[image description: two Facebook posts from Common Language Books. The first reads
āSo a pretty amazing thing is happening. Not sure why, but we have had 28 online orders in the last 24 hours. Some kind ambassador is posting something to get people on our site. Whoever that may be (and I have a couple of hunches) thank you so much.
These are the types of days when we think it just might be possible to buck the trend and survive as a Feminist/LGBT bookstore.
And if you want to join the fray, check us out at www.glbtbooks.com
If you are looking for recommendations, weāll put a few suggestions in the comments over the course of the evening.ā
At last count we had 211 online orders over the last couple of days. We generally have a handful of online orders PER MONTH. And many days our in store sales are 3-5 books. In other words, this deluge is significantly more than we sell in a month. We are literally brought to tears by this outpouring.
About 80% of them have already been fulfilled and are on their way to you.
The other 20% require special attention (out of print book, book temporarily out of stock, etc.) or we need to pull together books from various sources. Some of you will be getting emails from me!
Our staff is three people and one dog. And while the dog is, perhaps, the worldās sweetest dog, heās not much help in this task. The lack of opposable thumbs is a big hindrance to many bookstore tasks.
Mind you, we are not complaining. Having a surge which overwhelms our current resources is a great problem to have. Heartfelt thanks.
As I take a short break from fulfilling orders I wanted to share a few thoughts.
We will be able to pay some bills which will steady the ship for a longer voyage. In our wildest dreams this surge would continue, weād hire more people to handle the load, and the world would have a thriving honest-to-god queer bookstore.
But even if it doesnāt continue at this truly astonishing rate, having a regular flow on online orders would give the store a level of security we havenāt seen in a long time.
All of you did this. You made it happen. And you can be a part of making that dream come true. In fact, you can be the most important part of making that dream come true. You can be an ambassador.
It was, after all, an ambassador who made this happen.
When a friend talks about getting a book, steer them to us. Our mission is to create a safe space for LGBT people, a resource for a community, a place of equality for women, a place where black lives truly matter, a place where your gender is what you say it is, not what anyone else says it is.
If this is your mission as well, join us.ā Attached is a photo of the bookstore, showing pride flags and tables of books.]
