I’ve been advocating for this type of bundling for a while now. The obvious advantage is that you can read the print version in the comfort of your own home, and then take the ebook version with you while you’re on the go. This would work especially well with dinosaur-sized books like Stephen King’s Under the Dome (which I’m currently reading as an ebook). If I had bought King’s latest magnum opus as a hardcover, you certainly wouldn’t see me lugging it around so I could read a few pages in the doctor’s office waiting room.

However, there is one caveat to B&N’s plans to bundle print and ebooks together, as the Teleread post explains:

But from the article, it does not sound as if B&N is truly planning what people usually think of as “bundling”—you will have to pay some extra money for the e-book version. Given that the e-book version has no marginal cost to produce, I expect e-book fans will still express disappointment that this offer does not go far enough.

So it’s not a true “bundle” where you get both for one price. However, I think B&N and publishers are taking a step in the right direction. People want choice. They want to read books when they want, where they want and in the format they want. This faux bundling starts to make that possible.

While not the ideal situation, having to pay a reduced price for the ebook version of your newly purchased print edition will not be the end of the world. However, the key word here is “reduced.” If B&N and publishers think consumers will pay much more than $5 for the ebook, then they’re going to have a lot of angry consumers to deal with.

Print-On-Demand at B&N Stores?

Another interesting item brought up in the PW article is that B&N is playing with the idea of maybe bringing POD technology directly to stores (think: Espresso Book Machine):

He said at some point it could be possible to put a pod machine directly into a store, providing the store “was big enough.” He would also not rule out the possibility that B&N could make a “small acquisition” in the technology field if it fit with its digital plans.

Very interesting indeed. I have read a lot about this type of portable POD technology, but would love to see one of these machines in action for myself.

Reading about B&N’s future plans for ebooks got me thinking that they are now taking the lead in innovation. Amazon has been the leader in ebooks for a few years now, but they really haven’t done anything that innovative in a while – other than releasing updated versions of the Kindle every few years or so.

What do you think about B&N’s plans to bundle ebooks and print books? Would you go for it? Or is this just a cheap marketing gimmick to get people to buy their Nook? Leave a comment below and share your answer.

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In a post announcing the sale, David Rothman writes about Teleread’s future:

I’m leaving as editor-publisher, but Co-Editor Paul Biba (left photo) will remain—as full editor. What’s more, Senior Writer Chris Meadows (right), the second most frequent contributor, will stay. Both Paul and Chris have been e-book-lovers for eons, and publications ranging from the New York Times to the Guardian have quoted Paul over the years. Under Paul, who has supplied most of TeleRead’s posts since September 2008 and managed it day to day, you’ll continue to be able to speak up for or against DRM and share your thoughts on e-book formats or the Macmillan-Amazon controversy.

As for David’s own plans:

Along the way, I want to devote more time to reading p-books and e-books, not just writing about them. I may even perpetrate a few more books of my own. I’ll miss TeleRead and the gifted people who have contributed to it, but there’s no halfway; I don’t want to be just semi-retired from here.

Teleread was one of the first blogs I began reading about ebooks and where I first learned about the ePub format. That was a few years ago and I’ve been reading Teleread ever since. While I don’t expect much to change, I will miss David Rothman. He has been generous with his time in responding to my emails and considering news tips I thought he’d find interesting. He’s also a novelist, having wrote The Solomon Scandals (aff link), which I reviewed here.

I will continue to read Teleread on a daily basis and look forward to their insightful posts and great community of ebook lovers who comment on a regular basis. I’ll also continue using Teleread as source material for this blog.

If Teleread isn’t a part of your daily blog diet, I’d highly recommend it. Especially if you’re a fan of ebooks or at all interested in how digital technology is changing the face of literature.

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The feud between Amazon and Macmillan has seemed to settle down, at least for now. Macmillan titles are again being sold on the online retailer. But the ripple effect still lingers and its anyone’s guess how the ripples created by this feud will play out in the long run.

A lot of attention has been given to Amazon and Macmillan. But what about the authors? Each party claims it has the best interest of the authors in mind, although after seeing the way Amazon and Macmillan acted, that’s a little hard to believe. I think the biggest and most direct hit on authors came from Amazon’s decision to suddenly pull all Macmillan titles from their site. Not cool.

