bookstore « Robin Writes

This week, I have a few tips for all the local and small press authors that we carry in the store. Nope, we don’t have a contract, and we don’t care if you self-published or wrote the book while standing on your head. We have shelf space, we try to read all of your books, and it’s the first section we talk about when customers come into the store. Matter of fact, it’s the first section IN the store.

We do a straight 60/40 split with our authors – I’m sorry if you think you’ll lose money on this deal, but that’s not an issue to negotiate with us. Talk to your publisher about that contract if your discount isn’t deep enough, or reconsider whoever you paid to publish the book. A 40% discount is standard, even average – some books, via traditional distribution, have an even lower discount.

There are a few ways to make sure your book gets noticed, and therefore purchased:

First, write a great book. Sounds like a “duh,” but really – yes, we’ll put it on the shelf but if it doesn’t hold our attention, we might not get around to reading it. Sorry, but there are a lot of books and limited time.

Second, use an editor. A few mistakes are okay, all books have errors, but consistent boo-boos make our eyes water and it’s very difficult to tell a customer “oh, just ignore those.” They’re paying for a product, make it a good one.

Third, if your cover makes our eyes bleed, it will do the same for readers. They’ll pass right over your book, unless, in horror, they stop and stare. Then they’ll move on. If the cover’s bad, what fresh hell must be on the inside?

Fourth, we like you. We really do. And we’d like to see you once in a while. Don’t just drop off your books and disappear, only to call six months later and ask if we sold any copies of your book. You could recommend us, too. If all you do is post online “get my book at Amazon!” we aren’t going to put out a lot of effort either.

Fifth, being our customer helps too. We can order books if we don’t have them in stock, we do that a lot. But it seems like the authors on our shelves must never read a book – or they’re going to Amazon. We’re happy that they’re saving a few bucks, but they may as well come get that right out of our register.

And finally, the big secret:

If you do all these things, your book will sell more copies.

Why?

If it’s good, we’ve read it. We can give a detailed recommendation. If we can focus on the story and not the mistakes, so can others. If it looks good, customers will be curious to see the inside. If we know you, we’ll tell people about you – the good stuff, natch – just like you tell people about your friends, but scarcely mention strangers.

And no, you don’t HAVE to be our customer for us to tell others about your books, but it does keep us in business. A lot of you have Kindles, and of course we don’t do those – I understand. It’s okay, really.

And in case you haven’t been in lately, we have “Top Sellers for 2013” red stars on the shelves, from January 1 through today. If your book doesn’t have one, well, reread from the top! There is still time, until November 30, to get on our “Best Sellers of 2013” list that will be published all over the web and in the store starting December 1 – just in time for the holidays!

I’ve kind of dropped the ball on the blog posts the last couple of week, and I apologize. I actually started writing a post about bookstores, but decided it was too whiny. I did, however, save a few highlights.

So here are a few dos and don’ts when shopping at an indie bookstore:

DO come in and hang out for a while. We don’t mind at all, but we can’t always sit and chat.

DO talk about books you love – we’ll probably throw in a few comments too.

DO tell us about books you DO NOT like (unless it’s mine, then you can just keep it to yourself!) – we have some we think are plain awful. It’s okay. You don’t have to love every book.

DO let us order a book for you – we can find almost any book, new or used, and it arrives in about a week or so.

DO ask about our local authors – we’ve met most of them, and if you’re lucky, one will be in the store when you come. As a side note, they’ve worked just as hard on their books as some “celebrity” authors, but you haven’t heard of them yet. Yet. Instead of reading the same old stuff, try someone new!

DON’T tell us how to run to the store, or arrange the store. Trust me, we’ve tried a number of different things and this is what works. Especially don’t do this if you’ve never been in the store, or just now walked four feet inside the door. Suggestions, however, are welcome – demands will make us crabby.

DON’T ask for a discount. This isn’t a garage sale. If you buy a new paperback, you’ll pay at least $8; our used books are only $3 and yes, some are in better shape than others. Our hardcovers are just $5 – and a new one will run you about $20.

DON’T expect us to entertain you. See the “hanging out” comment above – while our customers are very important, sometimes we have to answer the phone or talk to another patron or do paperwork.

DON’T let your children smear their hands all over the counter, the books, and the windows/door. How do you think those things get clean again?

And finally, please DON’T race around the perimeter of the store, glancing at the shelves, and zoom out the door while 1) exclaiming you’ll be back “some other time,” or 2) barely acknowledging our greeting and our “thanks for coming!” That’s just kind of rude.

I don’t think I’m being whiny – most of these are just plain good behavior for customers of any retail establishment. But seriously, check out our local authors. You may have never heard of some of them, but you can get to know them personally and, besides, these books will blow your mind. Really.