BEST OF: Appraising for Booksellers

All of you have gotten the phone call. The person on the other end has inherited or been given or found at a garage sale a book/books which he believes may be the next record breaker at a Sotheby’s auction. “What’s it worth?” he wants to know. That is not the type of appraisal this article is going to address. Those appraisals can be handled with a few simple sentences such as, “That copy of Tarzan’s Revenge published in 1952 missing the front cover and the last three pages is worth roughly 50 cents if I am in a charitable mood.” I get my share of these too, probably more than my share. This article also does not address the type of appraisal that we all do to raise money for a worthy cause. This is where you and other appraisers of antiques, fine art, toys, etc. donate your time and give verbal guesstimates of the fair market value of various “treasures” brought in by hopeful people. This last is the cheap version of the Antiques Roadshow. Those are sometimes fun, sometimes rewarding, and sometimes boring. The type of appraisal this article addresses requires a written report with a lot of research backing it up. This type of appraisal usually gets scrutinized by the IRS or an insurance company.

In 2002 when I decided to explore adding “appraiser” to my business card, I started attending the meetings of the local chapter of the International Society of Appraisers (ISA). What I learned at those meetings was that I was ignorant of what it takes to get an appraisal accepted by insurance companies and that a poor appraisal could land me in trouble with the IRS. So I joined the appraisal society and took courses in appraisal theory and practice. The courses I took combined with my 8 years as a bookseller gave me the accreditation I wanted. I did my first appraisal on a library with approximately 4,000 books shortly after that.

I have done a number of appraisals since. Most of them have been for estate purposes: to value an estate for taxes or to value it for dissolution as in the case of a divorce. I have also worked on a few insurance damage claim appraisals and valued other collections so that they can be insured. The most critical types of appraisals are for items being donated where the donor wants to take a tax deduction. I’ll say more about this type of appraisal later.

Back in the 1980s the United States went through a painful and expensive savings and loan shakeout. A number of these organizations had loaned money based on real estate appraisals which were not realistic and were, in some cases, fraudulent. A standards setting board, the Appraisal Foundation, was founded and a standard called USPAP, for Uniform Standards for Professional Appraisal Practice, was written and accepted in 1989. This standard sets guidelines for ethics and report writing. It is updated periodically and appraisers are encouraged to keep up with the changes. It has become more and more important. Appraisals which are seen by the IRS are judged by this standard. USPAP has been cited in court cases as the standard to follow in writing appraisals. The appraisal societies teach courses on USPAP and members of the societies sit on the Appraisal Standards Board giving input to changes and keeping their members up-to-date.

What goes into a written appraisal? There is general information: identification of the client, purpose of the appraisal, where and when the items being appraised were seen by the appraiser, type of value being used (fair market value, replacement value), method of determining value, markets explored to determine value, and analysis of the markets’ present trends. There are statements relating to the appraiser’s ethical standards and the standards the appraiser follows in writing the report. For the higher valued books, a description of the book or set of books is written, a photograph is inserted into the description, and I include a listing of sources consulted in determining value (auction records, catalogs, online sources, other booksellers consulted) and the reasoning used in setting value. In the Addenda I also always include a page listing sources for bibliographic and value information, a glossary of terms used, my professional profile, and a page discussing how a book’s condition is determined.

The IRS has experts who review appraisals, especially the ones for donations. For donations of items valued at more than $5,000, a copy of the appraisal must be attached to the income tax return and a special form filled out and signed by both the appraiser, the donor and the donee. IRS regulations state that an appraisal of property being donated that is valued in excess of $5,000 must be done by a qualified appraiser and in the latest revision of regulations for Form 8283 dated December, 2006, they give their definition of a “qualified appraiser.” Their definition in simple terms says that this individual has earned appraiser designation from a recognized appraisal organization or has met certain minimum educational requirements and experience requirements, and regularly prepares appraisals for which he/she gets paid. The IRS’s Art Appraisal Services department reviews these appraisals.

Each year at the annual conference of the International Society of Appraisers, a representative of the IRS Art Appraisal Services discusses changes in the regulations governing appraisals. At the conference in April of this year, he said that they are looking more closely at appraisals in order to weed out those who do not have the qualifications and do not follow the regulations. Speculation is that the same requirements for “qualified appraiser” will soon be extended to estate appraisals as well.

