Let’s talk about how we get the books in our bookstore. At this time, there are six major publishers: Penguin Random House, Macmillan, Harper Collins, Hachette, Simon and Schuster and Scholastic. Each of these publishers has a number of smaller publishers, or imprints, which has its own brand or personality. For example, Doubleday and Knopf are part of Penguin Random House, while Atria Books is part of Simon and Schuster, Little Brown and Co. is part of Hachette, Bloomsbury is part of Macmillan, etc. etc. etc.
Each year is broken into seasons and just like semesters vs. quarters in college, some publishers have three seasons and others have four. San Marco Books has a team of representatives at each of the major publishers and those reps send the season’s catalog full of suggestions just for our bookstore. It takes a couple of weeks to go through the thousands of books that arrive each season from all of the publishers. We start with the rep’s suggestions to find the books that meet our customers’ wants. Then, we do a deeper dive. It’s this deeper dive that sets us apart from box stores and other independent bookstores.
As we go through each of the catalogs, we look for the series our customers read, we find the genres that appeal to our specific readers, and we order books that will delight our loyal customers when we surprise them with a new title. Each season, we work hard to curate our selection for our customers. There are no random books in the bookstore. Each one was selected with a reader in mind.
Now, so far, everything I’ve outlined applies to new books. At San Marco Books and More, we carry an extensive collection of leather-bound books, as well as vintage classic books. With the vast majority of these books out-of-print now, we have to actively pursue acquisitions for our collection. Both my parents and I delight in traveling the country, from coast to coast, to find these treasures for our customers and when you walk the aisles, you’ll be amazed at the depth of our collection of classic literature and the editions that we offer. So, when you’re looking for your next great read, or searching for an addition to your collection, let us fill your shelves. See you soon.
