Michael Link, an independent bookseller for 15 years, first at Politics & Prose, Washington, D.C., and now at Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, Ohio, is a graphic novel and comics fan--but, as he says, "I don't exclusively read them, nor would I say that I primarily read them." Still, he has bought for the section at both stores, and "I have thought about the role of them in an independent bookstore and have done a number of panels on the subject as well."
Here we offer his second column, which focuses on involving customers in graphic novel and comics sections:
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| photo: BrokenSphere/Wikimedia Commons | |
Only a decade ago, Barnes & Noble and Borders seemed to own manga, dedicating an enormous amount of shelf space to it. In Washington, D.C., for example, the local Borders had seven cases of manga and three more of regular trade graphic novels. When Borders went out of business in 2011, a lot of independent bookstores saw an uptick in manga sections where they had substantial inventory. But others found it hard to boost sales with the new opportunity because many booksellers lacked the necessary knowledge of manga. Additionally, manga series can have upward of 20 volumes or more, and there are many more series than booksellers can read, let alone carry. With larger series, it usually makes sense to stock the first three and most recent three. But which series make sense for booksellers to have on shelves? Booksellers can check the New York Times and other bestseller lists, and Above the Treeline to see what's selling at stores your size. But one solid way to check into what would work well with your customers is to go to the source and to ask them directly. Here are some tips:
- Put a note in special orders or talk to customers who order series books, Marvel/DC, manga, etc., and ask them what specific books they would buy from you. (I would pretty much stock only books that have come out within the last 6-12 months. Anything older is likely to have been passed on or purchased already. If you're looking for backlist, you can find core title lists on Above the Treeline.)
- Ask your customers to write recommendations to use as shelf talkers. I have a customer in Cincinnati who loves DC superhero comics. I asked him to write up his favorite two current series and posted them in the section as community picks.
- In your store e-mail, ask who reads comics and is interested giving you some ideas.
Customers who write blurbs or contribute title ideas to your section should feel a sense of ownership. You can encourage them to invite their friends to buy their picks and to shop the section. You will likely get some responses that may not be as helpful as others, but if you are able to get customers more invested in your section or, at the very least, raise general awareness, you will be better off for it.
As always, please send comments to Michael Link at mlink@josephbeth.com.