Nora O'Neill

Old books and old buildings make for "interesting" remodeling projects

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Many used bookstores end up in, let us say, “interesting” buildings that present a challenge when it comes to layout.  They have lots of character… and floors that are often a bit off level, walls that don’t quite meet at 90 degrees, and other interesting issues.  Brand new buildings can have these issues too, but the sort of converted spaces that bookstores end up in often have multiple issues.

We recently decided to relocate some bookcases in the store and that was an adventure.  It turned out we couldn’t put the bookcase where we wanted because the slight slope to the floor meant the bookcase was too tall at one end.  Oops. It was off by a 1/4 inch.  We also moved the front counter at the same time.  That involved moving it around multiple times and installing it slightly off square to make it fit in an octagonal bay.

It doesn’t seem to matter how well you measure, you always have to wiggle fixtures around a bit to get them to set just right.  Even if you do get them in the “right” spot, you may end up moving them again shortly thereafter as customers interact with them in a way you didn’t intend, or something else crops up.  We moved another bookcase when we moved the desk and it seems to now be casting a shadow in the mystery section.  Fortunately we were planning on replacing that light fixture anyway, so moving it over 6″ won’t be a big deal…

But nothing has beaten the very first remodeling job we did at the store for sheer craziness.  It looked like it would be such a simple project…

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The wonderful, wacky world of fanfic

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Think of any relatively book, movie, or TV show.  There is fanfic about it somewhere.  Go type it into a search engine “Your Book of Choice + fanfic”.  You’ll get results.


Fan fiction is basically additional material produced by fans of a media title.  The internet has made it easier than ever to find fanfic of whatever you want.  The newest hottest blockbuster movie, TV show, or book tends to be the easiest to find.  These are of course produced without the original creator’s consent and often take characters in directions that weren’t intended.  New characters get added.  Old annoying characters get killed off in the ways fans dreamed about and never got.  Characters finally hook up with the person they’ve been making gooshy eyes at for the entire series .  Bromance blossoms into actual homosexual romance.  There’s sex scenes that would never get past censors.

Due to the overflowing abundance of fan fiction on the internet, it often seems like a modern online only phenomenon.  But it’s hardly new.  Mainstream publishers snap up fan fiction of books that have fallen out of copyright.  There’s at least 20 books put out by mainstream presses that are spin off’s of Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice that are sequels, prequels, retellings from a different perspective, or just downright weird retellings.  Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is one of the best known current ones.

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The books of the future will be made of sugar, wheat, and weed!

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“Dead tree edition” is an often used internetism to refer to hard copy editions of publications that are increasingly available online.  It’s obviously meant to be a dig at how old and uncool printed material is… but “dead tree editions” largely refer only to 20th century books.  Antiquarian books largely aren’t printed on “dead trees”.  And the books of the future may still be printed on paper… but there won’t be any trees involved.

Paper may look all the same once its bound in a “dead tree edition” but it often involves no trees at all.  Sometimes you’ll find information on the title page telling you what type of paper was used in the printing.  This is pretty rare, but you’ll trip across it every now and then from specialty presses.

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The NYT bestsellers aren't my bestsellers

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The bestsellers on the used market aren’t necessarily the best sellers you see on the New York Times list or on Amazon’s hot list.  Often they bear no relation to each other.  However, statistics on the used market can be devilishly difficult to come by.  And of course, it’s all relative too.  The bestsellers in a small New England town where I am may be totally different than what sells in a shop in the heart of London.  But “what’s your bestseller?” is a question I get asked a lot by people considering getting into the book business.

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Love the computer, hate the power bill

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computerIt’s the rare bookseller now a days that doesn’t use a computer for at least part of their operation.  There’s still a few die hards that won’t touch them, but the majority have a computer of some sort, and many shops exist only because of the computer.  As wonderful a tool as the computer is it does need power to run it.  With a little proper maintenance and some hardware improvements, you can shave some of the cost off of using this tool every day.

A little power management can shave a good chunk of change off your utility bill, especially if you have multiple machines!  Other areas of your operation like heating or lighting may account for a much larger portion of your electricity bill, but if you’re in a rental space, you often have very little control over these.  And if you’re online only, the computer really is your main power draw.  Thus why I chose to focus on this element, as its the most universal one for booksellers and you’ll have the most control over it.  (and much of what’s mentioned here can be used for dealing with other equipment)

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Books in plain brown wrappers

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Once upon a time, if you wanted a “certain kind of book” you had to go to a certain kind of shop or order from a catalog and wait for a package in a plain brown wrapper to arrive.  With the internet, the doors have been thrown wide open and people can find any kind of book they want and have it delivered to them… for a price.  And the price for vintage erotica is often VERY high for a tiny little paperback in awful condition.

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10 things to ask when you've already bought the store

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So you’ve just bought yourself a bookstore. Congratulations.  You asked all the big questions before buying, rent, utilities, cash flow, inventory, etc.  but before the old owner moves to Florida make sure to ask some specific questions about the details of doing business.

1. Where are the lightswitches?

Oh you laugh, but I had to call the previous owner the first day because I couldn’t get the lights on.  The lightswitches by the door didn’t work.  All the switches are actually BEHIND the white bookcases. You need to move books to find them!  If you’re in a brand new building, this probably isn’t a problem, but many bookstores are located in repurposed older buildings… which means the lightswitch may not be by the door.

Make sure to ask what ALL the switches do!  If you’re in a subdivided space, it may turn out that some switches in your space control the neighbor’s lights!  Some switches may also be master switches that control whole areas and if they’re off, nothing in that area will come on, no matter how many times you flip the switch.

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When another book store moves to town it's good news!

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If a chain moves to town, you’ll go out of business, right?

WRONG. You may even make more money than you do now!

Chains don’t move into markets where they don’t expect to turn a  profit.  They moved in by you because you’ve established there IS a market for a bookstore… and they’re convinced that there’s enough demand that they can turn a profit even with another bookstore nearby.  They’ll probably even turn a better profit by having you nearby.

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