A hodgepodge of technology, BookExpo, podcasts and book trailers got me thinking about what the not-too-distant future bookstore might look like.
Random Thought # 1
Booksellers incorporate the collateral from publishers efforts in the book trailer front. This seems to me a kind of narrowcasting and pretty rich way to get a summary of a book. On the weekend I was checking out Simon and Schuster’s and TurnHere Bookvideo.tv work and I have to admit I wanted to buy almost every book I watched. If bookstores start tying into this stuff in whatever capacity it may be effective. Of course we have seen Canadian Tire, Zellers and other stores using the video promo pack but somehow bookstores are missing out on the booktrailer phenom.
Random Thought #2
Maybe a little more crazy but with the advent of Print on Demand and lulu.com etc why not create an inhouse label, sort of like an inhouse wine label. You see stores in California and other places with wine bottled just for them with their own label. Booksellers could nurture the creative community, the wannabes, etc. with collabrative writing (wikis, ranking the additions so you get the highest ranked content into the book) that turn the content into published books that are featured in the store: The best of—place bookstore name here—2007 etc. This dovetails with bookclubs, independent presses, self-publishing sites etc. quite nicely.
Naturally the store will also have ready made distribution with the likes of sites like lulu.com and amazon. Blogging could happen around this vehicle and other inhouse events. You launch the event and then gather together once a month, maybe with sample chapters, focus groups happen around the content .
Naturally publishers will want in on the deal and try to get their own strange brews into the mix!
