I recently had the good fortune to be a part of an interview with Master Bookseller Bob Gray. Mr. Gray works for Northshire Books, an independent bookstore in Vermont where he also teaches, regularly contributes to Shelf Awareness with his column Fresh Eyes Now, and he is one of a small handful of people who have been named a Master Bookseller. Mr. Gray’s wealth of knowledge about the literary world is truly intimidating, but he was nothing but kind and generous with both his time and knowledge.
“Good books are what matters,” says Mr. Gray. While large publishers flood bookstores with advance copies, he says it can become difficult to pick out all of the good ones, especially from smaller presses. However, you are likely to find them at Northshire Books because Mr. Gray helped bring a display of independent presses into the store.
For any writers out there, make a note, Bob Gray could save your book from becoming an orphan– think of him as a literary Daddy Warbucks. Figuring out how to market books to individuals and pairing people with good books is Mr. Gray’s favorite part of his job at Northshire. This hands-on approach to selling is what makes independent bookstores great. It’s nice to hear that a book is good from a good reader rather than from a marketing executive. “Well written and poorly written books can have equal marketing,” says Mr. Gray. On the other hand, he also says marketing people are swamped, and sometimes they just have to send books out the door. Even if it is a great book, they don’t have time to make sure it will do well. He says it’s independent booksellers and devoted book groups that help save lesser known books from falling through the cracks.
So if you’re in Vermont, stop by Northshire Book Store and let Bob Gray set you up with a good book, but if not, stop by your local independent bookstore and introduce yourself– you might be fortunate enough to meet someone as knowledgable as Bob Gray.
Check out http://www.indiebound.org/indie-bookstore-finder to find your nearest independent book.
