And the first one of you to think or say, “Goodness had nothing to do with it.”, buys the drinks.
We had a great meeting yesterday with a national distributor. And
one of the marketing people turned to me after we had presented our titles and said, “What happens if you get sick of reading?”
SICK OF READING? The idea. That’s like saying, “I am sick of eating or sleeping or buying presents for myself.”
Certainly, there have been times where it has been difficult to read because I couldn’t concentrate, times of stress or fear or grief. But books always get me through. If I read a bad book, I always believe the next one up could be the best ever. So I am forced to conclude that this lovely person asking the question is not the same kind of reader I am. And that’s OK.
What should people who sell books understand about us uber readers?
1. Even if I don’t find a particular title I am looking for, I will not leave your establishment empty handed.
2. Books are a necessity for me. Right up there with housing and hot water.
3. I read lots of things, fiction, non-fiction, mystery, romance and I am always looking for something new.
4. I am really smart.
5. If I find an author who’s new to me and who I fall in love with (albeit from a great distance – lucky author), I want to read everything she or he has written. I need backlist, people.
What else do they need to know about us?
Kate
They need to know that we don’t understand people who ask “When do you find time to read?” because we MAKE time to read. Like you said, books are a necessty of life.
Do they even know how many of us keep a notebook or computer file of upcoming releases so we can be at the bookstore on the day the books come out?
I also consider stacks of books sitting everywhere part of my decorating scheme in my house–well, and my car, too.
Alexis Morgan
6. When we read a book and love it, we tell many other people about the book and why they should also read it. Word-of-mouth is a wonderful thing. Word-of-mouth in these days of the Internet spreads far, wide, and fast.
This also applies to shopping in person. When in your establishment, we talk to other customers, complete strangers, and suggest authors and books we love. We also listen to their suggestions and frequently buy books we might otherwise not have purchased.
This sums me up pretty nicely. I have a total writing addiction. I must be reading constantly, even during meals. If I don’t have a book or newspaper at hand, I will read the cereal box, coupons, anything I can find in print. And I feel lost if I’m not involved in a book. I also compulsively reread books. The ones I keep are dog-eared and worn. But as addictions go, this one has too many benefits, so I have no intention of giving it up.
Looks as if I’m buying the drinks in S.F.
I agree with nearly everything you said. Including the backlist! Nor am I surprised someone in marketing asked you that. Do they actually read anything but memos? And sales plans? But, hey, that statement probably has me being as guilty of stereotyping as people who diss romance readers. I’m sure there are tons of marketing people out there who love to read the books they’re pushing. Of course there are. Somewhere. . . Maybe. . .
I’ll quibble on #1 only if a bookseller appears to have absolutely no interest in helping me locate a book I’m looking for, or doesn’t know or seem to care about books, then I’m out of there and on to the next place for my fix, even if it’s my supermarket rack, where I pick up a LOT of books. And I definitely do NOT want to feel I have to justify my reading choice to someone who might have his or her own narrow idea what constitutes a “good” book.
One of the funniest bookseller stories I’ve heard is from a writer friend who went into a major chain to get a book on Paul Revere. As she paid for it, she couldn’t resist mentioning it had been written by one of her former professors. The young clerk actually — surprise! — looked not only interested, but impressed. Then asked, “Your professor KNEW Paul Revere?”
And yes, I really, really agree with #4. You know I’ve always thought you’re the smartest person in publishing. And you also should know me well enough to know I don’t suck up. So it’s obviously true.
[...] wonder-editor (I made up that word) Kate Duffy is blogging at the Brava Authors Blog today. She’s talking directly to readers. Check it [...]
It’s physically impossible for me to walk by a stand of books without at least two leaping out to cling to my hands.
If there’s a choice between eating and reading, reading wins every time. (although you couldn’t tell it by looking at me.)
I choose books not on their cover or author alone, but on how thick they are. (The thicker the better. Those skinny ones don’t last long enough.)
