Opening a Bookshop in 2010? Why Not Says Michelle Witte
August 28th, 2010
A couple of years ago on a writer’s website I met an assortment of people from a wide variety of backgrounds - journalism, law, PR, mothering, teaching, writing, editing - and locations such as Penzance, London, Dubai, Sydney, Washington, Mobile Al., Melbourne, St Louis and Oxford. We are all fiction writers and have become friends and supporters of each other’s writing endeavours, as well as exchanging martini recipes, debating the future of publishing (doesn’t everybody?) and blathering on about nothing in particular just because we can. One of these friends, Michelle Witte, a YA writer living in Utah declared to us one day not so long ago that she was going to open a bookshop. Despite the online writing world declaring paper books dead and the e-reader dancing and shimmying on the freshly dug grave, Michelle has opened her bookshop - Fire Petal Books - and talks to me about this new venture.
Opening a bookshop in this age of publishing uncertainty and the arrival of ebooks is an interesting move. What made you decide to open a bookshop in 2010?
There’s never a perfect opportunity to take a risk, but a good business plan combined with a visible need can make for a very successful endeavor.
As for e-books, it’s not going to immediately affect children’s and young adult books. Kids need pages to touch and turn and yes, even rip. They need something tactile as they learn to control their growing minds and bodies. As they get older, there’s still a need to hold a book, even for the kids already addicted to cell phones and iPods. E-books have just not had any influence in the kids market. That may change, but Fire Petal will be ready to adjust as readers change and grow.
The last thing people should do is fear the impending future. It’s already here and things are changing. Ignore the desire to bemoan the loss of “good old days” and see how you can thrive even more in a changing world. If you don’t, someone else will.
How did you go about getting money to do this?
I’m still trying to figure that part out. Oh, wait. You probably mean the auction. Well, I know an children’s book editor at HarperCollins in New York who suggested I hold an online auction, similar to what other people in the kid lit community had done recently to raise money for charities and other causes. She then offered to donate a manuscript critique.
I, of course, jumped at the offer, and so started my search for items to auction off. I ended up with an incredible list of donations from authors, editors, and agents, which ended up bringing in a total of $5,000. That money became the seed fund, which purchased painting and remodeling supplies, and put a downpayment on the store space. Without that, I doubt the store wouldn’t have gone anywhere.
Since I’m single without a house, still paying off my car, and no co-signer, no banks would even look at me. Well, I’m sure they did for a moment before rushing to the back to laugh their . . . erm, well you know . . . off.
What sort of bookshop is Fire Petal Books?
Fire Petal Books focuses on books for kids and teens, and all of the ages in between.
Is it a specialist bookshop for business or personal reasons?
I’ve always loved kids books, but well-meaning adults thought it best to forbid me to read them after I’d turned 12. I see that happen a lot, though maybe not as explicitly. Parents frequently come in saying their child is an advanced reader. What they really mean is that they want their child to be a genius, and that means they shouldn’t read kids books the moment they’re able to pronounce the words used in Moby Dick. Never mind that at that age a kid isn’t going to enjoy reading Moby Dick as much as he may ten years down the road when a college professor forces him to read it.
It wasn’t until I returned to college after a brief hiatus living in Montreal that I decided to re-read some of my favorite books as a child: the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. At the time, I was so incredibly busy with school and work that there was hardly a moment to relax. Since I didn’t have a tv at the time, I decided to read books that are relatively short and not mind-numbingly difficult to understand. I was already overworked; there was no way I would add to that.
So started my love affair with children’s and young adult literature. It’s progressed so far since I was a child, though there’s still a stigma that if an adult is writing for children, they’re doing it until they can “graduate” to real writing. While it’s rude for me to scream, “You’re wrong!” in their faces, I still doing it in the silence of my mind while I lovingly stock the store’s shelves with incredible works that many “adult” writers could never produce.
Oh, and business-wise, an independent bookstore is more likely to survive if it focuses on a niche—so long as that niche has a large enough audience and serves their customers’ interests. In Utah, families with 6, 7, and even 12 kids aren’t uncommon. Actually, they’re more common than families with only one or two children. So there’s definitely a market here for kids books.
Do you see value adding (workshops, readings etc) as important to bookshops?
That’s the only way they’ll really survive. In the world of WalMart-size discounts and shopping in your pajamas—or naked—online, independent bookstore have little to offer in the way of competitive pricing.
That said, the value an indie adds to the community is worth more than the $2.73 they’ll save by shopping big-box. Think about it. The last time you walked into a store like that—or even one of the chain bookstores—and asked for a book that wasn’t on the bestseller lists, had the salesperson even heard of the title you wanted? My most recent experience involved a search for Mockingjay at a price club the morning of the book release. (Don’t ask why, and I won’t tell.) Can you guess how many of the 6 or 7 employees I asked even knew what Mockingjay was? I’m pretty sure you already know.
So they offer knowledgeable staff who are actually excited to help you pick out the perfect book. They have a larger selection of books that aren’t ginormous blockbusters. And they’re interested in matching you with a book you’ll enjoy, love, adore.
Oh, and did I mention that they also bring in authors to talk with you and your kids? Or throwing ridiculously fun parties for midnight releases? Or how about educational opportunities? Though larger stores give their customers what they want in the form of convenience and low prices, I don’t know that I value a cheap book more than any of the things listed above. I really don’t know how to apply a discount to that without it completely losing value.
Location is everything in the retail world. What about your location?
Fire Petal Books is at the corner of a busy intersection, just down the street from all of those dreaded boxes. The closeness to a larger retail center offers visibility and increased shopping awareness, but the store is also far enough away that it isn’t dominated by big commerce. We’re near schools and homes, which is where we’ll find our most devoted customers.
Thanks Michelle, I’m sure the shop will be a success and I salute your energy, committment and courage with a salted caramel
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