Make Your Local Bookstore Work For You

Confession: It has long been my dream to work in a bookstore, and, if you're a writer, probably yours too.

Confession: This remains a dream, as I have taken virtually no steps to actually get hired, aside from sheepishly asking if the bookstore I am currently buying in large abundance from is hiring at the moment.

And so... how to make your local bookstore work for you, and not just about hiring either!

Hiring
The mainstream stores (Barnes and Noble, Borders, etc.) will most likely ask you to fill out an application which they will keep on hand should one of their workers leave. The odds of getting hired: Not very good.

But something I learned recently is that they will most likely take you much sooner if not immediately depending on your availability. Which does not equate good news for students like us.

Getting Published
You are no doubt aware of the 'self-help' section, and probably also aware that information on getting published, editors, and literary agents is scant. THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU GIVE UP. This means that you find the book you want online, go down to the store and request it with the service desk. They will have it shipped to the store and you can go and pick it up.

Literary Magazines
You've heard my spiel about Lit Mags before, but you maybe did not know this (or perhaps you did and I'm just very slow, because this only occurred to me recently): You know those stacks and racks of magazines the bookstore keeps in the corner, that, as a respectable reader you would never think of approaching?

Well.... they happen to have a section devoted to writers and literary magazines. What does this mean for you? Research! This means that more than likely they will carry a 'local' literary magazine, which you can then pick up, study, and submit to.

When You're Published... Increasing Your Circulation and Profits
This next bit may count as cheating, but it's a writer eat writer world out there, you know?

When you actually do get published, as in books, use this little hint to fool the statistics and increase your chances of being bought and read:

Call your local bookstore and say that you represent a book club interested in reading the book that you just had published! (But don't tell them it's you, the author; that would be silly). Ask that they order, say, 15 books to be delivered, give yourself a fake name, and then never go and pick them up. The bookstore is now forced to sell your books (tee hee).

You can also manually go into the store, pick up your books, and move them to a front display. It helps if they have 'discount' stickers on them (but, please, don't hope they do, because how demeaning is that?)


Any other helpful hints/tips?