Three routine tasks that will raise your store's profile and help you sell books:

1) Report your bestsellers.

Your input is what makes the Indie Bestseller list unique. It also allows SIBA to generate a list of books that are "Special to the South -- that is, on the SIBA Bestseller list but not any other list.

• Report your bestsellers to the ABA
  
• General info about Bestseller Reporting
  (also has links to downloadable bestseller lists and to the week's "Special to the South" list for stores to use on their websites)
• Southern Indie Bestsellers
• The Special to the Southern List
  

2) Write a review on Edelweiss.

Reviews raise the visibility of stores with publishers. SIBA also publishes them on AuthorsRoundtheSouth.com and in the Lady Banks newsletter, with links back to the reviewing store:

• Edelweiss
  
• Highlights from this week's SIBA store reviews
  
• Read This! Bookstore Reviews on ARTS
  
• Getting your staff on Edelweiss*
  *must be logged in to view

3) Add a store event to the ARTS Calendar:

Events are listed in the weekly Lady Banks newsletter, and a more extensive list is sent out of store events for each state in SIBA territory. Stores earn .50 in B3! credit for each event they submit.

• Event Entry Form
• Batch Submission Worksheet

The New York Times ran a piece on "What is Beach Reading?" and interviewed a half dozen bookstores, one of which was Page and Palette:

Jodie Smits, Bookseller -- Page & Palette, Fairhope, AL

Tell me about your summertime customers.

We get people from all across the world, people who want to come and learn what the South is really like. I always steer them toward our local authors, like Rick Bragg and Sonny Brewer. People often want to leave here with gifts that really capture the South, so those writers are a great introduction.

What are the best books for someone who wants to understand the South?

“Dispatches From Pluto,” by Richard Grant, Sonny Brewer’s “The Poet of Tolstoy Park,” “My Southern Journey” by Rick Bragg. And Michael Knight’s “Eveningland” — that book sets you on the porch at sunset in the state of Alabama, that’s for sure.

What’s been selling well so far? Any predictions for the top sellers of the summer?

“Where the Crawdads Sing,” of course, and “A Gentleman in Moscow.” A lot of historical fiction, like Julie Berry’s “Lovely War” and Kelly Rimmer’s “The Things We Cannot Say,” too. A lot of women have been buying up all of Anthony Horowitz’s mysteries.

Any other trends you’ve noticed?

Young women are going crazy for “The Mister,” E L James’s new book. It’s a little racy for me — I can’t risk having a heart attack!

Name: Nicole Yasinsky

Position at Store: Marketing Manager

Store and location: novel.  Memphis, TN

Social Media Stats: FB: 5,467; Instagram: 3,075; Twitter: 734

Events and buyer contact info:

• Events Coordinator: Emily Draffen -- edraffen@novelmemphis.com
• Adult Book Buyer: Jason Bouck  -- jbouck@novelmemphis.com
• Children's Book Buyer: Wilson Robbins -- wrobbins@novelmemphis.com

Number of years as a bookseller: I will celebrate 21 years as a bookseller in August! Wow. Has it really been that long?

Best part about being a bookseller? Putting books in people's hands, of course! There is nothing quite like finding the perfect book at the perfect time for a person -- there are so many variables, and it seems so unlikely, but this is what indie booksellers do all day, every day. I keep an old Candlewick mug on my desk at all times that has a quote from Kate DiCamillo at the 2010 Indies Choice Awards: "We forget that the simple gesture of putting a book in someone's hands can change a life. I want to remind you that it can. I want to thank you because it did."

What book(s) are you reading? I am currently reading Slay by Brittney Morris -- and I just picked up The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom and The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates!! SO much good stuff coming out this fall!!

Favorite handsell of 2019: I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott - this is funny and witty and happy and sad and inspiring and silly -- and exactly what so many of us need to hear and read in our lives these days!

Best thing you did this year at your store: It's a little over a year since we did it -- but it's still one of my favorite things --  and something I'm hoping to do more of in the future! We were fortunate enough to host Leslie Odom, Jr. at the Orpheum Theater. This, in and of itself, was a dream come true. BUT. The coolest part was that we were able to work with organizations and sponsors to bring 150 kids to this event - for free, transportation included! -- with a ticket that included a copy of the book AND a private backstage meet-and-greet book signing. We made a lot of public school theater kids incredibly happy -- and it's going to take a lot to top this event -- but we're working on it!!

