Bookworms are buzzing with excitement over the 2020 Ottawa Book Expo’s announcement of a new online bookstore. The Expo, well known for pushing boundaries, has announced that its festivities will be extended to a year-round online bookstore—Ourbooks.ca.

The Expo is set to become the largest literary festival and event in Canada. In line with this and multiple other exciting revelations, the Expo has let slip that an online bookstore that caters to grassroots-oriented authors will be available for community consumption soon.

The online bookstore is expected to be driven by the needs of the community. In addition to this, the online bookstore would provide authors access to a significant boost in marketing.

The bookstore is expected to exceed the likes of Amazon when providing the proper platform for authors to be noticed. Think of it as your favourite Indie bookstore in web-form.

The platform proposes an interesting new way for authors to be noticed by bookworms just looking for a unique, new book to read. It is expected to exceed the expectations of platforms like Amazon when it comes to world-class marketing opportunities.

Authors are well aware that Amazon has gone uncontested for many years. In most cases, authors feel like it’s the only choice and the best platform to find success in the literary industry. This isn’t all that far from the truth, the retail giant has been at the top of the game for quite a while now and most other online bookstores have struggled to keep up. That is, unless you’re looking at mainstream bookstores that have garnered significant literary acclaim within the past few years like Goldsboro or Indigo.

There is virtually no problem with approaching these giants if you want to sell your book. However, it is quite uncommon that you will find success in the literary world, especially if you are a self-published author. According to Claudenougat, Amazon has admitted that only forty self-published authors will find some form of success in the literary industry.

Forty authors is certainly a surprisingly small number. It’s also a very true and incredibly frightening thing to think about as an author. This statistic can easily be seen as one of the reasons why aspiring authors never find the time to pick up their pens and pursue writing.

Just imagine the untapped resources sitting around in someone’s brain because they’re too afraid of failing. Ourbooks.ca aims to relieve authors of the burden they often face. The platform is intended to cater to authors who are just beginning or are struggling to get a foothold in the literary industry.

The platform intends to provide authors with a better alternative to the Amazon. The web-based platform comes at a time where physical bookstores struggle more than they ever have in the history of printed works. Bookworms are now busier, with more dynamic lives that present them with little opportunity to leave their tasks to shop for anything other than groceries.

The digital age is taking over and online bookstores are often turning to web-based platforms to reach bookworms easier. The convenience of shopping online is also an added bonus. Thanks to the Ourbooks platform, authors will more easily reach these bookworms without worrying that their book would sit on shelves undusted for years.

Authors and bookworms alike are excited for the Amazon alternative. Not only does it propose an entirely new outlet for authors to reach a wide audience, but it will also give authors a bigger chance of succeeding in the literary industry.

Some bookworms and authors have expressed their concerns over web-platforms replacing bookstores. However, the migration to websites can be seen as one of the literary industry’s dynamic changes over the recent years.

The lives of potential readers have become increasingly fast-paced. There is little to no time to spend browsing books. On top of this, the lack of manpower to physically cater to bookworms strolling along the shelves proposes a major marketing issue.

Some bookworms enjoy having recommendations thrown at them. However, with only two or three available staff to cater to bookworms perusing the shelves, it is unlikely that all books will get picked up with equal attention.

On top of that, most potential readers find it awkward to have someone follow you around looking at your book choices. Web-platforms are the future of bookstores and are not only providing bookworms with the opportunity to shop for books with a click at the comfort of their home, but it also effectively introduces them to titles they would have never encountered at a traditional bookstore.