We are blessed with many choices of independent bookstores, each with its own personality. Here are seven less-tourist-clogged stores worth exploring and supporting.
bookselling
Marketing Hot-Topic Books
By Karissa Mathae
There are two main ways we catch readers’ attention and sell books: helping readers to personally connect with the content (using excerpts in marketing, writing shelf talkers, and making in-person recommendations) and using the book as a symbol to engage in a large discussion. Readers use the books they buy to make a stand and a statement. The books bought by a reader or acquired by a publishing house show interests and opinions. By associating with the brand or concept of a book, readers tell their communities how they identify or believe.
Books Outside Bookstores: Selling to Specialty Stores
By Jordana Beh
Earlier this year, a friend and I were feeling particularly flush and went into a boutique well out of our price range. Among the silk gowns and hand-stitched shoes and ornate jewelry was one book—a paperback of watercolor drawings of trees commonly found in Canada. The connection between this illustrated paperback and a seven-hundred-dollar dress […]
How Important Are Awards, Anyway?
By Roberta Kelley
Awards can be a great way to score some positive publicity for a book. If your marketing materials include awards, the book becomes not just a book, but a book with merit. This is not to say books without awards are meritless—there are just too many great books out there. Many factors dictate award eligibility, […]
Marketing to Libraries: Why It’s a Good Idea
By Roberta Kelley
Libraries seem to be one of the most underrated marketing opportunities that many publishers tend to pay less attention to than they should. Something about libraries gives the impression that marketing to libraries is more of a by-product of publishing books rather than a highly profitable use of marketing manpower. The reality is that libraries […]