For the first time in a _very_ long time I was in a B&N today. It was a major branch, attached to the Wellington Green mall in Wellington Florida, Wellington being Very Horsey Country just outside of West Palm Beach. Wellington Green is, ah, ?upscale?. The B&N isquite large.
So I head over to the SF section... hey, where?s the SF section? There used to be an _extensive_ SF section. Now... the SF section is a shrunken remnant. The Horror section is bigger, the Fantasy section is more than twice the size, the Manga section is double the size, and even the Graphic Novels section is bigger. There was, for example, exactly one David Weber book in stock. Meanwhile, there?s a nice new boxed set of A Song of Ice and Fire
over in Fantasy. (For $108...) The complete works of Joe Abercrombie are also available.
I guess that I won?t be buying much SF from B&N...
On 6/4/2026 12:14 PM, WolfFan wrote:
For the first time in a _very_ long time I was in a B&N today. It wasI gave up on B&N a while back.ÿ The one store in my county went out of business.ÿ After a couple years B&N opened a new store (in the same mall
a major
branch, attached to the Wellington Green mall in Wellington Florida,
Wellington being Very Horsey Country just outside of West Palm Beach.
Wellington Green is, ah, ?upscale?. The B&N isquite large.
So I head over to the SF section... hey, where?s the SF section? There
used
to be an _extensive_ SF section. Now... the SF section is a shrunken
remnant.
The Horror section is bigger, the Fantasy section is more than twice the
size, the Manga section is double the size, and even the Graphic Novels
section is bigger. There was, for example, exactly one David Weber
book in
stock. Meanwhile, there?s a nice new boxed set of A Song of Ice and Fire
over in Fantasy. (For $108...) The complete works of Joe Abercrombie
are also
available.
I guess that I won?t be buying much SF from B&N...
as the first one) which is 1/2 to 1/3 the size of the previous one.ÿ I
also ran into the shrunken genre stock with the new one and just haven't bothered to go back.
For the first time in a _very_ long time I was in a B&N today. It was a major branch, attached to the Wellington Green mall in Wellington Florida, Wellington being Very Horsey Country just outside of West Palm Beach. Wellington Green is, ah, ?upscale?. The B&N isquite large.
So I head over to the SF section... hey, where?s the SF section? There used to be an _extensive_ SF section. Now... the SF section is a shrunken remnant. The Horror section is bigger, the Fantasy section is more than twice the size, the Manga section is double the size, and even the Graphic Novels section is bigger. There was, for example, exactly one David Weber book in stock. Meanwhile, there?s a nice new boxed set of A Song of Ice and Fire
over in Fantasy. (For $108...) The complete works of Joe Abercrombie are also available.
I guess that I won?t be buying much SF from B&N...
On 6/4/2026 2:14 PM, WolfFan wrote:
For the first time in a _very_ long time I was in a B&N today. It was
a major
branch, attached to the Wellington Green mall in Wellington Florida,
Wellington being Very Horsey Country just outside of West Palm Beach.
Wellington Green is, ah, ?upscale?. The B&N isquite large.
So I head over to the SF section... hey, where?s the SF section? There
used
to be an _extensive_ SF section. Now... the SF section is a shrunken
remnant.
The Horror section is bigger, the Fantasy section is more than twice the
size, the Manga section is double the size, and even the Graphic Novels
section is bigger. There was, for example, exactly one David Weber
book in
stock. Meanwhile, there?s a nice new boxed set of A Song of Ice and Fire
over in Fantasy. (For $108...) The complete works of Joe Abercrombie
are also
available.
I guess that I won?t be buying much SF from B&N...
B&N never was a good scifi store.ÿ They were more into fantasy.ÿ And B&N bought the 10% off store that I cannot remember the name of in 1995 ???,
and shut them down.ÿ They had a great scifi selection.
I miss B. Daltons.ÿ Now there was a great store.
Lynn
I miss B. Daltons. Now there was a great store.
Capitalism of course is to blame
Verily, in article <10vte23$qsl5$1@dont-email.me>, did lynnmcguire5 @gmail.com deliver unto us this message:
I miss B. Daltons. Now there was a great store.
I liked B. Dalton, too. Ours was still making
money when they closed it. It was too small
to have a lounge area, just books books books
everywhere, with shelves to the ceiling and
ladders to reach them.
I miss bookstores, but I also like the
convenience of ebooks, so I guess I understand.
On 6/4/2026 2:14 PM, WolfFan wrote:
For the first time in a _very_ long time I was in a B&N today. It was a major
branch, attached to the Wellington Green mall in Wellington Florida, Wellington being Very Horsey Country just outside of West Palm Beach. Wellington Green is, ah, ?upscale?. The B&N isquite large.
