Do Booksellers Promote Too Many Titles at Once?

In Discussion by Edward Nawotka

By Edward Nawotka

Today’s lead story describes some of the bookselling strategies of London’s Daunt Books. One focus of the piece is the fact that the bookstore displays just one or two titles in the windows per week, a move that has led to significant sales of certain titles.

A carefully edited and curated selection of titles can be a boon to customers who are often at a loss as to what to read. But even when booksellers try to pare down their list of recommendations — the American Booksellers Association used to promote 76 titles per month, but has since cut back to twenty — it still seems like too many when even the most avid readers can only manage a book or two at most per work.

Are booksellers, perhaps motivated by publishers, simply promoting too many books at once?

Let us know what you think in the comments.

About the Author

Edward Nawotka

A widely published critic and essayist, Edward Nawotka serves as a speaker, educator and consultant for institutions and businesses involved in the global publishing and content industries. He was also editor-in-chief of Publishing Perspectives since the launch of the publication in 2009 until January 2016.