The Front-Page story in the Kansas City Star featured a dramatic picture of Jim Wickwire, coauthor of Addicted to Danger (Pocket Books), climbing Oregon's Mount Hood. The story continued, nearly filling half of an inside page. A boxed sidebar story noted that Wickwire would speak that night at Unity Temple on the Plaza. Free reserved tickets could be obtained from the event's sponsor, Rainy Day Books of Fairway, Kans.
It was the kind of promotion that most independent bookstores only dream of, but for Rainy Day Books owner Vivien Jennings, major publicity is common. How did she, in fact, manage to get a story of that magnitude for a book event? "It just happens that a sportswriter for the Star is a customer of mine, and I asked him to pass the book around the newsroom until he found someone passionate enough about it to write an article," she said.
But Jim Wickwire, after all, isn't Jon Krakauer (who, while promoting his bestseller Into Thin Air [Anchor Books], spoke earlier under Rainy Day Books' auspices). How did Jennings know the event would draw what turned out to be 700 people? "If you know the climbing community in Kansas City, you'd know Wickwire would be a big draw." It turns out that Jennings is acquainted with not only the climbing enthusiasts but just about every subset of Kansas City's community life.
Looking at the author events sponsored by Rainy Day Books in recent years gives the impression that the owner's antennae for crowd pleasers are well-nigh flawless. "I learn a lot from my customers about who they'd like to see," she modestly told PW, but since major authors must be booked months in advance, intuition and experience must play a substantial role. Recent author visits have featured Russell Banks, Arthur Golden, Harvey Mackay, Cokie Roberts, Joan Lunden, Dave Barry and Anna Quindlen, among the more than 100 annual events sponsored by the bookstore.
Jennings opened Rainy Day Books in 1975 as a recycled paperback bookstore in a small shopping center in an upscale suburb of Kansas City. Within a year, she began to add new paperbacks to the mix and in subsequent years added selective sections of hardbacks. During the craze of romance books in the early '80s, when American publishers began aggressively competing with Harlequin, Jennings, a long-time romance reader herself, led the pack in stocking romances. Book signings for romance writers became a staple of her trade. When the trend started to fade, she wisely began to diversify again, planning events centered around major authors.
The popular autographings had made her painfully aware that her tiny retail space was inadequate to handle the traffic generated by major authors, so Jennings asked the shops on either side of her store to join with her in staging author events. The gourmet market on one side was an ideal partner for cookbooks; the gift and interior shop on the other side, Stony Broke Ltd., lent itself to books on decorating and entertaining. What was in it for her two neighbors? "Exposure," she explained simply.
Jennings's first big venture was an event she was encouraged to undertake by her Random House rep. Martha Stewart was planning a tour for Martha Stewart's Menus for Entertaining (Crown). Jennings suggested an event in which a 40'x80' tent was erected in the parking lot behind the rear entrances of both Rainy Day Books and Stony Broke. A florist in the shopping center provided flowers. A caterer prepared refreshments from Stewart's menus. A local classical station on which Jennings has a weekly radio show called "Book Ends" co-sponsored the event and announced it regularly. The event was ticketed so Jennings knew to expect 1000 people. People could enter from either Rainy Day Books or Stony Broke and make the circuit to the tent, where Stewart spoke and signed books, and exit via the other store.
And how did the event come off? "Perfectly," said Jennings. "I owe a lot to Random House for having the faith in me to let me take on a project like that, and I was told that Stewart, known as among the most demanding of authors, was extremely pleased."
Part of the achievement of a flawless event was due to the efforts of Jennings's personal partner, Roger D ren, who set up the sound system, lighting and ceiling fans and walked through the traffic pattern again and again. D ren's 15 years of experience in electrical and lighting design and engineering has been invaluable to Rainy Day Books as its events have become technologically more adventuresome and demanding.
Soon after the Stewart event, a building nearby was temporarily available and the ambitious bookstore owner decided to start staging off-site events there. In time, Jennings determined that, for major speakers, the best venue was Unity Temple on the Plaza, a 1250-seat auditorium for an interdenominational church. An added advantage was its location on the Plaza, a shopping and restaurant mecca considered the heart of Kansas City.