So I head over to the SF section... hey, where?s the SF section? There
used
to be an _extensive_ SF section. Now... the SF section is a shrunken remnant.
The Horror section is bigger, the Fantasy section is more than twice the size, the Manga section is double the size, and even the Graphic Novels section is bigger. There was, for example, exactly one David Weber book in stock. Meanwhile, there?s a nice new boxed set of A Song of Ice and Fire over in Fantasy. (For $108...) The complete works of Joe Abercrombie are also
available.
I guess that I won?t be buying much SF from B&N...
B&N never was a good scifi store. They were more into fantasy. And B&N
bought the 10% off store that I cannot remember the name of in 1995 ???,
and shut them down. They had a great scifi selection.
I miss B. Daltons. Now there was a great store.
Lynn
On Jun 4, 2026, Lynn McGuire wrote
(in article <10vte23$qsl5$1@dont-email.me>):
On 6/4/2026 2:14 PM, WolfFan wrote:
For the first time in a _very_ long time I was in a B&N today. It was a
major
branch, attached to the Wellington Green mall in Wellington Florida,
Wellington being Very Horsey Country just outside of West Palm Beach.
Wellington Green is, ah, ?upscale?. The B&N isquite large.
So I head over to the SF section... hey, where?s the SF section? There
used
to be an _extensive_ SF section. Now... the SF section is a shrunken
remnant.
The Horror section is bigger, the Fantasy section is more than twice the >>> size, the Manga section is double the size, and even the Graphic Novels
section is bigger. There was, for example, exactly one David Weber book in >>> stock. Meanwhile, there?s a nice new boxed set of A Song of Ice and Fire >>> over in Fantasy. (For $108...) The complete works of Joe Abercrombie are >>> also
available.
I guess that I won?t be buying much SF from B&N...
B&N never was a good scifi store. They were more into fantasy. And B&N
bought the 10% off store that I cannot remember the name of in 1995 ???,
and shut them down. They had a great scifi selection.
I miss B. Daltons. Now there was a great store.
Lynn
B&N used to, I repeat, USED TO, have ebook reader apps for Mac, older (pre Win 8) Windows, and newer (Win 8 and newer) Windows. All dead. their apps for Androidand iOS/iPadOS still live, though I don?t know for how long;
they?re pushing Nook for Web, hard.
They used to bundle a few items in with Nook for Mac and the older Nook for Windows; I could reliably crash both using one of the bundled items. I say again, I could crash the apps using stuff they bundled with it. This bug was not fixed when they dropped support.
Amazingly, Apple, Amazon, and others manage (Amazon discontinued the old Kindle for Mac and Kindle for Windows in favor of new apps available only from the App Store and the Microsoft Store; the new apps stink up the place, but the old appas still work, so I don?t care. The old Nook apps don?t
work anymore.) to have working ebook apps on multiple platforms. B&N has problems. I rarely buy paper books any more; that?s one reason why it had been a while since I?d been in that B&N. I am NOT going to use my web
browser instead of a proper ebook reading app, not unless I don?t have a choice. (For one thing, the Apple and Amazon apps will sync across platforms, so that I can read on a large display from a computer, Mac or Windows, on a smaller display on an iPad and on a small display on an iPhone and just pick up where I?d left on a different device. The web apps that I?ve tried
don?t do that, and I can?t be arsed to pay B&N to get a Nook book and try their web app. And. I?m NOT buying a Nook device.) Even if B&N had a good selection of SF I probably wouldn?t be buying much from them.
One wonders what management at B&N is smoking.
On 6/7/2026 3:19 PM, WolfFan wrote:
On Jun 4, 2026, Lynn McGuire wrote
(in article <10vte23$qsl5$1@dont-email.me>):
One wonders what management at B&N is smoking.
One of my authors is claiming 45% ebook sales including Kindle Unlimited
and 55% sales of dead tree POD (print on demand) books.
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
On 6/7/2026 3:19 PM, WolfFan wrote:
On Jun 4, 2026, Lynn McGuire wrote
(in article <10vte23$qsl5$1@dont-email.me>):
<snip bookstore discussion>
One wonders what management at B&N is smoking.
One of my authors is claiming 45% ebook sales including Kindle Unlimited
and 55% sales of dead tree POD (print on demand) books.
Those numbers may not apply generally, if that author only sells, say,
100 books annually.
