I just returned from a lazy family vacation in Cape Cod
and am happy to say the literary scene seems hopeful over there.
My wife and I drove our children, 9 and 6, to Chatham,
MA, in an area one would describe as the elbow of the Cape. It was our first family trip to Cape
Cod. I was in Hyannis last year for my
foray into Cod life, speaking at a writer’s conference. Judging by the happy faces at the end of our
week-long sojourn to the outer edges of Massachusetts, I bet we’ll be back for
many more summers.
Although the trip had plenty of highlights – whale watching
off the coast of Provincetown, walking along hundreds of yards of sandbars at
low tide along the Dennis-area Mayflower Beach, renting a powerboat and
captaining our four-hour trip (I never drove a boat before), kayaking across
Oyster Beach River, playing a late-night round of mini-golf, and biking 17
miles up and down the Rail Trail (I lugged my daughter in an attachment known
as a trailer) – plus many beautiful beaches – I felt deep satisfaction in
knowing the independent bookstore is alive and well.
Town after town we saw local bookstores with shelves
stuffed with books. These stores were
pure – no toys, DVDs or music. No
cafes. No distractions. Just wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling paper. Book-lovers feel a warm sensation
when they come across such sights.
Some of these towns can be small in land mass and in
population, but many have not just one but two bookstores. It’s great to walk along Main Street in
Chatham or Commercial Street in PTown or along the local streets of Orleans and
see bookstores doing what they are supposed to be doing.
Each store feels secure and well established, as if
anchoring these old towns for generations.
Wooden floors and wooden shelves make you feel at home. The smell of knowledge, discovery and
imagination is in the air. Often the
store is staffed not by people who could easily be working at the GAP,
McDonald’s or Target, but mature adults with roots in books and the
community. Most often it’s the owner at
the cash register.
Wisely, the stores don’t sell everything, not even all
the best-sellers. They highlight local
authors, books of local interest, and books that reflect not just what people
think what they want, but what they truly will value.
We supported the local bookstore and purchased several
books. Sure they’d be cheaper in a
B&N superstore or a Wal-Mart-type bookstore or online at Amazon. But the price of admission to keep our
community bookstores is to pay full freight at such stores. You get your book giftwrapped with the love
of the book world.
It was also nice to see big, old libraries located
prominently in the center of several of the towns we walked or drove
through. It may not seem like paper and
water go together, but on a water-filled trip, I’m left thinking positively
about the paper books in brick-and-mortar stores at the heart of a beautiful
area.
BLASTS FROM THE PAST
When pitching your book to
online media, follow these steps:
Your book is great! But does
it suck?
Patent advice from
bestselling author
Writers must think like the
media to get coverage
Ready for your million-dollar
book launch?
How to publish for profit –
really!
How to keep on top of book
industry news, trends, resources
Attitude adjustment for those
promoting books
24 tips to pitch the media
27 tips to pitch the media
like a pro
Is your book pr bipolar?
Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are
his alone and not that of his employer, Media Connect, the nation’s
largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and
email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com.
He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is
copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2014
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