Support Your LOCAL Bookstore

(Negative Content Alert… Read to the end for a positive outcome.)

Books are still being discovered (and bought) in bookstores. I have never met an author who didn’t want to have their published work on the shelves of a bookstore. So, authors have books, bookstores sell books…what could be a better match? Here comes the rub: most local authors alienate bookstores, which hurts their efforts and … book sales.

Today all authors are on the frontline of their promotional efforts, both online and locally.

Bookstore owners and managers can smell an author with an agenda from the moment the author enters the store. With 40,000 books being published every month, odds are that your book may not be on their shelves, and you are not the only “local” author who has approached the store this month, this week, or this day. Many authors who approach a local store owner / manager cause more harm than good.

Most local authors approach their bookstore with the presumptive, “Hi, I am your local author and you should be carrying my book!” Sadly, this usually is the first time the manager and the staff has seen this author/customer in their store. Really?

The staff might think, “If you are local to my store, how come I’ve never seen you here before?” While this thought swirls in their minds, the author asks the staff why they are not carrying their book and tells them why they should carry it. This practically ensures the book will never be carried.

So then, what is an author to do?

First, shop local! Be a regular customer. Be a purposeful customer. If you are a good customer, you are likely to get consideration for a book placement.

Next, be a giving author. Make yourself known, first as a customer. Begin by thanking the owner and staff for making books discoverable in the store. Tell them that authors love and need bookstores. Thank them for being there.

Then tell them that you are an author. Then, and only then, give them an autographed copy of your book for the staff to read in the break room or to give to a favorite customer or a family member who likes your genre. Emphasize you expect nothing in return. Tell them about your book only if they ask. If they do, take less than 60 seconds to share your pitch. Most authors lose a retailer or potential reader by talking too much about the book.

Finally, thank them again and ask if they would like any bookmarks to give to their favorite customers or to leave out on the counter. Before you leave, buy someone else’s book, reinforcing your commitment to their business.

Shawn and Suzanne Kuhn will teach the Marketing (Author Boot Camp) track at the Nonfiction Mini-Conference on June 17.