If you are considering doing appraisals, I would advise you to join an appraisal society and get the education. In addition to education and keeping members abreast of changing regulations, I have found several other advantages to being a member of the ISA. Individuals in the society help each other and give each other advice. They also refer business to each other. My business is listed on the society’s main website and on the North Texas Chapter’s website. This last listing has brought me some business. The monthly meetings are fun and educational and the parties are great too. The other two well known appraisal societies are the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) and the American Association of Appraisers (AAA). All three set high standards of ethics for their members and are concerned with their continuing education.

I have done some very interesting appraisals on books outside the genres I sell. One was for an old, thirty two pound Catholic Gradual. The monks who hand wrote the musical notes and words to the chants drew small faces on two of the capitals. Were the faces self-portraits or portraits of other monks? I found it fascinating. The most interesting appraisal I have done so far was for an estate containing thirty six special books. What made this appraisal so interesting was that all of the books had fore-edge paintings on them. I read two books on fore-edge paintings, and talked to three booksellers who have sold a number of books with such decorations in order to determine value. Some of the paintings were quite unusual. Two of the books had double fore-edge paintings, so that if you fanned the pages in one direction, you saw one painting, and then fanned the pages the opposite direction, you saw a completely different painting. Another had a painting of a hunting scene which started on the bottom edges of the pages, continued onto the front of the page edges and ended on the top of the page edges; most unusual and delightful! In this appraisal the books without the paintings were not really valuable. The value was in the charm and subject matter of the paintings.

Now I need to say a word about the people who call and want an “appraisal” but are really interested in selling the books to me. I generally ask if they want an appraisal or want to sell me the books. Because of ethical concerns, I can’t do both things. I also explain to people who want to know the value because they are interested in selling that the verbal appraisal is for retail value which they will not get if they sell to a bookseller because the bookseller has to cover his costs and make a profit. Sometimes it is necessary to explain the facts of life to people wanting to get retail prices for their books. They don’t like hearing that there are costs associated with online auctions, that garage and estate sales rarely bring in retail prices, and that trying to sell on one of the online book sites requires work, has costs, and seldom means instant riches. Life is difficult and so is bookselling.

I want to conclude this article by saying that my impression of booksellers in general is very good. When I have called or emailed a bookseller who has expertise in a certain area asking for advice or an opinion, I almost always get a courteous and helpful response. Thanks to all of you for being nice guys.

Shirley Dyess operates The Dust Jacket out of Irving, TX and can be contacted at http://www.thedustjacket.biz.

Originally published in the Summer 2007 issue of The Standard.

BEST OF: How, when and why to write a press release and what to expect if you do

How

A press release has a standard format and should be as brief and to the point as possible. Think of how long it takes you to decide whether to read an e-mail or not. That’s about how long an editor will give your press release before deciding what to do with it.

Your press release should be written on your company letterhead if it is typed and should be double-spaced. The sentences should be short, and the word count should be no more than 300-500.

At the top of the page center the words “News Release.” Under that center the words: “For Immediate Release,” unless there is a restriction on when you want the information to be made public, in which case you may say “Release After_______.” Most press releases are for immediate release.

Following the release information is the most important line: your headline. Use this to grab the attention of an editor in a short, factual and interesting way.

The first paragraph should answer these basic questions of any news story:

Who What Where When How

Expand on this information in the following two or three paragraphs. It is helpful and it adds interest if you can build a quotation into your story.

Conclude with your own contact information.

Accurate contact information is very important. In the words of an experienced journalist, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve called the number provided to get a voice mail that says the person is on vacation. A little planning would prevent that.”.

The article should be able to stand alone where ever it happens to be cut, after the first, second, third or fourth paragraphs. So say whatever you think is the most important early in the article. Embellish later.

At the end, type ###, centered after the final paragraph.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? The only way to get good at it is to practice, practice and then practice more. It’s surprisingly difficult to write in a simple style and to say what’s most important first. Practicing will automatically improve your skills in writing attention grabbing book descriptions though.

Whatever you write, have someone read it before you submit it. If that person thinks it’s blah, it probably is. Go back and rewrite, eliminating as many words as you can. Be sure you haven’t hidden your most important points somewhere deep within the article.

However, since editors don’t necessarily expect every press release to be professionally written, don’t hesitate to send some of your practice efforts off to the media if they are accurate, in the correct format and about something you want to publicize. You may be pleased with the results. Media need content more than they need perfectly written material. They can handle rewrites. That’s part of the job.

