Ask a bookseller: How can authors be great allies to indie bookstores?
Plus: What makes you return vs. discount a book?
Hello, friends! Welcome back to the monthly Get It Write column, Ask a Bookseller, in which folks from amazing indie bookstores across the nation answer authors’ burning questions. Y’know, stuff that’s obvious to booksellers but shrouded in mystery to us writers, a la…
What happens when a sales rep for a publisher pitches you their new catalog?
How do you gauge if an in-store event was a “success”?
What are bookseller conferences like?
Please give the bookshops helping us out lots of love (and traffic), and comment to share the questions you’d like answered. (And if you run an indie bookstore and would like to be featured, hit me up!)
Today’s bookseller is “rookie bookseller” L’Oreal Thompson Payton of Zora’s Place in Evanston, Illinois, whose Black, feminist bookstore just opened in late September—and whose answers bubble with passion, excitement, and book love. Please join me in congratulating L’Oreal!
Tell us about your bookstore!
Zora’s Place is a Black feminist bookstore and community gathering space in Evanston, Illinois. Named in honor of literary legend Zora Neale Hurston, Zora’s Place is a place where Black women and femmes can feel seen, held, and celebrated. From curated bookshelves filled with underrepresented voices to wellness programming and storytelling events, our mission is to amplify Black stories and nourish our collective imagination.
What’s the community of booksellers like? How did you find them and how do y’all help each other out?
The community has been great and SO supportive! One of the first people I reached out to when I was thinking about opening a bookstore was Katherine Morgan, owner of Grand Gestures, the first romance-only bookstore in Portland, Oregon. She’d taken a similar trajectory of starting with an online/Bookshop.org storefront; launching a crowdfunding campaign; and doing a couple of pop-ups before eventually opening her brick-and-mortar store. She gave me a lot of great advice and is still someone I’ll text from time to time with rookie bookseller questions.
Another bookseller friend is Courtney of Call & Response Books in Hyde Park, which is one of my favorite bookstores. She has been so instrumental in helping us get set up and allowed me to shadow her one day, which was so eye-opening.
Jordan and Tim, the husband-and-wife team behind Three Avenues Bookshop, have also been amazing (and generous in sharing info/answering my frantic rookie bookseller texts). And Eve L. Ewing at BUILD has been so supportive as well.
They’ve all been in my orbit someway or another over the years—whether that’s online and/or in person, so I’m really appreciative of their guidance and encouragement. And the love is mutual. I didn’t have an autographed copy of Austin Channing Brown’s latest book at the store, but I knew Call & Response did so I directed that customer to their website. Even though we’re both Black women-owned bookstores in the Chicagoland area, I don’t view them as competition. To me, we’re one big bookselling family. There’s more than enough room for all of us.
Even in the short time we’ve been open, I’ve gotten pitches about books by white authors and I’m like hi, did you even visit our website?
What makes you decide to return a book vs. sell it on clearance?
Well, I’ve only had to make a return once and it was because I’d ordered too many books for our first author talk (#RookieBooksellerProblems). Thankfully, the sales rep provided a sheet that I could use to get a full refund because it was for an event.
However, I’m planning to discount a few books that have been here since we opened and haven’t sold yet to make room for new releases since our square footage is so limited. Based on my understanding, discounting would still be more profitable than returning because you don’t get the full amount that you paid for the book.
How can authors build a relationship with a bookstore?
As an author and now as a bookseller, I feel like I can say this with certainty, but visit and patronize the store! If you don’t live in the area, be sure to follow them online, engage with their content. If you do live in the area, stop by from time to time, browse, and introduce yourself. But in either case don’t make any assumptions. There are a million reasons why your book may not be a fit for a particular store, so try not to take it personally if they ultimately end up saying no.
Also, do your research. Even in the short time we’ve been open, I’ve gotten pitches about books by white authors and I’m like hi, did you even visit our website? It reminds me of when I used to work at JET and would get pitches about white celebrities. Do your homework, people.
What can authors do to be great allies to indie bookstores?
Listen, as an author, I understand that a sale is a sale is a sale. And, if you can direct people toward your favorite indie’s website or their Bookshop.org page, that can make such a difference. Amazon doesn’t need another dollar. I feel like Jasmine Guillory does a great job of this…she partners with East Bay Booksellers, an indie bookseller in Oakland, for signed copies of her books. I’ve ordered from them at least twice because of this.
What are the best and worst parts of being an indie bookseller?
The best part has hands down been the reaction and support from the community. Every time someone comes into the space and comments on how cozy it feels and how good it smells, it makes me smile. Getting to know my neighbors better in this way has been such an honor.
The worst part? Probably the slow days. I know it’s par for the course, and I still freak out about how we’re going to keep the lights on. I’ve been a freelance writer in some kind of capacity since 2008 and I’ve been a full-time entrepreneur for the last two years, but owning and operating a brick-and-mortar is a different kind of beast. I’m literally learning something new about business every day!
Thank you so much, L’Oreal! Friends, be sure to give Zora’s Place some love, and let me know in the comments what else you’d like to learn from booksellers.
When two faves come together!!!