North Carolina Bookstore Picks the 76 Lists

Robert Sheard, who recently opened Bookshop by the Lakes in West End, North Carolina, said he got into bookselling for the same reason a lot of people do, self-defense. "I ran out of room for all my books at home," he explained. After a lifetime of bibliophilia and with ongoing careers as an English professor, author, and investment advisor, Sheard turned to bookselling.

Bookshop by the Lakes (left) and the Coffeescene at Seven Lakes.

Inside Bookshop by the Lakes.

There are eight lakes near the bookshop in the town of West End, which locals call Seven Lakes, said Sheard, adding that the eighth lake is man-made so the up-and-coming community doesn't include it in the count. The 700-square-foot bookstore shares a wall with the Coffeescene at Seven Lakes. The seductive prospect of a neighboring coffeehouse is what initially drew Sheard to the space. The two business owners soon decided to further capitalize on their symbiotic relationship by cutting a doorway in the shared wall. "We tag team the customers," said Sheard. "And when one or another has to go out for something, we cover for each other."

New booksellers often sign up for bookselling school prior to opening their stores, but Sheard opted to work with mentor bookseller Joan Scott at the 50-year-old Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Scott said of Sheard, "He helped us, and I think he learned a lot."

The store's Book Sense 76 display.

One of things Sheard learned during his year of employment at Country Bookshop was the usefulness of the Book Sense 76 list. "While working with Joan, I became a big fan of Book Sense," he said. "I got excited about titles on the 76 list that I never would have found otherwise. And I appreciate that the [Book Sense] Bestseller Lists distinguish between trade paperbacks and mass market."

Sheard thought the 76 lists were so effective in suggesting exceptional reads that when he opened Bookshop by the Lakes in June, he soon started sending the lists via bulk mail to all of the customers in his database, a total of about 600 addresses. Sheard stamps the fliers with his bookrate permit, affixes the address label, and sends them out as is. "It works out to be about 16 cents [each] for fliers sent to customers within my zip code," he said.

When he considered creating a newsletter, Sheard looked at some prepackaged ones. "But I was already getting several hundred 76 fliers a month, and if I'd done my own newsletter it would have included the 76 list anyway, so I thought, instead of reinventing the wheel, I'll just send out fliers. It's perfect," he said. Sheard reported that customers shop with the list in hand and selections circled. They often head right for Sheard's 76 display, where he has all of the picks available. It's gotten to the point where they expect it, said Sheard. "Sometimes they come in before I've gotten the next 76 list, wondering if I have the new fliers yet."

Another draw for consumers that Sheard has developed is offering a 20 percent discount off on a featured 76 "Pick of the Day" on the Bookshop by the Lakes Web site (www.bookshopbythelakes.com). Sheard said he wanted both to increase Web site traffic and to give customers another reason to revisit the store, though shoppers also have the option of ordering the book via e-mail and having it shipped to them.

Sheard has written two books on finance, The Unemotional Investor: Simple Systems for Beating the Market (S&S) and Money for Life: Build the Wealth You Need to Live Your Dream (HarperCollins), and he continues to run his investment firm. His careers as a writer, investment advisor, and bookstore owner leave him with little downtime. After nearly a half year of bookselling, he's feeling the ironic lot of booksellers: "Since I've opened, I haven't done any writing. I'm supposed to be writing my third book. And I don't have much time to actually read." --Karen Schechner