As you all know, the verb “decimate” (meaning the removal of one out of every ten) describes a form of military discipline in the Roman army to punish mutinous or cowardly soldiers. A unit selected for punishment by decimation was divided into groups of ten; each group drew lots, and the soldier on whom the lot fell was executed by his nine comrades, often by stoning or clubbing.
Over the ages, the verb usage has broadened to include the removing or destroying a large proportion of a group of beings or things.
That Amazon has embarked on a policy to decimate Indie booksellers is nothing new. Seldom a day goes by that yet another neighborhood bookshop is forced to close its doors.
History teaches us that armies will wipe off native tribes and that cavalry charges are no match for armored divisions. But crushing advantages in means and firepower may be squandered if the wielded by a poor tactician.
In The Art of War / Maneuvering, Sun Tzu warns:
When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.
It seems sensible advice, which the master elaborates in “The Nine Situations:”
Soldiers when in desperate straits lose the sense of fear. If there is no place of refuge, they will stand firm. If they are in hostile country, they will show a stubborn front. If there is no help for it, they will fight hard.
The digital era has spawned a way of turning computer files into physical books by means of a machine; perhaps a sophisticated and expensive piece of equipment, but nonetheless a machine.
Jeff Mayersohn, owner of the Harvard Book Store, was against the wall. Rather than surrendering, he thought hard and determined to hit Amazon back.
Essentially, Jeff installed a printing press to close the inventory gap with Amazon. The Espresso Book Machine sits in the middle of Harvard Book Store like a hi-tech visitor to an earlier era. A compact digital press, it can print nearly five million titles including Google Books that are in the public domain, as well as out of print titles. We’re talking beautiful, perfect bound paperbacks indistinguishable from books produced by major publishing houses. The Espresso Book Machine can be also used for custom publishing, a growing source of revenue, and customers can order books in the store and on-line.
You can walk into the store, request an out-of-print, or hard-to-find title, and a bookseller can print that book for you in approximately four minutes. Ben Franklin would be impressed.
But you don’t even have to go into the store to get a book. If you live in Cambridge and neighboring communities, you can order online and get any book delivered the same day by an eco-friendly Metroped “pedal-truck,” or a bicycle, as I like to call them. Beat that Amazon.
Beat that indeed. Fully automated digital printing presses don’t come cheap, but after careful consultation with my crystal ball, I predict that many more independent booksellers will pawn they baseball-card collections and buy one.
The old adage “If you can’t beat them, join them,” is not applicable here; Amazon has not provided the means for Indie shops to join. Cornered, pressed far too hard, independent booksellers are left with one set of unpalatable options: fight back or die. And in fine American tradition—as pioneered by Jeff Mayersohn—many will choose to fight.
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Maril Swan Tuesday, 15 May 2012 06:53 AM
Once again, I have just returned from surfing the 'net, this time to find out more about the Espresso Book Machine. Having been in the printing business most of my working life, I was very intrigued by this innovation in publishing. The cost of this compact machine is prohibitive to smaller shops, $150K plus supplies, etc. However, this may be the wave of the future especially for chain stores like Chapters/Indigo. As always, I find your brief essays full of interesting new ideas which bear following up. Thanks.
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Carlos Cortes Friday, 18 May 2012 11:57 AM
Thank you, Maril. $150K? That's an awful lot of money. You're right, it would be outside the scope of small shops.
Still, if the cost of those machines follows the curve of, say, laser copiers, smaller operators may be able to afford them.
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Maril Swan Thursday, 24 May 2012 02:54 PM
You may be right about the cost coming down dramatically. Between technical improvements and buyers adoption of the technology, perhaps soon we'll be able to publish our own books at home. Pretty scary thought, actually. :)
Tuesday, 15 May 2012 06:53 AM
Once again, I have just returned from surfing the 'net, this time to find out more about the Espresso Book Machine. Having been in the printing business most of my working life, I was very intrigued by this innovation in publishing.
The cost of this compact machine is prohibitive to smaller shops, $150K plus supplies, etc. However, this may be the wave of the future especially for chain stores like Chapters/Indigo.
As always, I find your brief essays full of interesting new ideas which bear following up. Thanks.
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Friday, 18 May 2012 11:57 AM
Thank you, Maril. $150K? That's an awful lot of money. You're right, it would be outside the scope of small shops.
Still, if the cost of those machines follows the curve of, say, laser copiers, smaller operators may be able to afford them.
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Thursday, 24 May 2012 02:54 PM
You may be right about the cost coming down dramatically. Between technical improvements and buyers adoption of the technology, perhaps soon we'll be able to publish our own books at home. Pretty scary thought, actually. :)
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