Why I love indie bookshops

I picked up these beautiful owl cards at an indie bookshop in Charlottetown called Bookmark on a recent visit to PEI. I also browsed, and saw many writerly friends on the shelves, and didn’t buy any books because my TBR pile is huge and writing deadlines (self-imposed, mostly) are looming.

But paper things? Especially owls (my familiar, if you must know)? I just couldn’t resist.

At the checkout, I teased the (nameless, sorry) salesperson about the bust of William Shakespeare who appeared to be supervising her, and we talked about the recent talk by writerly colleague Terry Fallis at the store. How fun it was. What an impression he made.

So I told her that Terry had read and blurbed my latest book.

[Aside: I am terrible at self-promotion. My mother taught me never to brag, or, in her words, “toot my own horn”. It’s a curse in the writerly life, because OF COURSE WE HAVE TO SELF-PROMOTE, especially those of us without agents or Big Publishing Houses and their Big Promotion Budgets behind us. So this was uncomfortable for me. Okay, back to the action.]

She looked up. “You’re an author? Do we have your books on our shelves?”

Conversation followed, and in a second, she had a piece of paper, a pen, and was quickly taking down my details about books, publisher, genre. 

I felt so … SEEN!

So, here’s to indie bookshops and the people who work in them and visit them. Indies “get” it – the writing life, the importance of connecting writers with readers, readers with books, me with owl cards, even while Will Shakespeare is breathing down your neck. 

My list includes but does not end with...

Bookmark (Charlottetown, PEI)

Magic Pebble Books (Elora, ON)

The Bookshelf (Guelph, ON)

Mabel's Fables (Toronto, ON)

Munro's (Victoria, BC)

Woozles Books (Halifax, NS)

... and even my local yarn shop, String Theory Yarn (Fergus, ON), which has my latest book for sale.

Thank you!

Let's Talk Reviews

Okay, writers and readers, let’s talk REVIEWS.

Remember in school when your teacher asked you to write a book review but not to make it simply a plot summary? I received the first review of THE LEGEND (from that well-known review site that gives stars), and it is, in fact a plot summary. Along with the tag: “Agreeably entertaining.” Which I think means the reviewer found it boring…?

It’s a reality of the publishing scene, of course, that publishers will send your book out for reviews. The idea is that (fingers crossed) positive reviews will create buzz, raise awareness, and ultimately encourage sales – and readers. We writers do our bit by approaching bloggers and friends and going wild on social media urging readers to pre-order, to accept ARCs, to admire our covers, to join us at book launches and generally get on board and share in our delight at being published.It’s a good marketing plan, but I’m terrible at it. I hate asking people for this kind of cheerleading, and I find it excruciating to promote myself.

I just want to write stories, people. 

I know, I know. That’s not how it works.

So I’m going to do my bit and post a review. It’s not from a reviewer or blogger or well-known influential site. It’s from author P.S. Hozy, who is also (in this case) a copyeditor, in an email she wrote to my editor. Unsolicited, from someone who knows about the writing process, who read the book closely, and who has some context to the way I craft stories.

She said: “I really, really enjoyed this book. The flow and the pacing are just about perfect. I loved Griffin so much, I wish I could meet him as a grown man .... The dialogue is terrific, and I have tried not to tamper with its quirkiness. This is the third book I've copyedited for Jean Mills, and she just gets better and better.”

Is it subjective? Sure, but what review isn’t. Is it neutral? Perhaps not the way a reviewer at Kirkus is neutral – or, actually, IS that reviewer at Kirkus or anywhere neutral? Don’t reviewers bring their own file of likes and dislikes, biases and boxes-to-be-checked to their reading? Of course they do.

Reviews. Whatever. I don’t mind that my book is “agreeably entertaining,” and thanks for that. 

But I’d rather be a writer who’s getting “better and better.” So, yes, that’s the “review” I’ll savour.