Book Review: Click & Mortar Books
Subtitle: Book Selling in the Internet Age
Authors: William and Jennifer Kinser
Overview
Click & Mortar Books is not quite a how-to book; rather, it is more like the memoir of the creation of a new book business by a dedicated (and pretty business-savvy) couple. The book is split into a Q&A sort of format, but rather than giving "do it my way" answers, they couch their answers in the experiences that helped them make their decisions. It runs the gamut from "Who can sell used book?" to detailed descriptions of using the Homebase software package. Extensive detail is given about the sales projections (and subsequent volume) of their business.
Content
The content varies between items about a physical bookstore (Click), internet sales (Mortar) and both (Click & Mortar). Each is useful, complete with anecdotal background and fairly useful. I, personally, found the information about the physical bookstore interesting (in fact, it was instrumental in helping me *avoid* opening a brick & mortar shop), and their book scouting reports interesting and fun. I also appreciated their detailed description of the venues they sell in - it, too, helped make some decisions about where we would focus our online sales.
This book has gotten rather slagged in the internet forum world - mainly from people that griped about them writing this book after only 16 months in business. I'll take a different view: I think that it was brave of them to talk about their successes, but even more brave to talk about their failures. I also think that there are many kinds of booksellers that can be served, and not all of them need to have their noses pressed in a copy of Mandeville's Price Guide.
The fact is, this isn't a book for the seasoned bookseller. It is a very good book for someone just getting started - but make sure you measure their advice carefully before you follow any of it. (Note: this is something I would say about almost any business guide.) For example, early in our bookselling adventures, we needed to get shipping supplies; we lived in the sticks, and had no local supplier of any worth. We followed their link (which eventually pointed us to Linton), and found the shipping supplier that we use to this day. However, we also blindly took their advice about envelope sizes to purchase. We ended up with about a 15-year supply of #0 envelopes (since we sell very few MM paperbacks), but not nearly enough #5's. Live-and-learn - we should have taken a closer look at our sales stock before making a buy decision.
Tone
This book is written in a very personal way: in the end, you feel as if the Kinser family are already your friends, and you just need to remember to invite them over for supper. The text is rich with experiences of beginning booksellers - which is a great for a beginner that would prefer to learn from someone else's mistakes. They don't pretend to have all the answers, and there are a few instances where you might choose a different path than they've taken. However, since they are open about their goals and decision-making process, the book gives you the ammo to take a different fork in the road.
Helpfulness
As I mentioned before, this isn't a book for the experienced bookhound. But if you are comtemplating a new book business (whether click, mortar or both), the Kinser's unrivaled willingness to share is probably a good read for you. This isn't the only book to get, but it is one of the few that may help you decide whether the business is for you.
Conclusion
Despite the gripes and groans of the internet forum bookmasters, I found this a great and inspiring read. I also found it a useful was to gain some experience without having to duplicate someone else's trials and tribulations. At around $20, a beginner can't really afford not to buy this book.
You can visit part of the Kinser's online presence (as well as order the book) from their website: www.thebookhive.net.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10 (but primarily for beginners)
Authors: William and Jennifer Kinser
Overview
Click & Mortar Books is not quite a how-to book; rather, it is more like the memoir of the creation of a new book business by a dedicated (and pretty business-savvy) couple. The book is split into a Q&A sort of format, but rather than giving "do it my way" answers, they couch their answers in the experiences that helped them make their decisions. It runs the gamut from "Who can sell used book?" to detailed descriptions of using the Homebase software package. Extensive detail is given about the sales projections (and subsequent volume) of their business.
Content
The content varies between items about a physical bookstore (Click), internet sales (Mortar) and both (Click & Mortar). Each is useful, complete with anecdotal background and fairly useful. I, personally, found the information about the physical bookstore interesting (in fact, it was instrumental in helping me *avoid* opening a brick & mortar shop), and their book scouting reports interesting and fun. I also appreciated their detailed description of the venues they sell in - it, too, helped make some decisions about where we would focus our online sales.
This book has gotten rather slagged in the internet forum world - mainly from people that griped about them writing this book after only 16 months in business. I'll take a different view: I think that it was brave of them to talk about their successes, but even more brave to talk about their failures. I also think that there are many kinds of booksellers that can be served, and not all of them need to have their noses pressed in a copy of Mandeville's Price Guide.
The fact is, this isn't a book for the seasoned bookseller. It is a very good book for someone just getting started - but make sure you measure their advice carefully before you follow any of it. (Note: this is something I would say about almost any business guide.) For example, early in our bookselling adventures, we needed to get shipping supplies; we lived in the sticks, and had no local supplier of any worth. We followed their link (which eventually pointed us to Linton), and found the shipping supplier that we use to this day. However, we also blindly took their advice about envelope sizes to purchase. We ended up with about a 15-year supply of #0 envelopes (since we sell very few MM paperbacks), but not nearly enough #5's. Live-and-learn - we should have taken a closer look at our sales stock before making a buy decision.
Tone
This book is written in a very personal way: in the end, you feel as if the Kinser family are already your friends, and you just need to remember to invite them over for supper. The text is rich with experiences of beginning booksellers - which is a great for a beginner that would prefer to learn from someone else's mistakes. They don't pretend to have all the answers, and there are a few instances where you might choose a different path than they've taken. However, since they are open about their goals and decision-making process, the book gives you the ammo to take a different fork in the road.
Helpfulness
As I mentioned before, this isn't a book for the experienced bookhound. But if you are comtemplating a new book business (whether click, mortar or both), the Kinser's unrivaled willingness to share is probably a good read for you. This isn't the only book to get, but it is one of the few that may help you decide whether the business is for you.
Conclusion
Despite the gripes and groans of the internet forum bookmasters, I found this a great and inspiring read. I also found it a useful was to gain some experience without having to duplicate someone else's trials and tribulations. At around $20, a beginner can't really afford not to buy this book.
You can visit part of the Kinser's online presence (as well as order the book) from their website: www.thebookhive.net.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10 (but primarily for beginners)
posted by The Well Read Blogger at 8:39 PM
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