I think most indies stress community and are very involved with authors, and because there are so many diverse stores, not everyone will hear about it. Bookselling This Week and Shelf Awareness cover it, but only if *they* hear about it. And some bookstores just feel they don’t have enough time. So your post has got me thinking about ways IndieBound can help out with that, and other opportunities we can explore.

Thanks for this, it’s always good to discuss these things. Discussion enhances community. And, btw, I loved your post on Banned Books Week and that poor WSJ editorial! Great stuff you found.

However, the poster doesn’t back it up with a source, so it could very well be hyperbole.

And even so, that’s one or two. There are thousands of independent bookstores; please don’t lump them all together as though they were one big chain.

Oh, no no no. That wasn’t my intent, and my deepest apologies for my poor wording. I’ve edited that part of the post and hope I got the point across a little better. Thank you for pointing it out. (And if I’ve failed in my editing, definitely call me on it.)

My very first job was at an independent bookstore. My heart broke the day it closed. In my current job, I work with indie booksellers — I love how wonderfully different the stores are from one another. IndieBound (and Booksense before it) is an amazing way for small bookstores to stand together without all being lumped together, and in my post I did some lumping of my own. Again, my apologies.

I didn’t see anything about this in the comments thread. Perhaps I missed it—would you provide a link?

I’ve never heard of this happening. I’ve heard one or two stores say they may not do an event with an author who doesn’t link to their store and/or IndieBound. And even so, that’s one or two. There are thousands of independent bookstores; please don’t lump them all together as though they were one big chain.