New Booksellers Solidify Plans With Knowledge Gained at School

Close to 40 people with different levels of bookselling experience, but all with plans to open a bookstore or to make the ones they now own into better businesses, participated in the Booksellers School, sponsored by the American Booksellers Association and facilitated by Donna Paz and Mark Kaufman of Paz & Associates, at this year's BookExpo America. At least two of the graduates, Hayley Wright and Melinda Corroto, plan to open their respective bookstores by September; for Mandie Maass, the goal is to open by summer 2008.

Paz told BTW that more booksellers in this year's group then ever before had either committed to a space or had opened their stores, and most attendees had previous careers with professional positions. "The good news," she said, "is that many of their skills can transfer into the book business so what we spent time on is introducing them to the nuances of the book industry." 

Historic building in Bend, Oregon, where Hayley Wright plans to open Between the Covers.

Wright plans to open the general bookstore, Between the Covers, in Bend, Oregon, in mid August. The store's 1,500-square foot space will be located between the downtown area and the Old Mill district in an historic building featuring front and back courtyards, which won an award for its meticulous preservation. In homage to the building's past (the store served as a general store in the 1920s), Wright will sell old-fashioned candy including Abba Zabas, Big Hunks, and licorice kites. Between the Covers will also sell coffee and pastries and will offer free WiFi. The location is ideal, with "tons of foot and bicycle traffic," she said.

Wright, who grew up in the neighborhood, noted that living in area has its benefits. "I know lots of people," she said. "My daughter's school has already committed to buying all their books from me. Everyone's been so receptive."

Wright's lease includes a vacation rental property, and she hopes to someday use it to put up authors staying for store events.

Of her experience at Booksellers School, Wright said that she gleaned "a ton of information. I can't imagine opening without having gone to the school. One important thing I picked up was making sure you have a full inventory when you open. We also talked about lighting, layout, and focus points. And there was invaluable information about the Book Sense program and Above the Treeline."

For Corroto, who worked as a sales manager at Borders for eight years, her skills will transfer directly to the tentatively named Beehive Books, which is slated to open in Delaware, Ohio, this September. Even with her years of bookselling experience, Corroto appreciated the school's wealth of information. "The information we got was really incredibly helpful," she said. "They really broke it down and touched on just about everything -- developing a business plan, developing a vision, store design, building and maintaining inventory -- everything."

Corroto will be partnering with Linda Diamond, a former elementary school teacher, to open the 2,700-square-foot Beehive in downtown Delaware, the county seat. Diamond owns the building on the town's Main Street.

"It's a beautiful neighborhood with businesses and residential areas that is really starting to come back," said Corroto. With a population of about 30,000, and located just north of the large metro area of Columbus, Delaware is "one of the fastest growing counties in Ohio," said Corroto.

The general bookstore will emphasize literary fiction, as well as titles on gardening, horses, motorcycling, and car renovation. The store will have a cafe and "great browsing areas with lots of soft seating all around." Others specialties are yet to be determined. "We really want to get to know our customers to find out what they're looking for," Corroto said.

Maass, who hopes to open a bookstore, in South Tampa, Florida, next summer found attendance at the school was very informative. "[It] answered most of questions I had about opening a store," she said. "It definitely boosted my confidence and gave me the base knowledge I needed to move forward."

Maass and her business partner, Nikki-Lyn Ward, are in the process of writing a business plan for the bookstore, tentatively named Go Fish! Books and More, "a motivational, inspirational store for all ages."

They are currently looking for a 1,500-square-foot space in South Tampa's Hyde Park area for a store that will specialize in books on career development, self-help, parenting, spirituality, and more. "Each book will be hand-selected and only books with a positive context will be placed on our shelves," Maass said. "We will also sell gifts, cards, and other items that are positive in nature."

For anyone who is thinking about buying or opening a bookstore, Paz & Associates will be conducting the workshop "Opening A Bookstore: The Business Essentials" from September 23 - 28 in Oak Park, Illinois (near Chicago). (Learn more.) --Karen Schechner