Confessions of a Book Selling Library Lover

I'm an author. Which means that I want people to buy my books, right? Right. It also means that I understand the importance of buying the books of other authors I enjoy, in the interest of supporting their work so they don't have to go out and get some other job.

But I confess, I am a library lover. I've always loved libraries and I love them perhaps even more, particularly since a brand new, state-of-the-art library and cultural center was built just blocks from my home. Walking distance! (Not that I walk.)

Not only is it a wonderful place filled with books and computers and journals (oh my!) but they also have a fabulous online reservation system which allows me to request books, walk in and find it on the shelf with my name on it, use my key fob for automatic checkout, and be on my way with my desired book in under a minute. There's a drive-thru window for returning, too.

Now don't get me wrong; I do buy some books. Many, in fact. I've even read books from the library where afterward I went and bought one because I couldn't bear to give it back and wanted my own copy. In fact, it's probably a good thing that I don't personally purchase every book that I read, otherwise you'd see me on that show, "Hoarders," with mere paths to navigate through my home.

There is a huge library marketing program for my upcoming novel, "Momnesia." (My accountant would be pissed!) It consists of direct mail, catalog advertising, attendance at the Public Library Association conference in Philadelphia in March (I reside in NC & VA), and more. I admit, I have fantasies of libraries all over the country carrying my book, choosing it as a women's book club selection, and taking advantage of my publisher's offer to send free chocolates on the discussion date.

Of course, these fantasies do not negate my other fantasies, in which my book is featured in every store in the country and it becomes the number one book club pick for women all across the world. And they enjoy their chocolates too.

I mean, what could be better than chocolate? I mean books. Regardless of where people get them, I guess my overall goal is for as many people as possible to read and enjoy my book. Call me corny. Or romantic, or whatever. Happy reading!

Link to my publisher's special library program
Link to my publisher's special book club program
Link to my publisher's special gift shop program
Link to my publisher's special bookstore program

I've been a freelance writer, journalist, columnist, and speaker for 15+ years. Momnesia is my debut novel and I am the author of the nonfiction book Everything You Need to Know About House Training Puppies and Adult Dogs, which has been widely acclaimed in its genre. I'm a happily married mom of two, step mom of two more, and have two cats, both rotten. I invite you to learn more by visiting my website, Facebook, and Twitter, all found at LoriTheAuthor.

Another Try With This Prize Thingy!

IF VIEWING ON A MOBILE DEVICE, CLICK "OPEN IN BROWSER!" & THE ENTRY FORM TO WIN A $10 ITUNES CARD WILL DISPLAY JUST BELOW THIS TEXT!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Just the other day I told you that I am becoming a prize giveaway maniac. Turns out... not so much! I belatedly discovered that only people on actual computers have been able to access my newest giveaway! (Now above.) Which would have been fine if the majority of the world hadn't abandoned their computers in favor of their iPhones, Blackberrys, etc. After investing three solid days into trying to figure out how to get it to display properly, I give up. MOBILE USERS, PLEASE CLICK "OPEN IN BROWSER" TO REVEAL THE SIMPLE ENTRY FORM FOR THE GIVEAWAY! On the iPhone this is in the lower right of your device's screen.

Good luck, and please share the giveaway with your friends!

I'm Becoming a Prize Giveaway Maniac!

I wear a lot of hats. And I do mean A LOT! Author, mom, wife, cat mommy, graphic designer, house cleaner, laundry lady, wino, and many, many others. And now (drumroll please!) I'm becoming a prize giveaway maniac! As well as an html expert--a side effect of the whole prize giveaway thing, but I digress.

I already had one contest underway on Facebook: Read the first two chapters of my novel, "Momnesia," and be entered to win a free Momnesia tote bag! I figured this would be for my more avid followers, as you actually have to "work" to be entered. (Although I'd like to think reading my first two chapters would be more fun than work, but again, I digress.) Click here to go to my Facebook Event/Contest.

Now I've discovered tons more ways to give away free stuff while promoting my book. It's so exciting! I've already set up a new giveaway via a really cool site called Rafflecopter... my first one is TO WIN A $10 iTunes GIFT CARD and you hardly have to do a thing! In fact, you can enter five times in just one minute... literally!

Shortly, I will also be participating in multi-blog giveaways through some friends on Goodreads... there will be over 200 blogs participating and there will be hundreds of prizes to choose from! Keep checking back, as I will be posting this info soon! (You can follow my blog on the right side of the page... where it says "follow this blog!")

