RE: I Planted My Self-Published Book on Barnes & Noble's Shelves... And People Bought It

I imagine many writers by now have read this blog by Brendan Leonard, the author who walked into Barnes & Noble Bookstores and placed his book on their shelves to see if they would (or could) sell. I read it a few days ago and a friend of mine, knowing my passion, linked it to me yesterday. So, in my normal fashion, I let the content sit for a while as I mulled it over. After all, many are praising this as a unique and fantastic way to market your book and gain local attention. Sure, you lose a little money, but in the long-run, people will discuss your manuscript more openly, and may not even realize it's self-published.

To be honest, I'm waiting. Not just because Soulbound isn't done, but I would like to see what happens and how Barnes & Noble reacts to this. My boyfriend and I talked it over, and he thinks it might potentially be considered trespassing. If Barnes & Noble does consider it as such, the author could be looking at some major fines and potential lawsuits headed his way. If Barnes & Noble is fine with Mr. Leonard's actions (which, c'mon, they're getting essentially free money off the deal), then it could open up a new massive wave of opportunity for Indie and self-published authors everywhere.

Herein lies part of the problem. Authors are desperate to make money these days, and the self-publishing industry, in my mind, is likened to a gold rush of massive proportions. The first few who did it managed to make a fairly large name for themselves (Amanda Hocking, anyone?), and nearly the moment others realized how quickly they could make money, they jumped in. The self-publishing market became inundated with enormous amounts of poorly written literature, making it nearly impossible for those who have put the time and effort into polishing their novels to be noticed. That's okay, though, because like gold rushes in the past, human ingenuity fought back.

Businesses opened: Marketing firms, editing consultants, you name it. If it has to do with publishing, it's there. True, some of these firms are not as great as they could be, and a number of self-employed editors out there could use a brush up on their grammar (not all, but some), but this is how authors who are determined to write solid literature fought back.

That's okay, because Amazon and other online booksellers offer reviews, where customers can type out their thoughts and feelings after reading a novel. This helps weed out the poorly-written-just-because-I-wanted-a-quick-buck literature from the more professional, wonderfully written pieces. The problem I see, should Barnes & Noble allow authors to drop off their books at local book stores, is that readers have little way--other than reading the first few chapters of a book--to gauge the quality of the product they're receiving. I pray they will read a chapter or two of the book before they purchase, but it won't stop the same money-hungry people from deeming this a quick-fix to getting wealthy.

I feel that, should Barnes & Noble let this slide, they will be opening the gates for a new kind of flood, one which the company may not be prepared for. In a month or so, you'll see dozens of books on the shelves that you don't recognize...and then you'll watch as the staff, instead of assisting you, are busy trying to reel in the massive mess of books their company didn't want on their shelves.

Is this a nightmare scenario? Of course. Is it likely to happen? I don't see it not happening, to be honest. It won't cause massive chaos at first, of course. But human greed is rather overpowering, and I believe that if the same thing happens with Barnes & Noble stores as Amazon, we will soon be drowning in a sea of poorly written books--manuscripts that are, for lack of better words, written for no other purpose than to help the author get rich.

I'd be lying if I didn't say that, yeah, it would be amazing to make a great deal of money off of my manuscripts, but I doubt I ever will. My goal as a writer is to entertain, and to do so with well-written works and round, well thought-out characters. I don't go into this industry with the belief that I will be instantly wealthy, and I think most authors shouldn't, either. That's not how the world works.

So, I will sit back and observe, as I always do, before acting. I shall see what happens to this author, who is the first of his kind--but not the last--to place his work on a bookshelf without consent of the company. And I shall see whether or not a storm comes our way, and what happens then.

For now, Gremlins, I'd like to hear your thoughts on this most interesting article. I'd like to know what you foresee happening to the writing world due to Mr. Leonard's incredible and awesome actions (NOTE: Just because I may not jump on-board right away does NOT mean I don't applaud his ingenuity; this is the kind of motivation we self-published authors need to see, and need to have, in order to make our own way. This author realized no one would do it for him, so he had to try it himself).