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ABOUT THE STORE : NEWSLETTER

DISPATCHES FROM THE BORDER

Events and News from Borderlands Books

June, 2012

Chapter One - Event Information, News, and Special Features

Upcoming Author Events

We're pleased to announce that we've moved all of our author events to Borderlands Cafe, right next door at 870 Valencia Street! Now you can enjoy a snack or beverage while you listen to your favorite author.

SF in SF presents authors S.G. Browne and Lev Grossman (at the Variety Preview Room in the Hobart Building, 582 Market Street) Saturday, June 16th at 7:00 pm

SF in SF presents authors Robert J. Sawyer and Rachel Swirsky (at the Variety Preview Room in the Hobart Building, 582 Market Street) Thursday, June 21st at 7:00 pm

David Brin, EXISTENCE (Tor, Hardcover, $27.99) Saturday, June 23rd at 1:00 pm

A.M. Dellamonica, BLUE MAGIC (Tor, Trade Paperback, $14.99) and J.A. Pitts, FORGED IN FIRE (Tor, Hardcover, $26.99) Saturday, June 23rd at 3:00 pm

SF in SF presents authors Richard Kadrey and John Shirley (at the Variety Preview Room in the Hobart Building, 582 Market Street) Saturday, July 7th at 7:00 pm

(for more information check the end of this section)

Overheard at the Store

This is a feature that appears periodically, usually as we attend conventions and overhear things.  However, sometimes we overhear amusing tidbits even when we're not attending a convention:

"He's like Vanilla Ice, but not even that cool!"

"You know it's a bad idea to get drunk with people you don't trust. It can lead to terrible things, like pregnancy, or karaoke."

"'I read FIFTY SHADES. . .Now what?' and 'Where can I get more mommy porn?'"

"Do you think our staff can take [---] Books' staff?"
"I dunno, I've never seen them. But I do fight dirty."

"How are you today?"
"Well, my bank gave me a hot dog."

"The wind is awful. I feel like I'm going to end up in Oz whenever I walk to the BART station."

"Oh, yeah. . . last time with the unipod was bad."

"I am an elephant of chaos!"
"Don't you mean _element_?"
"No, I like 'elephant' better."

"I'd rather watch an X-rated version of 'Harold and Maude' than watch Hayden Christensen in that movie!"

"Everything in life is about sex and death.  And THAT'S why we always end up at 'Harold and Maude'!"

News

* Would you like to be an artist?  Precita Eyes <http://www.precitaeyes.org/index.html> is hosting a Community Mural Painting Intensive Workshop this July; they'll be painting a brand new mural in the Mission Playground on the side of Borderlands' building in August!  If you want to participate, the workshop is a bit pricey - $450 - but you'll have the opportunity to learn the principals of a community-based mural process from an experienced muralist, and have your work immortalized in the park!  (And maybe even put Ripley back in the mural.) The workshop is open to all skill levels.  Call (415) 285-2287 for more information.

* Fascinating three-part piece on Philip K. Dick and philosophy from the New York Times: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/philip-k-dick-sci-fi-philosopher-part-1/?hp

* Our friends at Other Change of Hobbit were featured in this Oakland Local article! http://oaklandlocal.com/article/other-change-hobbit-owners-continue-success-science-fiction-focus-qa

* Slate.com absolutely raves about Kim Stanley Robinson's new novel 2312: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2012/06/science_fiction_review_kim_stanley_robinson_s_2312_.single.html . Also, you can build an asteroid terrarium in honor of the book! http://www.orbitbooks.net/2312/

* UK newspaper The Independent mentioned Borderlands Books as one of the "select" things to do in 48 hours in San Francisco! http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/48-hours-in/48-hours-in-san-francisco-7764058.html

* If you can't make the SF in SF event on June 16th, you'll have a second chance to see Lev Grossman at the Commonwealth Club on Monday, June 18th.   That event takes place at the Cubberley Theatre in Palo Alto, and costs $20 for non-members.  For tickets call 1-800-847-7730 or register online at http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2012-06-18/lev-grossman-master-magician.

