From the Editor by Craig Stark #55, 7 November 2005

BookThink's bookselling philosophy is to work smarter, not harder. Part of getting smart, we believe, includes the acquisition of book knowledge, and part of this knowledge necessarily includes learning titles or classes of books that are both relatively common and command higher resale values. Why? Because if you sell at higher levels (assuming you adhere to our recommended methodology), you'll make more money, even if you sell fewer books. Also, there's no ceiling on the high end. Get really, really good at landing and marketing better books, and the sky's the limit.

This isn't to suggest, however, that this is the only viable method of succeeding at bookselling. Far from it. It's entirely possible to make money at middle levels - and yes, at the low end as well, though ceilings will ultimately be encountered. But how low can low be and still deliver a decent income? At the very bottom? As low as $.01? Surely penny selling could never be part of a successful bookselling mix, could it? You may be surprised to learn that it most certainly can be. Booksellers Shane Smith and Dave Farquhar are living proof of it, and if you'd like to see how it's done, read our interview with them in today's BookThinker.

A head's up for Gold Edition subscribers: Issue #21 of the Gold Edition will be delivered tomorrow evening, November 7. This is Part I of a two-part series on conservative Christian books, and we'll be introducing a new BookThink writer - Bob Schilling. Bob is a veteran bookseller of 20 years who knows this niche inside out. I think you'll be genuinely impressed, not to mention profit-enriched, with the broad and deep insider information he's shared with us. If you're not a subscriber, this would be a great time to join us on the journey to bookselling success.

Finally, due to some scheduling issues with a new service we'll be introducing at BookThink, we've extended October's special offer to November 14. This is your opportunity to get all Gold Edition (issues 1-17) and 50/50 (issues 1-4) back issues at one low price.