Black Sparrow Press and the U.S. Publishing Industry Crisis

The End of an Era: Black Sparrow Press and What It Means

John Martin pulled the plug on Black Sparrow Press. The fact that one more small press had closed would not normally be big news, but for those who believe in the power of symbols and metaphors, Black Sparrow going under signals the end of an era in publishing. Another literary device one can attach to its passing is irony: Black Sparrow, considered one of the leading purveyors of fine writing, is now in the hands of Random House, which — long past the days when Bennett Cerf made that imprint synonymous with great literature — is itself now owned by the kingpin of sensationalistic media, Rupert Murdoch. For most small presses, being acquired by a company as large as Random House would be a dream come true, but for those who know American literature, the acquisition was nothing short of sacrilege — akin to McDonald's presenting meals by Wolfgang Puck, or Disney adding the Guggenheim to its theme-park empire.

However, the truth of the matter is that Black Sparrow is in better hands than if it were turned over to 99.9% of the small presses currently in operation, the vast majority of whom have probably never even heard of Black Sparrow. From its humble start publishing poet Charles Bukowski on mimeographed sheets, Black Sparrow prided itself on finding, supporting, and developing literary talent — a mission far removed from the profit-centered priorities of just about every publishing house in today's information age. When Martin was asked during a National Public Radio interview about the sale of Black Sparrow to Murdoch's News Corporation Ltd. — one of six media groups that own publishing houses worldwide — he told a reporter simply, "That's just business." (Hansen & Ydstie, NPR)

State of the Market

The birth of the personal computer and the globalization of the Internet have permanently altered the publishing industry in a fashion no less dramatic than Gutenberg's development of the first printing press half a millennium ago. It would be virtually impossible to know exactly how many publishers exist in the world today. The 135,000 books published in one recent year — and that figure includes only those registered with Bowker, keeper of the world's ISBN system — indicates that America still loves to read, that our fascination with the printed word has not succumbed to the age of visual entertainment (Italie, AP Online). Yet that same figure reveals a saturated market in which anyone with a PC and $89 worth of software can become a published author. Consider that 2.39 billion books — including new and backlist titles — were sold in 2002, down from 2.41 billion in 2000 (Italie), and one realizes just how small a slice of the pie each press receives.

Independent Bookstores Under Pressure

Independent bookstores — known in the industry as "indies" — are in serious trouble, if not on the edge of extinction. They are being replaced in part by larger chain stores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders, which attract customers with coffee-shop atmospheres and non-book merchandise. The chains can negotiate volume deals with publishers while also offering customers discounts on proprietary books: titles published under their own imprints. Internet booksellers, most notably Amazon.com, have made it possible for book customers to find just about any title at below the suggested retail price.

The economic challenges of the early 2000s hit independent bookstores hard. By September 2002, it was "the eighth month in a row in which bookstore sales failed to keep up with overall retail," although sales were 3.2% better than September 2001 (ABA, 2002).

California independent bookstore owner Nicky Salan put it plainly: "Most of America's books, up until about 12 or 15 years ago, were sold in independent bookstores. We used to have a little better than 50% of the market. Now we have 17%. Over 2,000 bookstores have gone out of business in the last 10 years." (Farrington, online at NOE) The article from which that quote was taken also noted that the public's appetite for used books would keep the independents alive. Written in 1999, however, the article did not foresee one of Amazon's later marketing strategies: tracking customers' book purchases, informing them of demand for books they have already bought, and offering them the opportunity to resell those titles through the Amazon site.

"This practice is another way Amazon is using the book industry as a loss leader," said Alex Levin, former head of the now-defunct small press Hedgehoghill, in an interview with this writer. "Their discounting practices make it difficult to compete, even when publishers offer their own discounts. Our best-selling title is now being sold by Amazon below our cost to them, virtually killing our web business, just so they can sell more electronics and higher-end items." (Levin, 2002)

Levin also noted that a degree of subtle collusion occurs, as Amazon lists books without publisher input by pulling titles directly from Bowker's listings or from distributor Baker & Taylor. Given the sheer volume of small presses, most stores shy away from dealing with them directly and will often work exclusively with one or two major distributors — most commonly industry leaders Ingram and Baker & Taylor. Even independent or regional distributors frequently contract with those two in order to gain exposure for their titles. (Levin)

Due to accusations of unfair practices from both publishers and small bookstores, the chains are largely unwilling to discuss proprietary sales figures, making the total size of this market difficult to estimate. Barnes & Noble "is now publishing 3,000 titles, spanning an array of proprietary strategies: licensing titles directly from domestic and international publishers as well as from literary agents; commissioning books directly from authors; reprinting classic titles in the public domain; and creating compilations using in-house editors." (Publishing Trends, March 2002)

Online libraries are also cutting into the market. Sites such as eLibrary and Questia make it advantageous to download rather than purchase books.