Write Books that Live Past Launch Day
Stories and strategies to get your book stocked, sold, and remembered.
Build a Bookshop That Works in the Real World
Practical strategies, common mistakes, and the quiet economics behind independent retail.
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Why the Weird Name?
I used to own a shop called Lazy Lion Books. The lion continues on in this newsletter’s logo, though not in great shape. In fact, he’s dead…eyes crossed, tongue hanging out. I didn’t kill him. It just…happened.
So, the store closed, the lion didn’t make it, but the lessons stuck around.
What I Talk About
This is where I tell stories from my years as a bookseller. Some are funny and some frustrating. The point isn’t nostalgia. It’s to help you understand how books actually earn a place on the shelf, and what really makes them sell. In my Open a Bookshop series, I use these same stories to break down the many decisions that shape a bookstore before, during, and long after opening day.
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Why Subscribe
You’ll get practical, bookstore-tested advice mixed with the real behind-the-scenes stories. No ads, no fluff. Just the kind of guidance I wish more writers/entrepreneurs had before they started.
Support the Work
For now, I’m keeping everything here free and open. So don’t worry about hitting gated posts anytime soon. That doesn’t mean I’ll never gate posts, but I don’t see a reason to do it right now.
Meanwhile, if you’d like to support my writing, I’d be glad of it. Very glad of it.
The best (and currently, only) way to do this is by getting a paid subscription to my serialized novel, Garden of Little Peace. I wrote most of it during my very first NaNoWriMo decades ago, back when I wasn’t sure I’d ever finish a novel at all. It sat tucked away all these years, waiting. Now it finally gets its chance to live, chapter by chapter, out in the open instead of in a drawer.
Bonus for you: you’ll get both newsletters for the price of one.
Bonus for me: I’ll get to keep writing with electricity and a roof over my head.
Dream achieved.
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