From London, With Love

Each year, my husband and I flee the Florida summer for a few weeks, relocating to cooler climes. This year, we’re in London.

Last night, we wandered into a bookstore. I love bookstores. Especially ones that aren’t in the US, because I like seeing the different covers, and I find that wandering around is a good way to get a feel for a place.

As I was snapping photos of various books that looked interesting but I hadn’t heard of I wondered again whether publishing is ever going to build a viable (if virtual) bridge across the ocean. I’ve opined on this before, but really, there’s no longer any reason for a book published Over Here to not be available Over There.

I suspect publishing still thinks the differences between readers on different continents are too vast for this to make sound business sense, but Canada kinda puts the lie to that, doesn’t it? I go to events in both the US and UK, and while there are cultural differences for sure, the readers I meet are strikingly similar. I think the biggest thing that separates them is the assumptions that publishing makes about them.

If you’re an American reader, thankfully you have resources like The Book Depository or Goldsboro to get books. But if you prefer e-books, you are, as the saying goes, SOL. Which is hugely unfortunate.

I suspect that Amazon might one day get their proverbial head around this and grab up the publishing rights for all the fantastic authors who are, at the moment, only published on one side of the pond or the other. And loads of publishing professionals will freak out. And readers will rejoice.

 

Comments

[Art Taylor]

Interesting post indeed, Erin. It is indeed amazing, with multinational businesses the norm and our global economy, that books on one side of the Atlantic have trouble making it to the other. I have used the Book Depository as well when needed--easy enough--but yes, other challenges remain. Thanks for the thoughtful commentary!