tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post5492663228228358432..comments2024-02-20T07:57:47.756-08:00Comments on Carol Hedges: WHSmith Does Not Stock My BooksCarol Hedgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359578624109905400noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-70517272640165362122015-09-07T16:41:26.145-07:002015-09-07T16:41:26.145-07:00It's the same as in all other spheres of busin...It's the same as in all other spheres of business, isn't it? Big money rules, and the small retailers and publishers are dispensible. Sickening! Total independence has its own advantages though...as you rightly say! Love the first part, CaroleStar! Vallypeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08309284606572565277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-14518083808409445652015-09-07T04:50:44.435-07:002015-09-07T04:50:44.435-07:00Absolutely, it's CRAZY! I am shortly going to ...Absolutely, it's CRAZY! I am shortly going to do some promo evenings for local libraries. So who will be supplying my books and pocketing the dosh? Me!!! Carol Hedgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10359578624109905400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-77355500008546044842015-09-07T04:45:27.526-07:002015-09-07T04:45:27.526-07:00Hear hear.
My two most recent novels are with a l...Hear hear.<br /><br />My two most recent novels are with a lovely small press in the US. They're ebooks at the moment, but will both be released in print before Christmas. Will WHSmiths etc stock them? I won't be holding my breath. Two new books by a British author with British characters in a British setting, but if a reader wants them in print they'll either have to go to a bookstore in America or buy them online from Amazon. It's daft.<br /><br />And the most irritating thing is that when these shortsighted bookshops go under, as they inevitably will, they'll be bleating that people should have supported them but didn't. Bless them.David Bridgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14124411458543045744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-36985512761670265042015-09-06T23:48:00.812-07:002015-09-06T23:48:00.812-07:00Can totally empathise with this. I had 4 books pub...Can totally empathise with this. I had 4 books published in e series with Usborne..they were ticking over...not making a fortune but selling steadily. Usborne, having said they'd go for a 5th, then changed their mind. AFTER I'd written it, told me I had no contract, so they weren't doing anything wrong. Books are still selling steadily. Publisher are TOO GREEDY, as are bookshops. And your luck will change. Mine did.Carol Hedgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10359578624109905400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-33013909666872753352015-09-06T16:42:12.109-07:002015-09-06T16:42:12.109-07:00Too right. I discovered last year that a certain b...Too right. I discovered last year that a certain bookshop, ahem, had asked one of my publishers for a large sum because they loved one of my books and wanted to stick it in their bookshop chart, and said publisher had declined because they didn't reckon I would sell enough copies to give them a healthy return on their investment. A few months later, said publisher dumped me due to, no kidding, low sales. What a world we live in. It's luck all the way in publishing. And mine is definitely out.Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06700477414937065931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-87875839402228358962015-09-05T12:00:25.041-07:002015-09-05T12:00:25.041-07:00Well said, Carol.Well said, Carol.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16365185962131795210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-10967991185952309612015-09-05T07:46:21.686-07:002015-09-05T07:46:21.686-07:00We also have numerous charity bookshops, which is ...We also have numerous charity bookshops, which is fine...except that writers don't get a penny from them.Carol Hedgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10359578624109905400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-70084744884435626282015-09-05T07:45:11.191-07:002015-09-05T07:45:11.191-07:00That sounds frustrating. On the other hand, good j...That sounds frustrating. On the other hand, good job for having such strong local support!<br /><br />Bookstores will have to adapt sometime.Danielle Ste. Justhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00657911852886541429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-21777692831999263312015-09-05T05:18:05.433-07:002015-09-05T05:18:05.433-07:00Thanks. The children's books were published by...Thanks. The children's books were published by a mainstream publisher, so stocked wherever. The reluctance of bookshops to stock good indie writers makes review sites like yours doubly important... it's often where readers pick up information about a 'new' writer.Carol Hedgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10359578624109905400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-58469771570253921672015-09-05T05:06:53.921-07:002015-09-05T05:06:53.921-07:00Sad to here. I was very pleased to spot one of you...Sad to here. I