May 4, 2017
When it comes to books and bookstores, it’s a bit like a revolving door. Books come in, they sit on the shelf, books go out. Oftentimes they get purchased, but sometimes they go out the back door. The shipping door. The door that customers never see. So why do they go out the way they came in? What reason is…
April 6, 2017
No, we’re not getting on a giant boat with a lot of animals — that’s an ark. ARC stands for Advance Reading Copy. Or Advance Review Copy. Or Advanced Reader’s Copy. Or you might see ARE for Advance Reader’s Edition. The point is that a book that is labeled as such is an early copy that hasn’t yet hit the…
March 2, 2017
Mass market paperbacks are interesting creatures, as are some trade paperbacks. 99.99% of all mass markets, if they are slated for return, aren’t actually returned. Not whole, anyway. One of the most horrifying things a bookseller will ever learn to do is strip a book. Stripping a book means that the front cover — and the back too if the…
February 2, 2017
Customers can be…odd. That’s the polite way to put it. For every fantastic or wholly normal customer a bookseller meets, there’s always that one person who has to mess up the day for everyone. Some infractions are minor whereas others can get downright frustrating.
January 5, 2017
Booksellers get a lot of questions on a daily basis. Where can I find this book? Who wrote this book? When was this book published? Is this in paperback? When will this author’s next book be available? Most of these questions are pretty typical (and normal), but there are still plenty of things that a bookseller won’t know and, unfortunately,…
November 3, 2016
After years of hard work, you’ve finally published your book. Great job! Your next step? To schedule a book signing at some of your local bookstores to help promote your book. It’ll be easy and bring in a lot of new readers and sales, right? Not exactly. Unfortunately, this is what a lot of new and inexperienced authors believe. From…
October 6, 2016
Welcome to the bookstore, where conversations such as this can happen: Customer: Hi. I know this book just came out, but can I get it in paperback? Me: I’m sorry, ma’am, but it’s only available in hardcover. Customer: Well, I saw it at Target and they had it in paperback. Me: Ma’am, if you find the paperback at Target, I would love for…
September 1, 2016
If you’ve ever been to a Harry Potter Midnight Release Party, then you know how awesome they can be. Bookstores that range from independent to corporate-run didn’t take long to realize how popular Harry was, and they’ve been rocking the midnight releases ever since. But what exactly goes into these events? And how does a store handle what might amount to…
August 4, 2016
Indeed, welcome to the bookstore, where I will be your humble bookselling guide to all things books, publishing, and the world of the book business. As a bookseller and manager of nearly 10 years, I can safely say that no, we don’t sell trumpets, Charles Dickens doesn’t have any new releases because he’s dead, and if you know what an ISBN…