Marketing

Larry Abramoff credits his "mid-life crisis" as a catalyst for some new directions at his bookstore. After founding Tatnuck Bookseller & Sons in Worcester, Massachusetts, 27 years ago and expanding to five locations (including the main store, which houses a full-service restaurant and publishing company), Abramoff was ready to do some event retooling.

This month, the New York Times began sending Book Cash checks as a gift to consumers who upgraded from a trial to a full subscription to the newspaper. It is expected that the Times' Book Cash check, which is good for $10 towards payment for any book purchase, will be distributed to as many as 20,000 consumers. Booksellers could start seeing customers with the checks as early as this week.

By Neal Coonerty As a savvy and experienced bookseller, you should be able to name the best-selling single item in your bookstore in the last 12 months. Until I investigated, I couldn't. First, I immediately thought about titles of hot books, but our best-selling book sold 845 paperback copies in the last year and wasn't even close to our number-one selling item. In fact, I found out that we sold 4,969 copies of our best-selling item last year, almost six times the number of our best-selling book.

By Carl Lennertz Tip of the Week: Booksellers are reporting that they have had great success tucking a copy of the current 76 flier into titles waiting on the hold/special order shelf. Sales News: Here's an update from data gathered from 350 indies. (Booksellers: Some of this information went out by e-mail Tuesday; let me know if you're not getting that e-mail, along with the national list and the "On the Rises." Publishers: Let me know if you're not getting the list on Tuesday.) Hardcover Fiction:

Over the past year-and-a-half, BookSense.com's e-newsletter has established itself as a fun, promotional vehicle strengthening the bond between consumers and independent bookstores. "We get a lot of feedback from consumers," Linda Castellitto, BookSense.com's creative director, told Bookselling This Week. "And the newsletter will often prompt them to go look for books on their local independent bookstore's site, too. It's helped increase awareness [of independent bookstores]."

By Carl Lennertz

Due to the overwhelming popularity, and numerous appearances on the BookSense Bestseller list, of Ian Falconer's Olivia books -- Olivia, Olivia Saves the Circus, Olivia Counts, and Olivia's Opposites (Simon & Schuster) -- BTW is providing sidelines information for related products. We will update this list as more information becomes available.

Book Sense recently announced that Firehouse.com, the leading fire and emergency services portal, which covers daily news and information for the emergency services sector, will be joining with Book Sense and The History Channel in supporting "The Fire on the Mountain, Campaign for Communities: Firefighter Fundraiser" promotion. The fundraiser will run from September 9 through October 25 and will coincide with a documentary based on the book Fire on the Mountain: The True Story of the South Canyon Fire (Washington Square Press) by John N. Maclean.

Beginning in August, as many as 20,000 consumers nationwide will receive a special Book Cash promotion designed to send book buyers into bookstores nationwide. The latest version of Book Cash certificates, good for $10 towards payment for any book purchase, will be sent to certain new subscribers to the New York Times. As in previous Book Cash promotions, the certificates should be handled as if they were regular checks or traveler's checks: they should be deposited in the store's bank account.

What is Book Cash?