ADWOFF asked Debby to interview Jaci to find out
how she was doing with her dream, That Bookstore in
Danville. It has now been three months since Grand
Opening Weekend. Here is that interview.
Owning a Bookstore
by
Debby (aka SnowBearDM)
1) How did you decide that you wanted to sell
books and not just read them?
Actually I wanted to be a
teacher but no one would hire me ... Then I
decided, well I've always wanted to work in a
bookstore. So I tried to get a job in one of the
mall stores, but they found me too educated
(what?!) and too overqualified. They said I would
be bored! That's when I decided to look into the
option of opening my own store. Danville did not
have one and I thought, Hey, why not? Also I was
wandering around on the Internet and saw that there
was actually a school called "How to Open a Book
Store" Well, the school was really called
"Prospective Booksellers School," but you get the
idea! So here I am!
2) TBID is a general interest bookstore, but
what do you find people are buying?
Actually, I haven't really
formed an opinion as to what people are buying! I
am selling books that I never thought would go. I
just got a printer for my computerized inventory
system, and I may know the answer to that question
before too much longer. I can now print out reports
by category whereas before I was flying by the seat
of my pants!!
3) Other than a Nora Roberts book, what title
are you currently recommending to your customers?
If someone comes into my
store and wants to know what is good, I have to
first ask them what they like to read. Then I can
suggest titles. It really all depends on the
category they are interested in. If they like
history, I can point them in the right direction
and so on ... but if they come in without a clue, I
steer them to Nora!
4) What have you found to be the hardest thing
about owning a bookstore?
The hardest thing for me
has been no time off. There is not a day where I am
not doing something for the store. I come in on
Sundays to put orders in and obviously I am here
now (8:00 p.m.), getting some work done (well, I'm
answering questions, but this is work too!). The
really hard thing is juggling time for the family
and myself too!
5) What aspect of owning a bookstore have you
found to be the most fun?
The most fun thing in the
world for a bookstore is twofold! First, I LOVE
getting the new books in. There is nothing more
exciting than opening those cartons and seeing all
of those books! Second, is the way people's eyes
light up when you tell them that I have that book
in stock or when they find a book they've been
waiting for forever! I love watching the kids find
the perfect book!
6) How many books DOES it take to fill a
bookstore?
Well ... that's a hard
question too. Since I've gotten my printer, I've
printed out a valuation of my inventory, and my
mouth dropped to the floor! I didn't realize I had
bought so many books! I have about 10,000 titles in
my store.
7) What would be your funniest customer story so
far?
Boy another hard question!
I'd have to say its the one where Sue was here
helping me with grand opening and a woman called to
ask us what the name of the store was. Sue told her
and the lady said, "I know where it is, but I can't
quite see the name on the paper ... I think it
starts with an H." And Sue says, "Ma'am ... the
name is That Bookstore in Danville." She says,"I
know where it is, but what is the name of that
store!" It went on for a little while and the lady
hung up sort of peeved! It was very funny!
8) Now that you have a bookstore, have you found
that you are reading more or less?
I find myself reading
about the same ... I always try to make time to
read on my lunchtime (when I have one) and I always
make sure I read before I go to bed.
9) Have you found the type of books you're
reading changing?
Very much so. I have been
reading more business and marketing books than I
ever would have if I didn't have my own business. I
also realize that customers expect me to have read
most of what I have stock so I try to read
different genres than I ever used to. I never was
much for nonfiction, but now I read that too
because I have to be able to recommend books to
customers!
10) And last but not least! ... What are your
plans for all those ARC's you'll be getting?
Passing them on to a certain fluffy, white bear in
Denver maybe? <G>
LOL!! I haven't received
any so far ... So I don't know what my plans are
for them! I'd like to get some and then decide ...
Yes Debby ... you'll be the first on my
list!
Visit
That
Bookstore in Danville today!
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