My path to owning a bookstore was more like a ramble in the woods. There was no clear path, no imagined destination, or even the possibility that it could be. I graduated with an English: Writing Option degree just shy of my 30th birthday. It took me a while, but I did it and I did it with honors.
Starting Out in a Bookstore
I accumulated all sorts of awards, so it was only natural that family and friends anticipated my getting a real job in the publishing world. But all I really wanted to do was work in a bookstore. I got a full-time job at a bookstore I used to enjoy going to and within just a few months they offered me the manager’s position.
I loved my job and was able to bring my rescue dog with me, I got to talk about and be around books all day long. But then I got pregnant, and things changed. It was a few years later when my kids were in school that I took a position at my local bookstore. Yes, I was lucky enough to live in a town with a real independent bookstore and I must admit I was one of their best customers. As the owner would tell me later, it was a win/win for him: I worked, and then I bought books with my paycheck.
After working there for years, the owner asked me if I would be interested in buying the business. I jumped at the chance. Beforehand, though, one of my uncles introduced me to a wonderful couple who ran Misty Valley Books in Chester, Vermont. I drove up there one day to talk to them and pick their brain about owning a bookstore, something I highly recommend if considering this move yourself.
Their store was small, much smaller than the shop I would be purchasing, but they had made it work for decades and still loved what they did. “You won’t get rich,” they told me, “But, you’ll be happy.” I took that to heart.
Buying a Bookstore
We agreed to an amount to purchase my store, and a few months later, we closed on the sale. E-books had just taken the market by storm. All over the internet, all that could be heard was the death of the book. And here I was, buying an independent bookstore…was I nuts? I had moments of being terrified, especially the evening I got home after the closing. I sat in my living room all by myself, my kids upstairs a bit perturbed about my new endeavor as they were used to me being at home most days when they got off the bus.
This was going to change their lives and they weren’t liking it already. I didn’t celebrate with anyone, I just sat in my living room in a state of panic, wondering if I could do this. I had no experience running a business, but I had worked in bookstores for over a decade. I had slowly begun taking on more responsibilities the year before I purchased it, buying the books and deciding what got reordered. Going to the BEA book show at the Jacob Javits Center with my badge that I was a representative from an independent bookstore, they nearly threw their books at me. I looked like a bag lady trying to get out of there that day to make it back to the train.
But I learned, often by making mistakes here and there, and yet each morning I woke up excited to go to work. It was something I had never experienced before having ownership of my own work and knowing that if I failed, it would be on me, but also, what if I succeeded?
The first year, I put the store back in the black. I cut out a lot of unnecessary expenditures, like buying water and having a cleaning lady. I learned bookkeeping, as it is always important to familiarize yourself with the accounting aspects of your business before handing it over to someone else, something I got used to and always did myself.
Whereas before a husband and wife had always owned the store and there had been a manager on the payroll, I also took on that role. I wore a lot of different hats, but I liked it that way. The first and only time I had to fire someone was terrible, but I got through that and her trying to sue me as I kept copious notes of all her errors and bad judgments that had put the business at risk, and I won.
Being a small town, I only hired people I knew well and who I could trust. The customers already knew me and liked me, and my knowledge of books and my voracious reading nature impressed many. I changed the store around and brought in new sidelines that overall sold very well. But I made changes slowly as I knew that people could accept change in baby steps. I’d seen other businesses change hands over the years and the ones that made too many drastic changes never lasted long. I made the store my own, and as the years went by, there was pride and confidence that kept me going.
Experience of Owning a Bookstore
I had my routine each day arriving at work a couple of hours before the store opened at 10 A.M. to do the orders, meet with publishing reps and vendors, make my daily run to the bank and post office, and run any other errands that were necessary.
I’d walk the hardwood floors in the morning surrounded by a history of writers, their books lining the shelves and I could feel the wisdom, the ideas, and the promise of all their knowledge and stories. I’d sit quietly at my desk and get my work done before I opened the heavy wooden door to hang the flag outside. There was a little aluminum bell over the door that would jingle each time it opened alerting me to a customer coming into the store. I’d put on some easy jazz music, anything that added atmosphere but wasn’t distracting enough to people reading the excerpts on the book titles.