If I actually run out of books to read, I’ve been known to resort to labels and cereal boxes.
The books I really love stay on my shelves and are read over and over again.
I could probably go on for hours, but I’ll save some for other readers.
JoAnn,
I’ll have a vodka and tonic.
You are stronger than I, my friend. I go into a bookstore and even if the someone questions my parentage and sanity, I will leave with a book and probably more than one.
And I meant the smart comment in the context of what we discuss around here. “Remember, these are smart books for smart women. If we want their money, we’d better treat them that way.”
Mary Stella,
I could not agree more. Word of mouth is the most powerful weapon out there.
A friend of my mom’s was going to a baby shower and wanted to take a book for the older sibling. So she went into a bookstore and walked up to the clerk and said, “Do you know The Wonderful Story of How I was Born?” The bookseller said she would love to hear about every minute.
Kate
Cereal boxes taught me to read. I was always trying to figure out how to order the prize and how many box tops I needed. I thought I was the only adult alive who still reads them if my latest novel is not within reach.
Booksellers need to know that readers read b/c they can’t not read.
Bookstores = nirvana.
Who would ever want to leave there without taking a piece home? Pshaw.
Bonnie
Oh, I wish I knew how to do a blog quoting thing!!
ANYWAY, what you said about smart books for smart women just hit a hot button. . . Would that not just all booksellers, but all editors felt the same way! I’ve mostly been fortunate with my editors, but still, if I had even a dime for every time I’d been told by an editor or c.e. that something I’d written might be too complex for the “average” reader to understand, I could afford to buy enough vodka and tonics to keep both of us drunk for a very long time.
Okay. I’m not sure, but I think your mom’s friend’s experience might just replace Paul Revere as my fave bookseller story.
My brain is not working – but… sometimes it’s funny how hard it is for people to get uber readers. When I was little, the local library had a summer reading program. I loved to read then, and I love to read now – a book a day, really. We could say how many books we wanted to read for the summer. In elementary school, I went up to the librarian and said I wanted to pledge to read 150 books. Her response was “Oh – that’s too many. How about 10?” *rolls eyes* I tried “How about 100?” She wouldn’t allow me to go over 20… “formally” – and I think I ended up reading over 150 books that summer. Pft.
Not a chance in Hades of that ever happening in my house. My dh will back me up on this – if I don’t make time to read (and write), I’m unfit company.
After 27 years, he’s learned not to get between me and my book purchases.
Uber readers have a book and a spare on them at all times.
Uber readers will go without sleep, to read.
Uber readers will scour websites of authors and bookstores to make lists of soon-to-be-released books.
Uber readers keep a database of the books they’ve already read.
Uber readers get twitchy if their TBR stack/pile drops below a certain number.
Hmmm, I’m sure I’m forgetting something, but then again my newest book is calling my name……..*G*
You are uber right.
Kate
I take a book with me everywhere I go.
I read , on average, a book a day.
I don’t have a brick and mortar book store near me. I buy at Walmart and supermarkets—alot of books. I also order from Amazon.
I HAVE to read!!
I can break any budget any day I want to on books – and I’ll bet every other uber reader can, too!
Why book distributors don’t understand that, I’ll never understand.
Diane
Estella, I’m with you. A book a day (I’m usually reading two or three at a time, depending on my mood and if I’m reading for research), with supermarkets and Amazon being the main places I buy books, because I’m mostly home writing and don’t get out all that much.
Thank goodness for Amazon Prime, which drives my dogs nuts because it has UPS coming to our door nearly every day.
I don’t know that I have anything else to add to that list since everyone has covered it pretty well. However, perhaps we can add the uber-readers will fall asleep with a book in hand. My parents have numerous pictures of me sleeping with a book open when I was in high school. I still do the same thing now and have even woken up in the middle of the night to realize my light is still on and there is still a book in my hand.
