Ode to Booksellers

If it weren’t for booksellers, we wouldn’t have careers.  It’s really and truly that simple.  So how is it that booksellers are so often underappreciated?  You special order items, put the right books in the right hands, bend over backwards to coordinate and promote author signings… and don’t get nearly the thanks you deserve.

Good thing we can change that.  Are you ready for some cheer?

Dozens of participating Great Scavenger Hunt Contest authors have shared their favorite bookseller stories and shout-outs about how much booksellers have meant to their careers.  I’m delighted to share them with you here in Spread Some Cheer.  Put on your halos, booksellers, it’s your time to shine!

Booksellers are the champions of the book world. I don’t know how many times I’ve walked into a bookstore with only a memory of a cover I’ve seen, and the bookseller was able to hand me the exact title. Astounding. I can’t even remember where I parked my car in the bookstore parking lot, and they’re plucking books off the shelf like magic.

As a debut author, it’s such a thrill to meet booksellers who are passionate about YA and enthusiastic about helping new authors get comfortable as they make the leap from reader to author. Booksellers like the fabulous Linda Keller and Denise Ruddle, CRMs at Barnes & Noble in West Chester, OH, and Louisville, KY, respectively, and the charming ladies at Three Sisters Books & Gifts in Shelbyville, IN, make being an author fun. Thanks for everything you do for authors!

~ Kay Cassidy (www.kaycassidy.com - a.k.a. right here)

Until I faced the release of my first novel, I didn’t realize just how much of an impact a single bookstore or bookseller can have. I’ve learned that independent booksellers (like my favorite Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, TX) strive to make the connection between book and reader a personal one. They don’t care which book got the biggest marketing budget or which author got the biggest advance. They care about the book and how it will touch their readers. And that is something remarkable and irreplaceable.

~ Tera Lynn Childs (www.teralynnchilds.com)

Booksellers = joy! I love to walk into a bookstore and meekly ask a bookseller if s/he would like me to sign my books. Then I love when the bookseller lights up and tells me about all my fellow authors who have visited the store. The discussions that follow from booksellers who have read and sold and recommended my books are some of my favorite conversations I’ve ever had!

~ Julia DeVillers (www.girlwise.com)

I love small bookstores. I usually find sellers who are writers’ soul mates–dedicated readers who found a labor of love. I only wish I had more time to spend there.

~ Audrey Couloumbis (www.AudreyCouloumbis.com)

One of my favorite jobs was in a children’s book store. I was the book buyer. It was like Christmas year round, getting to order books.

I am forever indebted to all those folks who are determined to put good books into the hands of parents and kids.

~ Kathi Appelt (www.kathiappelt.com)

Whenever I go into a bookstore, I like to introduce myself and get to know the people working there. One of my favorites is Wisebird Bookery in Ogden, Utah. The Purple Cow Bookstore in Tooele, Utah is another fun independent bookstore that goes over-and-beyond for its customers. When my first book came out, the Tattered Cover in Colorado gave me a warm welcome and a collectible, engraved bookmark. Chain bookstores like Waldenbooks, Borders, Hastings, and Barnes and Noble are wonderful places to hang out and buy books.

~ Wendy Toliver (www.wendytoliver.com)

The thing I love the best about booksellers is how smart they are. And I mean really smart. Not only are they widely read but man, once they start talking books it’s like stepping into some crazy alternative world. Two of the smartest booksellers I know are Barbara Clendon from Barbara’s Books in Auckland and Rosemary from Rosemary’s Books in Brisbane. May you all have the chance to talk books with them!

~ Amanda Ashby (www.amandaashby.com)

My clearest early memory of a bookseller involved a “failed” sale to my mother. Oh, how I wanted Where the Wild Things Are, but my mama didn’t find it suitable for a little girl she hoped would grow into an old-school image of a lady. But the bookseller tried her best, explained that it was considered a good book and that it wouldn’t hurt me. My mama still refused, but I found the book on my own later at my school library. I had been sold on the book, and my imagination had been validated by Max’s story.

~ Cynthia Leitich Smith (www.cynthialeitichsmith.com)

What’s not to love about a tribe of people who push books for a living?! Booksellers are such an integral part of the process, manning the front lines, making sure all those good books get into the right hands! A big, huge, glitter strewn, Thank You to booksellers everywhere for all that they do!!

~ Alyson Noël (www.alysonnoel.com)

I would like to recognize Faith Hochhalter, who worked at Changing Hands in Tempe, Arizona, until recently. She became a fan of Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress, giving it wonderful in-store and on-line press, and got it into the hands of bestselling author, Stephenie Meyer, who also really enjoyed it. Faith and Stephenie put together a list of recommended books for Stephenie’s fans, which was handed out at her mega-launch of the third book of the Twilight series, and it included my book. She went on to feature an in-store display of these books. I will be forever indebted to Faith for how she has supported, honored and helped me.

