Dear Booksellers,

Be primed for an ABA Flash Alert early Tuesday morning with information about our new marketing campaign along with social media assets and press talking points! Stay tuned...

Important Advocacy Announcements

Shutdowns
We see you, New York. Here’s the letter ABA sent to Governor Cuomo and others. And here’s a template for stores facing a new round of shutdowns to use.

Relief
National Retail Federation has an easy form to fill out TODAY to reach lawmakers before they recess to request relief before the election.  

Simplified PPP Forgiveness Application for loans $50,000 or less
The Small Business Administration released a simplified two-page Paycheck Protection Program forgiveness application for loans that are $50,000 or less. Businesses that qualify to use this application are exempt from any reductions in forgiveness for reductions in full-time equivalent employees and reductions in employee salary or wages. Access the simplified application here and find more information here.

Events

Order Processing 201: Advanced Tools and Guidelines for Managing Bulk Online Orders: Monday, October 12, at 12:30 p.m. ET
Learn about the latest, advanced tools available for processing your online orders in bulk. In this webinar we will cover bulk order processing, printing invoices in bulk, exporting to shipping solutions, exporting to POS systems, and generating custom sales reports. These new features will save your staff time and keep your customers satisfied. Register here. 

Coffee Break: Tuesday, October 13, at 3:00 p.m. ET
Join us for an opportunity to share support, ask questions, and trade best practices. All booksellers are welcome. If you’ve never attended this event before, it’s a great way to hear what’s working well at other stores and crowdsource solutions to any challenges you’re facing at your store. Email [email protected] for Zoom login details.

Sidelines and Non-Book: How to Create, Sell, and Manage Stock: Wednesday, October 14, at 12:30 p.m. ET. 
Sidelines and non-book represent a significant holiday season opportunity. The IndieCommerce team has been working on ways to help stores promote and sell sidelines/non-book on their websites. This session will walk you through ways to do this efficiently and effectively. Register here. 

Punching the Air Virtual Book Club: Wednesday, October 14, at 2:00 p.m. ET. 
Bookstores that are interested in bringing the free Punching the Air virtual book club to local educators, students, and readers of all ages can sign up to purchase one carton of eight signed copies of the Balzer + Bray title Punching the Air. Bookstores are limited to one carton per store. Cartons will be available while supplies last, and bookstores can send their customers and community members to register here. 

Q4 Top 10 Things to Know About: Creating Safe and Profitable Virtual Events: Thursday, October 15, at 3:00 p.m. ET
With the growing number of virtual events across a growing number of platforms, we hope to cut through the noise to give tips, tricks, and guidance on how to create safe, yet profitable events in the new digital world. Check the Monday update for registration. 

BIPOC Community Forum with ABA CEO, Allison Hill: Thursday, October 15, at 6:00 p.m. ET
Watch for details in Monday’s update about an opportunity for BIPOC booksellers and BIPOC bookstore owners (only) to come together to discuss with me whatever topics are top of mind.

October is the New December

Thanks to everyone who has promoted the new Shop Early, Shop Local campaign. Assets—posters and social media posts for all platforms—are available for store use and to share with retail neighbors. Here are some great examples of the verbiage stores used to accompany these images:

Newsletter

Speaking of not missing out, the book industry is faced with a bit of a quandary this year. We're looking to you to help us solve it. Covid-19, combined with the shuttering of some major printing companies, has placed incredible stress on the publishing industry this Fall. We encourage you to get your (big, beautiful) orders together early, and get them to us! October is the new December! Don't wait until the last minute, because normal publisher operations will be severely challenged come November and December. Seriously, order now, and order directly through the store. You won't regret it. (Solid State Books, Washington, DC)

We are gearing up for a holiday season unlike any we've ever seen before. We all know the pandemic has caused shipping delays, printing delays, and a host of other issues in the book world and elsewhere, so we are encouraging everyone to get an early start this year. We're ready whenever you are -- come see us, and let's get to gifting, y'all! (Novel. Books & Gifts, Memphis, TN)

Shop early to get the books you want for the holidays
It's time to start making your list and checking it twice.
For a number of reasons -- consolidation in the printing industry, safer slower warehouses, shipping disruptions -- bookstores are going to have a challenging time keeping hot titles in stock during the coming holiday season. More than ever, it's important that you buy your December must-haves now. Preorder a book now, and there shouldn't be any problems getting it in time to put under the tree. Leave things until the last minute, and you might need to give a gift certificate instead of an actual book. (Next Chapter Booksellers, St Paul, MN)

Facebook

Tomorrow is OCTOBER! Which is both thrilling and terrifying. This year's 4th quarter will be unlike any we've ever had. That’s why @americanbooksellers has created this campaign on behalf of indie bookstores. Lots of publishers and warehouses are still very behind on shipping and that means delays. To combat this, we strongly urge you to use October as your big holiday shopping month instead of waiting until December. Will repeat. WE STRONGLY URGE Y'ALL TO GET YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING DONE EARLY AND LOCALLY. Love y'all. (Fountain Bookstore, Richmond, VA)

Twitter

Remember when we couldn’t get toilet paper? Buy your holiday gifts early this year to get ahead of any surprises Covid may have in store for us in December. October is the new December. #ShopEarly #ShopLocal (Me)

ABA is here for all of you. Please reach out if there is anything we can help with. Members can contact me directly, or email the Membership, Advocacy, or IndieCommerce teams.

Best,
Allison

Allison Hill
Chief Executive Officer

American Booksellers Association
333 Westchester Ave., Suite S202 
White Plains, NY 10604 | 800-637-0037 
[email protected] • www.BookWeb.org

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