On 6/9/2026 9:29 AM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
On 6/7/2026 3:19 PM, WolfFan wrote:
On Jun 4, 2026, Lynn McGuire wrote
(in article <10vte23$qsl5$1@dont-email.me>):
<snip bookstore discussion>
One wonders what management at B&N is smoking.
One of my authors is claiming 45% ebook sales including Kindle Unlimited >>> and 55% sales of dead tree POD (print on demand) books.
Those numbers may not apply generally, if that author only sells, say,
100 books annually.
The author claims to sell a million dollars of books annually, not his
net income. I would SWAG that about 100,000 books annually. He is >exclusive to Amazon and self published with a support team, like Ilona >Andrews. I will be publishing a review of one of his books shortly. He >releases a new book at least monthly.
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
On 6/9/2026 9:29 AM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
On 6/7/2026 3:19 PM, WolfFan wrote:
On Jun 4, 2026, Lynn McGuire wrote
(in article <10vte23$qsl5$1@dont-email.me>):
<snip bookstore discussion>
One wonders what management at B&N is smoking.
One of my authors is claiming 45% ebook sales including Kindle Unlimited >>>> and 55% sales of dead tree POD (print on demand) books.
Those numbers may not apply generally, if that author only sells, say,
100 books annually.
The author claims to sell a million dollars of books annually, not his
net income. I would SWAG that about 100,000 books annually. He is
exclusive to Amazon and self published with a support team, like Ilona
Andrews. I will be publishing a review of one of his books shortly. He
releases a new book at least monthly.
Claims. Color me sceptical.
"The lifetime sales average for a sci-fi book typically ranges
between 3,000 to 5,000 copies for traditional publishers, while
self-published titles often sell under 250 copies. However, the
median sales are much lower - frequently around 300 copies - since
a few massive bestsellers highly skew the mean"
To make $1,000,000 one would need to sell between 125,000 and 500,000
copies anually.
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
On 6/9/2026 9:29 AM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
On 6/7/2026 3:19 PM, WolfFan wrote:
On Jun 4, 2026, Lynn McGuire wrote
(in article <10vte23$qsl5$1@dont-email.me>):
<snip bookstore discussion>
One wonders what management at B&N is smoking.
One of my authors is claiming 45% ebook sales including Kindle Unlimited >>>> and 55% sales of dead tree POD (print on demand) books.
Those numbers may not apply generally, if that author only sells, say,
100 books annually.
The author claims to sell a million dollars of books annually, not his
net income. I would SWAG that about 100,000 books annually. He is
exclusive to Amazon and self published with a support team, like Ilona
Andrews. I will be publishing a review of one of his books shortly. He
releases a new book at least monthly.
Claims. Color me sceptical.
"The lifetime sales average for a sci-fi book typically ranges
between 3,000 to 5,000 copies for traditional publishers, while
self-published titles often sell under 250 copies. However, the
median sales are much lower - frequently around 300 copies - since
a few massive bestsellers highly skew the mean"
To make $1,000,000 one would need to sell between 125,000 and 500,000
copies anually.
On 6/9/2026 2:10 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
On 6/9/2026 9:29 AM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
On 6/7/2026 3:19 PM, WolfFan wrote:
On Jun 4, 2026, Lynn McGuire wrote
(in article <10vte23$qsl5$1@dont-email.me>):
ÿÿ <snip bookstore discussion>
One wonders what management at B&N is smoking.
One of my authors is claiming 45% ebook sales including Kindle
Unlimited
and 55% sales of dead tree POD (print on demand) books.
Those numbers may not apply generally, if that author only sells, say, >>>> 100 books annually.
The author claims to sell a million dollars of books annually, not his
net income.ÿ I would SWAG that about 100,000 books annually.ÿ He is
exclusive to Amazon and self published with a support team, like Ilona
Andrews.ÿ I will be publishing a review of one of his books shortly.ÿ He >>> releases a new book at least monthly.
Claims.ÿ Color me sceptical.
ÿÿ "The lifetime sales average for a sci-fi book typically ranges
ÿÿÿ between 3,000 to 5,000 copies for traditional publishers, while
ÿÿÿ self-published titles often sell under 250 copies. However, the
ÿÿÿ median sales are much lower - frequently around 300 copies - since
ÿÿÿ a few massive bestsellers highly skew the mean"
To make $1,000,000 one would need to sell between 125,000 and 500,000
copies anually.