~ Tina Ferraro (www.tinaferraro.com)

Here in the Northwest, booksellers really know how to party! I tip my hat to Mary Harris and Rebecca Willow who know how to turn their bookstore, Parkplace Books in Kirkland, WA, into a writer’s wonderland. Each party is themed around the new book so party goers donated to Hopelink to help the homeless in celebration of THE DOUBLE LIFE OF ZOE FLYNN, entered the wildwoods of NOOR to celebrate THE BEAST OF NOOR, and partied with a dancing dragon for DRAGON’S KEEP. Mary, Rebecca, and staff moved shelves aside so we could all party, mingle and dance. They served wine, punch, and put out tables, which we duly loaded down with goodies. I’ve gone to many other book parties at their store, and they’re always a treat. Love ya Mary and Rebecca at Parkplace Books! Pop over to this site to see the Party Pics!

~ Janet Lee Carey (www.janetleecarey.com)

The first time I had a book signing, I was scared to death. What should I take? What should I wear? And most importantly … What if nobody showed up?

I took the wrong stuff, wore the wrong thing, and only three people showed up to buy the book. And you know what? The bookstore people were the kindest people I’d ever seen — not only taking care of me, but actively interested in the book and what I was doing. After that signing, they hand-sold the book. At the next signing, there were twice as many people. And then twice as many. And it wasn’t me … it was the booksellers connecting with my work and becoming advocates. Booksellers are amazing folks, and they’re passionate about what they do. I am enduringly grateful to every single bookstore employee out there who faces out the books, puts them in Staff Picks, blogs about them, and hand-sells them to people at the counter. Writers can’t do any of that. Without those advocates, we’d all be sitting at that lonely table, waiting for someone to ask us directions to the bathroom.

~ Rachel Caine (www.rachelcaine.com)

A limerick for booksellers

There once was a bookseller with passion
Who liked books in exemplary fashion
She inspired great readers
Who became writers and leaders
Learned in both love and compassion

~ Sarah MacLean (www.macleanspace.com)

I love booksellers and want to publicly shout it from the rooftops. They are so passionate about books and go all out to help and inform.

~ Sara Hantz (www.sarahantz.com)

As someone who has spent countless hours and dollars in bookstores across America, the thing I love most, aside from the fact that independent booksellers continue to exist and persist, are staff recommendations. I’ve read and enjoyed so many authors I’d never have discovered were it not for the little staff review, handwritten on an index card, hanging from the shelf, inviting me to give that book a try.

~ Sally Nemeth (www.sallynemeth.com)

It’s the independent children’s book stores that I love . . . with their staffs who know and love books. The folks at The Red Balloon in St. Paul, Minnesota, are among my very favorites. When someone in the Twin Cities asks me, “Where can I get your books?” I always answer the same way. “Well, you can order it on-line or you can walk into any book store and order it there or you can go to The Red Balloon and they’ll probably have it on the shelf.”

~ Marion Dane Bauer (www.mariondanebauer.com)

There is a special bookseller located in central California. I see him at writer’s conferences and events. He brings along his most favorite releases of each season, and tells me in quite a lot of detail why the books he has chosen to bring are wonderful. He holds them in his hands, tells me just enough to make me buy it, then smiles like he knows about the lovely time I’ll have reading it. I am certain that if the authors of all those books he has given out, not only to me but to many others, knew he’d done this, they wouldn’t be able to thank him enough.

~ Kathryn Fitzmaurice (www.kathrynfitzmaurice.com)

I’ve worked with a great number of booksellers and I appreciate their passion and dedication to writers and readers. Thank you for bringing us together!

~ Terri Clark (www.terriclarkbooks.com)

There are so many booksellers that welcomed me into their stores when I was brand-new. They embraced my first book and rejoiced for me when good things happened because of it.

~ Kimberly Willis Holt (www.kimberlywillisholt.com)

For many years Jody Fickes Shapiro owned the best children’s book store anywhere, Adventures For Kids in Ventura, California. She promoted all my books, had a great booksigning for me and knew every book ever written for children. An amazing woman and an amazing bookstore.

~ Valerie Hobbs (www.valeriehobbs.com)

I can’t live without books. Can’t. I need them as much as I need food, water and a mortgage. The only thing I couldn’t give up besides my family and my dogs are my books. If I’m ever broke, it will be okay because I could construct a good size igloo from the books I have in my house. Paper makes very good insulation.