What are some ways you work with your community? Something fun we did recently was to invite members of our community -- non-profit organizations, the mayor, long-time regular customers -- to submit shelftalkers for a special table display -- Friends of Novel. This allows us to highlight not just what we are reading, but what the rest of our city loves! This table just came down, but we worked the shelftalkers into the section (branded as Friends of Novel, so as not to confuse them with our other staff shelftalkers), and we hope to continue gathering and displaying these from different folks indefinitely. Everyone seemed incredibly excited and honored to be a part of this, and we want to continue to forge strong and multi-faceted relationships with people in our community. We also work with schools and organizations to help raise funds through shopping nights in-store, selling books/sharing proceeds at offsite events, featuring organizations at in-store events and giving back a percentage of proceeds, in-school book fairs. We invite non-profit organizations to gift wrap during busy holiday times for donations. It has turned out that many of these are dog rescue groups (awwww!) and not only do they need donations, but they get TONS of doggos adopted by bringing them out to the store! We are always trying to come up with ways to bring authors to different schools and audiences, and we are pretty much willing to try anything once, so we are constantly having conversations with our partners to see what else we can do to help each other out.

Do you have any community partners you work with regularly? Literacy Mid-South, Memphis Jewish Community Center, OUTMemphis, WKNO-FM, Memphis Public Library, Arts Memphis, Memphis Reads, Indie Memphis Film Festival, Books from Birth, St, Jude Children's Research Hospital, Lyceum Circuit

Do you have passions that carry over into your bookselling life? Well, since I haven't quite found a way to work my love of musicals into my bookselling life yet (but just WAIT until I write my musical about Indies v. Amazon!), I think that my passion  for my city has played a huge role in my decision to work in indie bookstores here. It was definitely key in my dedication to helping create a new bookstore, truly and finally locally-owned here in Memphis. While our owner was liquidating our previous store (The Booksellers at Laurelwood), the community was heartbroken, and asking how they could help, and what could be done -- and after quite a bit of blood, sweat and tears, we were able to put numbers together and find a group of investors (they were all our customers, y'all -- they are the ones who really came through for us!), who placed their faith in our seasoned staff and trusted us to open a brand new bookstore for Memphis - and here we are!

Top priority for 2019: This isn't a very flashy or exciting answer, but honestly, since we will only be celebrating 2 years in business, we are really just trying to focus on the numbers and make sure that we are doing everything in a way that we can ensure we will be around for many years to come. (Told you it was boring!) BUT...we do have a SUPER fun side project for 2019: We've got an old bookmobile we are in the process of fixing up, and we are hoping to get that up and running and take it to hospitals, schools, retirement homes, festivals, and anywhere else we can think of where there is a need for books!!

Favorite SIBA programming benefit: It's hard to nail down just ONE -- I really love the overall sense of community & idea-sharing that SIBA membership provides that is unique to our region. This includes the Discovery Show -- where I can exchange ideas with my peers and meet great authors and learn about great new books -- but also, the support and education that is provided throughout the year, as well through webinars and such. PS -- I also love the holiday catalog and all of the wonderful Okra marketing materials; these programs are such a great benefit, and are a great way for us to complement the marketing pieces we are using in our stores.

Resources and Links for Booksellers

The book industry has responded strongly to the news that Baker & Taylor is leaving the retail book market, with publishers, wholesalers, and industry organizations each implementing special offers and programs for booksellers forced to transition away from their major supplier.  

ABA Resource List | SIBA B&T Resource Page

Reach out to SIBA with any and all questions. If we can't find the answer, we'll be able to put you in touch with someone who can:

Wanda Jewell: wanda@sibaweb.com
Linda-Marie Barrett: lindamarie@sibaweb.com
Nicki Leone: nicki@sibaweb.com

Talk to someone face to face: SIBA's Video Office Hours are every Wednesday, 2-5 pm EST at this link: https://zoom.us/j/328846384

Talk to your colleagues. The collective wisdom of the SIBA community may have all the answers you need:

The SIBA Google Group

The SIBA Facebook Group

More information is available on the SIBA B&T Resource Page

SIBA’s Discovery Show in Spartanburg, SC is going to be extra special, with a full schedule of author events, educational programming, and gatherings where seeing old friends and making new ones is top of the list. SIBA's Wanda Jewell and Linda-Marie Barrett visited recently for a site visit, and met with Patricia Byrd of the Spartanburg CVB, Anne Waters, Meg Reid and Betsy Teter of Hub City Bookshop & Press, and the good folks at the Spartanburg Marriott AKA Discovery Show Central. 

