…and wondering if I’m a fool. Right now I have a reasonably well-paying job as a copy editor/proofreader/indexer at a small publishing house in Redmond, WA. I always thought I’d like to be involved with editing, which is why I took this job. Well, most of what we edit is software-related, and it’s become intensely boring for me. Some aspects of the job are okay, but most of the time I’m just bored off my head.
One of my long-term goals is to open my own used bookstore. I’ve often thought that it would help if I had some bookstore experience, and besides I’ve always thought it would be fun to work in a bookstore, so I’m thinking of quitting my current job to go work in a bookstore.
The thing is, I don’t know if I’d be making a huge mistake. One of my friends that I told this plan to was very critical, pointing out that working in a bookstore isn’t what you might call a “career” and that I’d be throwing my career away, etc. etc. Also obviously I’d be taking a pay cut.
I don’t know, I’m just not happy where I am and I’m wondering if bookstore work would be better, somehow. Any thoughts/opinions on this?
if you can afford the pay cut, I say do it.
I made a “leap of faith” a few years back, and ended up almost doubling my salary (after a somewhat rocky start).
If you generally enjoy copyediting/proofreading/indexing, but it’s just your subject matter that bores you, you could always go freelance. I work on computer manuals, math textbooks (and every other subject under the sun), cookbooks, romance and suspense novels, and a bunch of other things. Don’t like the subject matter? Turn the project down and take something else instead.
I did work in a bookstore for a while when my client base was still a little thin. While I enjoyed it greatly, I agree that the money’s not great. And my friend who’s owned a wonderful little bookstore for six years is about to sell or close it, because it’s been a big money pit. It sucks, but indies are in trouble these days.
But I also agree with the others who’ve said to do what you feel is right.
I was a copywriter and graphic designer before I switched to bookselling. It was a huge change for me but I loved being with the books day and night. Like you, it was my dream to open my own bookstore, so I figured the best way to learn the business would be to join one of my favourite stores.
I started out as a sales assistant and eventually made my way up into purchasing. Because of my creative background, I also helped in the marketing department - producing catalogues and P.O.P materials. I had a great bunch of colleagues who looked out for me and willingly shared all they knew about staffing, visual merchandising, store maintenance, warehousing - the works. Because of the extent of my experience there, I’ve managed to move on to a better paying position at the local library.
As others have pointed out, the pay won’t be great. The hours might be shite. And customer service will be an eye-opener if you’ve never done it before. But like I’ve pointed out, there’s more to bookselling than just talking books to a bunch of customers.
Why don’t you find a bookstore that’s looking for part-time help? That way you can try it out on a temporary basis to see if that’s what you really want. And give yourself some time to figure out which part of the business you’d like to be more involved in.
I agree with dodge-this. Try for a part-time position, first. It will get you used to customers, stocking, and “returns pulls” without forcing you into a “How do I pay next month’s bills?” scenario.
The time I spent as a bookstore manager was the period in which I did the least reading in my life because I had no time for it. (The period before being a manger was the period in which I did the second-least amount of reading because I couldn’t afford any books–even with the employee discount.)
The lower pay at a bookstore also means that it will be harder to come up with a down payment to buy one. And, of course, if you want to run a business, you might want to be sure that you have some accounting background before you jump into it (at least enough class time to understand the terms).
Hmm… thanks for the advice so far. I have a couple questions, if that’s okay…
Scarlett67: How do you go about getting clients if you’re doing freelancing? Just send a bunch of letters to publishers, or what?
dodge-this: I thought that these days you pretty much had to have a degree in library science to get hired on at a library? This is something else I was thinking of doing (working at a library), but I am not sure if I want to go through the time and expense of grad school.
That’s one way. Your library’s reference desk should have a copy of Literary Market Place, the Big Daddy directory of the publishing industry. You can use it to target your search. Only one of my clients is a publisher, though; the others are all book packagers or editorial services (which are also listed in LMP), and their clients are publishers. Some good books on the subject are Editorial Freelancing by Trumbull Rogers and Copyediting: A Practical Guide by Karen Judd. The latter is (obviously, perhaps) more a guide to copyediting itself, but it has some good chapters on drumming up freelance business. I followed Judd’s advice to get my first clients, despite never having worked as a copyeditor before.
You could also subscribe to Copyediting-L (a Google search should turn up subscription info) and Freelance on Yahoo Groups (or whatever it’s called – I joined back when it was still on eGroups).
Just FYI: I work full-time in the circulation dept. at my university library and don’t even have a degree yet. The supervisor of my dept. got his PhD in history, I believe. Most of the people I work with are working on Art degrees. Something many people don’t realize when they come into a library is-- not everyone (or even most people) that work there are librarians. My official title is Library Assistant I. There are LA II’s, LA III’s, and LA IIII’s. Then you move up the ladder to Library Specialist I. Even the reference desk is often staffed with Graduate Assistants. (I think you either have to get lucky, or make an appointment to get a real-live card carrying librarian to help you.) We also have a LAN dept. (computers), govdocs, music, administrations, microfilm, etc. (My friend works in the library’s LAN dept, and he has a degree in English.) So you don’t have to rule out working in a library just because you don’t have a degree in library science. Good luck!
My answer’s pretty much like Mirth’s. I work full-time as a Library Officer in the circulation department of a public library. I don’t have a college degree but I believe my four years in bookselling helped me get in. Most of my senior colleagues have general degrees and I know of two who are working on their library science qualifications. Where I work, staff have the option to apply for state-sponsored library diplomas/degrees and info management courses.
Like with the bookstores, you could ask if your library has any part-time vacancies available. Or you could start by volunteering a couple of hours a week. (I didn’t wait for vacancies. I just sent them emails and made appointments to see whoever was in charge.)
Keep asking questions about possible areas of specialization at your library (or bookstore). That will give you some inkling as to what you can work towards.