Ep. 89 - Behind-the-Scenes of Indie Book Buying with Elizabeth Barnhill (Fabled Bookshop)

<p><strong>In Episode 89, Elizabeth Barnhill (book buyer for Fabled Bookshop) goes behind-the-scenes about what it’s like to buy books for an independent bookstore.</strong></p> <p><em>This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).</em></p> <h2>Highlights</h2> <ul> <li>How Elizabeth got her job as book buyer at Fabled Bookshop with no “official” previous experience (and if the owner was nervous to hire someone with no experience).</li> <li>The most surprising thing Elizabeth discovered about being a book buyer.</li> <li>What Elizabeth’s relationship with publishing sales reps looks like (including how far in advance they meet).</li> <li>What happens when Elizabeth ends up not liking a book she’s ordered for the store.</li> <li>How far in advance of publication date Elizabeth reads and orders books.</li> <li>How Elizabeth factors in other readers’ opinions of a book into her orders (traditional media reviews, early readers on #bookstagram, etc).</li> <li>How Elizabeth handles ordering in relation to trends (and her take on the trends of 2021).</li> <li>How Elizabeth decides how many of a particular book to order.</li> <li>How COVID impacted her ordering.</li> <li>The biggest book buy she’s ever done for a single book.</li> <li>How Elizabeth decides how much of each order should comprise a specific genre.</li> <li>What the initial book buy for Fabled looked like when it first opened.</li> <li>How Elizabeth decides which books to feature most prominently around the store.</li> <li>If she hand sells books she doesn’t personally like.</li> </ul> <h2>Elizabeth’s Book Recommendations <a class= "spp-timestamp">[30:19]</a></h2> <p><strong>Two OLD Books She Loves</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://amzn.to/3efuwmi" target="_blank" rel= "nofollow noopener">The Iron House</a> by John Hart | <a href="https://amzn.to/3efuwmi" target="_blank" rel= "nofollow noopener">Buy from Amazon</a> | Buy from Bookshop.org<strong><img src= "https://ir-na.amazon-a