* Congratulations to this year's Nebula Award Winners, including Best Novel winner Jo Walton (AMONG OTHERS)! http://www.sfwa.org/2012/05/2011-nebula-awards-announced/

* For all you Lovecraft fans, a bizarre and creepy deep-sea creature caught by a robotic camera: http://www.wimp.com/creaturecaught/

* Everyone likes cake -- like this extraordinary Tim Burton zoetrope cake!  http://io9.com/5913308/this-tim-burton-zoetrope-cake-is-way-too-nifty-to-eat.  And these J.K. Potter-esque nightmare cakes might be an exception to the "everyone likes cake" rule.  Thanks, io9.com: I'll never look at dessert exactly the same way: http://io9.com/5913815/if-hr-giger-were-a-pastry-chef-his-cakes-might-look-something-like-this

* Although they are the government agency that I trust the most, it may indeed be time to worry when the CDC begins officially denying rumors of a zombie apocalypse: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/01/cdc-denies-zombies-existence_n_1562141.html .  In related news, we have signed copies of all three of Mira Grant's "Newsflesh" trilogy available.  Annnnnd, now ammunition makers are manufacturing zombie-specific bullets. And it's being reported by CNBC. http://www.cnbc.com/id/47737718

* Forget zombies, says ROBOPOCALYPSE author Daniel H. Wilson: beware the robot uprising. Survival tips here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G3RoBHMu-o&noredirect=1

* Taking a cue from the founders of the James Tiptree, Jr. Memorial Award, NASA held a bake sale June 8th. http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-hold-bake-sale-nasa-saturday-221048232.html .  As author Pat Murphy says, "If you can't change the world with chocolate chip cookies, how can you change the world?"

* Huge thanks (and a bit of awe) to local artist (and customer) Kiri Moth, who created this gorgeous Ripley poster: http://kirimoth.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/kirimoth_ripley.jpg . For more of her amazing work, see http://kirimoth.com/blog/.

* We were saddened to hear of the death of glorious curmudgeon Maurice Sendak, who passed away in May at age 83. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/books/maurice-sendak-childrens-author-dies-at-83.html?pagewanted=all

* We're very sorry to report the death of versatile and brilliant artist Leo Dillon.  http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/05/leo-dillon-1933-2012

From the Office

Hi newsletter readers.  I'm sorry to do this, but thi's months From The Office piece is actually the second part of a discussion that started on our blog.  If you'd like to read the first part (as well as Andrew Fox's excellent article that started the whole thing off) you'll find a link right at the beginning of my piece.  But, in case you don't want to do a whole bunch more reading, here is the plot thus far (I've always wanted to say that).

My original post discussed the specific costs and possible income associated with having an on-demand book printing machine in my store.  Machines of this sort (the best example of which is the Espresso Book Machine built by On-Demand Books) are in essence a big black and white copy machine, a little color copy machine, and some really neat robotics all hooked up to a computer.  It's capable of printing and binding a 300 page paperback book, with a color cover in about five minutes.  Cool, huh?  (You can see a video if it in action here http://ondemandbooks.com/ebm_video.php )  The idea is that a store could buy a machine like that and then would be able to print out pretty much any book a customer wanted.

The problem is that the machines are hugely expensive.  The conclusion I came to in my first post was that there was no way, no how that something like that would pay off for a store like mine.  In fact, I couldn't see a way that it would pay off for any store.  But, the numbers I was going on were pretty old.

So, to be fair, I contacted the manufacturer to see what they had to say.  What follows is the result of that phone call.

Print On Demand Might Come to a Store Near You

by Alan Beatts

A few weeks ago I posted something about in-store print-on-demand machines that got a fair amount of attention and interest (Print-On-Demand Not Coming to a Store Near You  http://borderlands-books.blogspot.com/2012/05/print-on-demand-not-coming-to-store.html).  The problem was that the only hard figures I could find for that post were based on two rather old articles.  In the interest of accuracy, I contacted On Demand Books, http://ondemandbooks.com/ the manufacturer of the Espresso Book Machine, to get up-to-date information.  The result was a long and very pleasant phone chat with Jason Beatty, the company's Sales VP,  that clarified a number of things.

