So, You've Built a Bookstore. Now What?
Now What is a Good Question
There comes a point in every author's career when he looks at the thirty-odd books he's written and thinks:
"You know what I need? More work."
And so I built a bookstore.
Well, "built" may be stretching things slightly. I didn't lay bricks, install shelving or spend three weeks arguing with a plumber about the staff toilet. But I did create The Fiction Bookstore, which turns out to involve almost as many opportunities for disaster.
The idea was wonderfully simple.
I have books.
People occasionally buy books.
Therefore, I shall build a shop and sell them books.
What could possibly go wrong?
Apparently, Books Need Things
My first discovery was that putting a book into an online bookstore requires considerably more than simply owning the book.
It needs a product description.
A short description.
A category.
A price.
An image.
A file.
A product code.
And several other things whose purpose becomes apparent approximately thirty seconds after you've forgotten to add them.
Fortunately, I already had the ePub files.
Unfortunately, having an ePub file and having the correct ePub file are two entirely different things.
This led to the creation of SKUs, folders, spreadsheets and a system designed to ensure that somebody buying one book doesn't unexpectedly receive another.
Although, from a marketing perspective, that could be interesting.
"Thank you for purchasing a wartime espionage novel. Please enjoy this science-fiction story about an android instead."
Perhaps not.
Then You Need Someone to Take the Money
This seemed straightforward.
Reader chooses book.
Reader enters card details.
Money arrives.
Reader gets book.
Author buys coffee.
It turns out there are several additional stages, most of which involve companies asking questions, computers talking to other computers and me staring suspiciously at the screen.
Eventually, however, it worked.
I bought books from my own bookstore.
This might not sound like the greatest business achievement in history, particularly as both the customer and the shopkeeper were me, but the money went in the right direction and, more importantly, the correct books arrived.
I considered this a triumph.
Then You Need Customers
Ah.
Yes.
Customers.
I'd overlooked them.
Opening an online bookstore without customers is rather like opening a pub in the middle of the Sahara.
Everything looks lovely.
The glasses are polished.
The beer pumps gleam.
There's just nobody sitting at the bar.
Fortunately, I already have readers scattered around various corners of the internet, along with websites, social media accounts and a mailing list.
The challenge now is persuading some of them to wander through the door.
Not necessarily to buy something.
Just come in.
Have a look around.
Kick the tyres.
Although preferably not the books.
And Now Google Is Watching
Today I connected Google Analytics to The Fiction Bookstore.
At some mysterious point, presumably after several computers have held a meeting about it, information should begin appearing.
I shall be able to see how many people visit the bookstore.
Where they came from.
What they looked at.
How long they stayed.
And, if I've connected everything correctly, whether they actually bought anything.
This is tremendously exciting.
It is also potentially devastating.
Until now, if nobody bought a book, I could comfort myself with the thought that perhaps nobody had seen it.
Soon I may have statistical proof that 427 people looked at it and collectively decided:
"No."
Progress is a wonderful thing.
Why Bother?
There is, beneath all this nonsense, a serious reason for creating The Fiction Bookstore.
Independent authors have more ways than ever to publish books, but we still depend heavily on other companies to put those books in front of readers.
There's nothing inherently wrong with that. My books remain available through major retailers and distributors, and those outlets introduce my stories to readers I could never reach alone.
But I wanted somewhere of my own as well.
A place where all my books could live together.
Where complete series could be found easily.
Where I could offer collections and exclusives.
Where I could give books away when I wanted to.
And, eventually, where readers interested in my peculiar mixture of historical fiction, science fiction, noir, crime, humour and occasional literary lunacy could come directly to the source.
No algorithms deciding what they should see.
No virtual shelf space to compete for.
Just books.
Lots of them.
The Empire Bites Back
So, is The Fiction Bookstore finished?
Of course not.
I've already discovered things I want to add.
Reviews.
More help for readers.
More information about the different series.
A book club.
Free fiction.
And, apparently, a blog.
Which is how you ended up reading this.
The shop is open. The shelves are stocked. The payment system works. The books download. Google is lurking somewhere in the background taking notes.
All I need now are customers.
So, according to Google Analytics, I shall shortly know exactly how many people visit my bookstore, where they came from and what they did when they got here.
This is either valuable business intelligence...
...or an entirely new way of discovering that nobody is buying anything.
I'll let you know.
Copyright © Tom Kane 2026