Nearly 70 scribes are helping to kick off the holiday shopping season at Lyon Books in Chico, Calif. The store is hosting a series of five Local Author Open Houses, which began on November 19 and culminate tomorrow afternoon. Each event has a minimum of 10 authors signing copies of their books, along with live music, homemade cookies and door prizes. "This is a fun time for us," said owner Heather Lyon. The Open House tradition began last year; 44 authors signed up to be guests of honor.
Lyon Books is also partnering with area authors for another promotion. Authors were invited to chip in toward joint advertisements in two local newspapers. The first full-page, full-color ad appeared the day before Thanksgiving, with four more running once a week after that. The cost was $35 per title per newspaper. Authors could opt to have their books showcased in one or both publications, and a total of 114 spots were purchased. "The response from the community has been wonderful, and these books have been flying off the shelves," Lyon said.
The idea for the group ads came about last year as a way to expand the store's seasonal outreach to authors not featured in the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association regional holiday catalogue, which Lyon, an NCIBA board member, has inserted as a newspaper supplement.
Lyon avidly supports local authors, whether they're with a big house, a small press or self-published. "It turns out there are a lot of people in the area who write and have books," she said. "We try to carry them all here." The store's bestsellers include titles by area residents and Random House writers Greg Cootsona (Say Yes to No) and Susan G. Wooldridge (Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words). Also among the top sellers are the self-published books Dancing Boots and Pigs' Feet: Memoir of a Refugee from the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 by Miklos Sajben and Walking the Way: A Medieval Quest by Neal A. Wiegman, who came to an Open House dressed in medieval-style garb.
Lyon Books has some 200 self-published titles on consignment, and the store keeps 40% of those sales. Books by local authors account for a substantial portion of the store's revenue. In addition, noted Lyon, focusing on this segment of the market "allows us to distinguish ourselves" from Chico's other bookstore, Barnes & Noble. "This is something they don't do and we can do well." And Lyon's support of local authors has another benefit. "They become cheerleaders for our store," she said. "It really has been the key to our success."--Shannon McKenna Schmidt