Lifetime book sales of a few high performing SF/F authors:
John Ringo: 7 million
David Weber: 8 million
ER Burroughs: 100 million
Anne Rice:ÿ 100 million
CS Lewis: 200 million
JRR Tolkien: 250 million
Stephen King: 350 million
James Patterson: 400 million
Dean Koontz: 500 million
JK Rowling: 600 million
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_fiction_authors
David Weber:ÿ https://www.baen.com/allbooks/category/index/id/1952
John Ringo:ÿ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ringo
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
On 6/9/2026 9:29 AM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
On 6/7/2026 3:19 PM, WolfFan wrote:
On Jun 4, 2026, Lynn McGuire wrote
(in article <10vte23$qsl5$1@dont-email.me>):
<snip bookstore discussion>
One wonders what management at B&N is smoking.
One of my authors is claiming 45% ebook sales including Kindle Unlimited >>> and 55% sales of dead tree POD (print on demand) books.
Those numbers may not apply generally, if that author only sells, say,
100 books annually.
The author claims to sell a million dollars of books annually, not his
net income. I would SWAG that about 100,000 books annually. He is >exclusive to Amazon and self published with a support team, like Ilona >Andrews. I will be publishing a review of one of his books shortly. He >releases a new book at least monthly.
Claims. Color me sceptical.
"The lifetime sales average for a sci-fi book typically ranges
between 3,000 to 5,000 copies for traditional publishers, while
self-published titles often sell under 250 copies. However, the
median sales are much lower - frequently around 300 copies - since
a few massive bestsellers highly skew the mean"
To make $1,000,000 one would need to sell between 125,000 and 500,000
copies anually.
On 6/9/2026 2:10 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
On 6/9/2026 9:29 AM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
On 6/7/2026 3:19 PM, WolfFan wrote:
On Jun 4, 2026, Lynn McGuire wrote
(in article <10vte23$qsl5$1@dont-email.me>):
<snip bookstore discussion>
One wonders what management at B&N is smoking.
One of my authors is claiming 45% ebook sales including Kindle Unlimited >>>>> and 55% sales of dead tree POD (print on demand) books.
Those numbers may not apply generally, if that author only sells, say, >>>> 100 books annually.
The author claims to sell a million dollars of books annually, not his
net income. I would SWAG that about 100,000 books annually. He is
exclusive to Amazon and self published with a support team, like Ilona
Andrews. I will be publishing a review of one of his books shortly. He >>> releases a new book at least monthly.
Claims. Color me sceptical.
"The lifetime sales average for a sci-fi book typically ranges
between 3,000 to 5,000 copies for traditional publishers, while
self-published titles often sell under 250 copies. However, the
median sales are much lower - frequently around 300 copies - since
a few massive bestsellers highly skew the mean"
To make $1,000,000 one would need to sell between 125,000 and 500,000
copies anually.
Lifetime book sales of a few high performing SF/F authors:
John Ringo: 7 million
David Weber: 8 million
ER Burroughs: 100 million
Anne Rice: 100 million
CS Lewis: 200 million
JRR Tolkien: 250 million
Stephen King: 350 million
James Patterson: 400 million
Dean Koontz: 500 million
JK Rowling: 600 million
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
On 6/9/2026 2:10 PM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
On 6/9/2026 9:29 AM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> writes:
On 6/7/2026 3:19 PM, WolfFan wrote:
On Jun 4, 2026, Lynn McGuire wrote
(in article <10vte23$qsl5$1@dont-email.me>):
<snip bookstore discussion>
One wonders what management at B&N is smoking.
One of my authors is claiming 45% ebook sales including Kindle Unlimited >>>>>> and 55% sales of dead tree POD (print on demand) books.
Those numbers may not apply generally, if that author only sells, say, >>>>> 100 books annually.
The author claims to sell a million dollars of books annually, not his >>>> net income. I would SWAG that about 100,000 books annually. He is
exclusive to Amazon and self published with a support team, like Ilona >>>> Andrews. I will be publishing a review of one of his books shortly. He >>>> releases a new book at least monthly.
Claims. Color me sceptical.
"The lifetime sales average for a sci-fi book typically ranges
between 3,000 to 5,000 copies for traditional publishers, while
self-published titles often sell under 250 copies. However, the
median sales are much lower - frequently around 300 copies - since
a few massive bestsellers highly skew the mean"
To make $1,000,000 one would need to sell between 125,000 and 500,000
copies anually.
Lifetime book sales of a few high performing SF/F authors:
John Ringo: 7 million
David Weber: 8 million
ER Burroughs: 100 million
Anne Rice: 100 million
CS Lewis: 200 million
JRR Tolkien: 250 million
Stephen King: 350 million
James Patterson: 400 million
Dean Koontz: 500 million
JK Rowling: 600 million
As per above "A few massive bestsellers highly skew the mean".
Are you implying that the author you claimed sold $1e6 annually
is one of the above listed bestselling authors?
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