Since Christy McDanold purchased the Secret Garden Bookshop in Seattle, Wash., in 1995, change has been a constant factor in the store's success.
One of the first modifications came
not long after the ink had dried on the contract. Within weeks of taking
ownership McDanold had to find another location for the Secret Garden, then a
well-established, nearly 20-year-old children's bookstore. She left behind the
city's Greenlake section to set up shop in the Ballard neighborhood, in time
for a fast-approaching signing with the late Madeleine L'Engle that had been arranged
by the previous owner. Five years later, the Secret Garden moved to its current
locale in downtown Ballard.
"When you buy a store that has been beloved and has a certain status in the community, you have a responsibility to meet people's expectations," McDanold said. "But you also have to put your imprimatur on it in some way." While relocating the Secret Garden the second time, she decided to transform it into a general interest bookstore. Inventory is divided equally between adult and children's titles. "In fact, we're carrying more children's books than ever," McDanold said. "It's a bigger space, and the store has grown in the years I've owned it."
Carrying a wider array of books
means more options for events. In addition to hosting children's writers (Jon
Scieszka is making an appearance tonight), the Secret Garden has offerings
for grown-ups, too. Novelist Jamie Ford, the author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, was a recent guest.
A store employee had been handling author appearances along with bookselling duties. After her departure several years ago, McDanold hired a full-time events coordinator, Suzanne Perry. Having someone dedicated to scheduling and promoting events "has made a big difference," noted McDanold. "At this point I would say that events of all kinds, whether they're author appearances, conferences or our relationship with the local library, are crucial to the store's survival. That's growing, while traffic in the store is pretty stagnant."
Along with a continued effort to bring new customers into the store and encourage area residents to shop local, McDanold is focused on cultivating partnerships with outside organizations. "Books are in every single kind of store you can imagine. Gas stations sell Harry Potter. We need to look for more opportunities to take the books where the people are," she said. The store co-hosts an ongoing event series with a nearby library, conducts book fairs at schools and churches, and sells books at conferences like one next month for a chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. The store also partners with the Seattle Children's Theatre and the Intiman Theatre.
The American Booksellers Association "had a seminar called 'the 2% solution.' That's the truth. It really isn't one big sweeping thing you can do that changes everything. It's lots of little things," said McDanold. Other changes at the Secret Garden--which had an increase in profits in 2010--have included stocking more sideline items and, as of this past December, selling e-books via the store's website. Next up: trading an outdated inventory system that McDanold jokingly called "your grandfather's Cadillac" for a slick new model.--Shannon McKenna Schmidt