Sunday, 21 December 2008
WILD WEST MONDAY IS HERE
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These days most bookshops don't have a western section and yet the genre is still hugely popular worldwide. So using the power of the interweb we are hoping that western fans worldwide will join together and support Wild West Monday. No matter where you are, what country you are in, you can join in the fun and get hold of some thrilling reading matter to entertain during the long winter nights.
This is how it works - we all visit our local bookshops and ask if they have a western section and if not then why not? Do the same with the local library and request to order a new western book.
And anyone who has stumbled on this blog and want to explore the genre than please visit some of the blogs and websites devoted to the western in the Tainted Archive's sidebar.
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18 comments:
Gary - I'm heading for the top.
HMV have announced a loss in their sales that is down to Waterstones.
So I'm e-mailing and writing to HMV with the suggestion that if they had a western and war section in Waterstones - the same as HMV have in their stores then maybe they would see a rise in sales.
Also, doing the same to Waterstones.
Be good if others did the same.
I'll definitely be making my voice heard tomorrow.
Wild West Monday is an awesome idea -- I'll be checking in with my local bookstore while I finish up my Christmas shopping.
I'm also out an about today and will visit several bookshops. I'm also, as Ray suggested earlier in the week, getting several relatives a western for Christmas. this is an ambitious idea but who knows maybe if enough people take part we can get the sudden demand for western noticed. I am also writing to heads of programming for both ITV and BBC stating that more classic western series should be repeated from time to time. I'd rather watch Bonanza than most things on these days.
Gary, good job promoting WWM, I'm currently snowed in here in the wilds of Wisconsin, but did my thing by ordering on line from my library a copy of W C Tuttle's book Montana Man. May have to walk into town today to get the thing though....Jonathan
Well I went to W H Smith and told them that I take most of my custom to Borders simply because they stock westerns. I then ordered Deadwood: The Killers and the Frontier stories of Louis Lamour Vol 2 in hardcover. The manager from Smiths did request a list of Black Horse Westerns from Robert Hale Ltd. My girlfriend also visited the local library and hired out two BHW's and asked when there would be fresh western stock in.
Maybe we can repeat this even again in the new year -FEB maybe - and then do it say twice a year.
Hey Anon. in Wisconsin - I am not snowed in, here in N.W.PA. so, if my Jeep starts this afternoon , I am headed for the local Waldenbooks about 10 miles from here. They at least have a small western section.
Great idea Gary. Maybe we should all try to get the day promoted. Once a year is not enough though. Maybe once a month we should all go buy a western. Even on Soc. Sec. I can afford one a month.
Y'all have a Merry Christmas.
Sara
Maybe every quarter would be good. This time it was arranged on the spur of the moment but the next - hopefully FEB - should be featured in newstand magazines Wild West Magazine and True West. I have written to the editors iof both and also to many actors,writers known for work in the genre.
Come on make our day.
Nice job, Gary. :-)
I had no idea there wasn't a western section. I hate it that Borders doesn't have a biography section too. Sometime you just want to browse and when there's not a specific section for these genres, you can't.
I think this is an excellent idea, Gary. The website for our local library has a form to suggest books for purchase, and I've made it a habit of suggest Westerns. I'm going to send one in today and mention Wild West Monday. I've also emailed Wal-Mart and asked them to start carrying more Westerns in their stores, like they used to.
Gary: I'm joining up. The only place to get a good western in my area is at the Goodwill or Salvation Army stores. I'm loading my Six-Shooter and going to make Libraries and Book Stores dance.
Have not heard back from HMV or Waterstones.
However, had a long and serious talk with local manager of Waterstones. He started off by telling me that I could order on-line. I countered that by saying that I agreed but on top of the purchase price I would have to pay postage and packing which 'killed' the discount.
Books on shelves meant that I could a) browse and b) put cash in his tills. So, I said, why put money into Amazon's tills when I could put that cash in Waterstone's? That way we both win because I wouldn't be paying for postage and packaging. Instead I would be able to buy two books from off the shelf.
He got quite excited at my simple economics and promised to e-mail head office.
The local library was more bureaucratic. Cuts meant that their purchases were restricted. I suggested that they sold some of their older titles and use the revenue towards new books. I explained that if I ordered books in - then they paid out money for them. 'Our hands are tied' was the only response.
Everyone - it's great that we all got together on this. We'll be doing another in FEB but this time I'm going to publicise it far more. I've already written to many print magazines as well as the BBC in the UK. If everyone drops the odd mention on their blog of the next Wild West Monday - say first Monday in Feb maybe we can get thousands of us on the go next time.
This is a great service. I stopped into my local bookstore and purchased two westerns.
ALL - I'm really enjoying this sense of community we have achieved.
Given the short notice, this campaign has worked far better than I'd hoped, Gary. Yes, it must be repeated. Roping in other media, rather than relying on our limited reach via the blogging and website community, is definitely a must. That makes me a little uncertain about Feb 2 for the next "day". We have the holiday season intervening, especially in Australia and New Zealand where everything business-wise seems to shut down for a month (January). Also, print mags still require longer than a couple of weeks to respond even in these high-tech days. End of Feb, just, might be a better option.
Keith
Keith - I take your point. I'm going to enjoy the festive season and then start the campaign again. There's a comment on this post from the editor of Wild West Magazine and no firm date is set yet. So maybe you're right. We'll sort the date for the next one after Christmas and yes we will be involving other media.
A merry christmas to everyone.
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