Ok, bear with me as I’m trying something a little different this week… give it a read and let me know in the comments (or via email) what you think.
Firstly, why something different? I love our newsletter but there were thoughts running through my mind…
Number 1: it was costing money we don’t have in the winter. When you’re borrowing and then transferring £2,500 into your business account to cover the bills it really makes you think about what you’re spending money on and where you can cut back, even if temporarily.
Number 2: it didn’t feel very personal. Although it gave you guys great reading lists, it wasn’t really giving you a personal insight into the bookshop. I’ve been itching to share more of what goes into running the Bodega and indy bookshops in general.
So here we are. I’m going to attempt to share with you an insight once a week into running my bookshop. It will be brutally honest but still include lots of books. Hopefully, it’ll be the best of all the possible worlds?
Let’s get on with it.
Monday 5th February 2024
8am: Alarm goes off and I groan repeatedly as I’ve got a lot today and after a week off to celebrate my 30th birthday… it’s hurting more than usual. My ideal waking time is 10am 😳.
8.45am: Hop in the car and begin the drive from Ramsgate too Canterbury. Today I am at university because I am the crazy person who not only runs a bookshop and a weekly podcast but is also studying full-time at university. I’m studying to become a social worker by the way!
Speaking of podcasts. I’m listening to the latest episode of my own podcast on the commute. Yes, this is a weird thing to do and yes, like everyone, I strongly dislike the sound of my own voice but the only way to improve the podcast is to listen to it and make notes about what needs changing/cutting/editing. So, I solider on and listen to Joseph (co-host)and I discussing the author Rebecca Makkai and make mental notes of things I want to chat about with him later.
10am: Made it to my lecture after a drive, a shuttle bus and a short walk. In writing this I am admitting to something that my lecturers will probably not be very impressed with: I cannot sit still for 4 hours of learning so I do my bookshop admin on my laptop at the same time. It’s probably not the correct procedure but it’s not held me back so far so I shall continue.
10.30am: Respond to the 67 emails in my inbox. Once the newsletters, spam and irrelevant emails are deleted its mainly just invoices that need paying. I check our Bodega bank account, gulp and transfer yet more money into the business account and pay as many invoices as I can in order of what’s most overdue. Side Note: I run a tight ship when it comes to emails. After a decade of self-employment, I’ve learnt that the only way to survive is to be ruthless. Not every email warrants a response and delete anything that you don’t need. You’re welcome.
11.30am: Bank balance once again empty but invoices filed away. Remind myself to try and sell some books on Instagram/Tiktok/absolutely anywhere later on today as January was exceptionally quiet. 71% less sales than last January… and last January was f*cking quiet. Must pray to the book gods for a more cheerful February!
12.00pm: Reply to customer orders via email. It featured a copy of Piglet, solid choice, a very old book that’s not longer in print so I couldn’t get hold of despite my best efforts and Lotte Jeff’s This Love. Popped one of those in the basket for myself too because it sounds amazing.
12.30pm: Time to eat and read. I’m currently reading Shuggie Bain… yes, yes. I am very behind on this one. It’s sat on my TBR pile for an embarrassing amount of time and I made myself pick it up. Enjoying it so far, although I already feel the sadness that is about to come.
1.30pm: Time to place a book order. It’s been a while as I couldn’t really order anything in January as it was just too quiet. I need books to freshen up the main table and some more children books. Included in my basket: the paperback version of In Ascension (5* from me), Birnam Wood (added one for me cos I couldn’t resist), Poor Things (we’ve had it on the table before but with the film it seemed worth stocking again), Old God’s Time (Booker books are finally all coming out in paperback!), Vladivostok Circus (heard amazing things about this from Backstory bookshop and they are wise when it comes to books), Brutes (not sure why, it’s good and need more for the table) and a few more but I suspect you’re getting bored of my list now.
2pm-3pm: Time to actually engage in this lecture as I feel guilty for doing other things.
5pm: Spent my evening painting. I love to paint. Painting and reading are my only hobbies and I like to spend as much time as possible doing both. Tonight, I’m using scraps of my raw canvas that I've got laying around in odd sizes to make bookmarks. Painted the first layers on them and then ordered packaging, tassels and a heavy duty hole puncher so that once I’v done 2-3 more layers and varnished them I can add tassels and package nicely to sell in the bookshop! Fun and productive. Winning.
8pm: Thai curry time. Luckily Nicholas, my other half, best friend and co-founder does all the cooking in our house and I just rock up at the dinner table ready to eat something delicious. After dinner, I’ll write this newsletter and read until I fall asleep. If we’re lucky it will be before midnight 🤞.
So there you have it. My very first diary entry giving you a little insight into what it’s like to run an independent bookshop. Please do let me know what you thought if you made it through!
See you next time xxxx
Love this new format ❤️
I loved this and would love to see more of these behind the scenes/day in the life bits!