This week, Sarah L. Johnson wrote a wonderful post filled with humor and invaluable information for Authors on how to approach Indie Booksellers. She shares insights she gained while working at an independent bookstore. This Guest Post is a must read for all Authors and Aspiring Authors.

 

About her: Sarah L. Johnson lives in Calgary with her family and two slightly bewildered cats. She runs marathons and writes fiction – literary, sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. Like many writers, Sarah is possessed of an obscene appetite for books. While her reading tastes are broad, she has a special love dungeon in her heart for Vladimir Nabokov.

 

Sarah is the author of Suicide Stitch: Eleven Tales (EMP Publishing) and her forthcoming novel Infractus (Driven Press). Her short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines including Room, Shock Totem, and the Bram Stoker nominated Dark Visions 1 (Grey Matter Press). She’s also the Events Manager at Owl’s Nest Books, Calgary’s oldest independent bookstore.

 

 

 

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10 Author Tips for Making Friends with Indie Booksellers

by Sarah L. Johnson

 

Like a lot of writers I am on the edge of being conventionally unemployable, which is why I work in a bookstore. It’s fast-paced and demanding, but at least I make a ton of money. Now, if I’ve made you laugh, I know you understand. If I’ve made you cry, you are one of my people and I’m going to draw a picture of us holding hands.

 

When I became a bookseller, the biggest revelation was how genuinely passionate indie bookstores are about supporting authors. We totally love you, man! We want you to succeed, so I’ve put together helpful list for authors looking to put their best foot forward in building relationships with booksellers.

 

# 1 – Do make first contact via email.

 

Don’t call, and for god’s sake don’t drop in unannounced. Yes, yes, I know it has that halcyon aura harkening back to ye olden times when people communicated like properly socialized primates. But for that initial introduction, please don’t. Just don’t. For the following reasons:

 

• • • • • We want to give you our full attention, but like you we’re busy folks. It’s difficult for us to drop everything and have the 15min conversation that goes along with an initial introduction and associated Q&A.

        • Working with so many authors, a written record helps us make sure things run smoothly and none of those devilish details get overlooked.

        • We’re as socially awkward as you are, and we want to make a good impression as much as you do. The thing is, while you’ve spent time preparing for this surprise attack encounter, we haven’t, so give us a little warning, yeah? Instead of traumatizing us both, use that email and set up an appointment.

 

#2 – Do keep your introductory EMAIL clear and concise.

 

By all means show us your cheeky sense of humour, and your affinity for the oxford comma, but keep it brief. Booksellers, like agents and publishers, are overburdened with reading. We appreciate communication that is direct. The crucial bits of info are as follows:

 

• • • • • Your name

        • Where you’re from (are you local or do you have strong ties to the city)

        • Title of your book, genre, and a 2-3 sentence synopsis

        • The purpose of your communication. Consignment? Events? We get a number of form emails saying “Dear [insert store name], my name is Writey McPencilface and I wrote a kickin’ rad novel titled Get the Lead Out” and that’s it. While his novel may well be kickin’ rad, I’m not sure what he wants beyond my felicitations.

 

#3 – Do be patient.

 

Response times vary, and if you’re a writer you’d better get used to waiting. I know it’s agony, but we promise we aren’t ignoring you. A week is a typical response window for the following reasons:

 

• • • • • The person you need to talk to won’t be in for a few days.

        • The person you need to talk to is working a string of events and hasn’t had time to compose a reply.

        • The person you need to talk to gets a lot of queries. Yours is in the queue and she’ll get to it in turn.

        • Gremlins ate your email, and the person you need to talk to.

        • The person you need to talk to is also a writer, therefore prone to occasional flakiness and forgetting, so…

 

#4 – Do follow up.

 

If a week has gone by and you’ve heard nothing, send a polite EMAIL query. Chances are you’ll get a response that day, with our abject apologies. Examples of impolite queries are as follows:

 

• • • • • HELLOOOOO?????

        • Your response is urgently required, otherwise I’ll be approaching your competition.

        • Dear [insert bookstore name], if you don’t want to talk to me fine, but you should know Get the Lead Out is the next Dan Brown and The Symbol of Doom. My mom says it’s great. I expect to sell a million copies worldwide in the first month.

 

#5 – Do ask questions.

 

Once we’ve responded, the channels of communication are open, and we’re happy to give answers. Here are a few good ones.

 

• • • • • What are the options for in-store events?

        • How do you handle consignment?

        • Is open flame allowed?*

        • Are you able to process pre-orders?

        • What about nudity?**

        • Can you order my books, or should I bring stock?

        • May I bring a live owl?***

 

#6 – Do provide the bookseller with any information or materials they request as promptly as possible.

 

Typical requests are as follows:

 

• • • • • Front cover image

        • Brief description (back cover copy)

        • Author bio

        • A print copy of your book for review. Not an ebook, not a link to your website, and not a sample chapter pasted into the body of your email. We’ll return your book, but we need to review the product that will be on our shelves.

 

#7 – Do plan well in advance.

 

The calendar fills up quickly, and it sucks to tell an excited author with a September release that we can’t host them until December. Once you know your approximate release date, send that EMAIL.

 

#8 – Do accept our policies, procedures, and decisions with grace.

 

We have our reasons and it’s not personal. Unless you argue. Nothing will get you a faster swipe left than arguing. Don’t be that author.

 

#9 – Do invite everyone you’ve ever met to your event.

 

Friends, family, co-workers, vague acquaintances, fellow writers, ex-lovers, and ancient enemies. We will promote your event, but it is unlikely that anyone not connected to you will attend, so make a Facebook event, send out emails, bury some hatchets, and put some butts in those seats.

 

#10 – Do remember that we’re on the same side.

 

The book business is tough. We’re all broke as shit, we’re all hustling, and we’re all questioning our life choices. But we’re in it together, a shambling herd of craftsmen. We’ve chosen to take a seat at this table because we believe in the power of stories, art, and imagination. We know what we’re doing matters.

 

*No, a bookstore is basically a giant tinderbox

**Negotiable. There is precedent for pantlessness.

***Sure, if it comes with two Ativan, one for it, and one for me.

 

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Connect with Sarah L. Johnson:

 

Her book, Suicide Stitch, is available on Amazon (Kindle and Paperback format).

https://www.amazon.com/Suicide-Stitch-Sarah-L-Johnson/dp/0692661328

 

She is also on Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/leadlinedalias

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarah.johnson.56232

 

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