Most of the books I own were brought to my attention by fabulous booksellers. From Books & Company in Dayton, Ohio, to McLean & Eakin in Petosky, Michigan, to the Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont, PA. They all made suggestions on books and authors that are now my favorites. I’m a little poorer in wallet but richer in spirit because of some great booksellers out there. I love them.

~ Michael Spradlin (www.michaelspradlin.com)

I love that you love books. That you are so quick to recommend a new author. And have favorites that you love to talk about.

~ Jenny O’Connell (www.jennyoconnell.com)

When I started thinking about taking a shot at becoming a novelist, I wandered into Hodge-Podge Books in Albany, NY. I gathered my courage and told the bookseller I was interested in writing for children. His first question to me was, “Who are your favorite children’s authors?” The conversation went from there and I left the store that day with an armload of books. Every time I went back, this bookseller recommended more. I read each one and with each one I grew. I grew more than I ever could have on my own. Without that guidance, I would not be the writer I am today. So, when it came time to write the dedication for my second novel, Bug Boy, I immediately thought of Frank Hodge from Hodge-Podge Books. Thank you, Frank!

~ Eric Luper (www.ericluper.com)

There are many booksellers who have been generous in their support of my books, but I think I owe great thanks to Mary Wolfe of The Village Bookshop in Bayfield, Ontario. Booksellers like Mary, who genuinely love people and books, are invaluable to authors. Booksellers make an author’s job worthwhile!

~ Tish Cohen (www.tishcohen.com)

Independent booksellers are the reason I have a career as a writer. I only set up my booksignings at independent booksellers, and I set up the signings as writing workshops for children. Indie booksellers “hand-sell” my book, and they take the time to get to know me and my stories and get the books into the hands of young readers. I will be forever grateful to the many independent booksellers I have met over the last several years. They are the heart of a community which goes so much deeper than a chain bookstore warehouse. With the glut of booksellers and bestsellers saturating the market, independent booksellers truly have helped me carve out a career as a children’s author.

~ Kerry Madden (www.kerrymadden.com)

One of the things I loved best when my first book came out was going around and meeting booksellers both in my area and other parts of the country. If it weren’t for the passion of booksellers there would never be successful authors! Thanks for all you do for us, booksellers!

~ Stephanie Kuehnert (www.stephaniekuehnert.com)

I LOVE booksellers! The first time I saw my book in a store was at the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT. I was with my writing partner and we were both gushing away when the bookseller came over to find out what was going on. Then she started gushing, too! She showed us all the YA books she’d read recently and talked them up in the most passionate way. If only ALL shopping could be that much fun.

~ Jo Knowles (www.joknowles.com)

Thank you, booksellers! You have my love, my admiration, and a lot of my money. That is how things should be!

~ Jennifer Ziegler (www.jenniferziegler.net)

It’s not very often you can point to specific people who are almost entirely responsible for your success, but I can. There are too many to mention by name, but they’re almost all booksellers. From the bottom of my heart, thanks.

~ Brent Hartinger (www.brenthartinger.com)

Booksellers who love their jobs, who hand sell their books and infect those around them with their contagious enthusiasm are priceless. Places like Powell’s Books, where the employees post their recommendations with passion, influence the choices of their readers and make sure that those books worthy of attention come to the fore.

~ Lucienne Diver (www.luciennediver.com)

I drive up to an hour and a half to get to my local independent booksellers. I do that because I like to support independent businesses. I also do that because unlike many larger stores, independents are allowed to feature books even if the publisher isn’t paying them to. A lot of readers don’t know that space on shelves and tables in chain stores is bought space, and so their most convenient selection is dictated by how much money the publisher puts behind a book. Because many of the books I love are not from huge publishers with huge budgets, I like to know someone is looking after them – and that’s our independent bookstores. My favorites are my four locals: Clinton Book Shop, Moravian Book Shop, Aaron’s Books, and the Chester County Book Company.

~ A.S. King (www.thedustof100dogs.com)

Booksellers are almost as fabulous as librarians. They, too, can give you treasures—stories—which take you to other worlds. We didn’t go to bookstores often when I was a child, as we couldn’t afford to buy books. But when we did it was a great treat. I always wished I had a million dollars so I could buy all the books I wanted.

~ Dia Calhoun (www.diacalhoun.com)

Booksellers! Where would any of us–not just writers, but readers too, be without you? You help us find books when we come in and can only remember the title. Or part of the title. Or the author’s last name. Or what the cover looks like. Please know that everything you do–from the long hours, the task of putting books out (and straightening them up!), to how you talk up titles and make sure that someone who needs to find the “right book” does find it–is appreciated!