In a recent Bloggasm post Tor authors express worry over their careers because of Macmillan/Amazon dispute (Tor is an imprint of Macmillan), we get a first-hand account from author Jay Lake about how the decision by Amazon to pull Macmillan titles has affected him:

“The worry would be if I had a book released last Tuesday or this,” he said. “A significant portion of my initial sales velocity comes from the first days on Amazon. Writers like me sell relatively few books so that missing a few hundred initial sales, and the related rise in sales ranking and attention, could be damaging, quite possibly seriously.”

Another Tor author, Tobias Buckell, expresses the same concern about impact on sales:

“And for the past five or six years I’ve worked really hard to send people from my website to Amazon because it’s the dominant online book store. It has a tremendous impact because all my sales for my original Tor books will be dropping by 80% probably.”

I’m sure there are many more authors that express the same concerns as Jay and Tobias. It was downright un-ethical for Amazon to stop selling Macmillan titles because it hurts the authors the most.

I know readers can retaliate by not buying anything from Amazon. What recourse do the authors have? I guess they could take their titles elsewhere, although I’m not sure how easy it would be for them to bail on their current publishing contract. I think most authors could do a lot better (sales-wise) selling their books directly to consumers – as print and ebooks.

Another option for authors would be to take legal action against Amazon. Since the e-retailer is so big and dominates online book sales, there’s a lawsuit in there somewhere. If any lawyers out there want to weigh in on this, please feel free to do so in the comments below.

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Today the Author’s Guild released a statement that pretty much supports Macmillan in the feud. There’s really nothing surprising about that since the Guild usually supports the large publishers and higher ebook prices. The Author’s Guild believes that if Macmillan succeeds in having more control over ebook prices, it will be good for the industry as a whole:

Yet if Macmillan prevails, the eventual payoff for its authors (and all authors, if a successful result ripples through the industry) is likely to be significant and lasting.

It has been well-documented (on this blog and others) that what Macmillan seeks, and what the Guild supports, simply does not work. Authors don’t make more in royalties because higher ebook prices turn off a lot of consumers, leading to more piracy. Publishers still have a long way to go in learning about the economics of ebooks.

Macmillan wants to set higher ebook prices

Bad idea. The demand for ebooks dictate the consumers are unlikely to pay much more than $9.99 for ebooks (the price Amazon uses as a standard). Macmillan’s reasoning is that higher ebook prices will increase author royalties and not “devalue” the books sold on Amazon.

However, as I said before, it has been shown that just the opposite is true – lower ebook prices equals more sales and more revenue for the author and publisher. A great example of this is author Joe Konrath, who has been published through traditional routes, and self-publishes his novels as ebooks on the Amazon Kindle. His blog, A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing chronicles his experience. He makes more money selling his ebooks at low prices than he does in royalties from his traditional publisher. Other authors have had similar experiences.

Use of “Windowing” as a tactic to increase print sales

“Windowing” is the practice of waiting until a particular edition of a new book has been on the market for a while before making cheaper editions available.

The Author’s Guild statement continues:

Windowing e-books is similarly believed to help protect a publisher’s sales channels for physical books. The risk with windowing is that some owners of e-book devices are angered that low-priced e-book editions aren’t available as soon as books are released in hardcover form.

The risk of delaying the release of the ebook version is more than just “angering” ebook device owners. The real risk is piracy. In fact most of the book piracy is scanning print books and converting them to ebooks. This is often done when the ebook is not available due to windowing or because the author/publisher refuses the ebook option. I wrote a recent post What can we learn from a book pirate that details this from one who actually pirates books.

The irony, of course, is that authors/publishers trying to prevent piracy through such tactics only encourage the practice.

Amazon also to blame

While it’s easy to demonize Macmillan for their demands, Amazon is by no means in the clear either. The largest online retailer has been criticized all around for everything from DRM, high ebook prices (a lot of consumers, myself included, think even $9.99 is too much for most ebooks), to prices not being high enough (from publishers), remotely deleting titles off the Kindle, forcing POD publishers to use Amazon’s own service, and the list goes on. So I’m not giving Amazon a free pass here. There is plenty of criticism to go around.

The ebook industry is still in its infancy and there are no ‘industry standards’ in place yet. Amazon is trying to set those standards and publishers still think ebooks should be sold and priced like print books. I hope that publishers don’t repeat what happened to record labels (who continue to self-destruct).

