Talk Talk Talk

I've realized that a big part of getting this bookstore going is just talking about it to everyone I know.

Talking to other bookstore owners about their experiences, their mistakes, their systems, their advice.

Talking to friends and colleagues about my dream bookstore, about all the possibilities as I figured out my plan.

Talking to industry people to find out what resources are available, what they know that might help, and how they might want to get involved.

Talking as per usual about the bookstore at a dinner party is what got me connected with my potential business partner (in our minds, it's official, but still potential in terms of signing papers, since there's some other stuff that has to be cleared up first -- don't worry, we'll tell you as soon as we can).

Talking was what got me connected with the Fort Greene Indie Bookstore Alliance -- emailing, meeting, figuring out that we were the right fit.

And now I'm talking to everyone I know about the awesome party the FGIBI and I will be throwing on September 16.

It can be a bit hard to talk about: it's not exactly a grand opening, not exactly a fundraiser (though we're hoping it will inspire some folks to invest)... more like a rally, to get community folks linked in to this project, and tap into their knowledge about contractors, space, funding, and most of all, their own desires and shopping habits to make the bookstore fit the neighborhood.

I have gotten the chance to talk to some awesome folks who are excited to support:

Kate Christensen, Greenpoint-based, Pen Faulkner award winning author, and one of my favorites (In the Drink! The Epicure's Lament! The Great Man!), who has become a friend and supporter of the store, and promised to come to the party even though she's not a huge party person;

good friends like Toby Cox, who owns the first bookstore I ever worked in (the jewel-like Three Lives & Co. in the West Village) and is the first person I ever knew who lived in Fort Greene;

Eve Havliceck, the gracious owner of the condo-under-construction building and gorgeous, twenty-years-in-the-making landscaped back garden, where the party will be held (pics here on Brownstoner); she's offering her space for free, just because she'd like to see a bookstore in the neighborhood;

Jennifer Egan, another luminary Fort Greene based author (Look At Me, The Keep) who will grace us with her presence also despite a packed schedule;

Rebecca Fitting, our incomparable Random House sales rep, who's managed to finagle some pre-publication copies of Colson Whitehead's new book Sag Harbor for raffle prizes and is helping in myriad other ways;

Edwin Frank, editor of the New York Review of Books, who lives right next door to the party location; he's unfortunately out of town on party night, but is passing the invite along to friends and family and excited to support the bookstore;

Brigid Hughes, editor-in-chief of the fantastic literary magazine A Public Space, also an FG resident, who's hosted some great events and McNally, and will be attending;

Richard Nash, Brooklyn publisher of Soft Skull Press, who's excited to come and donating some signed books by local author and politico Kevin Powell;

Matt Weiland, Clinton Hill resident and Paris Review deputy editor, who's out of town touring with his new book State by State but will pass the invite on to his many literati friends, and is also full of suggestions for bookstore names after writing an introduction to the reissued Names on the Land;

Colson Whitehead, a brilliant author (The Intuitionist, John Henry Days, etc.), Fort Greene resident, and genius deconstructor of the Brooklyn literary mythos), who will class up the party by giving a brief reading;

... and so many more, and that's not to mention the FGIBI committee folks -- Mike, Jon, Steve, Carolyn, Sharon, Hillary, Susanna, and Tom, whom I talk to at least once a week (often much more) as we plan to make this happen. Fort Greene residents all, their dedication to this project (which is strictly volunteer) is inspiring, and I'm learning a lot from them.

Blogging is just another way of talking, for me -- it's why I started the first one, because I needed to talk about books and bookstores to more people. One recent article about me mentioned that I've "been very public about my plans," and I have to admit sometimes that makes me nervous -- what if someone misconstrues something I've said, or takes my ideas to use against me?

But at the risk of sounding a little mystical, I think we create the world we live in: you talk about something enough, it becomes so. That's not really magic -- talking just means that the idea gets planted in more heads, more connections get made, more possibilities open up. I plan to keep doing it, until the bookstore's open and much beyong -- talking to the community, after all, is what will keep us connected and vibrant.

Talk, after all, is just made of words. And words are what bookstores are built on.