First off, I was wrong.  There does seem to be a financially viable way for large and mid-sized stores to have an Espresso Book Machine on site.  However, it is not based on the business model that I expected.

Before going into that however, I want to run down some of the basic costs associated with the Espresso Book Machine (henceforth "EBM") based on current pricing and actual installed usage.  Please feel free to skip these numbers if you like.

Initial Purchase
Machine Cost:  $101,000
Software License Fee:  $15,000 for 5 years (note 1)
Set Up and Training Cost:  $3,500 (note 2)
Total:  $119,500

Operating Costs (per book - note 3)
Content Fee:  $0.70
Transaction Fee:  $1.00
Materials:  $1.74
Maintenance & Utilities:  $1.83
Total:  $5.27

Average retail price per book is $14.55 (note 3).

Based on the math that I did in my first post I got the following figures -- At the rate of one book per hour, the profit in a year is $8688.  Based on the cost of the machine, I would pay off the machine and start making a profit in 11 years and 6 months.  At the rate of 3 books per hour, the machine pays off in 3 years and 10 months.  All those estimates are wrong since they were based on out-of date figures.

The new, more accurate, and up-to-date figures that I have work out this way -- At $14.55 retail minus $5.27 in materials fees leaves $9.28 profit per book.  Borderlands is open 8 hours per day, 362 days per year.  At the rate of one book per hour, the profit in a year is $26,847.88.  Based on the cost of the machine, I would pay off the machine and start making a profit in 4 years and 5 months.  At the rate of 3 books per hour, the machine pays off in a year and a half.

As you can see, based on the revised figures, it's a much better proposition.  But, there's another aspect to this whole thing.  What numbers of books do stores sell and what sort of books are they?

Books that can be printed on the EBM fall into four categories.  Academic titles, which are uncommon and quite expensive, public domain titles which are essentially free and provided by Google's huge database of titles, books from publishers, and "self-published" titles.

At this time, the number of titles from publishers is pretty limited.  The only one of the big six publishers whose books are available for the EBM is Harper Collins and, even in that case, the only titles are their back-list (i.e. titles older than about six months) trade paperbacks (not their hardcovers or mass market paperbacks).  All of the independent press titles printed by Lightning Source, which is the largest on-demand publisher, are also available.  But that leaves out the huge backlists of the other five big publishers (Macmillan, Penguin, Hachette, Bertelsmann (which includes Random House among others) and Simon and Schuster) as well as almost all of the new books published each season.  On-Demand Books is working hard to make deals with these publishers, but thus far without success.

So, what books actually sell and how many of them?

Based on the current installed base of machines, stores sell between 7000 and 14,000 books per year.  For Borderlands that would work out to between 2.4 and 5 books per hour, which is damn good.

But here's the surprise -- most of the books sold are neither public domain titles via Google nor are they in-print titles from publishers.  In the first year, 90% of the books printed by the current crop of in-store POD machines are self-published by customers _of the bookstore_.  In other words, someone comes into the store with an electronic file of their book, gives it to the store, and then the store prints it for them on the EBM.

The good news here is that there is an additional income stream from such self-published books.  Marketing materials from On-Demand Books suggest that most stores charge a set-up fee of around $150 per title to set up the file to print.  I'm not sure exactly where they got that figure but it seems to me that it would be hard to set such a fixed price.  Having a bit of experience with publishing and layout work (as well as lots of friends who run small presses), it seems that the likelihood of a "self-published" author coming in with a properly formatted file is slim (though that chance can be improved by creating a good formatting guide that authors can refer to before coming in with their file).  Consequently, I suspect that the stores offering this service charge a basic set-up charge and then an additional hourly design rate to get the customer's files into shape.  Stores also charge a per-book fee of $5 plus $0.045 per page to print each copy of the book.  That means the "retail price" of the book is right around $14.00 (assuming an average 200 page volume).  And that is on top of the fees for set up and layout.