What do you think of this Amazon-Macmillan feud? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.

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However, being a mega-selling superstar author, James Patterson is someone all struggling novelists should pay attention to and learn a thing or two.

Recently the New York Times wrote a lengthy article about the author called James Patterson Inc.. Instead of rehashing the entire article, I decided to pick out a few important bits that all of us budding writers can learn from.

Be 100% devoted to the publishing process

It doesn’t matter if you are a self-published indie author or have an agent and a contract with a large publishing house – authors cannot afford to take a backseat to the publishing and/or advertising process for their novel. Even James Patterson, who has sold more books than Stephen King, John Grisham and Dan Brown combined, is very involved in the publishing process:

…he handles all of his own advertising and closely monitors just about every other step of the publication process, from the design of his jackets to the timing of his books’ release to their placement in stores.

And this is a guy who has a full-time staff from his publisher assigned only to him. No detail is too small for Patterson. His name alone could sell a lot of books, yet he chooses to oversee the whole process to get the most exposure for each book released.

I’ve heard many writers say that once they land a book contract with a publisher, they will let the publisher worry about the marketing. Big mistake. Every writer, whether new to publishing or a veteran needs to be active in marketing his/her novel. Don’t fall into the trap that you’re just lucky to be published:

“A lot of authors are just grateful to be published,” Holly Parmelee, Patterson’s publicist from 1992 to 2002, told me several weeks earlier. “Not Jim. His attitude was that we were in business together, and he wanted us both to succeed, but it was not going to be fun and games.”

The relationship between publisher and author should be like a partnership because each party needs the other to succeed.

Believe in your own writing

Before the release of “Along Came a Spider”, Patterson wanted his publisher to produce and run a commercial spot to drum up interest in the new book. They refused. I’m guessing it was because the publisher didn’t want to pick up the tab of a costly commercial for a book. What did Patterson do? He put his own money behind his book and took control:

Patterson wrote, produced and paid for a commercial himself. It opened with a spider dropping down the screen and closed with a voice-over: “You can stop waiting for the next ‘Silence of the Lambs.’ ” Once Little, Brown saw the ad, it agreed to share the cost of rolling it out over the course of several weeks in three particularly strong thriller markets — New York, Chicago and Washington.

The article continues:

“Along Came a Spider” made its debut at No. 9 on the New York Times hardcover best-seller list, ensuring it favorable placement near the entrance of bookstores, probably the single biggest driver of book sales.

The initial success of “Along Came a Spider” was possible because Patterson took the initiative and his own money to get a commercial on the air in critical markets. The result of that commercial gave his novel the momentum to become a bestseller, thus getting his novel the best spots in the bookstores. Success breeds success. But first, you have to believe in your own writing.

Start small and build your fan base slowly

Nothing in life comes overnight, and this goes double for success. A lot of writers want their first novel to hit the bestseller list and make it big right out of the gate. While this does happen, it’s very rare. Patterson took a very methodical approach when he was first starting off and concentrated his marketing efforts in cities where he knew his books would sell the best:

Patterson built his fan following methodically. Instead of simply going to the biggest book-buying markets, he focused his early tours and advertising efforts on cities where his books were selling best: like a politician aspiring to higher office, he was shoring up his base.

Knowing who you are writing for is critical, especially in the early days of your writing career. Know your audience! For example, I know most people who read this blog are writers, those interested in ebooks and publishing. I stick with that group. I don’t write posts geared towards sports enthusiasts or fishermen (for example). I might not have the most popular blog out there, but Brad’s Reader has a steady following, and that thrills me!

Persistence pays off

If you’re one of those authors who is constantly rejected by publisher after publisher, don’t despair. Even bestselling author James Patterson had to pay his dues in the slush pile:

More than a dozen publishers rejected Patterson’s manuscript before his agent, whom Patterson found in a newspaper article, finally sold it to Little, Brown for $8,500.

After more than a dozen publishers rejected his manuscript, Patterson only got $8500 when it was finally purchased. While this is a lot for a first time author getting published, it’s probably not enough to quite your day job over. But Patterson persisted by writing more books and kept his head in the game with marketing. Today, he’s a one-man cottage industry.

Embrace your fans, shrug off critics

Not everyone is going to like your writing. It’s a fact of life. Everyone will have different reasons for not liking your writing, but it still can sting. Once your writing is out there and you start getting feedback, you’ll hear the positive and negative. Embrace those who like your writing and use that as momentum to keep going.

