All the bad news for bookselling recently has led some journalists to seek out success stories in indie bookselling (like this one about Elliott Bay Book Company and this one about new models for bookselling, which includes a nod to Village Books). Following that trend, The Oregonian columnist Steve Duin has written a well-deserved toast to Broadway Books, which is getting ready to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Co-owner Sally McPherson told Duin that the store is coming off of it’s most profitable year. (!) She and co-owner Roberta Dyer share some lessons about survival, which could be a blueprint for any struggling indie. One of the things that worked for the store this year was its candid “State of the Union at Broadway Books” blog post, which summed up for customers what they could do to support the store during tumultuous times for bookselling. “When you remind customers they’re the reason you carry on,” Duin writes, “they usually thank you by returning.”
Borrowed Copy
Survival Lessons from Broadway Books
August 18, 2011
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Jamie