Event Recording

Building a Successful Relationship with Booksellers

Marketing & Publicity

October 6, 2022

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Authors depend on the kindness of booksellers in so many ways: hand-selling your book, giving it special placement in a store, and hosting your book launch and readings. Booksellers can also provide writers with unique insights on reaching readers and selling books. Regardless of where you are on your publication journey, it’s always a good time to develop your relationships with bookstores and the people who will be personally interacting with your readers.

In this bootcamp you will learn:

• How to approach booksellers and bookstores
• How do they select what books to carry in store
• Avoid these mistakes when approaching booksellers 
• How to put on a successful book event
• Marketing materials and promotions that actually work
• Reaching out to sign stock
• What independent/self-published authors should know, including book wholesalers

Panelists

Justin Colussy-Estes is the store manager for Little Shop of Stories, one of the largest independent children’s books stores in the country. Little Shop of Stories was founded in 2005 in Decatur, GA.

Kim McNamara is the owner of Read it Again, founded in 2002 and located in Johns Creek, GA. Read It Again is an independent, new and used family bookstore. They often promote indie bestsellers and what’s coming out next in the independent publisher world. 

Moderator: Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Mayra Cuevas is the author of the teen novels Does My Body Offend You? and Salty, Bitter, Sweet. Her short story Resilient was published as part of the anthology FORESHADOW. Mayra is an award-winning producer for CNN and co-founder of the Latinx Kidlit Book Festival. She keeps her sanity by practicing Buddhist meditation. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, her two stepsons, their fluffy cat and a very loud Chihuahua. You can find Mayra on Twitter @MayraECuevas, on Instagram @Mayra.Cuevas and her website MayraCuevas.com. 

Special Thanks to Our Supporters and Partner Organizations

Special thanks to Las Musas for collaborating with the Authors Guild Foundation on this panel.

With support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Penguin Random House, and our donors, the Authors Guild Foundation is pleased to make Business Bootcamps for Writers free and open to the public.

Several writers organizations have partnered with the Authors Guild Foundation to help shape these programs. Our deepest appreciation to these organizations.