There is nothing quite like a bookstore in my view, nothing that so inspires us to grow and learn, to discover and imagine so many different lives and so many different worlds. I’ve worked in a lot of places throughout my life: offices, banks, grocery stores, gardening jobs, department stores, fast food places, and restaurants, and yet none of them measure up to a bookstore. Selling books is really the only thing I’d ever be able to sell. I can’t recall how many people over the years would tell me owning a bookstore was their dream job, far too many to count. It’s that magical place that is so rare and unique. I never knew who would walk in the door or what books might sell on any given day; it was always a surprise. The conversations were always lively and stimulating and the compliments were abundant.
Throughout my life, I had been drawn to bookstores—they were my safe place—and I held the key to my own dream, which is something that is hard to describe. Sink or swim, I was all in. They say that as adults we return to our childhood passion, and for me, that was books. My staff was small but amazing, fellow book lovers and friends. My children felt like it was their second home. And they got to see their mother in a different way, being in the world as her authentic self, which is a rare and beautiful thing.
There are so many things that one must consider when purchasing or deciding to open a new bookstore. First and foremost is location, since an established business has its customer base. I was lucky in that the small town I lived in was also a tourist destination. The local population was small, but I could fall back on the visitors passing through. Becoming a member of your local chamber of commerce is important as is joining the American Booksellers Association, as they are a fountain of information and support for independent bookstores.
Holding events at the bookstore helped to bring in new people, featuring local and established authors whenever possible, hosting poetry readings and book fairs, and book clubs help too. Our annual champagne stroll after Thanksgiving was always a popular and lively event. Events are a lot of extra work, but it keeps people connected to the store and reading. If you love your job, you love your life more and it doesn’t feel like work.
I had a thought the other day, about where my life would have gone had I taken some other job upon graduation, rode the coattails of my degree, and put myself out there in the work world. I probably wouldn’t have bought my store and realized that lifelong dream.
I remember just a couple of days after I bought the store standing behind the counter ringing up a purchase for a friend and she introduced me as the new owner of the bookstore. He looked at me and without pause said, “Was that really a wise thing to do, buying a bookstore?” I laughed thinking he was kidding, but his look said he was dead serious. “Sometimes you have to follow your dreams,” I said.
It may not be popular, and some may think you’re crazy, but if that little voice inside of you is speaking loud enough for you to hear it, you act on it.
Another couple, one of my favorites, came in that day, and she was a journalist. I don’t recall what he did, but he loved to read albeit he would only read nonfiction, which he read very slowly. They were overjoyed for me and turned out to be two of my biggest supporters. He said to me, “I’m reading as fast as I can!” He couldn’t wait to come back in and buy another book. It warmed my heart and still does to think of it.
Running a bookstore is no walk in the park that’s for sure. The winter months for my store were especially hard and business wasn’t always that good, but there was always tomorrow, and you’d hope for the best. I learned so much over the years about myself, about running a business, about my customers and their lives, and honoring the trust and faith they put in me each time they came back in or trusted me with a recommendation. I miss the books. I miss the people. I thought I’d own my store until I grew to be a wise old woman, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
My most important advice to anyone hoping to buy a bookstore or start a new one is to own the location of your store if at all possible. Rising rents and landlord disputes are one of the biggest reasons that bookstores close. The day I sold my store is now a blur to me, and it came at a time in my life when I’d been hit with a lot of loss from every direction. Just six months later, the COVID pandemic hit, another huge challenge for independent bookstores. I still believe that independent bookstores can survive and yes thrive amidst e-books, Amazon, and fewer people reading. The pandemic did bring people back to reading books again. The solitary pleasure of reading a book will never go out of style. We have an innate need to tell and share our stories and bookstores offer the heart space to do this.
