Source: guardian.co.uk
Andrew Kessler, whose book: Martian Summer: Robot Arms, Cowboy Spacemen and My 90 Days with the Phoenix Mars Mission was published by Pegasus in April described himself as, “a new, non-famous, scandal-free author,” and admitted he was, “a little worried about how anyone would see my book.”
He said, “One day after a meatball dinner at a store on the Lower East Side that only sells meatball. The Meatball Shop. I stumbled outside looked up a saw a church. And then I realized I could try to sell my book like a meatball. Monobookism was born.”
Kessler set up a bookstore that contains 3,000 copies of only one book —his.
Kessler, a writer and creative director at an advertising agency won “the nerd lottery” to spend three months in mission control with 130 scientists during the 2008 NASA mission to Mars. The book he wrote is about his experiences there. He said he promised to try to tell the story and came up with monobookism as the way to do it.
About the bookstore he repored, “Some people come in and hug whomever happens to be working in the store because they love it. And some people demand to know — aggressively — how we could be so foolish That makes for a pretty unique work environment.”
The bookstore will close soon and after it closes he will do an inventory to see how well he’s done.
What do you think? He got my attention and I’m sharing his story with you. Is this the newest model in publishing? Is it a gimmick? If you saw the bookstore would you walk in or walk away?
Hope his rent isn't high!
ReplyDeleteMaybe he's rich. Rent in New York can't be cheap.
ReplyDeleteI walk into just about every bookstore I see.
ReplyDeletetowriteistorite, That's my impulse too. How long would you stay if you found there was only one book you could buy?
ReplyDeleteI'd probably walk in because the store is a novelty. Then I'd pick up the book and scan it. I can't say whether I'd buy the book because I don't know whether it would interest me.
ReplyDeleteThe rent is a stumbling block. Maybe he rented from a friend. He's certainly aware of the need for marketing. So am I but marketing is way outside my comfort zone.
I am uncomfortable with marketing too, but I am convinced nobody else will do it for me. :(
ReplyDeleteNow just a minute, Warren. You wrote a blog about how fun marketing, readings, etc. were--you dressed up like Honest Abe--your main character in your novel. Which is it? Fun or really uncomfortable work?
ReplyDeleteDear EB,
ReplyDeleteJust because I do it doesn't mean I'm comfortable about it. I enjoy reading and talking to groups, especially dressed in character garb, as Lincoln, a Runyon-esque hood, or a cowboy. I can do that as Warren, the writer.
I don't like soliciting bookstore owners, pleading for a spot on convention panels or begging for reviews.
I tried to write this yesterday, but it wouldn't go through. I thought it was interesting that everyone mentioned the rent. I'd love to know if renting on the Lower East Side of Manhattan made the experiment worthwhile. I read about him somewhere else--can't remember where--so he certainly got the PR he was after. That had to translate to sales.
ReplyDeletePolly,
ReplyDeleteIt took guts to try it. I hope he sells well.
PS Sorry about problems with the blog. I hope it stays fixed
I love this idea. With so many storefronts going begging, what an attention-getter to have a pop-up bookstore for a single title. Creative landlords take heed. In a strip mall you might have a row of them.
ReplyDeleteWhat a clever idea. The landlords could have a rolling turnover of titles to keep people coming back.
ReplyDelete