Yesterday was the first official day of retirement for Lucia Heinold, who
until last Friday had worked at Waldenbooks and Borders since 1979,
most recently buying cookbooks, home and garden books and crafts and
collectible titles at the headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich. She leaves
behind a large contingent of fans among the reps who call on the
company.
Heinold admitted there is much she will miss, particularly colleagues like Scott Ferguson, "the Borders cookbook expert and maybe one of the most knowledgeable people about cookbooks anywhere," and "all the great talented people there and publishers who have such varied artistic and literary interests."
In 27 years in the industry, Heinold has witnessed a lot. "So much has changed," she said with a bit of awe, speaking with Shelf Awareness last week. "When I started buying, we had computers to look at for information, but we didn't do anything else with them. When stores wanted books, they had to call in for them. There were more smaller companies and more people calling back then, but there is still a lot of opportunity for publishers and lots of diversity in what we sell."
The biggest change in her area, Heinold said, is the Internet and how it has affected demand from readers. Just as the TV and movie industries worried about new technologies but have adapted and in many cases thrived, so the book world is adapting, she continued. "Authors are using the Web to promote themselves and communicate with buyers of books and getting them to go into stores to buy their books." Publishers, too, are becoming savvy about the power of Internet marketing. "Starting about eight months ago, when publishers come in to present a new line," she said, "they trot out their Internet campaign to drive readers to stores."
When she entered the bookselling world, Heinold had already taught social studies for seven years and then raised a son. Wanting to go back to work but not teach, she thought a little library experience she had might transfer well to bookselling, so she joined the staff of a Waldenbooks in Fishkill, N.Y. She worked there a while and got an MBA at New York University, then was promoted to Walden headquarters in Stamford, Conn., where she bought regional books and other categories and held an administrative job for 10 years. She moved to Ann Arbor 10 years ago, when Walden moved, and had been buying ever since.
"It's fashionable to be condescending about the malls," she said. "But when I was a young homemaker out in the suburbs and a mall came near us, it was a wonderful thing for all of the families who had settled out there."
Among the highlights of her career, she said, was stocking the Brentano's outlet that Walden opened at the site of the old Scribner Bookshop on Fifth Avenue in New York City. "When that opened," she said, "it was a big event."
In addition, among other things, she remembers fondly buying computer books when the Commodore 64 was cutting edge technology; receiving autographed John Travolta pictures "because I bought Dianetics"; and selling a lot of Chuck Norris titles because "he got in touch with karate schools."
She also enjoyed being a Borders representative at the grand opening of the Longone Center for American Culinary Research at the Clements Library at the University of Michigan, which features titles collected by Jan Longone, owner of the Wine and Food Library culinary antiquarian bookstore in Ann Arbor, and her husband, Dan, also a culinary expert and retired professor.
Heinold said that the industry has changed in one sad way: "It used to be more glamorous," she said. "We danced under the stars at the Planetarium for Walden. Now all the meetings are in hotels. It's definitely more businesslike."
She is proud of the industry for supporting free expression and said she hopes everyone in the business belongs to the ACLU or ABFFE. "It's so important," she said, "and no one can take for granted that we can keep publishing and selling the books that we publish and sell."
For now, Heinold is likely catching up on her reading, but she said she plans "to enjoy the town quite a bit more, start a vegetable garden, travel and see friends." And once again, she will work in the information booth at the Ann Arbor Book Festival, which will be held next month.
Heinold admitted there is much she will miss, particularly colleagues like Scott Ferguson, "the Borders cookbook expert and maybe one of the most knowledgeable people about cookbooks anywhere," and "all the great talented people there and publishers who have such varied artistic and literary interests."
In 27 years in the industry, Heinold has witnessed a lot. "So much has changed," she said with a bit of awe, speaking with Shelf Awareness last week. "When I started buying, we had computers to look at for information, but we didn't do anything else with them. When stores wanted books, they had to call in for them. There were more smaller companies and more people calling back then, but there is still a lot of opportunity for publishers and lots of diversity in what we sell."
The biggest change in her area, Heinold said, is the Internet and how it has affected demand from readers. Just as the TV and movie industries worried about new technologies but have adapted and in many cases thrived, so the book world is adapting, she continued. "Authors are using the Web to promote themselves and communicate with buyers of books and getting them to go into stores to buy their books." Publishers, too, are becoming savvy about the power of Internet marketing. "Starting about eight months ago, when publishers come in to present a new line," she said, "they trot out their Internet campaign to drive readers to stores."
When she entered the bookselling world, Heinold had already taught social studies for seven years and then raised a son. Wanting to go back to work but not teach, she thought a little library experience she had might transfer well to bookselling, so she joined the staff of a Waldenbooks in Fishkill, N.Y. She worked there a while and got an MBA at New York University, then was promoted to Walden headquarters in Stamford, Conn., where she bought regional books and other categories and held an administrative job for 10 years. She moved to Ann Arbor 10 years ago, when Walden moved, and had been buying ever since.
"It's fashionable to be condescending about the malls," she said. "But when I was a young homemaker out in the suburbs and a mall came near us, it was a wonderful thing for all of the families who had settled out there."
Among the highlights of her career, she said, was stocking the Brentano's outlet that Walden opened at the site of the old Scribner Bookshop on Fifth Avenue in New York City. "When that opened," she said, "it was a big event."
In addition, among other things, she remembers fondly buying computer books when the Commodore 64 was cutting edge technology; receiving autographed John Travolta pictures "because I bought Dianetics"; and selling a lot of Chuck Norris titles because "he got in touch with karate schools."
She also enjoyed being a Borders representative at the grand opening of the Longone Center for American Culinary Research at the Clements Library at the University of Michigan, which features titles collected by Jan Longone, owner of the Wine and Food Library culinary antiquarian bookstore in Ann Arbor, and her husband, Dan, also a culinary expert and retired professor.
Heinold said that the industry has changed in one sad way: "It used to be more glamorous," she said. "We danced under the stars at the Planetarium for Walden. Now all the meetings are in hotels. It's definitely more businesslike."
She is proud of the industry for supporting free expression and said she hopes everyone in the business belongs to the ACLU or ABFFE. "It's so important," she said, "and no one can take for granted that we can keep publishing and selling the books that we publish and sell."
For now, Heinold is likely catching up on her reading, but she said she plans "to enjoy the town quite a bit more, start a vegetable garden, travel and see friends." And once again, she will work in the information booth at the Ann Arbor Book Festival, which will be held next month.