I’ve loved Brenda Coulter’s stories of creative shelving at the bookstore in the comment section. Creative shelving is when you place or face out your book (or a friend’s) for optimal viewing.
I’m always nervous about doing this. First, because I’m a rule follower. Second, because of the rumors.
“If you move your books around, the distributors get mad and will strip all your books.”
“If you face out your books in one of the chain stores, they’ll put them all in the back.”
Do you have one of your own?
Anyway, because of this, I’ve always asked someone in the store if I could do a little rearranging. Picture the give an inch, take a mile scenarios – I do have some rebellion.
At Wal-Mart – I finally just did it! My book was behind a ladder. I did try to move the ladder, but it was zip-tied to the wall mount. There was a woman in the aisle looking at romance novels. Something had to be done! Then I spotted it – at the top of the bookrack, a blank slot. Perfect. Stretching behind the ladder, I pulled my books out one at a time and then put them front and center in the open slot.
It was like a dam broke after that. At the next store, I see a table promoting holiday books – Never Naughty Enough has poinsettias on the cover – perfect for that display. New author display – my book’s now there, too.
4 responses so far ↓
Ellen // Dec 22, 2004 at 10:31 am
Yay for bookseller perspective? I don’t know about other stores, but no one in ours would ever notice if an author moved his or her books, let alone take revenge on those who did. Customers move things around — oh, how they move things around — constantly, and books only get stripped when they’re damaged or when there isn’t any room. Our store, being inside a mall, doesn’t have a very large back room, so nothing gets moved back there after going out onto the floor except in extenuating circumstances. (Okay, I will admit it — occasionally some books get stripped when the bookseller in question doesn’t like an author, but never all of them.)
Susan Gable // Dec 22, 2004 at 11:54 am
LOL – Jill, my husband runs away from me in a store when he catches me doing this. Still, those we love must have nice placement, right?
There’s one store I love but I don’t move my books there, and it’s a shame, because the Supers are on the bottom shelf – you have to practically stand on your head to see them. (sigh) So, I don’t mess around there and move them – too obvious. (G)
Karen Junker // Dec 22, 2004 at 7:43 pm
I *always* face books written by my friends or their friends. In fact, some days, I go on little ‘face-it’ outings, where I hit every bookstore within a 10 mile radius.
Jill Monroe // Dec 22, 2004 at 8:37 pm
Karen – you’re obviously a very good friend.
I vow to not be so shy with my shelving in the future.