was very pleased to spot one of your children's books in my local primary school library and had it not been for social media I wouldn't have known who you were.Rosie Amberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05814740525740666516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-64555994143002840492015-09-05T03:46:46.491-07:002015-09-05T03:46:46.491-07:00Oh Carol, I now have this image of you writing wit...Oh Carol, I now have this image of you writing with a dagger between your teeth. It has bright red rubies on it. <br />The only place that sells books here is WHSmith, no other bookshop. The town centre here is like many in Glasgow full of charity shops,pound shops and 3 Boots the chemist. Which I don't understand, who needs three? Anne Macklehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04635857544175826537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-14833152130290725622015-09-05T02:45:35.677-07:002015-09-05T02:45:35.677-07:00quite...*grips dagger more firmly*quite...*grips dagger more firmly*Carol Hedgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10359578624109905400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-46016784866820064272015-09-05T02:28:11.671-07:002015-09-05T02:28:11.671-07:00It's such a lottery, with some being lucky in ...It's such a lottery, with some being lucky in their towns, and others not. Even if books are listed by distributors, stores refuse to even look. A total disgrace!<br /><br />Now back to my knight in not-so-shining armour and the box of Black Magic. Can't let it go to waste...Cathie Dunnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08537946350336674340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-86684584835818504542015-09-05T02:11:28.760-07:002015-09-05T02:11:28.760-07:00God bless our local bookshop -- I went in yesterda...God bless our local bookshop -- I went in yesterday to ask if they had a book of Hardy poetry and the assistant said 'I think you will find most of our poetry is robust!'Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15869496188854093860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-29105224593630038532015-09-05T01:35:01.370-07:002015-09-05T01:35:01.370-07:00Have to say, you are lucky! see my above comment. ...Have to say, you are lucky! see my above comment. Only support I've had is St Albans Waterstones, and that's because they stock the Usborne books, so I am a known writerCarol Hedgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10359578624109905400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-89654331343074031712015-09-05T01:26:01.427-07:002015-09-05T01:26:01.427-07:00It's yet another reason to support local, inde...It's yet another reason to support local, independent bookshops. I know I'm privileged to have one in the town where I live, but I do look for them wherever I go. They are the ones who go out of their way to support local writers.JOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03127111575563904349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-62789805812209569832015-09-05T01:04:03.930-07:002015-09-05T01:04:03.930-07:00Many do. It is crazy. They are actually turning do...Many do. It is crazy. They are actually turning down business for the sake of their suppliers policy. What I don't 'get' is the attitude of small independent bookshops. Surely a small amount of money is better than no money at all? Nose, Face, comes to mind.Carol Hedgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10359578624109905400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-81451692901830825172015-09-05T00:59:21.321-07:002015-09-05T00:59:21.321-07:00...ultimately they may well be, ‘hoisted by their ......ultimately they may well be, ‘hoisted by their own petards’... they live by the written word, and they may well die by the lack of the written word...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02205251775637958014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-41598843567471304912015-09-05T00:32:50.042-07:002015-09-05T00:32:50.042-07:00Every step of writing even after publication is a ...Every step of writing even after publication is a battle. I loved your descriptions of romance and mystery writersDL NELSONhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12740409132697546671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-13876597708890674002015-09-05T00:18:41.049-07:002015-09-05T00:18:41.049-07:00Given that self/small publisher books are now taki...Given that self/small publisher books are now taking over the market, it is shortsighted not to move with the way it's going. In Victorian times, that was all there was! Irony!Carol Hedgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10359578624109905400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681775564258628407.post-9251969582998342612015-09-05T00:11:38.124-07:002015-09-05T00:11:38.124-07:00How utterly ridiculous; it saddens me that WHS and...How utterly ridiculous; it saddens me that WHS and their customers are missing out on your wonderful writing, and that of so many other authors who are with smaller publishers or self publish.Catherine Curzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05763562687608837832noreply@blogger.com