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Creating and nurturing relationships with publishers is key to building a thriving business. Panelists in this session will provide an overview of how publishers work with independent bookstores and discuss steps booksellers can take to capitalize on and grow these relationships. Booksellers will learn:

• Best practices for networking with publishers at industry events
• What publishers look for in event proposal and how to land the A-List author
• Best practices for pitching events in person
• How to keep your relationships moving forward

Join your colleagues for a discussion on creating events and opportunities to highlight women's voices in the store and larger retail community. Hear from booksellers who are fostering women entrepreneurs, cross-promoting with women-owned businesses, creating dynamic in-store programming, and more. ABA members know that a diverse business district promotes a thriving local economy, and they are finding ways to ensure their stores, their communities, and their business districts are as dynamic and profitable as possible.

ABACUS is a yearly benchmarking survey that gathers essential information and insights on bookstore financials. This unique and actionable data is key to a store’s long-term viability, as it can be used to create budgets and analyze important business questions. Bookseller panelists who regularly submit to ABACUS will explain how they have been able to implement changes based on their ABACUS report. In this session, booksellers will learn:

• How to read key lines in an ABACUS report
• How to recognize and make changes in bookstore financials
• Important points to consider when making short- and long-term budgets based on ABACUS data

Information on how and when to submit your data to participate in the ABACUS report

On April 28, indie booksellers will celebrate the fifth annual Independent Bookstore Day (IBD). In this panel, new concepts and a new ordering system will be revealed. Attendees will hear from booksellers who have figured out how to make the most of IBD and increase their sales dramatically. It takes a little effort and imagination, but having a highly successful Independent Bookstore Day doesn’t have to tax your staff or break the bank. Booksellers will learn:

• How to order and make the most of the IBD exclusive merchandise
• How to throw a party that will get people into your store
• How to publicize your store’s party
• How to take advantage of social media

If the thought of playing board games brings up childhood memories of Monopoly and Risk and not much else, you have some catching up to do. Board games are a hot trend and a growing business. And they’ve grown a lot more sophisticated than what you might remember. The popular digital games that have made the leap to board games, the games inspired by viral internet challenges, and the traditional games of your childhood all have something in common: face-to-face social interaction, which is a key component of successful independent bookstores. Come hear from booksellers who have integrated board games and play nights into their sales and events. An independent board game seller joins the panel to discuss the aspects of his business and how booksellers can bring games -- and customers -- into the bookstore.

Graphic novels can be a useful springboard into reading for reluctant readers, but they can also serve as a vehicle to launch readers into the symbiotic relationship between text and visuals. In this session, attendees will learn from booksellers and experts:

• How the role of graphic novels has evolved in the bookstore and literacy
• How to have a productive conversation with staff and customers about graphic novels
• Types of programming that highlight and elevate the genre
• The importance and impact of the representation of diverse characters in graphic novels
• What the current educational terrain looks like and how bookstores can work with school libraries to incorporate graphic novels into the curriculum

Scenario: your store's children's bookseller is out sick and not one general bookseller has even an inkling about kids’ books. Never fear! Geared towards general booksellers with ZERO experience in the kid’s department, children’s frontlist booksellers on this panel will provide a crash course to prepare any bookseller to head into the children's department. In the session, general booksellers will learn:

• Key phrases to use when selling a kids book
• Important questions to ask a child and a parent when selecting a book
• Signs to look for when selecting a book (shelf talkers, inferences from the cover)
• Basic important information to always have in their back pocket
• Where to look for recommendations

The ability to stay in business for decades—and longer—means weathering change by staying adaptable and flexible. Customer relationships and sales are just part of the equation that can ensure the longevity of a business and even turn it into a celebrated, longstanding institution. Careful planning and understanding of your store’s resources, a flexible business plan, continuously improving operations, and a culture that willingly embraces change in order to adapt and improve are all factors that influence where your business will be around in 5, 10, or 20 years—or more. A a panel of longtime booksellers will lead this not-to-be-missed conversation.

The goal of this session is to help bookstore owners and employees learn how to empower themselves to end uncomfortable situations, including harassment, with professionalism and respect. Among other things, the panel will discuss tips for identifying and navigating out of these distressing situations and suggestions for talking points booksellers can rely on while under duress. Booksellers will hear discussions on:

• Prioritizing personal safety
• Tips for changing the power dynamic
• Tips for extricating yourself from a situation in a professional way
• Learning how to ask for help when needed

As part of the pilot program of the Open Discussion project, five independent bookstores will be launching reading groups in the fall of 2018 with the goal of bringing liberals and conservatives together to discuss the issues that divide them. The Open Discussion Project is sponsored by the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) in partnership with ABA. NCAC and ABA are inviting booksellers to join the Open Discussion Project when it goes national next year. A panel of booksellers who are participating in the pilot will discuss their experience.

Indies Introduce is about what independent booksellers do best: Discovering exciting debut authors and sharing the best with readers across the country. You will hear about the title selection process from the bookseller panelists who curated the list, which, according to Destenie Fafard of Cellar Door Books (Riverside, CA), provides panelists with "the privilege of reading debut authors’ work and giving a spotlight to those who perhaps wouldn’t be seen without our platform." Many of this season’s debut authors will be present to read a short passage and answer a question posed by one of the panelists.

Your landlord can be one of the most important influencers on the success of your business, but this critical relationship is often only considered when the rent is due or when it’s time to sign the lease. Bookstore owners who have experienced the positive results of cultivating the landlord relationship will share their experiences and explore effective strategies for landlord relations. Panelists will discuss:

• Best practices for improving landlord relationships
• Tips for turning your landlord into an advocate for your business as well as indie businesses in your community
• Tips for lease negotiations

Independent bookstores are champions of innovation when it comes to business models. For the last few years, many bookstores have added bars to their business model by blending books with booze. This session will feature booksellers from both small and large stores who have experienced the successes and challenges of this business model.

Pre-orders are becoming an increasingly important way in which books are sold and marketed in 2018, and indie bookstores can and should take part in this growing business. Heavily influenced by television and social media, the months before a title’s publication are critical, and pre-orders are a growing component of a book’s ultimate sales. By working with publishers to take full advantage of pre-order opportunities, indie bookstores can avoid lost sales, lost PR, and lost market share. In this session, panelists will discuss ways that stores can successfully promote and sell pre-orders to become an integral partner to publishers and authors. Learn about new methods developed and tested by a task force of indie stores--including processes and protocols for stores using various POS systems--that all stores can use to maximize pre-orders through marketing, tracking, and reporting. The session will include bookseller participation from the pre-order task force.

There are many factors that go into publisher decisions for author visits and tours, and bookseller event grids help them make those choices. In this session, booksellers will see sample event grids from publisher panelists and learn more about how publishers approach author tours and what they are looking for from bookstores. Booksellers will learn:

• The number-one thing publishers are looking for in potential events
• How to make your event proposal stand out
• How to use Edelweiss to make your grids more specific
• Important ways to follow up after you submit the grid