Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
I will point out that the impression I get from bookstores is that, yes, publishers have that power over them. They certainly seem to have no control over inventories, special orders, etc, that they will admit to.
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It's certainly true that, for example, a Borders store will tell you they don't control what books they stock. But that control doesn't rest with the publishers; it rests with the chain buyers, who decide what to order for stores.
The publishers hold sales conferences with these buyers, and they
pitch books to them, soliciting orders. They don't dictate. If they did, my Battlestar Galactica novel would have been in all the Borders stores. (It wasn't.)
In the case of a new Rowling or King book, obviously, they may exert more control. But not for the main list.