I’ve been surprised at the number of readers who’ve told me they prefer e-books and audio,” she says, adding that for veterans like herself and would-be authors, “On the bright side, I do believe that small publishers are sprouting up to fill in the gap.”
Jill Hendrix likewise sees a robust book market here. After working briefly at St. Martin’s Press, a major New York-based house, she wound up in Greenville and opened Fiction Addiction in 2001.
As she names several Greenville-area bookstores, she mentions that a customer recently told her about a Midwestern city, larger than Greenville, with just one independent bookseller.
“I thought that was kind of strange, but Greenville has a high level of education,” she says. “Greenville’s very literary.”
Okay, then, how does this story end?
Well, with books being at the top of your holiday-gifts list, Reid says, “Smart buyers, buy now.”
Here’s a sample of independent and national-chain bookstores that make the Upstate a readers’ — and authors’ — paradise.
- Fiction Addiction: Independent bookseller near Haywood Mall, Greenville. With self-publishing a popular option, Fiction Addiction also offers “guided self-publishing.”
- Hub City Bookshop: Located on Spartanburg’s Main Street and hub of the indie press and the Hub City Writers Project.
- Judson Booksellers: Indie bookstore downtown (with a sumptuous coffee shop and special events, too).
- Angel’s BookShoppe: New and rare, bought and sold, North Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville.
- As the Page Turns: New and used, in Travelers Rest.
- Barnes & Noble: Two Greenville locations, on Haywood Road and at The Shops at Greenridge on Woodruff Road.
- 2nd and Charles: One of 45 bookstores across the country, with the Greenville store on Laurens Road.
- K’s Used Books, Music & More: Locations in Charleston and Greenville (Verdae Boulevard)
Source: yeahthatgreenville
