Too many books

I went to the Printers Row Book Fair today, which unfortunately was initially rained out, and by the time it cleared up, many of the exhibitors had taken off. But as I walked around, I saw a ton of books, but far fewer people were buying them. Which is usually the case, and that's my point.

I talked to a guy from an indie press who was cleaning off the rain from his table, and there seemed to be a number of interesting titles there, but there were too many to all sell decently, and he told me that they just throw spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. One place was even giving away books. But the bottom line is that there were too many there and there are too many everywhere, and the buyers are scarce.

One guy who really took the time to talk to me and answer my numerous questions was David Gecic from Puddin'head Press. He was friendly and told me what it's like to have an independent press (he publishes mostly poetry). He's been at it for like 20 years, and he's managed to break even and do even better, while connecting with cool people around the city. At least he's accomplishing something.