Through cooperation, the association hopes to carve out a larger share of the local book market, offer the island’s readers fresh alternatives, and in the meantime help cultivate a new generation of talented writers.
“We have gems to share with the public, but we are also in danger of being marginalized and forgotten,” said Chen Lung-hao, president of TIBA and owner of Tonsan Books in Taipei, which specializes in academic books in the social sciences and humanities.
A major disadvantage independent bookstores have to contend with, Chen noted, is that it is difficult for them to match the prices of bigger bookstores.
Chen said Taiwanese readers are used to buying books at discounted prices. To offer discounts and make money at the same time, bookstore chains and online bookshops often purchase books in bulk from distributors at greatly reduced costs—a favor unfortunately not extended by publishers to independent bookstores.
But joining forces is not just about increasing bargaining power to obtain steeper discounts, Chen said.
“Joining the association is not about getting fairer wholesale prices. Even after banding together, our combined sales volume is still smaller than that of the national chains. We won’t win the battle for consumers’ hearts by entering into a price war,” noted Chen Pei-yu, owner of Kaifeng Kama Children's Bookstore in Hualien in eastern Taiwan.
In Chen’s view, independent bookstores have many natural advantages over chain stores, and the association puts indies in a better position to make full use of these strengths
For instance, by pooling their resources together, TIBA members have recently been able to hold two popular book fairs.
The first, which lasted from July to September of 2009, centered on “green living,” in which the practice of being environmentally friendly and living close to nature was explained to a largely urban audience.
The second, which ran from November 2009 to February 2010, was called “Masterpieces,” in which participating bookstores recommended titles they deemed as “classics” or “must-reads,” and offered the island’s reading public fresh, unorthodox choices, such as Erwin S. Strauss’s “How to Start Your Own Country.”
The book fairs have succeeded in raising awareness of independent bookstores. The two Chens both reported that an increasing number of customers have been visiting their stores since the fairs were held, though they did not provide concrete numbers.
Marketing does matter, the two Chen said, as oftentimes bestsellers are not necessarily the most thought-provoking ones. Their impressive sales figures are often the result of strong advertising campaigns.
To promote their titles, the union has also hosted a variety of activities such as speeches by critical activists or study groups for local residents. By jointly holding these events, members of the association are better able to gain the attention of readers, which in turn helps to spur sales.
“In my view, TIBA has certainly helped us a great deal,” said the owner of Kaifeng Kama. “The locals don’t merely see us as ‘a small bookstore’ anymore. They see us as a bookshop where they can find interesting books and participate in many events.”
The association’s president was delighted with the progress made, but his ambitions have still not been fulfilled. “I hope to deepen the roots of TIBA by inviting social and cultural historians throughout the country, particularly in smaller cities and towns, to write about the life and culture of Taiwan.”
Book-collectors still has not published books written by local writers, but one of its members has opened a writing class in Chiayi City, central Taiwan, to cultivate aspiring writers for future publications. More such classes are expected to follow, and influences will take longer to show, said the president, although he does expect to see results in a few years.
As noted by TIBA Executive Secretary Tsai I-fan, the association realizes that for it to survive in the long term it will need to usher in fundamental changes, the most important of which is a “fixed-price” system.
Under such a system, which has already been in use in some parts of Europe, no bookstore belonging to the association would be allowed to price its books below a certain fixed price agreed upon by all the members.
“It will probably take between five and 10 years before this happens, but the association is dedicated to turning this idea into reality,” Tsai said.
It would be beneficial if the government could lend a helping hand. “Compared with how much capital the government injects into the computer sector, the amount we need is really very little. But it would certainly help us a great deal!” Chen said.
“With more funding, we will be able to sell more books, hold more events and cultivate more artists.”
At present there are approximately 30 independent bookstores in Taiwan. Chen hopes that more of them will join Book-collectors in the future. This will help ensure that the Taiwanese reading public always has a wide variety of books to choose from, he said. (HZW)