Getting Back to Business

The last two weeks were full of emotional highs and lows as I followed the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in the news and on the political blogs. As I posted earlier, I was proud of Denver and how this city handled acting as host to the DNC and being here and able to soak in the experience was pretty incredible.

But, alas, now I can concentrate on the final stages in preparing to move to the Island. The time has come to get back to making lists because my mind is having trouble staying focused and the paperwork on my desk is growing exponentially each day. I really do not know what happens to the days -- they seem to just slip away, then it is a week that has gone by without my realizing it.

Today, I returned a contract to the SPI Chamber for an advertisement in the 2009 Visitor Guide, since I hope I will be open by the time it is published, although I am not sure how I will list a phone number and all the other important stats that usually are displayed. I'll need to think of a clever way to say that I am not providing any information while inviting the reader to stop by to find out what Paragraphs is all about.

Even more exciting, I am enrolling in what is known as the First Steps program with Baker and Taylor (a book distributor). I have identified a number of categories of books, music, and DVDs (thanks to everyone who responded to the survey) and in return B&T will send me a list of titles based on their sales reports and knowledge of bookstore inventories. Then the fun will begin as I get to go through approximately 6,500 entries on a spreadsheet and decide which of the suggested books I want to order, which books I don't want and finally I will have the opportunity to add to this list those books I have been keeping track of for the last year.

I have been feeling an awful lot like the proverbial kid in the candy store as the boxes of publisher catalogs announcing the new fall releases arrived on my doorstep. For a person who cannot enter a bookstore without coming out with an armful of potential new experiences waiting to be shared with new friends and characters, these catalogs are a veritable treasure trove of possibilities. Deciding on which of the many fascinating books to carry is going to be the hardest part of this bookselling business.