Increasingly Artsy Books II
Indie Books, Creativity, and Tariffs
Saturday, May 10th is the 3rd Annual Steampunk and Oddities Expo—an event I’ve only attended once as a visitor and now am returning to as an author. It’s an outdoor event that is rain or shine (guess which one’s being predicted for us…) and in a park on the edge of Oneonta, New York.
Some vendors will be in tents on the Fortin Park fields (there will also be food trucks!), and a bunch of us will be in the hangar under the roof.
The event is free. The parking is free. The entertainment? Free. The food, arts, crafts, books, and book merch? Not free but so cool!
So why am I mentioning this event under the topic of “Increasingly Artsy Books?” Other than the event is TOMORROW? And I already had the headline in my newsletter drafts?
Is this a classic “bait and switch?”
No.
Actually (and quite legitimately) it’s because I’m also offering prettier books (in limited quantities) at events I’m going to. Have been for a while now. Are mine the wildly artsy books with sweeping color photo spreads in the interior, ornate foil, vellum inserts, and reversible dust jackets?
No.
And with tariffs being as absolutely…insane…as they are, I doubt I can do that until something drastic changes. I had plans to do it this year, but… Oh, well. Who knows?
Regardless, in the 13 TO LIFE series books we are continuing the flipbook-style animation (so much fun!), the pretty black and white headers and breakers, the tribal tattooing that runs the interior page edges, and, in limited quantities, simple sprayed page edges in silver or a color that accents the book’s cover (teal for 13 TO LIFE, blue for SECRETS AND SHADOWS, red for BEASTLY BABES, bright blue for WEATHER WITCH, and a sunny yellow for STORMBRINGER).
In similarly limited quantities we’re also including a little cutwork on the signature page. You can only get these copies at in-person events (or at the store as our stock gradually continues rolling out with new releases every “MerchMonday.” Below is an image of the shop. Books, mugs, shirts, hoodies, jewelry, flexis… They’re all there (or coming soon).
Why are books becoming increasingly “artsy?” I think it must be about the competition in the industry. The indie creators seem to have relatively recently started the move back into ornate books. Historically a decent number of books had gilt edges, lots of art, embossing, and some foil, but with greater production numbers it seems the big boys drifted away from such niceties. Now, seeing the reaction indies have been getting from “book dragons,” the big boys are drifting back to compete again.
It is a business, after all, and they want their slice of the pie.
Indies were making significant headway in the market with beautiful books, many crafted and imported by a handful of mostly foreign (mostly Chinese) manufacturers. Indies were actually doing really well—authors who never thought they could make a living writing were making their dreams come true.
With tariffs, that changed. Suddenly authors were having to invest an extra $3,000 to nearly $10, 000 dollars to get the same books to sell. Because of tariffs. And the tariffs have been changing so rapidly (and weirdly) that authors can’t figure out what to do to stay afloat. Their choices: eat the loss, pass the loss onto readers, quit doing the pretty stuff, or quit the business altogether.
None are easy choices, and each impacts small American business owners in dramatic and sad ways.
Meanwhile, the big boys are making inroads with prettier and prettier books. Just hit your local Barnes and Noble and you’ll see how things are changing yet again. And, of course, the big boys can afford such additional fees. That tariff? No big deal when you handle numbers like they do. It’s again the little American business owners who are hurting as a result. And most of these little American business owners seem to be women.
I cannot predict how this will impact the industry. I wish I could. For the book dragons out there, I’ll just suggest you enjoy the beautiful books while you can and I’ll continue to hope you support indies as often and as much as possible.
Next time I’ll share a little about an author and reader event my hubby and I popped into in Utica recently where we also found a bunch of indie authors and beautiful books: Romance in CNY, coordinated and hosted by Chrissy Kullmann.
In hopes you support indies, here’s a talented friend’s book (dark and spicy and based on Edgar Allan Poe’s Pit and the Pendulum). It’s on preorder now and releases in June. Bound in Darkness by Tara Conrad…
Bound by Darkness: Will the blade of love prove to be sharper than the bonds of blood?
Bound by the shackles of a sheltered existence, Aoife Quigley yearns for more than the quiet exile she was forced to endure. An escape to the Maldives leads her to Eamon O’Sullivan, a man shrouded in darkness and desire. Their passion ignites an inferno that defies fate and awakens an obsession. Tragedy rips Aoife from her haven, dreams shattering in its wake. Bound by blood to the Irish Syndicate’s throne, she believes that she and her twin brother will reign united. But when her brother shuts her out, all trust is shattered.
When Aoife and Eamon’s paths cross once more, a chilling revelation sets her on a collision course. She realizes that love and loyalty can be twisted into weapons of destruction. Bound by blood and torn by love, their world spirals into a deadly dance of loyalty and betrayal.
Now, trapped between the blade above and the abyss below, Aoife must make an impossible choice: sacrifice love or betray blood. Step into a dark mafia reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum—where love is a blade, loyalty is a trap, and survival demands sacrifice.
Check it (and Tara’s other books) out! Indies are full of creativity and sometimes their actions help to shift the paradigm of the big boys. And, when Tara’s not writing, she’s putting together amazing signing events like this one in August in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Electric City Love Con comes to Scranton, PA on August 2nd! Over 100 authors will be there—will YOU?