The two most frequently asked questions in my correspondence are:

  1. Will you review my book?
  2. How do I go about setting up or opening a Christian bookshop?

There are other questions, of course: we’ll get to those another time. But for the moment, being contrary, I’ve decided to address the second one first. This advice is far from being a comprehensive business plan: these are simply a few suggested starting points. If you’re already a bookseller, please do add your own comments and suggestions.

Updated 20th Feb 2009

  1. Start by asking around: is there already a Christian Bookshop in your area? If so, it’s unlikely that there will be enough business available to support another: go and talk your ideas through with them and see whether you can work together.
  2. Visit as many local churches as possible to canvas support. (Thanks to John Duncan for raising this point).
  3. Subscribe to Christian Marketplace magazine: published monthly, only £25 per year, it’s the best way to keep up to date with what’s happening in Christian retail. It will rapidly prove to be the best value £25 you spend in your Christian retailing venture. You may even qualify for a free subscription: see Keeping Up to Date, Getting Up to Speed for more info.
  4. Contact the Booksellers Association (BA) – amongst other things they administer the National Book Tokens scheme and Batch, an online supplier payment system which will help streamline your admin. The BA can provide all sorts of information/advice on things to be aware of, possible pitfalls, sources of supply, deals on shop fitting, insurance, legal advice, systems etc. The BA’s Christian Booksellers Group can offer more specific advice for Christian booksellers. The membership subscription is based on your annual turnover.
  5. Contact STL-D (Send the Light Distribution) — until their unfortunate attempt to upgrade their IT systems in October 2008 (see STL: A Month of Darkness and related posts) they were the UK and Europe’s leading Christian wholesaler. Despite their ongoing difficulties (latest news tends to be posted on their blog) they will almost certainly prove to be one of your main suppliers if you decide to go ahead. For options on other suppliers, see Christian Wholesalers: is there anybody out there? It may also be worth contacting members of the Christian Suppliers Group.
  6. Consider visiting CBC, the Christian Booksellers Convention. For many years this was the UK Christian book trade event, but in 2009 CBC handed its operations over  to Bible Society’s Christian Resources Exhibitions: how things work out under the new ownership has yet to be seen.  More info and related discussions.
  7. Register your shop for inclusion in this site’s Directory!
  8. Come back here and tell us about your experiences.