A Novel Escape mobile bookstore, which specializes in indie books from underrepresented authors--sold on consignment--as well as art, clothes, and accessories, has hit the road in the Wichita, Kan., area, primarily around the suburb of Derby. Owner Allyson Lacey, who converted an old school bus into the new venture, operates the bus seasonally while working as a special education paraprofessional, the Wichita Business Journal reported.
Lacey noted that she found the old school bus for sale a few years ago on an auction website: "I had seen people living in buses, turning them into homes and stuff." She bid just over $1,000, expecting it to go for at least $5,000. "I was like, I'll get outbid, then I don't have to worry about having a bus. But then I didn't get outbid."
Not sure initially what to do with her bus, she decided last year to turn her love for books into a mobile bookstore: "I'm knowledgeable about books, I'm knowledgeable about what makes books sell and I was like, I have this bus, I'm going to just do it."
After removing the seats and grinding the bus down to the metal, she added refurbished wood from a basketball court to the floors. Lacey estimates she has invested approximately $6,000 to $8,000 so far in the bookshop.
"We support women, the LGBTQIA+ community, different ethnicities, a wide range of people," she added. "Those are the kind of people I look to support and uplift, and that's really important to me, to allow those people that may be more overlooked, give them an opportunity to get their books out there."
As an indie author, Lacey is familiar with the process and challenges that come with self-publishing and marketing, noting: "I had really struggled getting my books into stores and things like that. It is really hard to find an avenue for that."
A Novel Escape will operate from April through November, according to Lacey, who encourages other young business owners to "just do it.... I had to learn how to do a lot of different skills to construct the bus, and then I had to learn... how to (do) business and how to build contracts. You can learn anything, go to the library. You can learn any skill. You don't have to be perfect, you just have to try really hard."