Posts Tagged Book Lady
Terrified to go to #SIBA10?
Posted by Wanda in Uncategorized on October 27, 2010
Submitted by
Michelle Cavalier, Owner, Cavalier House Books
michelle@cavalierhousebooks.com
http://www.cavalierhousebooks.com
I was terrified to go to the SIBA trade show! I opened my store in September of ’09, and it still doesn’t feel real, so I knew people were going to call me out on it. I thought that people would tell me I wasn’t a real bookseller and that I didn’t belong. Basically, that they would find me out and know my secret. I’m not a bookseller! I’m just a book lover. I don’t know anything about running a business.
And then I got there and I saw it. You are all just like me. Everyone in this business is in it because they love books. Yeah, they may be older and wiser than me and they may have some clue as to what it means to own or run a small business, but really I had nothing to hide or be ashamed of.
The day of education served to solidify this new belief. SIBA is, as the acronym allows, an alliance. The trade show was about being a book lover and learning to be a better bookseller. There were people here to help me learn the business and promotional stuff! I wanted to divide myself into several ‘mini-me’s in order to attend all of the available classes and panels, but alas there is only one of me. However, those I was able to attend were great.
First was “Get in Bed with a Book Blogger” with the bloggers from Beatrice.com (Ron Hogan) and The Book Lady’s Blog (Rebecca Joines Schinsky) as well as Kelly Justice, owner of Fountain Bookstore and SIBA president. I was so looking forward to this because I am ready to jump in bed with a blogger of my own. What should I expect of her? She of me? They answered it all and I am ready to implement their suggestions in my store and online. Then there was what I called the Malaprops’ Twitter Class. I asked several questions, but they were patient with me. I had no idea how Twitter worked really or the etiquette of it. Thanks to the Malaprops’ ladies I have been significantly more active on Twitter, but I still have a lot to learn (and a lot of first day of school awkwardness to get over).
I also attended two author panels (“True Southern: Books Steeped in the South” and “Cooking Up a Storm: Sharing recipes with readers”) as well as all of the author meals (wherein we did not eat authors, but listened to them speak). From the very first breakfast my TBR pile started growing and by Sunday evening it was taller than I am. How could I ever have been intimidated by these authors? They were all so eager to talk about their work and mine. Everyone was so approachable, and I realized – these are my people! Then the exhibits opened and I saw so many people geeking out over new books. It was so exciting and refreshing to see so many people as excited as I was about exactly the same things. Our collected passion: books!
The final coup came on Sunday morning at the “Good Ideas Breakfast.” I shared my idea of partnering with a local travel agent for literary tours, and they liked it. Everyone was so supportive. They liked my idea and counted me as one of their own. As it turns out, all of my insecurities were unfounded. I am not only a booklover, but a bookseller and business owner. So, thanks to you, my fellow SIBA members, for reminding me why I’m doing this in the first place. See you again next year.
A Filly Ate? Affiliate? Affiliation?
Posted by Wanda in Get in Bed Project, GiB Book Bloggers, GiB Booksellers on July 26, 2010
Get in Bed # 4 af·fil·i·ate/v. əˈfɪliˌeɪt; n. əˈfɪliɪt, -ˌeɪt/
A filly ate? Whaa?!
–verb (used with object)
1. to bring into close association or connection: The Book Lady’s Blog is affiliated with the Fountain Bookstore.
2. to attach or unite on terms of fellowship; associate (usually fol. by with in U.S. usage, by to in Brit. usage): to affiliate with an indie bookstore.
3. to trace the descent, derivation, or origin of: to affiliate a book.
4. to adopt. As in Get in Bed with…
5. Law . to fix the paternity of, as an illegitimate child: The mother affiliated her child upon John Doe. As in get in bed with…
–verb (used without object)
6. to associate oneself; be intimately united in action or interest. As in both book bloggers and booksellers have an affiliation for books and the right to read.
–noun
7. a branch organization. As in SIBA is an affiliate to bloggers and booksellers via its Get in Bed Blog Project.
8. Commerce . Book Bloggers can affiliate with Indie Bookstores and share in the profits of books sold via their blog. Indie Bookstores can affiliate with any commerce concern that seeks to sell books online by sharing in the profits of books sold via the commerce concern. As to commerce, affiliate and reseller and often interchanged.
a. a business concern owned or controlled in whole or in part by another concern. As in the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance is affiliated with its bookseller members.
b. a subsidiary. The Get in Bed Blog Project is an affiliate of Get in Bed with a Book Blogger.
9. a person who is affiliated; associate; auxiliary. SIBA’s core bookstore members are affiliated with SIBA.
Use affiliate in a Sentence: “I look forward to the day where all of SIBA’s Indie Bookstores are selling books and ebooks online via their own websites and via affiliates of the communities they already support like book bloggers, authors, local schools, churches, libraries, other retailers, and more than I can imagine.”
FOR WEEK FOUR:
For Bloggers:
1. Check out some affiliate options by clicking on affiliate & affiliation throughout the above dictionary entry. Consider applying to be an affiliate of an indie bookstore.
For Booksellers:
1. See if your online shopping cart option offers an affiliate program.That’s it. Stop. More next week unless you’d like to do this *****BONUS ACTIVITY*****
Booksellers & BookBloggers, Spirited & Passionate
Posted by Wanda in Get in Bed Project, GiB Booksellers on June 16, 2010
Get in Bed With a Book Blogger #1
Booksellers are first entrepreneurs. They are spirited and passionate for books and their businesses in a way that many cannot imagine. These are people who want to build a business that serves their community, protects the First Amendment, and provides a cross-section of choices for consumers. And they want to be able to make a living, support their families, and provide for their employees. This is no small feat any time.
