Gary D. Robson's Blog: Reading & Writing with Gary Robson, page 4

An open letter to Billings Bookstore Cooperative shareholders

NOTE: I wrote this letter to a few personal friends that are involved in the Billings Bookstore Cooperative, which is doing business as This House of Books. I did it because six months of attempted negotiations have failed, and the board has refused to even respond to offers and compromises. Today, the co-op addressed the […]

Don’t get cloned on Facebook

We’ve all been seeing a rash of Facebook account cloning. You see it when you get a friend request from someone that you’ve already friended. If you have a lot of Facebook friends, you may just think, “Oh, I thought we were already friends,” and accept the invitation. Shortly thereafter, you’ll get a private message […]

Ferret in a Lab Coat, an Enhanced Webcomic

I’ve been looking for a new creative outlet for a while now, and I’ve found it in the form of a new webcomic called Ferret in a Lab Coat. The concept of a webcomic has fascinated me for quite some time, as the potential goes so far beyond traditional printed comics. Syndicated comics fit into one […]

Merchandising for Libraries

One of the best things about teaching and giving seminars is that it makes you think about subjects you might not otherwise have thought about. I was approached by Edmaker about giving a keynote address for Library Journal‘s New Ideas in Collection Development & Merchandising workshop. They suggested calling it “How to Merchandise Like a […]

Bookselling by the Numbers

Last week at the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association (MPIBA) fall tradeshow, I put on a seminar titled Bookselling by the Numbers, where I discussed some of the various metrics used for measuring success of a bookstore. I spent most of the seminar, however, talking about inventory strategies and how they change depending on […]

Book Signings in Yellowstone Park

I will be signing copies of the Yellowstone edition of Who Pooped in the Park at the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone Park on Friday, August 5 and Saturday, August 6. If you’re going to be in or near the Park, stop by and see me! I will be in the lobby, right outside the […]

See you in the Big Apple!

Next week, I head to New York City on a book tour. The schedule still isn’t completely nailed down—why have a final schedule a week before the trip?—but I’d love to have you join me at one of these public events that we do have finalized. All of the events are completely free and no reservations are […]

When being an author is fun

Lots of people want to have written; they don’t want to write. In other words, they want to see their name on the front cover of a book and their grinning picture on the back. But this is what comes at the end of a job, not at the beginning. —Elizabeth George I’m one of […]

This House of Books: By and for readers and writers

As I discussed in my last post, there’s a new bookstore coming to Billings, and I will be at the helm. The store now has a name: This House of Books, an homage to Ivan Doig’s masterpiece This House of Sky. There’s a lot to be excited about, but there’s one thing in particular that […]

The end of an era … and start of a new one

The bookstore Kathy and I purchased in 2001 is closing. For the first time in thirty years, the town of Red Lodge will be without a bookstore. I feel sad and guilty about it, but I also feel giddy and excited about what’s coming. If ever there was a personification of “mixed emotions,” it’s me. […]