By Darren Gilbert
“The idea for Pulp came to me when I was ordering books online,” says Lawrence. This was in 2005 when buying anything online was relatively new. And books, Lawrence quickly realised, were the perfect products to sell online. Not only were they, as a product, never in question, but they couldn’t spoil. The only thing lacking, though, was a personal touch.
So Lawrence set out to correct that. “I missed the personal touch that came from a traditional bricks-and-mortar store,” she says, “and I wondered if I could offer a version of that, over email.”
The fact that Pulp Books is here is proof that she’s succeeded. And everything around it is deliberate, including the name.
“The ‘Pulp’ part is borrowed from the 30s, when Allen Lane bought high-quality literature to the general public by publishing great books – previously only available as hardcover – as ‘pulps’ or paperbacks,” explains Lawrence. Back then, pulp fiction had a trashy reputation, which made Lane’s move controversial and daring. But it paid off in spades. And that is what Pulp Books aims to be: bold. “The name ‘Pulp’ hit all the right notes for me: warm, brave, rebellious, anti-snob, accessible, and successful,” adds Lawrence.
Today, you can view the online bookstore as your personal bookdealer and Lawrence as your
bibliotherapist. That means that Pulp Books, and by association Lawrence, can find you any book you want, be it a bestseller or out of print. “You simply email me the titles of the books you’re looking for, and I will let you know the price and availability.” If you’d like to go ahead, Lawrence will order the books and deliver them to your door. That’s pretty much it.
However, Pulp Books' offerings don’t stop there. They can recommend something for you to read should you want that; their inventory is hand-picked so you’re guaranteed to only find quality books; and they are set on making reading as accessible as possible with their pricing.
Pulp Books also handles bulk orders for corporates, schools and universities. From a purely business point of view, it’s what Lawrence is hoping for: more corporate orders. But don’t think that this will stop her from aiming to deliver the best possible service through Pulp Books. “What our customers appreciate is that they’re ordering from a real flesh-and-blood human who is there for them 24/7.” That is never going to change.
Lawrence may say that the world didn’t need Pulp Books as much as she needed it. But I’d say it’s the other way around. We’ve always needed Pulp Books. Lawrence just had to start it so that we’d realise that we needed it too.
For more information, visit www.pulpbooks.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.