One of the radio stations in Minot has been running commercials about an independent bookstore in downtown Minot called Main Street Books. To my knowledge, it’s the only one of it’s kind in Minot.

Dakota Square Mall used to have two corporate bookstores and Kirkwood Mall in Bismarck once had three. Now, it seems Barnes & Noble is the only one left, while this independent bookstore in Minot has been, as ship captains say, “steady as she goes.”

There are actually several independent bookstores in North Dakota. Four years ago, I released a novel called Crypt of Horror. It was about a young news reporter who solved a cold case homicide.

Anyway, as a self-published author, I had to find the markets myself so I sought out bookstores. As I went through the list of corporate bookstores, I kept hitting dead ends. Flat out no, ridiculous paperwork to get accepted, low royalties if I am accepted and even “we’ll sell your book for a month on a trial basis.”

I also sought out those independent bookstores and none of them refused a North Dakota author’s book. There are independent bookstores in Williston, Fargo, Bismarck, Valley City and Grand Forks.

Did you know there is actually an independent bookstore in Oakes called Sweets ’N Stories. I know there are others such as Abigail’s Book and Gift Shop in Grand Forks that caters to a female customers.

There’s a place in Devils Lake called Hidden Chapter, which is actually on online bookstore.

There aren’t really a whole lot more than that, but even so, these independent bookstores seem to be doing well in the age of the Internet and corporate stores like Barnes & Noble.

So you have to wonder how they can compete with the big guys. The first thing I would say is customer service. In many cases, the owners know the customers and they’re going to treat those customers much different than you would at a big bookstore.

As I’ve noticed in my research, every one of them caters to North Dakota, Minnesota and Montana authors. There are some independent bookstores in Montana as well, but they seem to be centered around the population centers of Billings, Bozeman and Missoula.

When we take a look at South Dakota, Rapid City actually has three independent bookstores; Mitzi’s Books, Again Book & Bazaar and Monarch Books and Boutique.

Brookings has The Nook, in Milbank it’s Whimsy on Main, Henry’s Books is located in Spearfish and RAW Books is located in Yankton.

So there are numerous bookstores out there and the message today is to support them because they are local and the money they make, goes back into the community. It’s important, especially in a small town like Oakes where every dollar is needed to keep the Dickey County community’s economy thriving.

This might be comparing apples and oranges, but second-hand stores almost always have books for sale. The difference is they are used books that have been donated. Authors wouldn’t see a cut of that dollar, but at the independent store, they will.

After all the corporate doors got slammed in my face in 2022, I just gave up and promised myself that if I ever write another book, it will only go into the independent bookstores.

They care about who I am, they hope that I’ll make money, they believe in local authors and you can visit anytime and have a chat even if you are just browsing through the titles.

With access to Internet so easy, it’s amazing that enough people support the Indie bookstores to keep them viable businesses. It could always be better, so please, support your independent bookstore!