I love independent bookstores. They’re small but quaint, and the owners are usually such nice people. We have a lot in common: we both love books and reading. I connect with them easily.
Where I live, there are several bookstores, two of which are big corporate chains. One is an indie bookstore with hoity toity owners. Their store is very nice, but the people are kinda snobby. At least they were to me in my few visits there. The other is a new place opened a few weeks ago. I’d never been there, but my first visit was very sweet.
My book Walkers on the Run recently was recognized as a finalist in the American Fiction Awards and was the winning cozy mystery in the National Excellence in Storytelling competition. To me, that’s a big deal. It says people can buy it without having to worry about how good it may or may not be. I assumed a bookstore would want to carry a good book for their readers.
How wrong I was! The hoity toity place wasn’t interested in it. I know he looked it up on Amazon and saw that it only had eight reviews/ratings. Way more than eight people have bought it and read it, but only eight bothered to review it on-line. I know most who read it really liked it because they told me so. That’s why I always ask people if they read my book or any author’s book to please put a review on Amazon or Goodreads (Goodreads is a free website where you can track the books you read, get recommendations, and post a review). It boosts the standings and makes it easier for our books to sell. Apparently, awards aren’t enough to get it into a bookstore. It’s the number of reviews.
I was horribly disappointed by the hoity toity place; not so much because they didn’t take it, but they were so unfeeling when they said no. The guy literally stuck his nose in the air and said, “No interested” and walked away without another word.
After a brief spat of tears in the truck, a writer friend reminded me of the other bookstore in town. I wasn’t ready for another rejection, but since I was already in the area, I decided to try them.
The other store was so cute! When I walked in, the owner’s son was whining about getting a haircut. I almost laughed out loud because my grandson had whined about the same thing a couple of weeks ago. The lady was so pleasant and excited when I told her about my books and said she’d take all of the ones I brought in. I was elated and encouraged by her reaction. I left there happy my friend has urged me to there (thanks, Megan), and happy I’d chosen to do it.
Every writer needs a very thick skin. Rejection is a very common occurrence in this field. That doesn’t mean your heart doesn’t feel a twinge when you are turned down, but you have to get over it. I have to constantly tell myself that.
I’m so thankful for the Monarch Books and Boutique in Rapid City. You can find my books there. They lifted me up, and I needed that. I’ll be visiting them again, not as an author, but as a book lover.