,
9 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
I understand that sometimes our lived experiences mean that we acquire personal subtitles for common phrases. When people say "print is dead," I hear "poor people don't deserve to read." Those personal subtitles may not be grounded in intent or common reality.
As a disabled person who lives in a reasonably remote Seattle suburb and has lived in the literal middle of nowhere, I can understand why "please buy local when you can" might subtitle to "disabled people do not deserve access to books." But I promise, that's not what...
...most people are intentionally saying. Buying local benefits the local economy, and means more money gets to publishers and authors, since local stores don't have the same deep-discount structure as the major online retailers.
(Ever wonder how they can offer books so far below list prices? The answer is deep discounting. They buy in such volume that they can require publishers to lower what they charge per books. Which also lowers author pay. If it seems odd that so many "successful" authors...
...are still living hand-to-mouth, it's because we sign contracts expecting to receive x% of price y, and then the deep discounters sell those books for 1/2 y, meaning we get half our negotiated royalty.)
(Deep discounting means you can starve on the bestseller lists.)
This is not intended to shame people who don't, can't, or choose not to buy local. I don't buy local 100% of the time! But if you can, it's good for your local economy, and it's good for publishing as a whole.
This is part of why I'm so enthusiastic about pointing out that many local bookstores can and will ship.
Also, if you do not buy local for whatever reason, you do not need to justify yourself to me. I'm not the boss of you! "It's better for your local economy if you do this one thing" is not an enforceable law! Please don't think I'm giving orders! I literally can't!