Okay. I'm sure you're as excited as I am. So here's my newest, quick, easy giveaway: Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

I Refuse to Buy Groceries For My Family

I refuse to buy groceries for my family. It's true. I do this several times a year and while my family hates it, I love it.

You see, I get tired of working around the giant cases of Carnation Instant Breakfast/Goldfish/Granola Bars in my pantry. You know the ones... the ones they beg you to buy after eating the item every single day for a month. They convince you that they really are going to continue to eat them, so (silly moms), we stock up on these things thinking, "I'm going to save by buying them in bulk!"

No sooner do you finish unloading them from your car (giant, heavy things bought at a warehouse store that doesn't provide bags, but should), than your children decide, "We're not in the mood for those anymore!"

Well, they're in the mood for them now. Why? Because I won't buy any new food of any kind until all the food in the house has been finished. And I do mean everything. Every snack, every strange flavor of jelly, every packet of single-serving macaroni and cheese that they begged for.

Likewise, I also use up all the things I myself have accumulated. It's fun! Pretty soon I'll be figuring out how to make dinner out of six frozen shrimp, one lamb chop, a can of beets, and a package of Jiffy corn muffin mix.

It's actually a great way to save money and reorganize the pantry, all at the same time. When I finally do go shopping, I'll have all my coupons clipped and none of the food in the house will be past its expiration date.

This, of course, speaks to my "momminess" side. My "sexiness" side? Keep an eye out for a different blog post!


I am the author of "Momnesia," a hot new release in contemporary women's fiction, coming 3/16/2012. It's about a suburban mom who, struggling between her "momminess" and her "sexiness," diagnoses herself with "Momnesia" and sets about finessing a new version of her old vivaciousness! To learn more, including previewing the first two chapters free, I invite you to visit: www.LoriVerniFogarsi.com.

Outside the Box Ideas for Small Indie Bookstores

The publishing industry is changing. This we all know, and I articulated a bit in my recent blog post "Let's All Wear Our Grown Up Pants." The series continues with today's post, in which we discuss methods of how Indie bookstores can move forward successfully, rather than trying to fight the tides.

If I may interject: In addition to being an author, journalist, and columnist,  I've been a small business consultant and teaching seminars on small business marketing for 15+ years... a sideline which was developed after a multitude of requests from sources who got to know me through my own business successes.

So, here are some of my ideas for Indie bookstore success in the changing marketplace. You may agree or disagree; you may implement them or not. But rest assured of one thing--If you do not move in stride with industry changes, you could be left in the dust.

1. Acceptance: Let go of the idea that you don't like things a new way. Let go of insisting on continuing to do things an old way (unless, of course, it's working for you). Instead, accept that times are changing and make the decision that you are going to reap the rewards of success instead of staging a sit-in from which you may never get up.
2. Embrace the Internet: "But I don't like e-mail!" "But I don't like websites!" "Social networking is a waste of time!" Stop. Just stop. It doesn't matter if you like it... it's the new way of doing business and to refuse to participate is to refuse to grow your business. Notice that I said embrace the Internet. This means don't just set up a website, Facebook page, e-mail, and Twitter account. It means actually check them several times a day, interact with people, and use them to their greatest benefit.
3. Welcome Customers in a Different Way: Ever been to a Subaru service department? If not, it would be a worthwhile research trip. Every customer is treated as valuable. Every customer is treated as a VIP. Additional services are offered, but not pushed. There is no undertone of desperation of any kind. You arrive there, they know who you are, and they're ready for you.
4. What Do You Have To Offer That Large Chains & Online Stores Don't? (Capitalize on them!) Here are some things off the top of my head:

• Personal interaction: "Hi! I'm not sure if we've met before but my name is (Joe) and I'd be happy to help you find something. What's your name? Great to meet you (Wendy). Thanks for coming in!" (See below about a staff notebook to help you remember your new acquaintances!)
• An interesting attraction: Store cat? Store bird? Don't like animals?... How about a wheel of fortune that customers can spin to win something? A huge bulletin board with pictures of events, or even just happy customers with their purchases? A community bulletin board where your fellow business owners can thumbtack their info? Free coffee, including actual milk instead of the powdered stuff? A frequent buyer club where they eventually get a free book?
• Build a community: Get every customer's e-mail address. (Have a jar at the register where they enter their name & e-mail address to win a monthly drawing for a $15. gift card to your store.) Send out a weekly e-mail that includes a section that says, "We'd like to give an extra warm welcome to our new customers: Wendy, Mike, etc." (Don't include last names and you won't have to worry about privacy). "We'd also like to extend our thanks to other customers who came in this week, including: Mary, Tom, etc."
• Invite the community: Go to Meetup.com and sign up to offer a "Perk," offering your location for Meetup groups to gather. Spread the word amongst local groups: Book Groups, Women's Clubs, Men's Clubs, Rotary, Knights of Columbus, Veteran's Groups, Classic Car Lovers, Animal Rescue Group meetings... anyone who needs a place to meet!
• Make customers aware: You may be surprised how many people don't realize that you CAN get them any book they want! Let them know that you can order it for them. Make it easy. Consider even having a computer for customers to use so they can (gasp!) look it up online to let you know exactly which book it is. Is it cheaper online than you can offer it? Fine! Be confident: "I see it is $10 online and would normally be $15 in our store. I can do it for $14, and I hope that's okay. We really appreciate you shopping with us, but it's up to you." (Note the lack of any tone of desperation or resentment.) Try it... it works!
• Keep a staff notebook: So now you've met Wendy, right? Put her in the notebook! Jot down any things that will help you remember her and any personal things you may have learned (eg; she has a snake named Literati). Next time she comes in, try and remember her name. Or at least greet her and then go look up her name. Ask how Literati is doing, etc. This is not manipulative... you're building a community/family-like atmosphere in your store. You genuinely do care for her, because she comes there! And, it's what will keep people coming back.
• Think like a business person: I doesn't matter if Vinny makes the greatest pizza in the universe--if he doesn't do a good job running his pizza business, it is not going to be successful. The same goes for your store. Having an event? Don't just book it! Send a press release to your local paper, list it in every online directory you can find, submit it to all community event listings, tell people verbally, etc. Invite your Facebook and Twitter fans, your e-mail contacts, your Goodreads friends. Let the person/speaker/author know that you expect them to market the event from their end too.
• Set up incentives that keep people returning: Consider things like a book buy-back program (Perhaps you offer 25% of the book's price back when they return it to you in good condition? This will be in the form of a store credit of course.) Then set up a used book shelf where you can resell those books to profit from them again.
• Get involved with your local schools: Even if you don't deal in textbooks, you can find out what's on the agenda for your local schools and then offer discounts, incentives, and your buy-back program. My eighth grader was notified at meet-the-teacher day of the three works they'd be studying this year. Last year they read "The Outsiders." ALL of them! The entire seventh grade! Consider offering a discount on the book, then hosting a school field trip where you'll lead a discussion event about it. Prepare special things that you give out to the schools (maybe bookmarks) that include discounts, offers, special programs, etc. This can work with every school, from preschool through college. It also puts you in very good graces with the teachers, and guess what... teachers tend to be readers, and they work near your store!
• Get crazy with e-books and the Internet: E-books. They're killing you, right? Wrong! It doesn't have to be that way! No, it's not the same. Personally, I enjoy reading good, old-fashioned physical books. But the world is changing and to deny it would be to deny yourself the income. Instead, set up an online branch of your store. Make sure your customers know that they can order through your website online, or even in your store! Set up an e-book station (set only  to your store's online shopping) where people can purchase their e-books using your computer in your store while sitting in your comfy chair, sipping the free coffee you've hooked them up with, and enjoyed your advice ("Didn't you buy a Jodi Picoult book last time you were here? Well, let me tell you about Elizabeth Berg!").

At risk of going on and on, I hope you enjoy some of these tips. Maybe you're already doing them. Maybe you found some good new ideas. But owning a bookstore can't be as entirely romantic as we'd like it to be. It has to be a business too, and that's the angle of this article.

Why did I write this? Not because I'm selling my business consulting services. I'm not. It's because I love you--Indie bookstores--and selfishly, I want you to continue to be around.

And if you decide that you'd like to stock my upcoming novel, "Momnesia," which will be released 3/16/2012 by Brickstone Publishing, that would be fantastic! Plus, fabulous, fun, helps-with-marketing Me, is available for events! Here is the link to their website and there is currently a fantastic Advance Title Program going on that includes great savings! www.BrickstonePublishing.com.

Lori Verni-Fogarsi has been a freelance writer, journalist, columnist, and seminar speaker for 15+ years. Her debut novel, "Momnesia" will be released in spring 2012, and she is the author of the nonfiction book, "Everything You Need to Know About House Training Puppies and Adult Dogs," which has been widely acclaimed in its genre. Verni-Fogarsi is a happily married mom of two, step mom of two more, and has two cats, both rotten. She invites you to learn more at www.LoriVerniFogarsi.com, join her on Facebook at LoriTheAuthor, and follow her tweets at @LVerniFogarsi.