I recently had the privilege of being the guest of honor at a book signing. There was a very small turnout, in a small store in a small town. Needless to say, I sold a small amount of books. Certainly not enough to pay for my gas there and back.
BUT I met a wonderful bookseller who will now hand sell my books. Murrie is keeping them right on the front counter. He wants to try another signing on a Saturday when he has lots of foot traffic. He's ordering copies of my second book. And his store, PAGE AFTER PAGE, is a comfortable, lovely place full of character and history.
With the small number of customers, Murrie and I had a chance to talk about the business. Not just the writing and selling of my book, but the fate of independent book shops like his. There are no B&N or Borders within an hour or so of him, but there is a college bookstore. And that store is thinking of leaving campus and moving in a block from him. They're going to form a partnership with B&N and build a three story combination coffee shop and bookstore. If the town council passes this, Murrie will go out of business as will the little cafes that share the mainstreet with him. And why do we care?
Independent bookstores like Murrie's are the doorway to the public for authors like me. He's willing to deal with my small publisher. He's willing to do loads of advertising for a relatively unknown like me. He knows the names of his customers and what they like to read.
We all need to support guys like Murrie. He can't compete with the big guys. And those big guys aren't always so ready to support us. Stop into your local indie bookseller. Stop and see your hometown version of Murrie. Get to know him or her and they'll never forget you.
Murrie's website:
http://pageafterpagebookshop.com