The Marriott is in downtown Spartanburg, a walkable distance from restaurants, the book shop, and other beloved local attractions. The hotel is lovely, spacious, and well-appointed, featuring three restaurants, a bar, and a cafe. After the day’s activities you can settle in, schmooze, and connect with other booksellers, authors, reps, and more. Here’s a peek at where you’ll be staying.

But you won’t want to stay in the hotel the whole time. Spartanburg-affectionately known as Hub City and Sparkle City- has so much to offer culturally. Come early as we’ll be offering a variety of things to do on Thursday, September 12, including a visit to Hub City Writers Project, and The Johnson Collection Gallery. Art lovers will also want to wander down to the AC Hotel and view the 40+ objects on view at the hotel—paintings, works on paper, sculpture and textiles—created by faculty members and students at the experimental arts enclave of Black Mountain College. The collection is really extraordinary, as is the hotel’s rooftop bar!

SIBA promotes six new books every month to consumers in our Lady Banks Bookshelf promotion.These titles appear at the top of our weekly Lady Banks Commonplace Book newsletter, which has a circulation of over 60k.  We also feature them above the fold on the homepage of Authors ‘Round the South and on the cover image of the ARTS Facebook page with buy links promoted to our 15,000 Facebook friends. A different member store is featured with the titles every week.

Since SIBA redesigned Lady Banks Bookshelf last year, this promotion experienced a 23% increase in audience reach (from 17K to 22.5K), a 16% jump in engagement (from 585 to 700) on social media, a 10% rise in impressions, and a 14% rise in click throughs via email. SIBA attributes the success to a more strongly focused target audience, more active engagement with member bookstores, and a fresh, more visually appealing presence that also appeals to the reader's sense of adventure and individuality.

By promoting through Lady Banks, publishers are making an investment in SIBA member bookstores’ attention and market. SIBA works with them to select titles your customers are looking for, and then we drive those customers to your stores.  It’s very worth your while to bring Lady Banks Bookshelf titles in before the month begins, and put up a display.

What’s on the shelf in June? The June Collection on Edelweiss. Shirtless Men Drink Free available through Ingram (must be logged in to Ingram to access).

Serafina & the Seven Stars by Robert Beatty

The Travelers by Regina Porter

Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett

Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas

Shirtless Men Drink Free by Dwaine Rieves

The Beautiful Mysterious edited by Ann J. Abadie

"Pre-Order" was one of the magic words at SIBA in the Springtime in March. According to the American Booksellers Association, pre-orders are an increasingly important part of a book's marketing campaign, especially in the era of social media marketing and buzz. Indie bookstores that ignore the trend are in danger of losing sales. They may find their customers have already purchased the book long before it could be put on the shelves. Conversely, stores that take advantage of pre-order campaigns may not only increase sales, but also find they have fewer returns and a better sell-through rate.

The ABA keeps a running calendar of books with publisher-supported pre-order campaigns here:
https://www.bookweb.org/pre-order-calendar

Disney-Hyperion will be launching a pre-order campaign for Southern favorite Robert Beatty for his latest Serafina book, Serafina and the Seven Stars, which publishes on July 9, 2019. SIBA stores that participate in the banner-for-dues program, Circle of Sites, will find the book advertised on their sites for the month of June. The book will also be featured in the Lady Banks newsletter and on the Lady Banks Bookshelf -- which means book will be promoted directly to the fans and followers of stores on Facebook.

It's a great opportunity to capture early sales of a book from an author with a huge following in the South. Disney-Hyperion has created some graphics for stores to use to build on the momentum: Serafina Graphics for Store websites

The news this week that Baker & Taylor will cease serving the retail bookselling market has many SIBA members scrambling to adjust. Everyone at SIBA has been discussing what the organization can do to help its members make the transition away from relying on Baker & Taylor as a supplier and service provider.

