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Tell us, how did you become a bookseller? Did you inherit a library from a family member? Lose your job? Have a baby and decide to stay home? Or, gasp, decide to do something you actually liked for a change? There are many good reasons for becoming a bookseller, some of them more compelling than others, but ultimately there's only one reason to remain a bookseller - to make money. If you're not making as much money as you'd like to, it might not have as much to do with the economy or competing booksellers or other market factors as you might think. It might have a lot to do with your bookselling vision.
By "bookselling vision," we don't mean your ability to read titles on books without eyeglasses. Rather, vision in the sense that Jonathan Swift intended when he wrote: "Vision is the art of seeing things invisible." More specifically, we mean a controlling idea of what you want your business to be. Better, what your business must be, for resolve plays as big a role in this as anything. If your vision isn't in focus or not yet formulated, this may be affecting your bottom line in ways that you haven't appreciated. In our first article, "String of Pearls," we'll dive more deeply into this problem and search for, well, oysters, and we don't mean the kind that meet its fate in crushed ice.
We'll also revisit flashpoints - or, we should say, anti-flashpoints, those annoying things that, in one frustrating instant, can snuff out what appeared at first glance to be a promising purchase. As troubling as it might be to open a first edition of Mitchell's "Gone With The Wind," only to be met by a bouquet of mildew-fouled air and a stream of Madagascar Hissing cockroach pellets, you need only remind yourself that sometimes it's the books you don't buy that determine your competence and, ultimately, your success as a book dealer. Ten examples are presented today, along with detailed annotations.
Finally, for readers with a passion for body art, we'll explore the sometimes super-heated market niche of tattooing/piercing books - you might be surprised at how consistently "indelible" this niche is - then close with a letter from a part-time bookseller who sometimes feels like a pariah in the bookselling community.
ANNOUNCEMENT:
Only one announcement today, but it's a big one. In response to reader feedback (and some serious reconsideration on our part), Dave Steiner has gutted the Dealer's Directory and replaced it with what we hope will be a far more useful tool for growing your business: free advertising. That's right. F-R-E-E. Free. Effective immediately, the Bookologist will offer totally free space to any individual or business entity for advertising books for sale, books wanted, or book-related Web sites, products and services. The key word here is pertinent, and we will reserve the right to reject ads that don't hit the mark. If you have a canned ham to unload, in other words, it's strongly suggested that you steer it in the direction of more porcine-receptive destinations.
The ad will run for 7 days. If you want to make it a year-long advertisement, you must simply add a link to the Bookologist to your Web site or "About Me" page.
Here's how it works. Go to http://www.bookologist.com/cab/ads and you'll find a link to set up your ad toward the top of the page. Click on the "Set up your ad" link and follow the information on that page - remember to register first! Then write up your classified ad and post it. It will run for seven days.
Towards the end of the 7-day period, you'll receive an email telling you that your ad is about to expire. If at that point you wish to upgrade your ad, that is, extend it to a year and have the option of adding graphics, simply place one of the Bookologist text links, banner ads or subscribe boxes located on our "Link To Us" page on your Web site and email the link to Dave Steiner at dsteiner@bookologist.com for verification. If approved, your classified ad will be upgraded to a year's listing. You'll have access to change or upgrade your ad anytime during the year. Don't have a Web site? Your "My eBay" page or any home page that supports links will work as well.
We believe that this will be a classic win-win situation. The Bookologist will help you grow as you help the Bookologist grow.
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