All For One and One For One?

Over the weekend, there has been a lot of discussion about the fact that on some flights, people haven’t been able to take books as carry-on.

There are a lot of things people haven’t been able to take as carry-on.

And the ultimate conclusion I’ve reached after reading an assortment of stuff about this is that some people are just selfish.

Newsflash, right? I mean, we’ve all known people who are completely self-absorbed, who’ll never lift a finger unless there’s something in it for them.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Certainly, I’ve seen my share of examples, and it goes right back to BSP and all the examples people shared last week. My friend, Bill Cameron, posted a story that demonstrates the me-me-me focus of some authors, to the point of making people want to run for their lives.

Now, I’m not saying people are selfish because they’re upset because they can’t take books on planes. Rather, I made a suggestion that the planes make audio books available on their system – they have all those channels anyway.

And I received some interesting responses, one of which was the sad truth that, apparently, the airlines want to charge the publishers too much money to make it feasible.

What the fuck is wrong with companies anymore? Years and years ago, when I used to work in stores, you put up stuff on end displays that was needed, that your customers would be looking for. If it was spring, maybe it was easter bunnies, chocolates and gardening tools. This time of year, school supplies.

In other words, you never forgot that customer service was about serving your customer.

Now, you go into bookstores and don’t kid yourself. The end display isn’t a selection of books the staff are enthusiastic about. Nope. They’re the books someone paid to have there. A good friend of mine in the publishing business tells me it’s typical to pay 50 grand for an end display, per store.

And we wonder why books cost so much money, and publishers are still going under.

I’m tired of being nothing but a wallet, everywhere I go. I mean, when was the last time that somebody didn’t have what you wanted and told you where to go find it, instead of trying to persuade you to buy something different?

An author even told me recently they didn’t like a particular initiative, because given the nature of it and their material, it couldn’t benefit them.

Now, I don’t want to get specific, other than to say the point wasn’t about individual authors, but about reaching readers.

But for some, that was a waste of their time if their books couldn’t be front and center.


This was on my mind already. I’ve been thinking about the people out there, who for nothing more than the love of books, volunteer. To read to the blind. To read to kids. To read to people in hospitals.

People who don’t get paid, don’t get a commission off a book sale, but just share their love and try to make someone’s life a little better at the same time.

I find myself thinking, “What can I do?” And I’ve been thinking about this a lot, lately.

We authors owe our livelihood to the community of readers out there. The truth is, taking time to visit schools or hospitals might win a new reader. And a new reader might not read my books, but they’ll read someone’s books.

And you know, when people start to love books, they’ll read books by more than one author. They’ll support their local library, they’ll support their local bookstore, and help keep both in business.

And you never know - they might influence others to start reading.

I look at how one author for me led to countless others. Rankin recommends McDermid, who blurbs MacBride, for example. Almost everything on my bookshelves can be traced back to a recommendation from one author to another author, who recommends another author, etc.

My buying Rankin books wasn’t just good for Ian. It’s been good for Val, for Mark Billingham, for Simon Kernick, Stuart MacBride, Allan Guthrie…

When we win readers, we all win.

And instead of always thinking about the immediate cash in our pocket, maybe we should think about the industry as a whole, occasionally. Because we can make all the money in the world, but if the industry dies, we’ve all lost.

I’m still left wondering what I can do. Not because I don’t have lists of options already, but because I’m trying to decide what the best approach is, for me. But you’re going to hear more from me on this, because I’ve decided to get involved somehow, in sharing my love of books with others.

Which means I told Kevin I need more bookshelves so I can unpack all my children’s books I own from when I worked in education.

Which has him moaning that I’m going to need the bigger office…


Catastrophe

Fred, the crime-solving cat was killed last week.

The Boy and the Priest

A little boy got on the bus, sat next to a man reading a book, and noticed he had his collar on backwards. The little boy asked why he wore his collar that way.

The man, who was a priest, said, "I am a Father."

The little boy replied, "My Daddy doesn't wear his collar like that."

The priest looked up from his book and answered, "I am the Father of many."

The boy said, "My Dad has 4 boys, 4 girls and two grandchildren and he doesn't wear his collar that way."

The priest, getting impatient, said, "I am the Father of hundreds" and went back to reading his book.

The little boy sat quietly thinking for a while, then leaned over and said, "Maybe you should wear your pants backwards instead of your collar."