Paperback Shack — Local services in Niles

I’m a little confused by my interaction with the owner of this store, she is knowledgeable about different authors and gossip about authors (plagiarism and things of that nature). However she said a few things involving indie authors that really confused me on her stance of if she supports them. Her page says “paperback shack is an indie bookstore specializing in rare, hard to find, out of print, and collectible books”, however when it came to indie author selection she only had one small section of local authors (around 5 books). She told me she doesn’t buy these books because they don’t always sell, that’s understandable as business owner but confusing because this location is advertised as an indie bookstore. She said indie books are commission based. Which I suppose is still beneficial to indie authors however it came off as odd since this place is advertised as an indie bookstore. We talked a bit about self published authors and publishing through Amazon, when I started the conversation I was going in the direct that publishing on Amazon is hard because their books are consistently shipped out with damage. However she said how it would be better for self published authors to do it the “right way” and get editors to review their work and publish the traditional way. She even stated she knew someone that read one self published book that had a grammatical error and then the reader wouldn’t read another of that authors work, she alluded that this could be avoided if traditionally published. She also told me she’s a teacher and advises her students to publish the “correct” way. It felt like she was diminishing the accomplishments of self published authors. I thought maybe I was reading too much into it until we were talking about how I have too many books, mind you I never said I was interested in selling my books, and she told me she doesn’t really take indie books or give credit for them. After this comment I was ready to leave. Overall I tried to keep the conversation positive and friendly however after thinking on it I found some of the owners comments to be insulting towards indie authors. I advise any self published authors to think long and hard before interacting with a business that doesn’t appreciate their work or dedication that goes into self published work. I think as a teacher this owner takes more pride in the grammatical side of writing and it shows in her attitude towards indie authors. It’s okay to be proud of technical skills but it shouldn’t come off so judgy. I left this store with one book, a self published piece of work, and I hope the author received most of the funds. I made this purchase specifically to send a message to the owner of my continued support for self published authors after our conversation however I feel it might have gone over her head. I think having an editor and being traditionally published isn't obtainable for every author, but it doesn’t diminish their work or success. Overall this location is okay for buying books if you want to support a local business, her prices are half off publishers price. There was many mass market production copies I thought were beat up and maybe overpriced. However there were some hardbacks that wouldn’t be too bad. If we don’t support local book stores they will cease to exist, and on that front I support buying here. On the other hand I think the owner should change her business description to “used books at half publishers price” seeing as there was barley any indie author work, no special editions/rare/or out of print sections. If this owner continues to label her store as a “indie bookstore” I would hope she would show more support to the indie author community, maybe actually purchase some stock from a wider variety of indie authors, a whole section of indie work would be much more representative of an “indie bookstore”, also I would avoid telling customers anything negative about indie authors in the future as it can leave a foul taste in one’s mouth. I wish you the best but will not be returning to...

Workers were extremely nasty for no reason whatsoever. I have a small YouTube channel that I like to post videos of unique malls and their shops. No law says I can’t do this but people sometimes take issue with others filming so as I passed this store it was the only one open at the time and there were people in it so I purposely barely put my camera on it (maybe a second or two) but one of the ladies decided to ask if she can help us (I was with another person) in an extremely rude tone and then someone immediately locked the door after we left the mall as if we were some kind of criminals. If you didn’t react rudely you would have gotten free advertising- but due to your reaction I’m now recommending to my whole audience not to...

I encourage anyone who is a fan of literature to spend your time and money at the Paperback Shack. The owner and her family have always been super friendly and helpful every time I've wandered in.

There is a good selection that spans over several genres, and the best part is that I've never left without finding at least one book to join my personal library. So, whether you're into mystery, sci-fi, young adult, romance, horror, or whatever your fancy, you're sure to find a gem to make your day a little bit better.

Oh, and they sell some...