I was saddened today to read about the closure of another local bookshop. Lost in Fiction was a relatively new book shop opening its doors last September to the people of Glasgow, yet it will now have to close very soon, They posted that they were finding it hard to meet their costs, and a result they are forced to close. I grew up in a town that had a few bookshops and for me they were wonderful places of adventure and fantasy, I love the smell of all those new books on the shelves and the row after row of spines in every colour of the rainbow, painting a scene like a bar code of utter delight. It is heartbreaking  that today my home town has no bookshop, and I cannot help but feel that because of it, many of the people where I live are missing out.

As a writer it is sadder that I will never see my book on the selves of a bookshop in my own town, and because of the high costs of now running a shop I am sure we will lose what I consider to be the treasures of our high streets. I am at this moment trying very hard to get my book ‘The Bowman of Loxley’ onto the shelves of bookshops locally and nationally, and to be honest it is a hugely difficult task, it is not helped by the fact that in the publishing press there are those who hype up each change in a publishers situation and I do think that some of the hype is damaging our wonderful bookshop tradition. Many of the shops I have spoken to are under huge pressure brought on already by the economics of the world, It is something as an ex shop owner I understand, although with myself it was a Garden shop. Being on the high street and the markets I have seen the change in the way that people are spending their money, and there is no doubt that people have a lot less than five years ago, but the thing that has been highlighted more than anything to me is the rise in rents and rates of local premises.

Most new business can not afford the mind blowing costs of a shop, and those who have supported us as customers for years are feeling the pinch as they struggle against what is an overwhelming series of costs. Local government has done very little for small business except hit it harder and harder, the hype in the media about current financial pressures of our governments is adding to the pressure, and to be quite frank, as a writer trying to self promote a book, its an overwhelming task as bookshops are now cutting back and going for what are seen to be money earners. I am a new writer and not seen yet as worthy of stocking as I do not have the reputation of the JK’s and Dan Browns. I feel it will take me far longer than I ever thought to get my book in every fiction section across the country, if ever?

I cannot blame the local shops for not stocking a new writer with no reputation, they now are under such pressure that every inch of their shelves has to count in a big attempt to face those overwhelming costs, but what I can say here and now is this. If like myself you love reading, then consider the delights you have had all your lives going into these wonderful little places and eyeing the shelves with joy. The next time you want a book, then do your best to visit yours, because if you don’t you may find the closed sign up permanently and the window empty the next time you visit. You may pay a little more for the book than your local supermarket, but a good bookshop is worth it. They are an important part of our heritage as a big reading nation, over the years long before the supermarkets became interested in cornering the market, it was the local bookshop that filled you with joy, made you weep on occasion and carried your imagination into lost worlds and new realms of adventure. Just think of the delight you have had in your life, and reward those who gave it you when you were younger. Each time a bookshop closes, your town will lose a small part of its identity, so please take it from someone who has shared that wonder, and give them your support.

Never forget that your local supermarket may be cheap, but you will never find that little literary treasure in there, I know of so many amazing and life changing books that could only ever be found in that small specialist bookshop with comfy corners and staff who cared about the written word and about providing you with those pearls of wonder. A really great book from a local shop will cost a few extra pounds, but just think back for a moment and remember those cherished moments we have all shared curled up somewhere at home or on holiday lost in the pages of a magical story. It really is food for thought…