Most immediately, stores who run SIBA's "Circle of Sites" banner and use "My Books and More" for online orders face some pressing repercussions from Baker & Taylor's decision. "Circle of Sites," also known as the "Banner for Dues" program, requires participating stores to have an ecommerce platform compatible with the program.

SIBA recognizes that choosing and implementing a new ecommerce solution is big decision that doesn't happen overnight. Here is what we will be doing to help:

1. When My Books and More is discontinued on June 30, SIBA will convert the banner running on all stores using that platform to be "nonclickable" so that visitors to your site are not taken to any error pages by accident. You will not have to make any changes to your site or banner code.
   
   
2. Store memberships will remain active until the end of the year, in order to give everyone time to implement a new e-commerce platform on their websites. As new e-commerce systems are adopted, SIBA will be on call to help stores re-activate their banners. At the end of the year, stores that haven't converted to a new e-commerce system will be removed from the program and the banner taken down from their site. (Stores can still earn their dues by participating in the B3! Bookseller Engagement Program).
   
   
3. Over the next couple months, SIBA will do everything it can to help stores find the resources they need to choose a new e-commerce option. Stores can also post questions to SIBA's "Watercooler" group (sibamembers@googlegroups.com). Questions about websites and compatibility with SIBA programs can be addressed to nicki@sibaweb.com
   
   

The American Booksellers Association has responded to the announcement from Baker & Taylor with a special introductory offer for stores to sign up to their IndieLite program. Anyone interested should contact the IndieCommerce team at staff@bookweb.org. The ABA is a natural partner for bookstores and IndieCommerce is tailored to indie bookseller needs.

Here is a list of booksellers who are familiar with some of the popular e-commerce systems and are willing to answer questions:

Ask a Bookseller! E-Commerce Platform Users

System	Contact
more info	Chris Fanning | A Cappella Books chris@acappellabooks.com | store website
more info	Jill Hendrix | Fiction Addiction info@fictionaddiction.com | store website
more info	Donna Paz | Story and Song Bookstore dpaz@pazbookbiz.com | store website
more info	Dave Lucey | Page 158 Books dave@page158books.com | store website
more info	Booksellers Using Square Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1097407303731307/
more info	Josh Niesse | Hills and Hamlets josh@hillsandhamlets.com | store website

THE BOOKS YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE TALKING ABOUT

Submitted this week on Edelweiss+ using the "send to SIBA" option. Thanks to Avid Bookshop, Bookmarks, Bookmiser, Books & Books, Copperfish Books, Fiction Addiction, Flyleaf Books, Fountain Bookstore, Givens Books, Lincoln's Loft, McIntyre's Books, Page & Palette, Park Road Books, Parnassus Books, Righton Books, Sundog Books, andThe Country Book Shop.

9781524759780 Recursion 6/11/2019
"Fast-paced and intelligent thriller that proves an interesting look at the consequence of time travel. Great characters and a page-turner plot make this an easy go-to summer read recommendation.." -- Dwan Dawson-Tape, Sundog Books, Santa Rosa, FL

9781524732011 Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory 6/11/2019
"I didn't know I could feel so much through so many different stories and writing styles, but that's exactly what Raphael Bob-Waksberg has done to me." -- DElany Holcomb, Bookmarks, Winston-Salem, NC

9781409170754 The Strawberry Thief 7/9/2019
"If you ever read Chocolat or saw the movie you will surely want to read this sequel." -- Stephanie Crowe, Page & Palette, Fairhope, AL

9781571313782 Late Migrations 7/9/2019
"A blend of memoir, nature writing, and poetry, Renkl beautifully observes and captures what it is to live, love, and lose, whether you are a mother or a daughter; a bluebird or a monarch butterfly" -- Gaël LeLamer, Books & Books, Coral Gables, FL

9780385537070 The Nickel Boys 7/16/2019
"This is the kind of book that’ll grow on you–you start reading and you don’t really know what’s going on, but you’re hooked...you have to get to the next page, the next chapter, and before you know it you’ve accidentally gotten to the end and you’re not sure what time it is or where your day went" -- Lizy Coale, Copperfish Books, Punta Gorda, FL

More bookseller reviews

If your store does not have an Edelweiss+ account and need help setting one up, contact Linda-Marie