~ Elizabeth Scott (www.elizabethwrites.com)

I so miss Jeremy’s Bookshelf in Clear Lake, Texas, since it closed its doors. I brought my children there many, many times to meet authors and dreamed of one day signing my own novels there. It was a wonderful shop, owned and run by people who truly loved books.

~ Jenny Moss (www.jenny-moss.com)

Nothing can sell books better than a bookseller who loves your book. So I want to say thank you to all the brilliant booksellers who have loved mine. Nothing quite warms your soul more than walking into a store and seeing your book face out!

~ Janette Rallison (www.JanetteRallison.com)

I love booksellers! I worked in a bookstore while I was in graduate school, and so from firsthand experience I can relate to the patience, passion, and love of a good story that they all share. Plus, matching the right book for the right person is the best feeling ever. As an author, I’m grateful for every time a bookseller champions my book to a new reader, because I know the thought that goes into that choice. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

~ Erin Dionne (www.erindionne.com)

Where would an author be without booksellers? There’s a great independent bookstore a few towns over from me—Martha Merrell’s Books, in Waukesha, Wisconsin. They’ve been terrific about having local authors at events. Another wonderful bookstore, in Madison, Wisconsin, is A Room of One’s Own.

~ Deborah Lynn Jacobs (www.deborahlynnjacobs.com)

Thank you to the booksellers who take the time to read the books they stock & write up personal recommendations. You’ve helped me discover so many good reads. And thank you to those bookstores that stock real live cats—a feline always enhances the book-buying experience!

~ Sydney Salter (www.sydneysalter.com)

Thank you to the booksellers who taught me so much about holding successful signings. Your suggestions have been invaluable, and your time greatly appreciated. Thank you to the booksellers who invited school groups to my signings. I’ve met many delightful readers in your cozy corners and open spaces. Thank you to the booksellers who have invited me to attend literary festivals with other authors. Such events allow me to meet a greater cross section of readers than I could otherwise. Thank you to the booksellers who display my books on your shelves. Without you, I wouldn’t have as many fans to call my own.

~ E.D. Baker (www.talesofedbaker.com)

Booksellers are the unsung heroes of the grassroots movements in publishing. Their tireless hand-selling can make a best-seller out of a debut title. I can’t emphasize enough my gratitude and admiration for booksellers. They bravely face harsh economics in order to bring books and readers together again and again. One book and one reader at a time.

~ Kristin Walker (www.kristin-walker.com)

Book Passage is an amazing independent bookstore in Corte Madera, California. Ever since I moved to Marin seven years ago, I’ve been taking writing classes, attending conferences, and author events there. They provide such an amazing array of offerings. Their booksellers are knowledgeable and always willing to help. Imagine my delight to finally be on the other side, having BREATHING’s book launch hosted by this wonderful store and now teaching writing classes to teens there! Thank you Book Passage for all that you have given me! I would especially like to point out Janel Feierabend, whose enthusiasm for books and willingness to help always shines through. You’ll find her with a smile on her face and an eagerness to share her love of literature!

~ Cheryl Renée Herbsman (www.cherylreneeherbsman.com)

Of course, anyone who helps kids find their way to the right books deserves huge thanks from all of us, but I’m most especially grateful to the entire staff of Little Shop of Stories (really, everyone there!) in Atlanta, and also to Sherri Smith, at Park Road Books, in Charlotte. They’ve been particularly supportive of me. They’ve helped me figure out important lessons of becoming an author. And they’ve shown me how much a good bookstore can be a cultural and educational center. Not to mention—they’ve sold me some amazing books!

~ Laurel Snyder (www.laurelsnyder.com)

I just want to send a huge message of thanks to all the independent booksellers out there—the ones whose passion for literature is evident in every random display and obscure title on the shelves, in the way they talk about the author or book that forever changed their lives, the latest masterpiece they’ve discovered or the most recent reading they’ve hosted. I’d also like to express my sadness over the loss of one independent bookseller in particular: Glenn Goldman, owner of Book Soup on the Sunset Strip, whose life was cut short by pancreatic cancer in January ’09. Here’s hoping the store continues to survive and thrive…and keep his memory alive (uhhh, I didn’t mean to freestyle there…it just kind of happened! .