I edit and write a quarterly newsletter, The Downtown Beat, for Downtown New Bedford, Inc., a non-profit organization, and most of the articles we receive are not professionally written. That’s OK with us. We want the downtown news in whatever shape we can get it. We know that it takes many people three paragraphs to work up to making their most important points. We can live with that and edit accordingly.

The Boston Globe has a list of dos and don’ts for their calendar items and a format that they request that people use to submit them electronically. Using their format would give you practice at the essentials. You can find it at: http://www.boston.com/cgi-bin/globe_events.cgi .

Who & Where Before you write the press release, you need to develop a media list, which means calling or e-mailing the outlets where you intend to send the release to find out whom to send it to, what format they require and how far ahead of your intended publication date they need to have the release. You can usually find the right contact person by locating the publication on-line and consulting the ‘about us’ section. Even if you call the general information number, they will be helpful about directing you to the right department.

Press releases are usually delivered by first class mail, by fax, or electronically, although many places will not accept press releases by fax.

A journalist writing for an on-line publication says, “I prefer to get press releases via e-mail. I tell people never to fax me. I don’t get faxes quickly enough.”

If you submit your releases on-line, it is considered bad manners to include attachments. Say everything you need to say in the release itself. Although follow-up is the norm in almost every other business activity, it is not necessarily the case when it comes to press releases. If you call to find out if your release has been received and/or read, you may be considered a pest.

You can, of course, pay to have press releases written and released for you, but it seems worthwhile to spend some time trying to see what you can do on your own first.

If you expect to be issuing a number of press releases, it might be a good idea to invest in The Associated Press Stylebook or a similar publication.

If you are an on-line business only, you may wonder what good press releases can do you and where you can submit them. You can submit them to any trade publication. You can also post them to your own web site, although you might rewrite them a bit to make them more personal and informal. Don’t overlook your local community newspapers, even the weeklies. If you have a specialty business, they may eventually want to write a feature story about you, and the link to that story can be posted on your own web site.

When Write a press release for any kind of announcement you want to make. You are sponsoring an event. You have changed a business affiliation. You have moved. You have added a new line of books. You have made an important discovery. You have earned a new designation. You have been nationally published or recognized in some way. You can cure a common problem.

What & What you can expect Write press releases as a part of your overall marketing program, which may also include your own web site, print and on-line newsletters, discounts for repeat customers, workshops, etc.

News releases are effective but not terribly efficient. You may send out many with only a few published in entirety. The few that are published may reach thousands of recipients, but few will respond. It is a sort of dandelion seed effect. Many seeds are released, but most do not result in plants, and yet the dandelion is a very successful plant. The effort of writing and issuing press releases is never wasted according to Laura LaTour, publicity director for Baker Books, an independent community book store in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

Baker Books hosts two monthly writing groups and sponsors at least three other monthly events, sometimes more. Each event requires a press release. That’s a lot of press releases in the course of a year. As a book lover, I read or scan most of them. And yet I have responded directly to only one, attending a book signing for Jon Vaughan’s self published book of photographs, Coastal Effects. I bought two books at the signing and later visited Jon’s shop in Chatham, Mass.

Laura says this low rate of direct response to a press release is fairly typical. The average event draws an attendance of 15 to 20 people, although a few draw many more. Only one or two may attend because they read about it in the newspaper. More are attending because of the store’s web-site calendar, the calendar posted in the entryway, or the weekly e-mail newsletter. (For ideas on how to write your newsletter see the last issue of The Standard http://www.ioba.org/newsletter/V10/ownnewsletter.php .

The indirect response to press releases is probably larger but more difficult to measure. Weeks after an author signing, for example, a customer may buy a signed book and saying, “I read about this in the newspaper.”

The cumulative response is larger still. Our community newspaper, the Standard-Times, publishes many book related human interest stories and a number of them originate with press releases from Baker Books.

What to do if a writer/editor calls

Your reason for writing press releases is to get publicity. If a writer calls, it’s a stop everything moment. Talk to the caller on the spot, or return the call quickly. When I write The Downtown Beat, I am always surprised at my success in getting people to talk to me or return my calls or make time in a busy schedule for me to interview them. After all, the Downtown Beat is a pretty tiny publication, with a very small circulation, and it’s only quarterly.

