Advice for Writers from a Bookstore Manager
by Vickie Phelps
I think I’ve always wanted to write.
I was an avid reader growing up and liked writing things down. I still have a little diary that I used as a young girl.
I didn’t actually pursue the craft until the eighties. I started by taking a correspondence creative writing course. From there I began to write short pieces for magazines and sold my first “filler” to a Christian magazine for $15.00. It wasn’t much, but it was a start and I was hooked.
From that time on, I wrote and submitted on a regular basis, keeping several submissions out all the time. I received a lot of rejections, but I also sold enough that I knew it was my calling.
Always Set Ground Rules for Your Critique Group!
I attended lots of writer’s conferences and formed a critique group that met often to read and critique member’s work. I think those two things are so important for writers, especially beginning writers.
When you first start, you need to learn the craft and also the business. Conferences are a good place to do that. A critique group is a good way to get feedback on what you’re writing. It’s hard to see our own work objectively so it’s helpful to have someone else reading your pages, pointing out grammar problems, making suggestions for improvement, and letting you know if the article/story works overall.
Just be sure that you set some ground rules for your critique group. For example: No one is allowed to make hurtful remarks, just give constructive criticism. I still belong to a critique group even though I’ve been writing for thirty years and published several books.
One of the Best Decisions I Ever Made: Working for a Bookstore
For thirteen years, I worked as a professional cake decorator and enjoyed it, but I reached the point of burnout and wanted to do something different.
When I started looking for a new job, the bookstore was one of the places where I applied. They hired me and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
For eighteen years, I spent my days selling books, talking about books, reading books, and meeting other authors. I’ve said many times that it didn’t seem like a job at all. I enjoyed it too much for it to be a job.
I started as a bookseller, helping customers find books and checking them out. I worked with some great people who loved books as much as I did. When the manager/buyer decided to retire, the owner asked me if I was interested and I said yes.
He gave me the job of managing and buying for the store. I loved every minute of it.
It’s Important to Know the People that Come Into Your Bookstore
The main consideration [when determining which books to buy for the store] was my customers.
I had been at the store for a number of years before I became the buyer so I knew many of the customers by name and what they liked to read. Many times when I perused catalogs or met with a sales rep, a book would leap out at me and a customer would come to mind.
I also took into consideration the fact that we were a family-oriented store so there were things I might or might not order because of that.
We also kept the New York Times Bestseller list as well as the Indie Bookseller list available, but I found that we sold just as many or more of what I chose individually for our customers.
I think it’s important to know the people that come into your store and what they like.
Top 3 Things an Author Can Do to Get a Good Review
1. Your story should grab me by the end of the first chapter.
Many editors and agents won’t read past the first page, but as an author myself, I want to give others a fighting chance.
2. Make sure it’s as error-free as you can make it.
I hate reading books with spelling errors or glaring grammatical mistakes.
I do understand that things can slip by an editor sometimes. I saw it all the time in the bookstore and I see an occasional typo in the books I buy and read now, but an author should make a book as clean as possible.
3. Keep me reading to the very end.
I’ve started many books and stopped half-way through because I no longer cared about the story. When you have a story that keeps me turning the pages, I’ll set up until 3:00 A. M. reading and I’ll give you 5 stars.
3 Mistakes that Lead to a Negative Review
1. A story that sags in the middle.
2. An unsatisfying ending.
3. A story riddled with mistakes.
This includes getting character’s names, eye color, etc., wrong at different places in the story as well as the character acting in a way other than what you portrayed them in the beginning.
With Marketing, You Have to Find What Works Best for You
I think the major challenge for writers today is getting their books out to the reading public. Whether you publish traditionally or self-publish, the author has to do a lot of promotional/marketing work. Many new authors have no clue how to do this. There have been some who have been extremely successful at marketing their work, but for most authors, it’s a real challenge.
Marketing is one of those things that may be a little different for each author. You have to find what works best for you and stick with it. I have friends who do lots of book signings at local festivals and art shows and find some success with that venue while others teach at conferences and do speaking engagements as a way to get their name and books in front of the reading public. If you’ve written a nonfiction book, you’ve got a built-in speaking topic for all kinds of organizations depending on your book’s subject.
I’ve tried several ideas, but I think the idea of getting my books in stores is a great way to reach readers I’ll never come in contact with anywhere else. Of course, it can be difficult to get stores to stock your books if they’re self-published, but don’t give up. If one store turns you down, move on to the next one. It doesn’t have to be a bookstore. Try locally owned gift shops, florists, office supply and beauty shops.
You may need to do a combination of several ideas to get your book out to the reading public. Don’t give up if you don’t see a lot of sales or success right away. It takes time to build a following.
Advice for a Young Writer: Don’t Give Up
If you really want to write and publish, don’t give up. There are very few overnight successes. Although there is one occasionally, this is the exception, not the norm in publishing. Perseverance is very important.
Learn all you can about the craft and the business. Don’t ever stop trying to improve your work. Always keep learning. I’ve probably attended close to 100 conferences, give or take a few, (I’ve lost count), but I still go to one when I find one that will be helpful to me.
I’ve studied under some very successful authors, but I will continue doing so when I can. This year, I’m taking some masterclasses to remind me of all I need to do and know as a writer.
It never hurts to be reminded of what we may have let slip over time. I’m also hoping the classes will give me new ways to do things in my writing.
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Vickie Phelps writes to inspire, influence, and entertain. She has published 200 articles in more than fifty magazines and contributed to several anthologies. Vickie is the author of four novels including Postmark From the Past, Wheels of Justice, Moved, Left No Address, and Waiting for Joy. Her nonfiction includes Psalms for the Common Man, Gratitude: The Art of Being Thankful, Simply Christmas, and Writing 101 which she coauthored with Jo Huddleston.
Vickie is the founder and former director of the East Texas Christian Writer’s group and is a member of the Northeast Texas Writer’s Organization. She worked as a bookseller and buyer for eighteen years at the former Barron’s Books in Longview, Texas.
For more information on Vickie and her work, please see her website and Amazon author page, or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Postmark from the Past: In November 1989, Emily Patterson is enjoying a quiet life in West Texas. She lives in the same house she grew up in, has a great job and good friends. But emptiness nips at her heart.
Then a red envelope appears in her mailbox. It’s a letter from Mark who declares his love for her, and promises to come to her if he makes it home alive. But who is Mark? She flips the envelope over, but there is no return address and it is postmarked 1968.
Over the next few days more letters mysteriously appear in her mailbox and odd things start happening. Is someone playing a cruel joke? Her friends say it is the season for miracles. As Emily seeks to solve the mystery, can she risk her heart to find a miracle in the Postmark from the Past?
Available at Amazon.
Prayer Plan for Women: 5 minutes to a dynamic, focused, powerful time of prayer!
Many Christians yearn for a dynamic prayer life, but we often get stuck in a repetitive routine of prayer, praying for the same things, people, and situations—sometimes even with the same words.
This practical and inspirational guide will give you new ways to approach prayer with 90 focused 5-minute plans for your daily quiet time. These prayer plans explore a variety of life themes such as health, finances, forgiveness, relationships, wisdom, worry, and thankfulness. Each entry includes:
Minute 1: A scripture to meditate on
Minutes 2–3: Specific prayer points and questions to consider as the reader enters a time of prayer
Minutes 4–5: A jump-starter prayer to springboard the reader into a time of conversation with God
Available at Amazon.
