PSA: SO MUCH HAPPENING AT THE BOOKSTORE!

• TODAY: Beginning at 9:30 am, $5 Grab Bags (first come, first served; one per household, pick up only within 24 hours of claiming, non-refundable, $200 approximate value of books that arrived slightly damaged, call/email/stop in)

• Friday, 3/14: Pi Day & Pie Day! (spend $25 and receive a slice of Susan's homemade pie, while supplies last)

• Saturday, 3/15: Take & Make featuring Otter Carries On, by Maya Tatsukawa



• Mama Mia ticket pre-sale!

Dear reader,

Because many of you have asked (and because even more of you haven't), I'm going to let you in on some insider info that the Shay Elementary fourth grade students know pretty well. We like to refer to it as the tangible value of the book. And based on the response to our last newsletter, most readers don't really know much about how this industry operates. To be fair, you really don't need to know anything in order to be a consumer of books, but you also don't know what you don't know, and I find it a tenant of booksellers to help spread knowledge.

So, back to those fourth graders.

Each year, Ms. Mills' classes have a lesson in basic economics. They visit some local businesses to learn a bit more about goods and services, supply and demand, income and expenses. Books are even more complicated than all that, and we like to make it real for them and give them each a job. Here's what happens:

• the Reader has $18 to spend on a new middle grade hardcover book
• the Bookseller keeps $10 of that sale to pay ALL OF HER bills (Libraries are a whole different ball game)
• the Publisher (sometimes Distributor) gets the other $8
• the Publisher now has $8 to add to their pool of funds
• the Publisher draws from this pool to pay the Printer (typically a contract independent of the publishing house)
• the Publisher also draws from this pool to pay for the many, many jobs that exist in-house to create a book
• these jobs include Sales Representatives, Sales Managers, Editors, Editorial Assistants, Copy Editors, Publicists, Art Directors and Cover Artists
• the Publisher also relies on the money in their pool to pay new Authors/Illustrators for new work
• the average debut middle grade Author might receive a $5,000 advance
• the Author pays their Literary Agent $750 of that advance
• the Author pays their Rights Agent (if they have one) a portion of their advance from foreign, film or audio sales
• Translators and Audiobook Narrators have their own Agents and their own deals
• the Author will not get any royalties above and beyond that $5,000 advance until they have earned out
• earning out means that the Author has to pay the advance back to the publisher via book sales

Phew! Okay. So what's the takeaway here? Well, I can tell you what those fourth graders took away.

• Earning back a $5,000 advance, at a rate of 10% per book sold, on an $18 book, requires the Author to sell 2,778 books before they will ever see another dime.
• $5,000 is not a lot of money for something that often takes years to create.
• Even if you don't aspire to be an Author or an Illustrator, there are many jobs that exist in this industry.
• Considering the number of people who are paid from this supply chain (of which we've only scratched the surface), $18 doesn't seem like that much to charge for a book.

Let all of this rattle around in your brain for a little while. It's worth considering this tangible value of a book when also considering the intangible joy, understanding and entertainment well-known to anyone who is lucky enough to be a reader.

Yours in books,

Katie

P.S. And to that one fourth grader who was afraid that Dav Pilkey would go broke, I'm here to tell you that Dav Pilkey is doing just fine and we thank him for keeping the bookstore lights on!

Store Hours

Monday - Friday 

9:30 am - 5:30 pm 

Saturday

10 am - 5 pm

Sunday

11 am - 4 pm

For every $100 spent in most small businesses, $68 stay in local downtowns and their environs. Between the Covers continues to give away an average of

2 months of profits

every year.

Thank you for joining in our efforts to support arts, culture, general welfare and literacy by buying your books from local booksellers and returning dollars to our town.

Mark Your Calendars

April 19th: Take & Make

featuring The Hare Who Wouldn't Share, bySteve Small

May 17th: Take & Make

featuring Caboose, by Travis Jonker, illusteatd by Ruth Chan

May 23rd: Pie Friday

SUMMER READING BOOK BONANZA IS BACK AND WE CAN'T DO IT AGAIN WITHOUT YOU!

After the wild success of our inaugural 2024 program, and in a continued effort to support literacy, combat summer slide, and offer resources for local students and educators, Between the Covers is kicking off its Summer Reading Book Bonanza extra early.

Our goal, once again, is to provide every Harbor Springs student in grades preK through 8th with a book to read this summer.

Titles will be selected by Between the Covers' booksellers and will focus on authors and illustrators with whom students may be less familiar. The featured titles will be spring releases of high interest to young readers, and catered appropriately for grade level.

While we firmly believe it is part of our mission as an indie bookstore to share a love of reading, we cannot take on the financial commitment alone. This is when we turn to you—our friends, readers and customers.

We are now accepting donations to make this program a reality!

• Donations may be made in any increment.
• $350 sponsors an entire classroom (not grade level).
• You may sponsor a particular grade level (preK-8th) or designate for area of greatest need.
• Between the Covers is not a nonprofit organization. Your donation is NOT tax deductible.
• Donations may be made in-store or by phone.

We hope you will help us in meeting a goal of $10,000 by April 1st. This ensures that each preK through 8th grade student receives a new book before the end of the school year, and allows ample time for the selection and ordering process.

Any funds in excess of the goal will be distributed towards classroom libraries in the new childcare facilities in Blackbird.

Thank you for your support in helping us to put good books into the hands of good young readers!

Welcome to Between the Cover’s latest Bookmark Series! 

Theme:

“Favorite Places to Read"

Please take a moment to read through all of the guidelines for submission. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to let us know. Our customers and readers are always so excited when new bookmarks arrive. It is a wonderful way for a miniature reproduction of your art to end up in the hands of many. Thank you for submitting your artwork for consideration.

Guidelines:

1. All entries must be received by 8:00 pm on June 1, 2025. The series will run from July 2025 through June 2026.
2. Artists must submit three to four designs within the series’ theme. The theme is open to interpretation, so be as creative as you’d like (but do keep at least one design child friendly!). Please submit all designs at the same time.
3. Any media that can be transferred in some way to paper is acceptable. Black-and-white, full color, or in between. That is up to you. (Bookmarks are NOT printed on photo paper.)
4. Art should be created for bookmarks whose dimensions measure 2 1/4” x 6”. This includes a 1/4” bleed surrounding the entire image, which must be allowed for printing purposes. 
5. Bookmarks are single-sided.
6. Designs must be submitted in a jpg format via email to books@btcbookshs.com. If your artwork has not been created in a digital way, you may scan and send as a jpg file. If your designs are chosen for the series and the printers require any adjustments, we may ask for your assistance in resizing or reconfiguring a file.

Have fun, let your imaginings wander, and thank you again for making each reader’s visit to Between the Covers a little more special.