we really don't need little fiefdoms that underpay their employees and only manage to have workers because it's a "cool job" and being a "cool job" means that people will work for far less than their actual value :)

i know i'm on about this a lot, i follow a lot of authors because i like them generally, but the tweets about how much we need indie bookstores aren't actually about needing them they're about supporting authors' class interests lol

the enthusiastic people who arrange your books into nice little display piles for your events don't have health insurance

the main product that local bookstores sell is making people feel good about supporting local bookstores

most small businesses are little fiefdoms. bosses who are stressed out about the thin margins and taking it out by power tripping on their employees, a whole work staff that's working 38 hour weeks

indie bookstores provide a lot of valuable services. it's nice to have them as places to hang out. people love talking about books with people who aren't allowed to tell them to shut the fuck up. authors can occasionally make thin money by having speaking events and signings

i don't know how much of that is them making money vs publishers making them do book tours, tbh, i think the only people who were really making money off events when i worked at the bookstore were people like john green

anyway the spillover effects from indie bookstores are largely dependent on an exploited workforce, supporting them is not an altruistic act, it's buying feeling good about your progressive buying habits, and in a better world they will all be turned into extensions of libraries