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Multicultural publishing
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From: Norma Jean Sawicki <nsawicki_at_nyc.rr.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2014 21:57:33 -0500
In the 80s, there was an abundance of children's bookstores only throughout the country. Some owners were former teachers,or librarians…most were passionate, and knowledgeable about children's books… They were vocal, they had power……Articles were published in newspapers about parents who were suddenly walking into bookstores and buying hardcover books for their kids….hardcover sales of children's books dramatically increased…life was good…for writers, for illustrators, whose books sold wonderfully well, for publishers, etc. CHILDREN'S BOOKS HAD ARRIVED!!!
A loud demand for multi-cultural children's books was born…publishers beat the bushes…hundreds of books were published…articles were written, interviews published, catalogues containing multi-cultural books only were distributed, as well flyers…and the ads…oh, the ads were plentiful. Some books were terrific..some were junk…but they all sold….To close friends in/out of publishing…yours truly called it…"this year's ice cream flavor," and did not jump on the bandwagon…we published good multi-cultural books when they came our way, just like we always had. And…I did not believe hoards of parents were spending $12.95-$15.95 on hardcover children's books. Questions were asked…the same answer given…smart booksellers went after business from libraries and schools in their communities. They offered workshops…show and tell, etc….with many multi-cultural books…. Nifty orders came their way…life was good…for a while. But it changed…. instead of ordering books from booksellers, they went to show and tell but ordered books from wholesalers where they could get a much better discount. Some booksellers did away with show and tell…others mandated that show and tell meant ordering books from them…Fair enough, I thought. Show and tell took much time and planning…booksellers, too, had rent to pay, etc…
The economy began to weaken…budgets in schools and libraries were cut…fewer parents bought hardcover children's books, some booksellers, while passionate about children's books, were not good business people…most of the stores went out of business…. Multi-cultural publishing as a "hot" genre fell by the wayside…the huge demand for multi-cultural books was no longer there….publishers were stuck with a whole lot of inventory...
And…here we are…again...Norma Jean
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2014 21:57:33 -0500
In the 80s, there was an abundance of children's bookstores only throughout the country. Some owners were former teachers,or librarians…most were passionate, and knowledgeable about children's books… They were vocal, they had power……Articles were published in newspapers about parents who were suddenly walking into bookstores and buying hardcover books for their kids….hardcover sales of children's books dramatically increased…life was good…for writers, for illustrators, whose books sold wonderfully well, for publishers, etc. CHILDREN'S BOOKS HAD ARRIVED!!!
A loud demand for multi-cultural children's books was born…publishers beat the bushes…hundreds of books were published…articles were written, interviews published, catalogues containing multi-cultural books only were distributed, as well flyers…and the ads…oh, the ads were plentiful. Some books were terrific..some were junk…but they all sold….To close friends in/out of publishing…yours truly called it…"this year's ice cream flavor," and did not jump on the bandwagon…we published good multi-cultural books when they came our way, just like we always had. And…I did not believe hoards of parents were spending $12.95-$15.95 on hardcover children's books. Questions were asked…the same answer given…smart booksellers went after business from libraries and schools in their communities. They offered workshops…show and tell, etc….with many multi-cultural books…. Nifty orders came their way…life was good…for a while. But it changed…. instead of ordering books from booksellers, they went to show and tell but ordered books from wholesalers where they could get a much better discount. Some booksellers did away with show and tell…others mandated that show and tell meant ordering books from them…Fair enough, I thought. Show and tell took much time and planning…booksellers, too, had rent to pay, etc…
The economy began to weaken…budgets in schools and libraries were cut…fewer parents bought hardcover children's books, some booksellers, while passionate about children's books, were not good business people…most of the stores went out of business…. Multi-cultural publishing as a "hot" genre fell by the wayside…the huge demand for multi-cultural books was no longer there….publishers were stuck with a whole lot of inventory...
And…here we are…again...Norma Jean
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Received on Mon 24 Feb 2014 08:57:59 PM CST
