Of course, not all problems are the publishers' fault. One that almost every bookseller singled out was timing. It sometimes seems to booksellers as if the large publishers must be in cahoots on shipping big spring and holiday orders, because these orders often tend to arrive at once. Even if she had the money, help might not be so easy to come by in today's economy. I'm so grateful for summer, because of all the students.
Summer is catch-up time.
They want to work with the books, but not open up the boxes. There's a lot of boring stuff in a bookstore. Moment Food may be love, but a good massage can be even better. So even though Janet Hutchinson, owner of Open Door in Schenectady, tries to make sure that her staff has lots of good things to eat in the backroom during stressful selling seasons, she gave them massages last Christmas. It may not be as good as a backrub perhaps, but Ronberg of Linden Tree finds that time efficiencies, like sorting the mail as soon as it comes in, can help relieve stress.