Big Bad Bookstore Q&A: Vroman’s (Pasadena, CA)
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
Vroman’s Bookstore, Southern California’s oldest and largest independent bookstore and Publishers Weekly Bookseller of the Year in 2008, is a literary institution. Vroman’s webmaster Patrick Brown answered the seven questions in our indie bookstore Q&A, touching on—among other things—how altering the returns system would effect Vroman’s buys and how they plan to get in the ebook game. (Image via.)
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What’s the hottest genre in your store right now? Any surprise best sellers?
Our best-selling sections are typically kids and young adult, as well as literary fiction and non-fiction. I think the biggest surprise best seller this year has been Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. When I first heard the idea, I thought it sounded fun, but I had no idea how big it would be. For a few weeks, it was almost impossible to keep it on the shelves.
What’s the most successful or creative store event you remember hosting? What do you look for in an author or book when setting up an event?
The most creative event that I’ve been a part of is our summer music and author series, where we pair an author with a local band. The author reads and then the band plays on our outdoor stage. It’s a great, low-key event. Perfect for a Saturday afternoon. I think the best one we did was a pairing of Paula Yoo and the Listing Ship. Paula plays violin, so not only did she read, but she also sat in for a few songs with the band. I’m also very excited for this Young Adult event we have coming up called LAYAPalooza. It’s a huge event, with about twenty YA authors. There’s going to be food and a sort of trivia game show for YA fans. It should be a lot of fun.
When I think about successful author events, they usually are something more than just a reading. That’s not to say that a straight-up reading can’t be a great time, but rather that the events that stand out in my memory are often more than that. In the end, if the author has a captivating personality, the event will work. If the author doesn’t enjoy giving readings or talks, or isn’t happy about something about the event, it’s likely the event will fail. Audiences will usually take their cue from the speakers. I also love events with multiple authors. As a bookseller, it’s a great way to sell more books. People show up to hear one author and frequently end up enjoying both or all of the authors. It introduces readers to new writers, which is why we’re in business.
Do you ever bring self-published books into your store? If so, how often and under what circumstances?
We do bring some self-published books into the store. Obviously these books are in the minority, but it does happen on a pretty regular basis. In terms of what we would carry, well, that depends on a lot of subjects. Books with local subject matter or books that are about Pasadena or Southern California will always get a long look from our buyers, as we’re committed to supporting our local literary community and our customers have tremendous pride in the region. We will seriously consider any book if it is well-written, well-designed, and we think it would interest our customers. (more…)
This is the first in a series of interviews the Big Bad Book Blog will conduct with independent booksellers across the country. For our inaugural post, we started with local hero BookPeople, the largest independent bookstore in the state. Marketing Director Alison Kothe Nihlean answered our questions.
One of the most common questions we hear from authors is “Why does Ingram return my books only to order more the next day?” And it’s true: Ingram, the biggest player in the book wholesaling game, will frequently send books back to a publisher’s doorstep only to turn around an place an order a few days later. Why on earth didn’t they just keep them?
In the book industry, “pristine” is the word wholesalers and retailers use to describe books that are in saleable condition. If a book isn’t pristine (which means “absolutely flawless” in this context), it’s sent straight back to the publisher. Its fate—pulping, free giveaway, remaindering, years of gathering dust in a warehouse—is determined from there.
With the bulk of publishing industry news of late centering around layoffs, declining retail sales, and holds on acquisitions, it’s easy to get pulled into the downward spiral of doom and gloom. While none of us want to see our colleagues out of work or industry decline, the bad news hardly comes as a surprise: inefficient and outdated practices have been pushing us in this direction for years. The current economic bust was (or will be) the last nail in the coffin for many publishing operations struggling to say afloat.
A new year always brings a fresh start. But for bookstores, it may also bring the need for fresh stock. Unfortunately, many authors and publishers see high quantities of returns after January 1 as holiday overstock is sent back, and we at Greenleaf, too, usually see increased returns as the year closes out and a new one begins. And in an economic climate such as the one we’ve entered 2009 with—well, buyers and inventory managers have an even keener eye on excess and inventory that’s not moving.
We’ve told you about sites devoted to tracking Amazon.com sales ranks before, but here’s a new one: 