When Opportunity Knocks, Open The Frickin' Door!

You know that moment when we’ve either seen a new product or have maybe noticed a new business idea and hit our heads with our hand and stated, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ Yep, we’ve all been there haven’t we? And though some of those concepts might not be worth the price tag they were attached to, there were those that truly were innovative and honest moneymakers.

Last Thursday’s blog entry I addressed one of those types of ideas that if done right, could become not only a financial windfall, but easily make those ‘outside the loop’ to smack themselves across the forehead in regret. And since it was mentioned in the lower portion of that days posting, I felt a need to share with all this full vision of a GREAT, and profitable idea.

I’m talking about The Indie Store!

Now don’t close your browsers just yet, folks. Let me share exactly what it is that I’m talking about.

Presently there are over 500,000 new indie books offered to the masses every month. That’s one heck of a lot of books to be seen by the average reader. An overwhelming amount! And quite honestly, most will never have the chance to really take off since most readers would never have a clue of their existence. And that’s a shame. Enter The Indie Store!

Presently an indie author can only have book signings in select locations, since the larger booksellers are understandably unwilling to host due to having to order print-on-demand books for their patrons. A cost the booksellers don’t want to ‘eat’ if all the books don’t sell. This makes it extremely difficult for authors to not only get face-to-face with the public, but also give the public a chance to fall in love with upcoming authors. Enter The Indie Store!

So, what IS The Indie Store? Good question and glad you asked.

The Indie Store would be a chain of stores that catered solely to independent authors, composers, bands, etc.? The financial structure would be based off the same principles as a consignment establishment, with the store first receiving an initial fee and then a small percentage off each sale after that. As for the stock, the books/CDs/or whatever would then be shipped by the creators themselves from the print-on-demand or other houses – making the cost per item extremely inexpensive. The stock would include the top tier sellers (either rated by local patrons or general national interest), some mid-range sellers, definitely ALL local artists, and then new releases. There would also be computers available for eBook information.

During the day, the stores would host a multitude of book signings and be a social gathering/reading/coffee/lounging type of environment. There would also be a side room to host book launching events. As for the evening, well that’s when the stores would come alive by spotlighting songwriters, local bands, etc. (laid back music throughout the week and then the other styles during the weekend.) 

The stores would be located in large metropolitan areas, as well as university and college towns. By placing the stores in those locations, both the indie authors and musicians would be given the best possible coverage to listeners and readers.

So… that’s pretty much the gist of it - The Indie Store - the great middle ground between the large booksellers and the trunk of cars. All that’s needed now are some interested parties who want to be a part of this exciting opportunity; this future of indie publishing.

Drop me a line at tljbryant@aol.com and don’t miss out on this. I would love to hear your feedback. And keep this in mind … when opportunity knocks, OPEN THE FRICKIN’ DOOR!