If you hear the keys clicking as you speak, it’s a sign that your press release and comments are on target and that your publicity efforts are becoming successful.

###

Originally published in the May 2003 issue of The Standard.

Vic Zoschak of Tavistock Books

Tell us a little about yourself.

Bookselling is my second career. As a ’74 graduate of the US Coast Guard Academy, I spent the first 23 years of my professional life as a “Coastie.” In the mid-80s, I discovered collecting first editions, Charles Dickens specifically. Knowing that someday I would be pursuing something other than Search & Rescue as a career, I looked at antiquarian bookselling as a possible pursuit. I established the business in 1989, home-based, and found I enjoyed the challenges. I opened my shop in Alameda two weeks after my retirement from the service. That will be ten years ago next July. Where has the time gone?!?

What led to your interest in out-of-print and antiquarian bookselling?

While collecting, I gave some consideration to the academic side of English literature, but discovered two things while taking a course on Dickens at Stanford: first, sometimes “a cigar is just a cigar,” and second, for me at least, it’s impossible to enjoy a work being studied when the reading of five 900 page works, rich in their tapestry, is compressed into three months . . . after all, it took usually took Dickens over 19 months to write one of his novels.

How did you learn the trade?

You know there’s no degree program to becoming an Antiquarian bookseller, so I employed a combination of approaches:

-Initially I apprenticed with Barry Cassidy in Sacramento. This was for four months or so back in 1989 before I actually started my own business. Mainly this was to see if I enjoyed the profession, and to get a taste for the mechanics of it.

-Read voraciously in the area. A. Edward Newton. David Randall. David Magee. Rosenbach. AB Bookman. Firsts magazine, etc.

-When able, I took courses/seminars on various aspects of books and bookselling. I took the Colorado seminar in 1996; since then I’ve taken around a dozen Rare Book School courses.

-Established a reference library. I think I’m pushing 2500 volumes now. Many think that’s a lot, but it pales in comparison to others I know. For example, have you seen Heritage’s reference room? Wonderful.

-Finally, there is no substitute for actually looking at and handling books. Go to bookfairs, go to other shops, go to library exhibits, etc.

What aspects of maintaining a physical bookstore are the most problematic?

Well, a few things come to mind here, especially since, at present, I’m a one-man operation.

-Dust control.

-Book control. They’re all over the place . . . floors, in boxes, etc. Not to mention, keeping them from “walking off” in somebody’s pocket or whatnot.

-Customer control. I’m not a neighborhood bookshop, so often people that come in are just curious, which is fine, but it can result in unproductive time away from my work, not to mention the occasional damaged book. Had a young girl once throw a first edition Nancy Drew, in dj, across the shop . . . only God knows why she did it, I sure don’t. The mother gave me a sheepish look like, “What can I do?”

What are some of the most unusual things that ever happened in your shop?

Nothing too unusual. I mean days pass where the only person to wander in the shop is the postman and the only person to call is someone wanting a donation for (fill in the blank). However, I get over 500 emails a day, and the bulk of my business is conducted via the net in one manner or another, so I keep busy.

Are all of your internet listings available right there, or are some or all of them stored offsite to maintain the described condition or to simplify inventory management?

The preponderance are in the shop . . . somewhere.

You have achieved what many booksellers can only aspire to—an established shop in a good location, ABAA-level knowledge and success, and a solid record of giving back to the trade. Another hallmark of success seems to be specialization, which leads us to the topic of Charles Dickens. Why Dickensiana?

Because I know the subject from my days of collecting Dickens, plus I put my collection up for sale through the shop, so I had instant “critical mass.”

Dickens lived at Tavistock House in London for awhile. Why did you pick this name for your business from among the many possibilities?

I wanted a connection to Dickens, but nothing too, shall we say, overt. And I liked the sound of Tavistock Books.

How many Dickens titles do you currently hold?

Roughly 950, which is really less than 10% of my available stock.

Where do you acquire most of it?

Here and there . . . other booksellers, estates, direct purchase from old customers who are downsizing, walk-ins, etc.

What’s the furthest you’ve ever gone for it?

New York. Bought a Drood collection there back in the ‘90s.

Do you sometimes pay the going market value just to capture more desirable stock?

