Reminding Oprah and Authors
We learned yesterday that Margaret Osondu isn't the only bookseller who's been trying to educate Oprah about independent bookstores. The owner of two bookstores, a gift shop and wholesaler (Shelf Awareness, April 25, 2006), Deb Hunter writes:I've been on an e-mail writing campaign to Oprah and the authors she interviews to mention to purchase their books at a local independent bookstore.One Sunday I was listening to Oprah and Friends, an XM radio show. In the span of an hour, I heard one author mention that her book could be pre-ordered through Amazon.com and another host suggest buying school textbooks online instead of in local bookstores. Infuriated, I began my campaign. I wrote to Oprah's magazine, TV show and radio show. With the help of the ABA, I was able to direct the offending author to its author program. The author apologized and said although she has her signings at independents, she was not aware that we could pre-order!I continue to write to authors on a weekly basis, applauding the ones who mention small independent bookstores and informing the others that we could all use their help in the future.In the future, I will zero in on other TV and radio shows and authors as my quest for equality continues. But I am only one person and can do only so much on my own.
If you know of any other way to pass the word along to have others do the same as me and toot our own horns loud and clear please let me know.
So I'm spreading the word. Write to your friend Oprah - this is unacceptable.
I'm envious of the bookseller community, and yet see opening a bookstore as such a bad "new business" move. Various ideas are still cooking...
Was in Houston this weekend, where I went by the incredibly nice Brazos Bookstore. The manager was explaining their interesting and increasingly common business model. Check out both.
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