A Bookseller's Advice to Authors: A Visit with the Poisoned Pen Bookstore

Jenn McKinlay

One of my very favorite places inmy neighborhood is the Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, AZ When I moved to Arizona in 1992, it was one of the first places I visited and came to be the place I frequently brought out of town guests to visit, well, after a pop in at the iconic Sugar Bowl, which is right down the street.

As an aspiring writer, I dreamed of one day signing at the Poisoned Pen. While I suffered years of rejection, the Pen was a place I would visit to be inspired. It's shelves are full to bursting with books, the staff always knows exactly what book you need to read when you need to read it, and hanging from the ceilings are dozens and dozens of portraits of visiting authors, smiling down at you in a most engaging way. 

The driving force behind the famous bookstore is Barbara Peters. Full disclosure, when I first met Barbara I was terrified of her. To begin with she holds a BA from Stanford, an MA from Northwestern and an MSLS from the University of Tennessee. She founded the Poisoned Pen Bookstore in 1989 and it is now, and has been for a long while, one of the world's largest mystery-centric bookstores. Together with her husband Rob Rosenwald, they have been recipients of the Raven Award from the Mystery Writer's of America and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Bouchercon, the annual mystery writers conference. She is charming and engaging, no question, but she is formidably brilliant (librarian!), reads voraciously, seriously, I think she reads over a hundred books per month or is that per week, and has traveled the world extensively, next stop Peru!

Jenn reading her dedication to Barbara

Luckily, since my first mystery published in 2009, I have signed at the Pen at least twenty-five times (I'm going for the record of person who has signed there the most) and Barbara has become a very dear friend. In fact, I dedicated my book At the Drop of a Hat to Barbara and the staff of the Pen, which, for all that they do, should really have been entitled --A Tip of the Brim.

When I was invited to blog with Jungle Red (thank you, ladies) I knew that one of the very first posts I would do would be an interview with Barbara. Some might think it is revenge for all of the times she's had me in the hot seat. You would be right! Without further ado, I give you my QandA with Barbara Peters, Bookseller Extraordinaire.
         

1. What was the impetus for opening a mystery bookstore? 

On the fatal day when my new husband Robert Rosenwald (little did he know where it would lead) said to me, "Now that you can do whatever you want, what is it you are going to do?" I replied, I'd like to go back to books. To Rob that meant I'd return to the Library of Congress where I'd been a librarian in its fast track to the top Intern Program (now defunct) and he said, I am not moving to DC. So I said, "Ok, a little bookstore." Drawing from my law background I knew a specialty was the key in the face of the rise of BN and Borders, both huge in Phoenix, so I thought, a mystery bookstore would be fun. In truth I'm a romance history and biography reader as much as a mystery fan, but mystery was just too cool to resist. Besides in 1989 there was a whole community of mystery bookstores which, sadly, is now gone. The Pen has become a bookstore for fiction, and whatever else we like. 

2. What advice would you offer a new author on their first book tour?

Rhys and Barbara in hats!

Assuming it's been arranged by the publisher, email ahead to offer information, a short statement about your book and why you wrote it. Ask what time you should arrive. Be on time. Dress appropriately (seriously, you'd be amazed how many do not). Prepare a short pitch for your book. Reply to questions cheerfully, not contentiously. It can get personal sometimes, you never know, but don't let it get to you. Bring a pen. Fans might like little promo items but most bookstores haven't got room to display them and don't want to keep track of them, so don't go crazy with bookmarks, etc. Leave your email address with the store and/or cell phone in case follow up is needed. If you have any serious complaints, tell your publicist but don't air them on social media.   

3. You've seen a lot of authors break out. What similarities have you seen amongst them?

Sadly it's often a function of whether your publisher is sold on your book (ie did your editor pitch it well to sales?) and thus devoted promo bucks to you. You can never discount the effect of serious publisher push. You can't discount the role of luck either: your topic got hot; someone influential liked your book. Series can gain momentum; a first book can make a small dent but then it builds. Perseverance and patience in building is a key. Another today is social media; how well can you use it? And how often is the author out and visible? Personality, the ability to perform, can propel careers. BUT for me, it's all about your voice, how well you tell your story, your enthusiasm for your work. If an author writes well and believes in the work, the odds rise. It's all very mysterious and a writer is both in charge of his destiny and at the mercy of factors beyond control and unforeseen (like the books that got dumped after 9/11 made them irrelevant). 

Hank at the Pen with CJ Box and  Linwood Barclay

A great example of an author with faith in his work is Craig Johnson. His first book got attention, but hey, it featured a Wyoming Sheriff in a small county. Viking sent Craig to The Poisoned Pen on a small tour. His second book, no tour so Craig asked if he could still come and he rode his motorcycle to Scottsdale. It took the two of us, him determined to showcase his work, me happy to cooperate. Book three might have been Viking, might have been The Pen paying. And then, here's the luck factor, TV came along and now he's a bestseller. 

4. What do you see for the future of brick and mortar bookstores?

Ingrid in the hot seat!

Bright. Digital sales are dropping, print sales rising. 2016, more print books sold than digital. Recent Book of the Month club reporting said a significant percentage of its 70% women members were readers in their 20s and 30s. Bookstores are a place to experience, to browse and make serendipitous finds, and for community. It's a safe night or afternoon out to attend a function or just browse. It's a parent/child bonding place as well as a date place. Every bookstore is different, and reflects its location, its staff, and its community. Many of those that crashed in the wake of the now imperiled BN model were not businesses but hobbies so one positive of more competition online and brick and mortar is that bookstores have to be better run as a business.

5. And lastly because you own the Poisoned Pen Press, as well, what makes you buy a book from a new author?

Voice. I can fix anything else but if you are boring, or offensive, I can't help you.


JENN: And the answer to that last question is one of the many reasons, I adore Barbara.  She cracks me up!

Every month, the Poisoned Pen sends out a postcard of upcoming events (see picture) and note two of our very own Reds are coming to town -- Deborah on Feb 18 and Rhys on Mar 1. To sign up for their mailer or to order autographed books from your favorite authors, visit: https://poisonedpen.com



And now, Reds, tell us what's your favorite bookstore? Do you go to author events? And if you have a question for Barbara, ask away! One lucky commenter will win this snazzy Poisoned Pen tote bag!