If I pay “market,” then it’s for something rare that I believe undervalued, and once I’ve catalogued it, there will be a higher market value assigned. A good example is some Filmer material I recently bought from Bernard Quaritch; I thought the books under-valued. And I noticed once I uploaded my record of Filmer’s most famous work, another copy appeared, listed at about 10% less than mine, which meant my price had been accepted as the new “market.”

What are some examples of Charles Dickens non-book materials that you have been able to offer?

Oh, paintings, prints, Toby mugs, engravings, letters, drawings, etc. I currently have in stock an 1873 oil painting of Dickens, a couple letters, two 19th century lithographs and an 1868 drawing of Dickens by Bachelder done while the great man was visiting Niblo’s during his 1868 visit to the US. Pickwick, which was Dickens’ first novel, when first published in 1836-37, generated tons of ancillary material and you see ads for it in the parts issues of his novels. Today I’d liken it to all the Bart Simpson stuff you see around. However, other than books owned by Dickens, of which I handled a few, I’ve never had a personal artifact, like his inkwell or some such, owned by the Inimitable (as he used to like to call himself). One of these days!

What is the Holy Grail of works written by Charles Dickens?

Probably a first of Great Expectations, in the original cloth.

Do you think there are still some undiscovered works out there somewhere?

No, probably not. I could be proven wrong, but Dickens has been a focus of so many collectors for so long, and with all his children having passed, to my mind, the likelihood of anything being undiscovered I view as quite low.

What is the most definitive bibliography?

For Dickens . . . there isn’t just one. An Antiquarian bookseller who handles Dickens on a fairly regular basis should have at least four. See my earlier IOBA Standardarticle, “A Dickens Reference Shelf” for more info [August, 2002, Volume 3, No. 3].

Tell us a little about the world of booksellers who specialize in Dickensiana and the collectors, scholars, and institutions they cater to.

Dickens remains a popular author with the book buying public, as well as book collectors, and many ABAA booksellers specialize in his works: Heritage, Vandoros, Sumner and Stillman, MacDonnell, to name a few.

Are most of your serious Dickens clients in the U.S. or Great Britain?

Most of mine are in the US, though occasionally I send something back to England, especially now that the £ is so strong against the $.

What is your favorite Dickens biography?

Edgar Johnson’s two volume Charles Dickens: His Tragedy and Triumph. Came out in 1952, is readily available (was a book club selection), and is the most scholarly treatment of Dickens to date.

The best film version of A Christmas Carol?

Wouldn’t know. I don’t watch film versions of Dickens’ works. Just a personal aversion, for I found myself remembering the actor that played the character, rather than the image approved by Dickens and rendered in art by his illustrator.

When I think of Dickens, I think of the power of the pen. Without his genius for writing, he may have been just another faceless victim of economic oppression rather than a champion of true reform. I wonder what he would make of the state of the world today, and I suspect he would have far less ability to do anything about it, as that level of authorial fame and influence is no longer achievable outside the realm of fluff and fantasy.

Well, I’m not sure I agree, at least totally, but that’s a debate for another day, and another forum.

What other areas do you specialize in?

Children’s serial fiction, such Tom Swift and the Hardy Boys. And I’m actively building my stock of 17th century books printed in English. I find I’m attracted to that period, so am trying to “get smart” on it.

What are some of the more interesting non-book materials you have handled?

Well, the more interesting material to my mind is book-related art. I have had some original artwork for illustrations, as well as cover art. One of the most arresting was a large painting for a hard-boiled detective pulp . . . you know, beautiful woman crumpled on the floor, ripped bodice, with a guy brandishing a pistol standing over her. Lots of reds and other primary colors. It sold at the first book fair at which I exhibited it.

Closing thoughts on our noble profession as it exists today, succinct or otherwise?

Well, the landscape is changing since I first entered the business in 1989, with changes wrought by the Internet. While it was true then, as it is now, that anyone could be an Antiquarian bookseller, no knowledge required, that same individual’s reach was constrained by geography. The net has extended that reach globally and a professional Antiquarian bookseller now has competition from anyone who has Internet access. Hence, one way to differentiate one’s business from the mass of amateurs that populate ABE and eBay is to join a professional organization such as IOBA. Long may it prosper and grow.

Thanks Vic.

Vic Zoschak operates Tavistock Books in Alameda, CA and can be contacted at http://www.tavbooks.com.

Originally published in the Winter 2007 issue of The Standard.

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