I’m guessing all of us has stayed up all night in order to finish a book.
Along the same line as number one, not only will I buy a different book before I leave, but I will go back to the bookstore knowing it does not carry a particular genre I want, because it’s a bookstore (and nearby) and always has something I will read in pinch!
I love… a book and a spare, people always make fun of me for that!
We turn other readers on to books and authors we love.
I work in my local library. I talk books with patrons (and co-workers) all day. Many patrons ask for suggestions. I love being able to say, “Well, if you like Author A, you’re going to enjoy Author B. The best is when they come back raving about the read and scarf up all the backlist.
We also talk about beloved characters as if we know them personally.
Rhonda, you’re right about the importance of the book store being close, which is how I tend to end up getting so many from the supermarket down the street. Here, the B&N, Borders, and Books-A-Million, are all within a couple blocks of each other, so if one doesn’t have the book I’m looking for, it’s not a big trip to go to another. And all three have coffee bars, which has, at least for my sweetie, become part of the treat of book shopping.
I’ve actually not bought purses I loved, because they didn’t have that all important extra room for a book. (Hmmm. I wonder if that’s why Queen Elizabeth never lets go of hers?)
Wait! They’re not real people we know personally????
Kate, what a terrific post today–amen to all of your points and those other commenters added. And another terrific thing about the Internet is that I can easily connect with other readers who feel this way–I love books and love to read and love chatting with authors and other book-lovers. People who understand why I only got four hours of sleep last night because I couldn’t put that book down until I got to the end and then I was a bit wistful that there wasn’t more but excited that the author’s got a new release coming out in just a few weeks–must pre-order on Amazon…
My schedule doesn’t allow me to read during the day, so I find myself staying up half the night to read because I know I’m too sleepy to write and I can “justify” my book time. There are books in both bathrooms, beside every comfortable chair and lining all four walls of my office, and if I don’t get to read for at least a couple hours every day, I’m totally unfit company. My doctor made me give up chocolate, caffeine and wine for some health issues–not a problem. Take away my books and you’d better find cover fast.
What else do they need to know? Books are friends. When life gets too hard or even just too…routine, books are always there. They pick me up, give me adventure, and they leave a smile on my face.
I just found this blog today, and I’m very glad I did. Just about everything listed applies to me. I’ll definitely be coming back!!
Happy Easter everyone!
We raise a whole new generation of uber book lovers. My four-year-old daughter likes to walk around with my books and pretend she’s reading. If my husband asks her to come over to him, or pick up the princess tea set strewn across the living room, she’ll tell him, “Let me just finish this chapter.”
Oh, Angie, that is just too, too funny!! Clever kid you’ve got there!
I’m thinking we should assemble the Uber Readers Manifesto.
Yeah, like I don’t have enough to do.
Yeah, like all of us don’t have enough to do.
Kate
This is the way I described books on my blog…
Paper Crack
No, it’s not like butt cleavage. It’s an addiction. My addiction. And I’ve yet to discover a Twelve Step program for it. But I can offer the line here…”Hi, my name is Gwen and I’m a bookaholic.”
Truth? I would fall off the wagon faster than you can say New York Times Bestseller List.
An estimate of how many books I’ve read over my lifetime or the amount of money I’ve spent on those books would only frighten us all, so I won’t even attempt. But I often try to persuade my husband that my addiction is preferable to a drug habit. Don’t know that he’s convinced.
Why books are better than crack…
Books are cheaper by volume.
Books aren’t consumable products. The addict can use them time and time again without having to return to her supplier, but the supplier knows she’s hooked.
Continued use of books isn’t harmful to the body. Unless, of course, the reader refuses to get up from the chair and consumes chips and chocolate all day.
A person won’t normally cop jail time for reading a book.
Both can take a person on trips, but with books, she eventually comes back.
A person seldom has to rush to the emergency room to have a book pumped out of her stomach.