I’d guess that 85% of the sci-fi-fantasy section at the regional B&N is fantasy. Of what remains as sci-fi, there is Phillip K. Dick, Andy Weir’s three novels, some David Weber (one title), a smattering of other sci-fi that’s been on the shelf over six months, and some assorted other things. I’m not counting the Star Wars novels (a half dozen or so, not as many as in the past) or Warhammer (fantasy or sci-fi?) or Halo (another half dozen books). The numbers have been dwindling for some time, and plummeted once Baen stopped working as closely with B&N*.
So, right there, distribution is one consideration in the lower numbers of sci-fi novels on the shelves. If the main supplier isn’t selling through an outlet, people who buy through that outlet won’t see new titles, unless they are such best-sellers that the outlet agrees to stock those (Monster Hunter, David Weber). They can be special ordered, which I have done, but are not visible on the shelves. That reduces sales, which starts a spiral of “No one buys it, so we don’t stock it.”
Despite the runaway success of hard sci-fi movies like The Martian, sci-fi seems to be less popular among publishers. Even literary sci-fi like Kim S. Robinson and others write has faded from view, aside from Octavia Butler and some writers-of-color (US, Canadian, or otherwise). Publishers seem inclined toward “human-centered” genres like romantasy, cozy fantasy, Lit-RPG, and some of the softer sci-fi books. One of those is front and center on the new book table as you come into the store. I glanced at it, then shook my head. The cover copy put the main character’s “they/them” pronouns up front. That suggests that the science part of space travel et cetera is secondary to other parts of the story. Which is great if you enjoy that and look for it in your books.
Too, I wonder if the lack of broad public interest (or officially touted by publishers lack of interest) in hard science plays a role in the decline. Without Baen on the shelf, that leaves Weir, two or three others (one with a heavy feminist slant), and perhaps Hugh Howey’s Dust trilogy. And Dune, thanks to the remake. If people are not into astrophysics, xenobiology, space travel, and so on, why pay for books about that, if you are a publisher? That it starts a spiral goes without consideration, or that markets can be built (see the revival of Westerns.)
I suspect a goodly number of hard sci-fi types have said, “Chuck it” and self publish. If they find readers, they keep 70% of the income from electronic sales, or can publish more widely and still keep a lot of the income, without worrying about tailoring their tales to editorial desires. Heck, there’s probably Elon Musk fan-fiction out there, with correct orbital physics and other fun stuff for those so inclined. The down side is that without the books on the shelves, people who shelf-shop don’t see that the genre still lives.
Note, this is one regional book store outlet, not a specialty bookstore or independent shop. My observations might not even be universal for B&N, because of the greater lee-way now permitted local buyers. However, it is something to think about before you go in search of an agent to sell your diamond hard Sci-fi space novel to a major publisher.
*As I understand it, it has to do with slots, sales, and a couple of other things between B&N, Baen, and the larger publisher who does some distribution for Baen.
7 responses to “Where Did the Spaceships Go? Shelf Space and Genre”
From Hans’s last book sale, the top sales: https://basedbooksale.substack.com/p/2026-basedcon-based-book-sale-how?r=3l7wwi the top three is actually a top four with a tie for third place. Three of the four are space opera, fwiw.
While my wife and I have bought sci-fi recently, we haven’t even bothered going to our local B&N in the last 2+ years.
Bookstores in Flyover Falls range between specialty (closest to mainstream is the used book dealer) to the “SF/Fantasy shelf” in the bigger stores. B&N is in Medford, but I’ve never been in it. In San Jose, it was getting thin for SF in the late 1990s. Curious, you’d think there’d have been a strong geek SF readership, but not enough to entice Management.
“Despite the runaway success of hard sci-fi movies like The Martian, sci-fi seems to be less popular among publishers.”
There have been a couple of interesting revelations lately on the cultural front.
One datum is that since US-AID was defunded, hip-hop and rap have fallen off the music charts. Like, precipitously. Billboard reported last year, Oct. 30th that rap had fallen out of the Top 40 for the first time in 35 years. Joe Rogan said the same thing in August, and I’ve heard it repeated other places like Rick Beato’s youtube channel. Rap is over.
Another datum, in recent months there has been an across-the-board drop in media viewership. Television news is down, most recently it was reported the FOX News is way, way down. But also, sports views are down, social media views are down, YouTube views are down. Tim Pool made a few podcasts in September remarking that media views generally look like they’ve been inflated for a while now, and that this drop is the cheaters stopping their cheating.
Third datum, we SF nerds know that The Fix has been in with awards for a very long time. Knowing the shenanigans that they get up to at the Nebulas and Hugos is very useful. For one thing, we know there is shenanigans. For another, we know the slant.
Therefore:
If you spot a big fat hole in the genre, chances are good that it is not a natural hole. Dark Forces and political money probably made that hole, and they probably enforce it as well.
All the more reason to fill the hole. Write some spaceships, and self-publish. Mine are Bussard Ramjets a mile long and made of ice. When they drop out of their Alcubierre warp bubbles they briefly produce the energy of a solar flare. Dirac Sea you know, and a non-linear energy product.
Want to get your book reviewed? Write a ripping good hard SF novel.
I am pretty catholic in my taste in F&SF, but I really like hard SF, especially SF involving space travel. I review about 15 F&SF novels every year. Every time I get a ripping good hard SF novel I review it. yet about 60-67% of what I review is fantasy because there are so few hard SF novels out there.
Mind, I think every book I review is worth reading. (I would not review it otherwise.) And I won’t review just any hard SF. It has to be a good adventure tale. But when I find it, I review it.
I go through Sarah Hoyt’s book promo every Sunday looking for possibilities. Often I will buy it if it looks good to help a struggling writer. There is nothing more satisfying than finding a new author whose work just sings.
Just yesterday I was musing on how the ‘zon recognizes I read fantasy, but doesn’t recognize I read scifi.
Most of the scifi I borrow or buy isn’t classified that way– I like stuff with good world building and actual people in it, not being beaten over the head with what popular science says is possible and Science-y is the furthest we can ever reach. (Yes, realistic physics is good; no, nobody is driving along I-80 and goes into a monolog about the internal combustion engine, unless they’re a homeschooler mom with ADHDAF/’tism kids, and even then our IRL info-dumps aren’t going to match most “hard” scifi.)
It gets thriller or space opera or romance or who knows what, instead.
B&N opened Abilene (TX) about 2 years ago. One Wber is all the Baen I’ve seen. When I asked about Baen, the manager actes like she had ‘t heard of Baen. I haven’t gone in for at least 8 months.