In the past few years, booksellers like Vivien Jennings, co-owner of Rainy Day Books in Fairway, Kan., have begun ramping up their events schedules to ensure higher book sales. In looking at possible stops for author tours, "publishers were rumbling about sales, sales, sales," observed Jennings. Rainy Day has now moved from complimentary tickets for all of its 300 annual events to an admission package that includes a book.
With author tours costing on average $1,000 to $1,200, it's no surprise that publishers are stressing sales. Gone are the days when an event drawing 40 people who purchased 17 books is deemed a success. "We're being more selective. Absolutely," Paul Bogaards, executive director of publicity for Knopf, told PW about stops for tours. "Like parents, the most important decision publishers and booksellers are reaching these days is often the decision to say, 'No.' "
But it's not just large houses that are taking a closer look at the events proposals on their tour grids. "When we set something up, we want to do it with people who are thoroughly engaged," said Craig Popelars, who handles marketing for Algonquin Books. "Booksellers and publishers are in sync on this. They've got expenses, too. They want someone who's going to help them offset the costs." As Jennings likes to remind her staff, "We have to make money. We're not the library."
Jennings's philosophy for events is to "provide the most memorable experience for each author that comes." She recently asked Eragon author Christopher Paolini to don a mask and participate in a swordfight prior to his reading. "People's schedules are so jammed. If they're going to give you their time, you have to give them something special," she said.
Over the last year, Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops, with five stores in the Milwaukee area, has gone from 250 to 325 events a year. "Our message," said marketing director Nancy Quinn, "is we're committed to events, and we're certainly looking at every way possible to sell more books." In part, the emphasis on events grew organically out of what the stores were already doing, but a focus group that singled out events as a differentiation point between Schwartz Bookshops and its competitors also played a role.
This fall Schwartz is launching two programs that specifically tie book sales to events. In September, Schwartz kicked off a celebrity author series with nearby Alverno College (Schwartz Live @ Alverno Presents). So far ticket sales, which include a voucher for a book, have been strong. The series had sold out all 930 seats for Barack Obama's lunchtime talk on October 31 a month in advance. Tickets vary with book prices, from $32 for Obama to $15 for Lemony Snicket. Those who prefer not to get the featured book can use the voucher toward the purchase of any other book at Schwartz.
An even more ambitious Schwartz partnership involves the America Club in Kohler, Wisc., a AAA Five Diamond resort hotel. The two are teaming up for the first annual Reader's Retreat, November 10—12. Schwartz is planning book club sessions and breakout panels on memoirs and Wisconsin authors, and has built in numerous opportunities for readers to meet authors like Elizabeth George and Ann Patchett. The cost of the weekend—$338 per person, based on double room occupancy—includes meals and a book by each of the guest authors. Schwartz is also planning to set up a bookstore on site.
Although it's often easier for booksellers to charge for out-of-store events, some have begun including the cost of a book for in-store activities. "We definitely get feedback from publishers that book sales are important, and we want to sell more books," said Cindy Dach, marketing and events director for Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Ariz. Two years ago, Changing Hands introduced "signing tickets," which enable those who buy the book at the store to get preferential seating at in-store events. More recently, Changing Hands started charging for in-store workshops, where the cost of admission includes a book, like a memoir workshop with Jewel Parker Rhodes, author of Porch Stories.
Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Mass., is also in the experimentation phase. "We generally find that for a regular event we're hosting, we'll sell books to 10% to 20% of the audience," said marketing manager Amanda Darling. For private groups, that rises to 30% to 40%. Until recently, Harvard Book Store linked ticketed events that included a book with business breakfasts or meals with foodies like Ruth Reichl or Jacques Pepin. In June, the store hosted its first higher-priced nonfood event, a reading with John Updike for Terroristat a nearby church. "We were very clear with the publisher that we had to have first editions and that the author had to sign them all," said Darling. If Harvard held to its usual policy of charging $3 a ticket, the store would likely have drawn 600 people and sold 100 books, Darling said, but with a charge of $25, the store got a smaller audience but sold 350 books. Going forward, Darling plans to hold more events that require attendees to purchase books. "The thing that concerns me," she said, "is that on one side we want to sell more books. On the other side, we want to make events open to people of different incomes."
While some booksellers find it hard to reconcile their community mission with enforced book sales, Darling pointed out, "What we need to do is to survive. If publishers need us to sell 300 books, we'll find ways to do it." Added Steve Bercu, owner of Book People in Austin, Tex., "I'm always amazed when I hear booksellers agonizing about whether they should require people to buy books at their store. Hey, you wouldn't bring your own beer to a bar, would you?"
