What is selling well in the young adult & middle grade market?
The only one I can answer
with certainty is that the Twilight series sold very well.
What do you do to get the young readers into the store? and what do you do to get them to buy once they are in the store?
I have led book discussions for middle schoolers (grades
6-8) at The Little Read Book for the past five summers. I think this is a
perfect way to reach out to the 10-14 year old readers. I spend a lot of
time choosing titles (usually award winners, or at least books with many
favorable reviews) which I feel will appeal to boys and girls. Our
discussion groups have varied in size over the years, but no matter the size
of the group, I continue to be amazed at the quality of the discussion.
These kids love to talk books. They are the avid readers, who have chosen
to come to a discussion like this on their own initiative, not because they
were forced to by their parents. The fact that I also provide snacks
doesn’t hurt either. You know, “Offer them food and they will
come.”
I love offering this at our bookstore, and the parents also
seem very grateful. Often, the books that I select for the discussion are the first of
a series, so sometimes there are sales that result following a book
discussion. Of course, we also hope that the children who participate will
purchase their books at our bookstore, especially because we offer a 15%
discount.
What challenges are you facing within the industry, and how do you deal with them?
Chain stores,etc are a problem. But there is a big push to “buy local” in the community, so that sometimes helps our sales at Little Read Book.
Kathy Kruse is a children's bookseller at The Little Read Book in Wauwatosa, WI.
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