~ Alexa Young (www.alexayoung.com)

The bookseller is the author’s best friend. Booksellers support intellectual freedom. They host our book signings, promote our work, support local writing organizations, and offer a wide variety of titles to the public. I don’t have space here to thank all the booksellers who have helped me, promoted my books, and become my dear friends. Among the many are Rebecca and Fran and Soudabeh and everyone at Bethel Avenue Book Company; Rose Marie and Lois Dyer, formerly of Paperbacks Plus; Kari Yadro and Jennifer Ulrich and Brenda Gurung and Ruthanne Devlin and all the hardworking CRMs at Barnes & Noble; Lyn Playle of the Dauntless Bookstore; Mary Gleysteen and all the wonderful people at Eagle Harbor Book Company; and on and on!

~ Anjali Banerjee (www.anjalibanerjee.com)

I appreciate all the work that our local bookseller did for the launch of my first novel. She even hired a band and got a cake. I’ve been spoiled ever since.

~ Arthur Slade (www.arthurslade.com)

I was an independent bookseller and buyer for the better part of 11 years at the late great Klein’s of Westport, so I well know just how critical bookseller enthusiasm is in the success of a book. I can only hope that someday a bookseller is as fanatical about selling my books as I was about selling so many others. Really, there’s nothing more exciting for a book-lover than putting a book in someone else’s hands that you are absolutely sure they will love.

~ Lauren Baratz-Logsted (www.laurenbaratzlogsted.com)

I’d like to give a big thank you to booksellers who organize book-signing sessions for children’s authors. It gives us a great chance to read extracts from our books, meet our readers, and reply to all the questions that only the writer can answer.

~ Elizabeth Kay (www.elizabethkay.co.uk)

Booksellers ARE booklovers. Because of this, they understand how important it is to carry books of every description. In bookstores, the ambiance alone brings great happiness, and the products. . .well, the products are doorways to everywhere.

~ Victoria Hanley (www.victoriahanley.com)

Whitney Spotts at Schuler Books in Lansing, Michigan, was an absolutely fabulous host for my first-ever booksigning and school visit. I was nervous and didn’t know what to expect, but she handled all the details, and my freakouts, with humor and grace. She is doing lots of exciting new things at Schuler, and really reaching out to young audiences in cool ways. I feel lucky to have worked with her, and would visit again in a heartbeat!

~ Josie Bloss (www.josiebloss.com)

Booksellers can often take a specific crisis—“Help! I need a funny book to get my reluctant boy to read!”—and find a perfect solution in seconds. If they don’t have a book on the shelf, they’ll track it down. Hurray for booksellers!

~ Mary Amato (www.maryamato.com)

We are so fortunate to have several excellent booksellers in our area (some specialize in children and young adult books), and it’s always a treat to enter their stores. These booksellers are walking databases. They know who has written what, what is super, what is back in print and should be enjoyed again. They encourage browsing, reading, chatting. What a wonderful way to spend a few hours before returning to my blank page, which often fills up rather quickly after my outing.

~ C. Lee McKenzie (www.cleemckenziebooks.com)

The booksellers in my local store, Bank Street Bookstore, are truly amazing. They adore books and seem to have read every picture book, teen book and middle grade book out there. Whenever I go in asking for a book about dragons for my son or if they have any teen books about cooking, my arms are soon piled with books to look through. They also love chatting about books, why they loved Twilight or how awesome the latest Rick Riordan book is. It’s honestly one of my favorite hang outs in town!

~ Daphne Grab (www.daphnegrab.com)

Books are my addiction. I’m not sure whether that makes booksellers more like doctors or drug dealers…I do know that there is an invisible magnetic field that surrounds all bookstores and drags me in against my will. I wander around in a dazed stupor, and come out hours later with a full bag and an empty wallet. And oddly enough, I’m not remotely interested in being cured…

~ M.P. Barker (www.mpbarker.net)

Robbie Bryan is the Community Relations Manager at the Barnes & Noble near my home in Cool Springs, TN. Robbie is a champion of writers, both pre-published and those who have books on his shelves. He organizes monthly get-togethers for writers to share their work and learn more about the publishing industry. And ever since my middle grade novel Autumn Winifred Oliver Does Things Different was released, Robbie has organized school visits, book signings, and other types of gatherings to help me promote it. Robbie is a superstar! Thank you for all your hard work, Robbie!

~ Kristin O’Donnell Tubb (www.kristintubb.com)

Jerry and Jean Brace at Brace Books in Ponca City, Oklahoma, are the kind of booksellers an author dreams of meeting. Jerry works together with the schools in and around the city setting up author visits. He talks with the newspaper and gets an article in there about the visiting author. He even takes you out to lunch at the most amazing barbeque joint in the state. I look forward to going to Ponca City just to meet up with Jerry and a sloppy Joe sandwich. Thanks for all of your support!

~ Stacy A. Nyikos (www.stacyanyikos.com)