“Thousands of people don’t like what I do,” Patterson told me, shrugging off his detractors. “Fortunately, millions do.”

If Patterson let it bother him that “thousands of people” don’t like his books, then he would’ve quite a long time ago. Instead, he pushes on and is thankful for those who do like and appreciate his books.

I guess I’m in the category of the thousands that don’t like Patterson’s novels. It’s nothing personal, they’re just not for me. The NYT article details how Patterson produces his novels. He writes an outline than someone else writes the draft and he revises and edits as he sees fit. I’m actually a little horrified by this kind of stale, assembly-line approach he takes. But who am I to judge?

Patterson doesn’t claim to be a literary great, or even a man of letters. He calls himself an entertainer. If a reader enjoyed reading his novel for the action and adventure, then Patterson is happy.

Whatever you think of James Patterson’s books, you can learn a lot from the man himself. I sure have.

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Personally, I would not pay to just read NYT articles online. I’d simply go somewhere else. I’m not saying a fee-based access to articles will not work. It has been quite successful for sites like the Wall Street Journal, according to this CNN article:

Among the country’s largest newspapers, only The Wall Street Journal has managed to continue charging online subscription fees. The New York Times abandoned a two-year experiment with the Web-subscription model in 2007, suggesting that the company’s projections for subscriber revenue were small compared with advertising sales.

The article even reports that some newspapers, like the San Francisco Chronicle have tried to push consumers back to the print edition by publishing print-only articles. Schemes like that are doomed for failure in the long run. It’s like trying to keep people riding horses and wagons rather than move to automobiles for transportation.

Paying for online content on newspapers sites like the NYT is not popular:

However, such a plan isn’t likely to garner much support from readers. A Harris poll released earlier this month found that 77 percent said they wouldn’t pay anything to read a newspaper’s stories on the Web.

I recently heard that the percentage of readers not willing to pay is as high as 88%. This is a problem.

Offer more than just articles to paying online subscribers

The only way I can see a pay-based model working for the NYT is if they offer paying subscribers much more than access to their articles. I’m not sure exactly what they’d have to offer to entice more subscribers. Exclusive videos, interviews and more multimedia content? But that’s already available to readers for free right now. The NYT would have to come up with something clever to get people to pay.

You tell me: What would entice you to pay for the NYT online?

Papers cannot subsidize print editions with online content

It seems that this is the strategy more newspapers are taking: Subsidize the print newspapers with the online version. This simply won’t work. It takes a lot of money and resources to publish a daily newspaper. The cost is much more than the online revenue can support.

One option that a few local papers are trying is to get rid of the print edition altogether. This eliminates the cost of printing, delivery and paper supplies. But I highly doubt a paper like the NYT would take such a blod move.

Are readers entitled to free online content?

This question has come up a lot lately in the various blogs I read. There is a vocal group out there that say that, no, readers aren’t entitled to anything for free. We should just accept that we’re going to have to pay for digital content just as we’d pay for print content.

I’d beg to differ. Readers are the market for the various news outlets out there. If the market demands free digital content, then providers like the NYT need to pay attention or readers will go elsewhere. While I don’t have the answers for the NYT about how to accomplish this and still bring in money, it’s something they need to figure out, and fast.

Some might argue that if readers must pay for other types of digital content like ebooks, then why can’t we pay to read the paper online? My answer is that ebooks are a unique product, while newspapers publish news that is distributed via multiple outlets and is generally available to everyone.

This is a complicated issue and there are no easy answers. What do you think? Is it a good idea for the NYT to charge online readers? Or do they need to find some other source of revenue? Share your thoughts below and leave a comment.

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Now we can add Stephen King into the mix (yes, that Stephen King, the one who wrote an exclusive ebook for the new Kindle he helped promote). His newest novel ‘Under the Dome’ was released in ebook format several weeks after the print release of the book. Publishers didn’t want the lower ebook price to eat away at the higher hard cover price. Within days of the print release, pirated ebooks of ‘Under the Dome’ were circulating around the internet. In turn, this ate away at print and ebook sales.

