Comments on: Politics in Bookselling http://writerunboxed.com/2007/08/30/politics-in-bookselling/ About the craft and business of genre fiction Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:49:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 by: Karin Tabke http://writerunboxed.com/2007/08/30/politics-in-bookselling/#comment-19711 Thu, 30 Aug 2007 23:15:12 +0000 http://writerunboxed.com/2007/08/30/politics-in-bookselling/#comment-19711 I love the idea of corporate America having a conscience! I'd love to see more of it, and then them stick to it. I love the idea of corporate America having a conscience!
I’d love to see more of it, and then them stick to it.

]]> by: RfP http://writerunboxed.com/2007/08/30/politics-in-bookselling/#comment-19691 Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:42:24 +0000 http://writerunboxed.com/2007/08/30/politics-in-bookselling/#comment-19691 I agree that it's unlikely B&N's sole criterion was lack of interest. The slippery slope argument is a bit worn, but no less true for that. If B&N is making these kinds of calls, it's probably with the best of intentions. It's easy to agree with a corporate decency standard on an individual book. It's especially easy to go along when the author seems to be making money from his/her own iniquity. But how many less-publicized judgments does B&N make based on "decency"? Last year I asked a local B&N store about a romance novel by a large press. The B&N employee said, with a strange awkwardness and nervous giggle, that he couldn't stock it or even special-order it. I asked why; he said "Uh... I just can't." I could be wrong, but that response said "value judgment" to me, and it made a negative impression. Based on that impression, I'd rather spend my money at Borders. (Borders had many copies of the novel, BTW. So what was the issue with B&N?) I agree that it’s unlikely B&N’s sole criterion was lack of interest.

The slippery slope argument is a bit worn, but no less true for that. If B&N is making these kinds of calls, it’s probably with the best of intentions. It’s easy to agree with a corporate decency standard on an individual book. It’s especially easy to go along when the author seems to be making money from his/her own iniquity. But how many less-publicized judgments does B&N make based on “decency”?

Last year I asked a local B&N store about a romance novel by a large press. The B&N employee said, with a strange awkwardness and nervous giggle, that he couldn’t stock it or even special-order it. I asked why; he said “Uh… I just can’t.” I could be wrong, but that response said “value judgment” to me, and it made a negative impression. Based on that impression, I’d rather spend my money at Borders. (Borders had many copies of the novel, BTW. So what was the issue with B&N?)

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