Show Your Bookstore Love

“I never want to see my book on a bookstore shelf,” said no author ever.

What could be a better match? Books are discovered and purchased in bookstores. Authors have books. Here comes the rub: most authors alienate bookstores with their approach, hurting their efforts and book sales.

Bookstore owners and managers can smell an author with an agenda from the moment the author comes through their door. The odds are with tens of thousands of books being published every month, your book may not be on a bookstore’s shelves. Likely, you are not the only author to approach the store this month, week or even day. Many of the authors who do approach a bookstore cause themselves more harm than good. In my retail days I saw it daily—an author walks into the store with their hot little book in their hot little hands. I knew immediately I was about to be on the receiving end of a request.

Let me paint the picture for you. An author enters the bookstore with, “Hi, I’m an author. You should be carrying my book.” Too often this is the first time the manager and the staff have even seen or heard of the author. This approach is off-putting. If you are a local author it’s even worse. The bookstore staff is thinking, “If you are local to my store, why haven’t I seen you here before?” As this thought is swirling in the minds of the bookstore staff, the author proceeds to ask why their book is not being carried and insisting on why it should be. All the while the author is scoring negative points and practically insuring this book will never be seen on this bookstore’s shelves. 

In this scenario the author never took into consideration that the staff of this bookstore had their own agenda for the day. They were not just waiting around for the next author to enter their doors. They were especially not waiting to be told how they as the bookstore were failing the author.

What could the author have done differently?

Let’s flip our mindset. This author thought the bookstore was there to meet their need to sell books and meet readers. In reality, the author should be there for the bookstore to meet their need, connect with their customers, and become a resource. You serve the bookstore. Don’t expect the bookstore to serve you. If we grasp this new approach we not only serve the bookstore and their customers, we also serve our own needs.

You serve the bookstore.

Don’t expect the bookstore to serve you.

What else can an author do?

• Shop your local bookstores. Be a regular customer at your local book retailers. If you are a regular customer, a bookstore will be more inclined to carry your book on their shelves. 

• Be purposeful. Make yourself known first as a customer, then as an author.

• Be thankful. Lead by thanking the bookstore for making books discoverable. Encourage the staff by simply acknowledging that authors love and need them. Thank them for their commitment to putting books in the hands of readers. Insider tip—bookstore staff work in bookstores because they love books. They are readers too. 

• Be generous. Offer an autographed copy of your book as your gift to the store. Make it clear that this gift has no strings attached. They are welcome to put in the break room for all to read, use it as a giveaway, give it to a particular staff. It’s theirs to use as they see fit. 

• Be precise. Only offer a brief description of your book if you are asked. If they don’t ask, don’t tell. If they do ask keep your description to 60 seconds or less. Too many authors lose an opportunity by over-talking their book. Answer the questions being asked. 

• Be mindful. Customers are always a bookstore’s highest priority. 

• Show your bookstore love. Even if a store is not your local store, once you’ve made contact they will pay attention to what you do next, before leaving their store. On your way out consider making a purchase, no matter how small, to reinforce your commitment to supporting book retailers.

by Suzanne Kuhn