Why do creators’ works end up as clearance books?At a small-town book rental shop, Utsudo saw clearance books selling for NT$3 or NT$5 each, and lamented that the vast majority of works are like shooting stars that vanish in an instant. She bought nearly twenty books to figure out the difference between bestsellers and disposable reads, and saw in the struggling shop owner a reflection of herself holding on for her dream.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

A small-town book rental shop I stumbled upon

　　A few days ago, while wandering around with my family, we happened to pass a book rental shop in a small town.

　　From the outside it looked like a book rental shop, but there were menus out front, and I was confused whether it was a rental shop or a restaurant. My sharp-eyed sister spotted a sign inside advertising clearance books at three dollars each or so.

　　We sisters have zero resistance to cheap stuff XDD

　　So we went inside. There were several large bookcases, and behind a door you could even see another space full of bookcases. The owner stood behind the counter with simple kitchen equipment and a drink machine, and there were a few seats for customers to eat or read.

　　It looked like a hybrid rental shop.

　　But there wasn’t a single customer, even though it was still winter break.

　　Several bookcases were labeled with paper signs like “NT$3 per book on this shelf” and “NT$5 per book on this shelf.” The slightly worn-out shop felt especially desolate…

Clearance books at NT$3 each

　　Seeing so many creators’ hard work labeled as clearance items made me feel a faint sadness. Everyone dreams of having their work seen, and these were indeed signed by publishers and given a chance to be released — but the vast majority of works are like shooting stars that flash and vanish, quickly disappearing amid fiercely competitive book lists.

　　A thought struck me: I wanted to uncover what separates bestsellers from disposable reads — maybe it could help me, lost as I am right now, find some clues. I bought nearly 20 books in one go at various prices, and spent only a little over NT$170 in total.

　　How cheap… dreams that didn’t succeed. (Such a negative thought couldn’t help surfacing in my mind again)

A conversation with the rental shop owner

　　At checkout, I couldn’t help asking the owner, “Has switching to a hybrid shop… helped?”

　　The owner, who looked to be in her thirties, paused for a moment, then gave me the smile of someone recognizing a kindred spirit? Or rather, her eyes felt familiar — I could sense she resonated with how I felt (well duh, she runs a book rental shop XDDDD

　　She smiled awkwardly. “No. People often come in asking whether this is a rental shop or a place that sells food…”

　　Hybrid shops are a fairly common new path in bigger cities, but maybe the interior hadn’t kept up, and there didn’t seem to be air conditioning… Outside there was only one standing sign saying they sold food, which might confuse passersby QQ

　　But renovating and changing the sign both cost money, and when the main business isn’t making money, whether to change or not is a struggle either way…

　　“When I was little there were lots of book rental shops. Now there are fewer and fewer,” I said.

　　The owner smiled. “Yeah, but all I can do is keep holding on like this…”

　　For some reason, what she said and how she looked reminded me of myself.

　　Maybe when others see me struggling to hold on for my dream, they feel the same way?

　　I’ll share later what I learned from the books I bought there, trying to resolve my confusion about bestsellers versus slow sellers QQ

　　I’ve long understood that as times change, decline and rise are inevitable, but even trying to change something doesn’t necessarily help… Is it the wrong direction? Or have we just not found a better way yet?

　　Either way, the feelings and memories that linger in the heart can’t seem to be so rational.

FAQ

Further reading (in Chinese)

• Previous: #47 (in Chinese)
• Next: #49 (in Chinese)
• Start from the beginning: #01 — Utsudo’s debut
• Column introduction
• Utsudo’s books

About the author

Utsudo is a Taiwanese light novelist and novelist VTuber with more than ten years in the industry and 40 commercially published print books. Her novel 《遺失的情書》 received a 2022 Ministry of Culture youth creative award. The 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series records her experiences as a novelist in Taiwan.

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