On the Real: Bookselling in Fort Greene/Clinton Hill.
One of the biggest “What’s up with that?” issues about Fort Greene/Clinton Hill for me has been the lack of a sizable general-interest bookstore. I will travel far and wide for a bookstore — my list of favorites is probably as long as my arm — but I spend more money at BookCourt, the Strand, and Amazon.com than I would if I could get my Haruki Murakami, Stop Smiling magazine, and assorted children’s books right in my own neighborhood. There’s no shortage of writers around — Touré, Jennifer Egan, and Susan Choi Wells are just several of the boldfaced names who live here, in addition to plenty of journalists — and it’s a literate community generally. So what gives?
The Sisyphean task of opening and operating a successful brick-and-mortar bookstore in New York City, that’s what. When I did some preliminary research and ran the numbers, I realized I didn’t have the stomach (or the deep pockets) to do it myself, no matter how much I loved the idea. While a few Brooklyn shops seem to be rocking along (like Vox Pop), many others are apparently pushing against the wind (like Freebird Books, according to this 2005 Times piece). For additional insight into the potential joys and challenges of running a bookstore in Fort Greene/Clinton Hill, I talked to Jenn Brissett, owner of Indigo Cafe & Books, a cozy shop in the heart of Fort Greene that went virtual in 2004. Her advice about opening a bookstore: “I hate to say it, but don’t do it.” Find out why after the jump.
Q: Why, WHY does this neighborhood not have a really great bookstore?
There are many reasons but I’ll focus on two.
First, this neighborhood doesn’t have a center. There is nothing that really ties this neighborhood together. There is constant flux in the population here. Therefore, it is really difficult to maintain a loyal clientele.
Second, and the most important reason, the overall readership in our country has dropped significantly. I know this from running my store but also the NEA has done an extensive study that indicates what I’ve seen empirically — Americans are not reading.
Basically it breaks down to this: Fewer than half the adult population read even one novel or play or short story a year that is not required for work or school.
Bookstores all over the city and the country have been closing, for example Coliseum and Gotham Book Mart…. Newspapers are removing book reviews because the reading population has shrunk to the point that they are losing money trying to advertise them.
I don’t know if this is the answer you expected, but it is the unvarnished truth. I wouldn’t recommend to anyone to open a new bookstore right now. I would focus more on trying to get children and young people to read. In New York right now, 80% of children do not even read at grade level. Addressing the reading dilemma seems to me to be a more important task than trying to develop a literary hangout.
Q: What drew you to Fort Greene and why did you decide to open a bookstore?
I thought that Fort Greene was going to be like my old neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In some ways it is, and in others it is completely different. I opened a bookstore because I saw a need and I thought that I could fill it.
Q: How long did it take from your initial idea to the moment you flung the doors open?
A lot of work was involved. It took about 1 year of very hard work to finally open.
Q: How did you choose your stock? What books sold well, and what didn’t?
What sold well changed dramatically from year to year. Children’s books sold well in the beginning.
Q: What sort of special-events programming did you have at the store? Did you find that events had a significant impact on your sales?
I did a lot of events. It would help for that day’s sales and got us some notice, but in the end, events are not enough if you don’t get the day-to-day walk-in traffic.
Q: The store had a wonderful hang-out-and-have-a-cup vibe to it. Did including a cafe help or hinder the book sales, or in any way add more work than you expected or hoped?
The cafe is what mostly kept the store alive as people stopped buying books mostly. Since I didn’t want to be a restaurant, I finally decided that I would close.
Q: Has Indigo operated more successfully as an online-only business?
The book business is going to be tough no matter how you do it. The thing that is nice about the online venture is the very low overhead. This is not something to do to make money. Do this only if you truly love it. Otherwise this business will drive you nuts.
Q: Any thoughts about brick-and-mortar vs. online bookselling generally?
Only time will tell what will happen next. The rents and the low book sales will increasingly make storefront bookstores unworkable. The online store at least allows me to spread my wings over a much larger distance than a storefront.
For more of Jenn’s perspective on bookselling, see her blog A Bookseller’s Tale. Picture of old Indigo storefront used with Jenn’s permission; see more pictures of the old Indigo store at Indigo Cafe.
June 15th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
I remember Indigo as well. such a nice getaway, relaxing as well… My mother used to sit for hours there and study, read and everything else while I did my laundry a few doors down. It seems everything comes and goes… Its great to know they are online! I had no idea!