Other venues, however, are often chosen to fit a particular author. When Anne Rice made an appearance to promote Servant of the Bones (Ballantine), Jennings and D ren wanted to find a memorable place that could handle several thousand people. They chose the historic Alexander Majors House, with grounds and a sizable free-standing loft. They built a fake graveyard on the grounds and set up a projector to cast the cover of Rice's book over the two stories of the house. The projected picture could be seen for several nights prior to the event from the major thoroughfare that passes by the house. The event itself featured not only Rice herself but tarot readers, a magician, food catered by three restaurants, a live broadcast on a local radio station, a costume contest and a group dressed as characters from Interview with the Vampire. The festivities were held on Friday the 13th of September and was preceded by a midnight madness sale at the store with refreshments provided. More than 1800 people turned out.
Working with the Kansas City Public Library, Jennings also staged an event with Ray Bradbury at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in which the book-burning scene from Fahrenheit 451 (Ballantine) was projected on a continuous film strip in the background. Participants were encouraged to bring and donate the single book they would want to save if book burning became a reality. The library noted and posted the results.
Partnering with local civic organizations, retail stores and charities has become a staple of Jennings's events. "Often they come to me now," she noted, and she can count on her partners to spread the word by flyers and newsletter announcements. "Everything I do is based on a handshake," Jennings said.
Jennings, who has twice spoken on author events in panel discussions at the BEA, told PW she has no qualms sharing her secrets to success, "because most people aren't going to work this hard." While the event itself (which always includes a speech or a reading) may take only a few hours, Jennings and D ren spend countless hours brainstorming and planning strategies. Keeping a pulse on the community also requires participating in civic and cultural events that sometimes seem distant from the business of selling books.
Another element of Rainy Day's author events that other bookstores would find difficult to emulate quickly is the technological sophistication their experiences have brought to Jennings and D ren. A fully equipped van and industrial dollies allow them to set up in off-site locations. Clear plastic event boxes contain everything they could possibly need to stage an event, from pens for authors to bookmarks. At a recent signing, a doorstop was needed to prop a door. "No problem," said Jennings, pulling one out of the box.
They bring battery-operated cash registers and machines for swiping credit cards. Recently, when former president Jimmy Carter spoke (to a crowd of 3000), D ren was impressed with the way the Secret Service cased the space and positioned themselves, communicating discreetly with two-way radios by lifting their palm to their mouth. D ren bought the same equipment the Secret Service uses, and now he and Jennings and other staff members stand at various points in the auditorium and keep each other apprised of the flow of traffic and other concerns.
The demise of some 20 independent bookstores in the Kansas City area has served to reinforce the strategy of Rainy Day Books. "I saw a lot of the Mom and Pops go down, and we were often criticized for being too aggressive in our marketing style. But you can't sit there and say to your customers, `I expect you to support me,'" explained Jennings. "You have to give them a reason to do so."
Book events give Rainy Day Books immense visibility in Kansas City, but are they profitable? Jennings responded affirmatively. A possible gauge of success: "We are approaching $2 million in business annually, out of a 2500-sq.-ft. retail space."
Because all events are ticketed now, Jennings noted, not only d s she have an accurate crowd estimate and number of books needed -- the ticket numbers are used to invite people for autographing in an orderly way, allowing them to chat or participate in other activities until their group's number is called. Between 25% and 50% of the ticketed attendees buy books at the event. So if an event attracts 1000 people, between 250 and 500 books will be sold on the spot. "I always order the most ambitious number I can," Jennings told PW. "The authors will sign all the copies, and we'll sell many of the autographed copies in the store long after the event."
Rainy Day Books also d s a successful business on its Web site (www.rainydaybooks.com), especially with selling first edition autographed books. The elaborate Web site also details all the off-site events and book club meetings, as well as staff recommendations, title searches, and links to other noteworthy sites. As Roger D ren likes to say, Jennings has reinvented herself. From a retailer of recycled paperbacks she has become one of the savviest independent booksellers around.
