NEIBA Focuses on New Publishing Models, Marketing Strategies, IndieBound & More

September 25, 2008

For Janet Hutchinson, owner of The Open Door Bookstore in Schenectady, New York, the New England Independent Booksellers Association Trade Show is "a final look at the fall offerings," a chance to make sure she hasn't forgotten to stock up on any hot titles.

Talking to fellow booksellers is Brad Fox's primary reason for attending the show. "It's validating to know that some of your ideas are not so off-kilter," said Fox, who manages Ebenezer Books in Johnson, Vermont.

Hutchinson and Fox joined nearly 1,500 of their colleagues in bookselling and publishing at Boston's Hynes Convention Center for NEIBA's September 18 - 20 show. Attendance was only slightly off from 2007, according to Steve Fischer, the association's executive director.

The IndieBound spirit was on display at the NEIBA Children's Book and Author Dinner. (From left to right): Jeanne Birdsall, author of The Penderwicks on Gardam Street (Knopf); Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Chains (S&S Books for Young Readers); and Rebecca Fabian, Children's Department manager for Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Photo credit: Deborah Sloan and Company

The trade show began with a conversation between HarperStudio publisher Bob Miller and Twelve publisher Jonathan Karp, moderated by Roxanne Coady of R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, Connecticut. Miller and Karp each described their alternative publishing models -- Twelve publishes one title each month, and HarperStudio works with authors who are willing to try profit sharing instead of traditional advances and royalties.

The conversation moved from topic to topic, covering nonreturnable books, online marketing for independent bookstores, ways to monetize the added value independents offer, and allowing retailers to set book prices. Miller's announcement that HarperStudio does not plan to print the price on its books drew mixed reactions from booksellers. However, Frank Kramer, owner of Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge, Massachusetts, noted that with no published price, stores that rely on discounting would no longer be able to promote titles at "30% off."

Fox said he hopes that discussions will continue on some of the issues raised during the conversation, especially the returnable status of books and would like to hear how other stores are approaching the question.

IndieBound was on display at the American Booksellers Association's booth, where booksellers stopped by to see their store listings on IndieBound.org and to learn more about the online community. The indie movement was also in evidence at the children's author/illustrator dinner, where speaker Laurie Halse Anderson appeared in an IndieBound T-shirt.

"Connecting to Your Customers and Your Community With IndieBound" was a well-attended education session facilitated by ABA COO Oren Teicher and Chief Program Officer Len Vlahos. "There's endless ways to personalize that whole idea," said Fox, who explained to booksellers at the show how he had combined his store's woodblock motif with materials provided by ABA for a unique version of the Declaration of IndieBound. Fox also noted that other local businesses have begun to embrace IndieBound, so he sees "potential to bring in a whole cross-section of other people" to Ebenezer Books.

The mood on the show floor was upbeat, although in ABA's education session "Surviving Tough Times in Retail," panelists Carole Horne of Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and ABA Board member Dan Chartrand of Water Street Bookstore in Exeter, New Hampshire, spoke to a standing-room-only crowd. Susan Fox, owner of Red Fox Books in Glens Falls, New York, who attended the session, said she was motivated by the discussion to work on "things we should be doing anyway." Wanda Sgarlata of Womrath Bookshop in Bronxville, New York, said she left the session confident about "having the courage to rearrange the furniture" to complement her store's smaller inventory. "It's always a little disheartening" to talk about economic downturns, she said, but also worthwhile.

Booksellers also gathered for "Consumer Behavior Revealed: The Dating Game," a version of the session that made its debut at ABA's Winter Institute in January. Sgarlata said the session was an opportunity to learn about "getting into the psyche" of her customers. Dale Szczeblowski of Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, agreed that the session was "entertaining and useful." He attributed the session's success to ABA's Vlahos: "He's an excellent teacher."

Another popular session was "Do I Really Need a Blog?: Social Media 101 for the Independent Bookseller," offered by Random House sales reps Ann Kingman and Michael Kindness, who also blog and podcast at www.BooksOnTheNightstand.com. "I was absolutely thrilled with the turnout and the feedback we received afterwards," said Kingman. NEIBA's Fischer was also pleased with the session, noting that it offered a "great opportunity ... to get the reps involved in education programming."

Sales reps participated in other sessions, including "How to Make Publishers Love You: True Confessions from Children's Publicists, Marketers, and Reps," sponsored by the New England Children's Bookselling Advisory Council. NECBA co-chair Vicky Uminowicz of Titcomb's Bookshop in East Sandwich, Massachusetts, was "thrilled" with the publishers' advice on events, relationship building, and outreach. "It left a lot of us really energized," she said.

Booksellers were happy to have time set aside for the trade show floor, where they caught up on some of the upcoming releases. Brad Fox picked up a copy of The Sun and The Moon: The Remarkable True Account of Hoaxers, Showmen, Dueling Journalists, and Lunar Man-Bats in Nineteenth Century New York (Matthew Goodman, Basic Books). He finished the first four chapters before leaving the show.

Uminowicz is a fan of The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins, Scholastic), and enjoyed hearing the author speak at the Friday author breakfast. Susan Fox is enthusiastic about Olen Steinhauer's The Tourist (St. Martin's Minotaur) and Laurie Halse Anderson's Chains (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing). --Sarah Rettger

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