Wordsmiths Books Fine-tunes to Community Needs

Bookseller Zachary Steele had about a decade of bookselling experience before opening Wordsmiths Books in Decatur, Georgia, this past June. Now, four months into owning a bookstore, he reported, "We are so far running ahead of sales projections. The community has been supportive with increased attendance at our larger scale author events. We're doing really well."

The 3,000-square-foot bookstore, in a historic post office, maintains a busy events calendar with signings and/or readings nearly every day. Recent author visits have included Amy Sedaris (I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence, Grand Central), Stuart Woods (Shoot Him If He Runs, Putnam), Fonzworth Bentley (Advance Your Swagger, Villard), and Christopher Moore (You Suck: A Love Story, Morrow). The Moore event, which had about 200 attendees, was "wonderful," said Steele. "People flew in from all over, and some had driven 14 hours."

Wordsmiths has also partnered with local organizations for off-site events, including a recent appearance by Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love, Penguin) at the Georgia Center for the Book, which was able to accommodate 900 of the author's fans. The store also works with The Carter Center, founded by former President Jimmy Carter to advance human rights.

Steele formed these relationships by "just getting the first shot," he said. "Most people are very open to giving you one chance. If you can go in and give them what they need, which is basically a hassle-free experience, hopefully you'll get another event."

After managing Georgia's Chapter 11 bookstores, as well as a Barnes & Noble, Steele found there was still a significant amount to learn about owning a bookstore. "Running a business and selling books are two entirely different things," he explained. Steele is now spending a chunk of his time garnering publicity and developing partnerships for additional event venues. "At times I would like to be on the floor selling, but I want the business to be successful and possibly grow into more stores," he added.

Over the summer, Steele made adjustments to some of his business strategies. "We change tack every week," he said. "One thing I originally wanted was to own and run a cafe by myself. Within about a week of opening, I decided to partner with someone local. The target date for the opening is sometime in November, before the holiday rush.

"Our strategies change on the fly. We involve the community and tailor things to their needs," Steele said. "They like to let us know what they want."

One thing Wordsmiths' customers want is literary fiction. "And they're clamoring for the really expensive art books, which is fine by me," Steele added. Although Wordsmiths doesn't carry children's literature because Decatur already has an excellent children's bookstore (Little Shop of Stories is nearby), Steele said Wordsmiths is expanding its YA selections because of a flood of interest from teenagers. Currently popular is Darren Shan's Cirque Du Freak (Little, Brown) series.

Free WiFi has been a solid inexpensive draw for Wordsmiths from the outset. "It runs through the whole store," Steele said. "People are very grateful. They sit and cruise the net or just check their e-mail. I think we've picked up a few writers who like to just crash here and research."

Another boon has been the widening scope of the bookstore's viral marketing campaign, orchestrated by marketing and PR director, Russ Marshalek. "I've been doing the book thing for almost 10 years, and when I started talking about opening the store, Russ mentioned viral marketing," said Steele. "I wasn't a believer at first, but it's been amazing. We put something on our blog or MySpace page and the number of people that see it and respond is shocking. It's gotten to the point that we do the majority of our promotion without cost. It's spreading all over the place."

The big bonus, said Steele, is that the time investment is minimal. "That's the great thing about viral marketing," he said. "You provide a starting point and then let go and it takes off on its own." --Karen Schechner