You probably won’t find this to be very surprising, especially if you’ve been following Brad’s Reader or other ebook-related blogs. However, I did find something new that I thought I’d pass along. I came across this Teleread post Most Pirated Ebooks of 2009. From there, I was led to 10 most pirated ebooks from of 2009 on FreakBits. Judging by the list, publishers really have nothing to fear:

1. Kamasutra

2. Adobe Photoshop Secrets

3. The Complete Idiots Guide to Amazing Sex

4. The Lost Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci

5. Solar House: A Guide for the Solar Designer

6. Before Pornography: Erotic Writing in Early Modern England

7. Twilight – Complete Series

8. How to Get Anyone to Say Yes: The Art and the Craft

9. Nude Photography: The Art and Craft

10. Fix It – How To Do All Those Little Repair Jobs Around The Home

The theme of this list appears to be sex and nudity. Does this say anything about those who read ebooks? I’ll let you decide that for yourself. This list also tells me that publishers worrying about their ebook titles being pirated are probably worrying over nothing. The time and cost they spend to fight piracy is a waste.

Getting books in the hands of readers a bigger issue than piracy

Piracy tends to be a problem when consumers cannot get the books they want, in the format they want, when they want it. Like J.K. Rowling refusing to let her Harry Potter series be published as ebooks or Stephen King delaying the release of his novel for fear of diminishing print sales – both became targets for pirates because people wanted to read these novels as ebooks. If the publishers would have given consumers what they wanted, the piracy would have been greatly reduced.

Another part of the problem that publishers ignore (or seem to be ignoring) is that a book doesn’t already have to be in ebook format to be pirated. When the print books is released, people are using scanners and other technology to easily convert the printed page into a digital one.

There is not much stopping those who choose to pirate. It’s worth mentioning, however, that people who pirate books or download pirated ebooks are in the minority. Most prefer to buy their ebooks legally (I fall into this category) assuming it’s available at a reasonable price.

Again, the irony is killing me. The more publishers try to prevent piracy and keep print book profits up, the more those titles get ripped off. And, as the list of 10 most pirated books reveals, publishers are worrying over nothing.

Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/valeriebb/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

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RH made their intentions known in a letter Dohle sent out to literary agents, which you can find a link to in this Publishers Weekly article (note: link opens up a PDF file). After reading the letter, I found it interesting that the entire first page is filled with corporate marketing propaganda, and then promptly lays down the law that RH has exclusive rights to publish an author’s work in ebook format:

In his letter, Dohle makes clear that RH believes the “vast majority” of its backlist contracts “grant us the right to publish books in electronic formats,” while older agreements “often give us the exclusive right to publish ‘in book form’ or ‘in any and all editions.’

In other words, if you’re an author wanting to self-publish your novel as an ebook (on Smashwords or on the Kindle, for example), you’re screwed. Authors and agents alike are not happy about this move by Random House. According to this New York Times article Legal Battles over E-Book Rights to Older Books this could have unintended consequences for the publishers:

But authors and agents are particularly concerned that traditional publishers are not offering sufficient royalties on e-book editions, which they point out are cheaper for publishers to produce. Some are considering taking their digital rights elsewhere, which could deal a financial blow to the hobbled publishing industry.

I think these large traditional publishing houses need to tread very carefully with how they handle ebooks. Random House is playing this ebook rights grab and Simon & Schuster is planning to delay the release of ebooks 3-4 months after the print hardcover is released. Not very smart moves, if you ask me. Ebooks might end up saving traditional publishing, but only if they don’t screw it up first.

This is where indie authors have the advantage: They can sell their work in multiple formats without giving up any rights – thus keeping more of the revenue. And indie authors can also publish on multi-format sites like Smashwords where you can buy ebooks for most ebook reading devices.

Photo Source: Flickr via Creative Commons

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In an interview, Brian Murray, chief executive of News Corp.’s HarperCollins Publishers, said that beginning in January or February, HarperCollins will delay the e-book publication of five to 10 new hardcover titles each month. The delays are expected to range from four weeks to six months, depending on the book.

Four weeks to six months? All HarperCollins is doing by making this move is encouraging piracy. I have always maintained that piracy by itself is not the problem, rather it is the symptom of the problem. The problem is publishers not embracing new technology and publishing models and not giving people books in the format they want. If people want to read a new release in ebook format, there is a segment of those readers who will resort to finding a pirated edition.

If this isn’t bad enough, HC gives us this little nugget:

Mr. Murray said that if new hardcover titles continue to be sold as $9.99 e-books, the eventual outcome will be fewer literary choices for customers, because publishers won’t be able to take as many chances on new writers.

