First time walking into bookstore touting my own book was daunting

I’ve cold-called many retail stores and business owners in my previous careers as reporter, advertising director and PR firm owner, but walking into a cool bookstore touting my first book, “Headscape,” proved a bit more challenging than I expected.

The past three weeks since I picked up my memoir from the printer have been a blur, getting the Kindle and Apple versions ready for market, working on this website and happily dealing with dozens of Amazon and Schroder Media print book orders. I hadn’t had time to consider pitching it to real brick-and-mortar bookstores yet.

My wife Jan and I traveled for the first time to Telluride, Colorado, this week to attend the wedding of Tory and Evans Grenier and found ourselves wandering the cool streets of this storied former mining town on Friday afternoon. We wandered into Between the Covers bookstore on W Colorado Avenue and were immediately enchanted by the shelves nicely organized by genre – all leading to its lively coffee shop, High Alpine Coffee, at the back of the store. As I looked at the displays, I tried to imagine if my little book was worthy of joining these same shelves with so many famous authors. How would they display my book here and which genre would “Headscape” fall into if I were to pitch it for consideration to this and other stores. The book is a combination of several categories and is not easily slotted into one. Would it be considered for inclusion in Autobiography? Health? Travel? New Releases? Or might it be so lucky to ever grace the “Staff Picks” shelf?

The staff seemed friendly and engaged with their customers and I began considering if I had the guts to make this store my first target to consider my book. How cool would it be to recount that the first bookstore to carry my first book was in Telluride of all places.

Writing a book is one thing. Printing and posting electronic versions is another. Yet actually talking to bookstore owners and laying myself out there for probable rejection – that’s another level of effort altogether. I wasn’t feeling confident enough yet this Friday afternoon and told myself I should return with an actual copy of the book the next morning when the store opened at 8 a.m. and when the staff might not be so busy with shoppers.

Saturday morning, we met college roommate Irénée May and his wife Judy in the hotel lobby at 6:45 a.m. and hurried out to try and catch the launch of a dozen hot-air balloons participating in the annual Telluride Balloon Festival. We grabbed coffee and pastries from Baked in Telluride bakery just as it opened at 7 a.m. and stood in awe as the skies blossomed with beautiful balloons. I spied Tory and Evans on the street ahead of us and asked them if they’d mind posing for a quick shot 13 hours before their wedding. They’d been up late the night before partying with their invitees and I was impressed they were up so early.

“Oh no, I’ve been up since 4:30 a.m., just thinking about everything,” Tory said.

We then followed locals and tourists into Between the Covers as they opened their doors. All the customers hurried to jump in line at the coffee shop and I didn’t recognize any staff up front near the books. I decided they all went to the back to help the besieged baristas. Again, it didn’t seem like the right time. So the four of us left and rode the free gondolas up the hill and wandered around Mountain Village for an hour or two before riding back into town.

I had two copies of “Headscape” in my hand. Jan, Judy and Irénée and I concocted a scenario in which I’d go in pitch my book to the staff just as they each independently walked in and asked if the store carried the new hit sensation, “Headscape.” We laughed but quickly discarded that idea. It was now or never for me to make the ask.

I walked in the store on my own and saw a man and woman behind the cash register, checking out customers’ purchases. I took a deep breath, waited for an opening and then quietly engaged the woman.

“Hi, I just published a book two weeks ago and it’s getting all five-star reviews on Amazon and I was wondering how I’d begin a conversation with someone here about considering carrying the book.”

I could tell the older gentleman to her right, who was making change from the register for a customer, was listening in. As he closed the register, he turned to us and said, “What is this?”

I repeated my statement and added, “It’s a funny memoir about being bald and then replanting my hair. I’d be honored if you’d consider featuring it here. If you don’t think it’s for your store, then these two copies would make a great Father’s Day present for someone you know. Here are two business cards with more information on the book and its website.”

He looked over the book and the cards.

“Do you have contact info here in case we’d like to order more copies?” he asked. My heart leapt a little.

“Yes, my phone number and email are on the website, headscape.me,” I said. “Thank you so much for considering.”

I said goodbye and wandered outside. Jan looked down and saw I didn’t have the books in my hand. “Did they take them?” she asked excitedly.

“They did and said they’d consider it and asked for contact info if they wanted to order more,” I said. We quickly took a photo outside the store and moved on before we jinxed our opportunity with the store staff, who might think we were acting too confident.

Now that it’s Sunday, I’m thinking of  wandering back into the bookstore today to see if we can spot my two books on their shelves, but again, I don’t want to jinx it. I am honored they even took the books and might spend a few moments considering them. I will just let this venture take its course, knowing I nervously cleared the hurdle of making my first bookstore pitch – and to perhaps one of the cooler bookstores in the nation. They’ll never know how much their friendly reception positively impacted my day and my future of knocking on other bookstores wherever Jan and I continue our travels around the country and the globe.