From the Editor by Craig Stark #38, 7 March 2005

I have several requests this week. First, I'd like some help - sincerely - unraveling a mystery I've detailed in today's feature article, "28 Buyers Waiting." This damn thing has been bugging me for the better part of a year, and any and all theories/solutions are welcome.

Second, as threatened in the forum last month, BookThink launches BookThink's Bookseller Profiles today. And - as anticipated, volunteers have been scarce. Unlike similar template profiles (cf. Dewar's Scotch), the purpose of doing these isn't to entertain or provide free advertising space to booksellers promoting personal websites. Or to embarrass anybody who's publicity shy. Rather, it's to share bookselling knowledge, to offer practical ideas, tips, advice, etc., on how we might improve our businesses. Anybody who has been in this business for any length of time has acquired bookselling wisdom. Please consider sharing some of it with your fellow booksellers. Contact me at editor@bookthink.com and I'll forward a profile template (which you may customize to accommodate your idiosyncrasies).

By the way, today's Profile is especially interesting because it showcases somebody who has been at this for all of one year. Nonetheless, he's already built his business into a full-time operation with a full-time employee. Did I mention that he's only 25? That's right. How did he do it? Well, as you might suspect, it has something to do with that dead horse we flog and flog again in BookThink's own stables - knowledge.

Issue #2 of BookThink's 50/50 will be published next week. To answer a question that's come up often: all new subscribers have the option of beginning their subscriptions with the current issue. For example, if you subscribe before issue #2 is delivered, you can back-date your subscription to start with #1. However, once a given issue is published, previous issues will be available for purchase only as back issues. Clear as mud, I'm sure.