And especially now, booksellers are trying to do everything they have always done, and add a whole slew of new things to their day. Blog, Tweet, Post, Website, E-Commerce, Events, Newsletters, on, and on, and on and on. So SIBA wants to help you break it down. Let’s just do one thing a week. This week, I want you to learn about blogging, what it is, what it can do, and how you might not need to do it at all. You might only need to find someone who is already book blogging who can see that your established name in the industry, bevy of contacts, extensive expertise, and unparalleled passion is all they need from you to support you and your store’s efforts.
Take a stroll around The Book Lady’s Blog: Literary Adventures of a Panty-Throwing, Book-Loving Wild Woman. This is the blogger that has partnered with The Fountain Bookstore. Everybody wins. Fountain Bookstore promotes The Book Lady’s Blog at the store website. Kelly shares ARCs & Galleys with Rebecca. Rebecca has introduced some of her favorite authors at Fountain Bookstore’s events, and Kelly and Rebecca went to BEA together where Rebecca garnered favor with Kelly’s contacts, and vice versa. Kelly has enjoyed sales via Rebecca’s blog, Rebecca has garnered advertising for her blog, and both have gained some recognition in the industry as players.
FOR WEEK ONE:
1. Watch this video, Blogs in Plain English (this will help you understand just how blogs came to be and their value)
2. Read a book blog or two (http://bookbloggerappreciationweek.com/index.php/awards/2009) , if you don’t already (learn who these fine folks are and that they love books just as much as you do)That’s it. Stop. Go shelve or something. More next week.
Get In Bed With A Book Blogger!
Posted by Wanda in Good Gifts & Ideas on May 21, 2010
SIBA wants its booksellers to Get In Bed With A Book Blogger!
Some people are just made for each other. You have the space, the resources, the access to authors, the access to books. She (or he) has the audience, the reputation, the reach, the Internet savvy and the voice. It’s a marriage made in heaven. Or at least, a really fun fling.
SIBA is encouraging its booksellers to seek out partnerships with book bloggers to enhance their presence on the Web and extend their online visibility, not to mention help turn the Internet from something that’s “work” to something that’s fun. This is what Kelly Justice of Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA and Rebecca Joines Schinsky of The Book Lady’s Blog (thebookladysblog.com, @bookladysblog on Twitter) have done, and from the looks of the pictures, maybe they are having a little too much fun!
“Kelly and I have created a partnership that works so well for us we want to share it with the whole book world in hopes that other independent bookstores and book bloggers will try it!” said Joines Schinksy, commenting on the mutual benefits of their relationship, “As the owner of an indie bookstore, Kelly is focused on connecting to the local and national book community, bringing in fabulous authors, and maximizing opportunities to grow her store. As a blogger, I’m all about writing content, getting the word out, and sharing news with my readers, who hail from all over the planet.”
Justice notes that the partnership is flexible in its terms. She allows Joines Schinsky to pick and choose from among the many author events hosted by the bookstore. In return for a chance to interview the authors (and a review copy of the book) The Book Lady’s Blog reviews and promotes the book and event via the blog and on twitter. Justice and Joines Schinsky also work together to promote books that the two avid readers are especially excited about, and have recently begun a book club on Twitter to discuss “under the radar” books they feel worthy of notice.
It helps that bookseller and book blogger are so simpatico. “Kelly and I know that together, we can reach more readers, promote more authors, and help more publishers than we can individually,” says Joines Schinsky, “We’re looking into some cookbook promotions as well where we make recipes, taste and share the results online.”
According to Justice, the key to the success of the partnership is that it has evolved naturally, without hard and fast rules, and that both partners have a good understanding of each other’s mission. Both see themselves as “literary ambassadors” for the Richmond, VA area—dedicated to exposing their city to great writers and great books. “We’re lucky in that we just “get” each other,” says Joines Schnisky, “Fountain Bookstore is about fun, escape, and celebrating books and the people who love them, write them and publish them. The Book Lady’s Blog is about these same things.”
The informal partnership has been good for everyone: The Book Lady’s Blog gets access to more books and authors, and can take advantage of Fountain Bookstore’s industry connections with publishers, publicists, and book media. Fountain Bookstore gets near-constant publicity from The Book Lady’s Blog, free content that is well-written and matched to the store strengths, referred traffic to its Web site and social media accounts, extra promotion for its events and an enhanced standing with publishers—who appreciate the fact that authors sent to the store will receive extra coverage. Fountain’s customers get to find out much more about books and authors than they’d normally hear from standard publicity. And Kelly and Rebecca get to run around town doing photo shoots. It’s a win-win-win.
The success of the partnership between Fountain Bookstore and The Book Lady’s Blog has prompted SIBA to encourage other bookstores to use it as a model to develop their own relationships with book bloggers. In order to help its members find bloggers in their area, SIBA is developing a directory of Southern Book Bloggers that it will help to “match” with area indie bookshops. Booksellers and Book bloggers who are interested in being a part of the project should contact SIBA Executive Director Wanda Jewell at wanda@sibaweb.com.
*photo was taken by P.J. Sykes www.intheblackandwhite.com @PJSykes on Twitter
*bed was located in La Difference in Richmond http://www.ladiff.com/ @LaDIFF on Twitter
*Hair by Jamie Lewis
(All indie business people in Richmond, VA #rva)
Lady Banks Bookshelf