The emphasis in bold is mine. The problem is that publishers are already not taking chances on new authors. They are throwing all their eggs in one basket with well-known authors who can rake in millions of dollars. Yes, new authors are being published, but not nearly as many as before. Blaming this on ebooks is laughable.

Another large publisher, Simon & Schuster, also plans on delaying the release of new titles in ebook format for at least four months. The main reason why publishers want to delay the release of the cheaper ebook version of best sellers is because they’re afraid it will chip away at their profits:

Each publisher voiced concern that the popularity of cheap, $9.99 e-book best sellers available simultaneously with new hardcovers endangers the publishing industry’s future.

Publishers made the same argument when mass market paperbacks began making their way onto bookshelves: Customers would get used to the cheaper prices and hardcover sales would decline. Instead, overall book sales have skyrocketed since mass market paperbacks were released.

In the midst of all this depressing news from large publishers, at least one industry analyst is showing a little common sense towards ebooks:

“Every once in a while, a media business that appears to understand the digital reality quickly reverts under pressure and starts acting like a last-century business,” said James McQuivey, principal analyst for Consumer Media Technology at Forrester Research Inc. “If you give people digital content, they’ll actually consume more of it. But if you withhold it from them, you are motivating them to buy somebody else’s book, or to consider piracy, something which hasn’t yet hit the book industry but probably will next year.”

Thank you Mr. McQuivey. I hope HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster take your words to heart. But they probably won’t.

News like this only reinforces my opinion that indie authors and small presses, who are more experimental and open-minded to new technology and business models, will beat the large publishers at their own game. Indie authors will be releasing ebooks and print books while reaping a majority of the profits from both.

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According to this article Top 2 Booksellers report losses Riggio made gave a statement to analysts regarding the price wars:

“Book-selling has been for a long time a ‘long tail’ business,” Riggio said during a conference call with investors. “Best sellers represent less than 5 percent of our sales and among these very top best sellers less than 1 percent of our sales.”

The long tail means retailers sell large numbers of unique items in small quantities and less popular items in much larger quantities (source). Based on that, Riggio’s comments make sense. If best sellers only represent less than 5% of sales for B&N, then it’s likely that Amazon, Wal-Mart and Target won’t make a noticeable dent in overall sales for B&N.

The other retailers might eat up some sales of best sellers, but consumers are still going to go to B&N for their wide selection of books. Not everyone is interested in reading only best sellers (I rarely buy them). Furthermore, selling best sellers at such a deep discount is unsustainable.

Will Nook save Barnes & Noble?

Even though sales are down at B&N (heck, sales are down across the board in retail), I think Nook, their new ebook reader, could be their lifeline for long-term profitability. According to the same article, demand for Nook has greatly exceeded expectations:

Barnes & Noble is pinning its hopes for future profit on the Nook, a competitor with Amazon.com’s Kindle for which it began accepting pre-orders last month. Last week, it said orders had exceeded expectations and those placed beginning Nov. 20 would be filled Jan. 4 or later.

Getting on the ebook bandwagon now, while ebooks are still relatively new, is a smart move for B&N. Other book stores who don’t embrace ebooks (i.e. Borders) will be left in the dust. And B&N plans to keep expanding its digital offerings:

The company plans to bulk up its e-content digital business, selling digital subscriptions to newspapers, blogs, magazines and other periodicals as well as digital books.

By expanding their digital content offerings, B&N is positioning itself to go head-to-head with Amazon in the ebook wars. B&N might already have an advantage because interested customers can play around with Nook before buying. I know I feel more comfortable buying something I can see and hold in my hands. Demo units of Nook will be available in most stores around December 1.

Overall, I don’t think B&N has to worry about chains like Wal-Mart sucking their business away by discounting best sellers. Like I said, chain book stores have such a vast selection of books (most are more profitable than best sellers anyway) that customers will usually chose a B&N over Wal-Mart if they’re looking for more than just best sellers.

What about Borders, you ask? I don’t think they pose much of a threat either:

In an effort to improve its finances, Borders, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., has cut jobs, closed stores and chosen new leaders. It also has shifted its focus from less profitable categories like music and toward children’s books, toys, stationery and its cafe.

I’m just wondering how much longer Borders will stay in business.

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