Every Writer's Dream of Seeing Your Book in a Bookstore
Kathleen Kelly + fun local bookstore news!
Every *serious* writer dreams of growing up to be Kathleen Kelly. If you’re googling frantically, let me help you: Kathleen Kelly is the beloved bookstore owner (Meg Ryan) of The Shop Around the Corner in the treasured Nora Ephron ‘90s rom-com, You’ve Got Mail.
I love hearing references to Kathleen Kelly in my earbuds today as I listen to the latest podcast episodes celebrating the release of Annie B. Jones’ new book, Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put. Annie and I actually share a mutual endorser! Elizabeth Passarella, who endorsed my book (read it here), called Annie “our generation’s Kathleen Kelly.” Of course a highly romanticized life, but Annie owns an independent bookstore in Georgia called The Bookshelf and she’s now living the dream of seeing her own book on bookshelves everywhere.
All this nostalgic daydreaming about Kathleen Kelly’s quaint life of stocking shelves and stringing up more twinkle lights has me thinking about why it’s every writer’s dream to see your book in a bookstore.
I didn’t grow up in an Amazon Prime world. I grew up with bookstores, libraries, school media centers, and Scholastic book fairs. It’s just as much about touching the physical books on the shelves as it is about smelling those fresh pages. To truly “make it” as a writer meant that I would grow up and find my name on a spine.
As you know, I self-published my newest book, Good (Enough) Mother: Stories and Essays. What many people don’t understand about self-publishing is that it means your book won’t just magically show up on bookstore shelves. It’s “easy” to publish your book online. (I’m very intentionally using quotation marks around “easy” because there’s nothing easy about writing, editing, publishing, and launching a book—period.) But the real challenge comes in learning about distribution, retailers, booksellers, marketing, and how to have the confidence to walk into a bookstore to ask, “Would you consider carrying my book?”
In a recent podcast interview for the Clear Intentions Podcast with Diane Boden, Diane asked me if she was allowed to ask me about self-publishing and, more specifically, how I managed to get so many impressive endorsements for my book. Of course, I’m happy to share my experience—there’s nothing off the table to ask me about the process. As I shared in the note below, I think people are looking for very complex answers or a formula for them to follow. But my answer is very simple: Invest in the quality of your work. Build up your confidence. And ask. Just ask for people to read and support your work.
In self-publishing, I quite literally have to go “door to door” in order to see my book in a bookstore. Is it the most lucrative part of publishing? No. Frankly, it’s time consuming and some bookstores only start out by buying one book at a time (with a significant retailers’ discount) to see how it does in their store.
But it’s a rewarding part of publishing. I’ve loved experiencing the romanticized writer’s dream come to life: To see my book in a bookstore! To dream about someone finding my book, holding it in their hands, and carrying my words with them throughout their ordinary day.
I’ve seen my confidence grow as I challenge myself to advocate for myself, craft a pitch, and believe in the quality of my work. Every email, phone call, or cold pitch to a manager means I’m making a new connection in the literary world. I’m connecting on a deeper level with my community in places that share my ideals of growing and gathering.
With that, I have some very exciting bookstore news to share with you!
Save the Date: Saturday, April 26th is Independent Bookstore Day!
This Saturday is a celebration for local bookstores across the nation hosted by the American Booksellers Association. Shop in your local indie this weekend, and check out all the fun events and prizes!
I’m SO excited to share that you can find my book on the bookshelves at the following independent bookstores:
- in Lancaster, PA
Curious Iguana in Frederick, MD
Queen Takes Book in Columbia, MD
Wonderland Books in Bethesda, MD
Book Hounds in St. Michaels, MD
Mother’s Day Book Tour for Good (Enough) Mother!
First Stop: May 3 | Ellicott City, MD | Barnes & Noble | 10am
4300 Montgomery Road; Ellicott City, MD 21043
Join me for a book signing! This is a free event and the store is hosting a Storytime at 11am. Find the store info here. (This is the B&N café where I grew up writing for the last two decades! I wrote about it in a special post here.)
Second Stop: May 4 | Columbia, MD | Queen Takes Book | 3pm
6955 Oakland Mills Rd, Suite E; Columbia MD 21045
Come stop by my hometown for a special family friendly event, including a children’s storytime. Check their events page for more info to come on this free event.
Third Stop: May 9 | Lancaster, PA | Nooks | 7pm
112 North Prince Street; Lancaster, PA 17603
Save the date for an evening celebrating motherhood, including a live reading and Q&A. I had the pleasure of visiting
in January for ’s book tour event (I wrote about it here!), and I’m so grateful to owners and for hosting me! RSVP here—it’s free or you can purchase a book with your ticket.Buy my book, Good (Enough) Mother, to gift to all of your favorite moms this Mother’s Day! Stock up before May 11. If you purchase through Bookshop.org, you can go to “Choose A Bookstore” to directly support your favorite local independent bookstore.