The bad news is that 90% of the income from one of these machines comes from a process that is closer to running a copy-shop or a service bureau, not a bookstore.  It's not a process that most of the booksellers I know are well suited to -- moderately technical and involving potentially challenging customer service that is totally unlike bookselling (there's a world of difference between helping someone find the right book and getting someone's baby . . . I mean, their novel . . . to look right).  

To be fair, the figures I've seen suggest that the sort of book printed changes over time.  Year one shows about 90% self-published but that number drops to 80% the second year, 70% the third, and 65% for the forth and fifth years.  But still, the actuality of having a machine in-store is quite different from the image of pressing a few keys and printing out a book from an existing catalog of public-domain and published titles.  Granted that does happen, but based on the figures, it happens only a couple times a day.  The rest of the time, it is a more complex process involving a non-trivial amount of time in front of a computer screen mixed in with time spent discussing details with customers and, perhaps most challenging of all, managing their expectations.  That's a fair amount of work.  What seems to me to be the hardest part would be orginizing the process, finding the right staff, and getting it all working smoothly.

But, if a store is willing to do that work, an Expresso Book Machine can clearly be a profitable investment -- especially if you have the right staff person who really enjoys the job and working with the customers.  However, without that work, it's even less attractive than my first post suggested.  If you cut out the income from self-published works, the figures are dreadful since, minus 90% of the sales, the pay-off time for the machine increases by a factor of ten (i.e. instead of the 1.4 year figure circulated by the manufacturer you're looking at something closer to 14 years!).  But that may change as more and more titles become available via print on demand.  If arrangements can be reached with more of the truly big publishers, even if only for their backlist titles, then the EBM and machines like it could live up to their potential.  Imagine being able to get a physical copy of any book in print at your cosy, local bookstore!  But, at least for now, the actuality does not seem to live up to the dream.

note 1:  This $15,000 is a single payment fee for a 5 year license for the software that makes the machine work.  At the end of 5 years (which is the expected life of the machine), you would need to pay again.  There is another option -- a yearly payment of $5000.  Obviously the math says that is a bad deal ($25,000 for a $15,000 license over 5 years works out to 13% interest annually).

note 2:  One cost not included above is the power requirement.  The machine needs two 220 volt circuits and one 110 volt.  This is not typical power service for a retail shop, which means that there will be a non-trivial cost to install electrical service.  For Borderlands it would run around $1500 to $2000, assuming our main electrical service would support it.

note 3:  Operating costs and retail price are on a per book basis in the first year.  The figures are averages based on actual usage of installed machines provided by On-Demand Books.

Top Sellers At Borderlands

Hardcovers
1. The Gift of Fire / On the Head of a Pin by Walter Mosley
2.  Railsea by China Mieville
3. The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi
4. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
5. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
6. Any Day Now by Terry Bisson
7. Invincible: The Lost Fleet - Beyond the Frontier by Jack Campbell
8. Flora's Fury by Ysabeau Wilce
9. The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King
10. Stonemouth by Iain Banks

Mass Market Paperbacks
1. Blackout by Mira Grant
2. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
3. Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
4. Feed by Mira Grant
5. Children of the Sky by Vernor Vinge
6. Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
7. Naamah's Blessing by Jacqueline Carey
8. Kingdom of the Gods by N.K. Jemisin
9. Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig
10. Crippled God by Steven Erikson tie with
       Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis

Trade Paperbacks
1. Departure by Neal Asher
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
3. Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin
4. Reamde by Neal Stephenson
5. The Silent Land by Graham Joyce

Book Club Info

The QSF&F Book Club will meet on Sunday, July 8th, at 5 pm to discuss A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES by Deborah Harkness.  Please contact the group leader, Christopher Rodriguez, at cobalt555@earthlink.net, for more information.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club will meet on Sunday, June 17th, at 6 pm to discuss THE LIMINAL PEOPLE by Ayize Jama-Everett.  The author will be attending the bookclub, so bring your questions and your books to be signed!  Please contact bookclub@borderlands-books.com for more information.

