murder.booklocker.com

It seems that Barnes & Noble gets ripped on a regular basis for their, hmm, how should I put this?, less-than-sympathetic dealings with POD authors. However, if you are patient and read through all the trash out there, you’ll discover that not all B&N bookstores are the same — or maybe it’s just that their regional/district whatevers aren’t the same.

So with all the negatives, I thought I would pass on something positive I learned about the relationship between the B&N store in Boise and the Murder in the Grove conference. I’m quoting Dianne Anderson:

“Barnes and Noble sponsors bookfairs as fundraisers for various entities such as public schools, but I believe only non-profits.  (I can’t swear to that; I’d have to check with the Community Rep at B&N).  The bookfair simply means that we get a percentage on every book sold to a participant.  Our Friday night reading and booksigning is open to the public at no charge.  It takes place in the store, and we issue a voucher to everyone who attends.  That voucher gives us a cut on any book they urchase that night, not just the books by our speakers.

“First, our Guest of Honor gives a short reading, with or without remarks (his/her personal preference).  The booksigning follows the reading and all of our speakers are set up to sign.  B&N orders in books by the speakers, sets up the tables, etc.  To make the affair a little more festive, we serve coffee and dessert.

“We tried the first year we did the bookfair to allow attending authors who were not speakers to sign also, but space limitations make that impossible.  So now the Friday night signing only includes speakers. Other authors who attend the conference can sign on Saturday during the conference itself.  If they want B&N to order some of their books, they have to make those arrangements directly.

“On Saturday morning, B&N staff pack up all our speakers books’ and move them to the Convention Center.  They operate the bookstore from about 9:00 am until the end of the conference.  We set up tables, and authors sign throughout the day, according to a schedule.  And again, we get a percentage of the money from the books sold that day. This income helps defray a bit of the expense of Murder in the Grove, and is one reason we haven’t had to raise the registration fee for the last couple of years.”