Upcoming Event Details

Note: We have moved all of our author events to Borderlands Cafe, directly next door to the bookstore at 870 Valencia Street.  We now have more room, and you can enjoy your hot cocoa while listening to your favorite author!

SF in SF presents authors S.G. Browne and Lev Grossman (at the Variety Preview Room in the Hobart Building, 582 Market Street) Saturday, June 16th at 7:00 pm - We are happy to help SF in SF welcome these authors!  Each author will read a selection from their work, followed by Q&A from the audience moderated by author Terry Bisson.  Authors will schmooze & sign books after in the lounge. Books available for sale courtesy of Borderlands Books.  Seating is limited, so first come, first seated.  Bar proceeds benefit Variety Childrens Charity - learn more at <http://www.varietync.org/>.  We REALLY encourage you to take BART into the City, or use MUNI to get here - parking can be problematic in San Francisco, to say the least.  We are less than one block away from the Montgomery St. station.  Trust us - you don't want to be looking for parking and be late for the event!  Phone (night of event) 415-572-1015.  Questions? Email sfinsfevents@gmail.com.

SF in SF presents authors Robert J. Sawyer and Rachel Swirsky (at the Variety Preview Room in the Hobart Building, 582 Market Street) Thursday, June 21st at 7:00 pm - Double the fun with an extra SF in SF event this month!  This event will follow the same format as usual; each author will read a selection from their work, followed by Q&A from the audience moderated by author Terry Bisson.  Authors will schmooze & sign books after in the lounge. Books available for sale courtesy of Borderlands Books.  Seating is limited, so first come, first seated.  Bar proceeds benefit Variety Childrens Charity - learn more at <http://www.varietync.org/>. We hope to see you there!

David Brin, EXISTENCE (Tor, Hardcover, $27.99) Saturday, June 23rd at 1:00 pm - Borderlands is happy to welcome renowned author David Brin to the store!  His new novel is called EXISTENCE, and here's the word from the publisher: "The World Wide Web -- where a flash mob can gather in an instant. Where revolutions begin and history is made. Now, into the maelstrom of this shared experience drops a game-changer: An alien artifact plucked from Earth's orbit that wishes to communicate. Within an hour of its discovery, rumors fill Earth's infomesh about the existence of the artifact. The world reacts as it always does: with fear and hope and selfishness and love and violence -- and insatiable curiosity.  Packed with tension and brimming with ideas, EXISTENCE is the next big book from Brin-and everyone will be talking about it."  We'll certainly be talking about it, and we hope you'll join us!

A.M. Dellamonica, BLUE MAGIC (Tor, Trade Paperback, $14.99) and J.A. Pitts, FORGED IN FIRE (Tor, Hardcover, $26.99) Saturday, June 23rd at 3:00 pm - For Pride weekend, we present two Pacific Northwest authors whose works feature tough, cool women and LGBT relationships!  We're happy to welcome A.M. Dellamonica and J.A. Pitts to Borderlands.

SF in SF presents authors Richard Kadrey and John Shirley (at the Variety Preview Room in the Hobart Building, 582 Market Street) Saturday, July 7th at 7:00 pm - More details to come.

Borderlands event policy - all events are free of charge.  You are welcome to bring copies of an author's books purchased elsewhere to be autographed (but we do appreciate it if you purchase something while at the event).  For most events you are welcome to bring as many books as you wish for autographs.  If you are unable to attend the event we will be happy to have a copy of any of the author's available books signed or inscribed for you.  We can then either hold the book(s) until you can come in to pick them up or we can ship to you.  Just give us a call or drop us an email.  If you live out of town, you can also ship us books from your collection to be signed for a nominal fee.  Call or email for details.

Dispatches from the Border
Editor - Jude Feldman
Assistant Editor - Alan Beatts

All contents unless otherwise noted are the property of

Borderlands Books
866 Valencia St.
San Francisco, CA  94110
415-824-8203
http://www.borderlands-books.com

Comments and suggestions should be directed to editor@borderlands-books.com

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