Bookseller reflects on years serving Waynesville through the written word
Posted on Thursday, July 22, 2010 by By Vicki Hyatt
The old adage about when one door closes, another one opens is certainly true for Margaret Osondu, who, at age 52, suddenly found herself unemployed and separated from her husband at almost the same time. She was also without the business she grew and loved, Osondu Booksellers. The endings were not her decision, she said, “which made for a very sad spring.” Osondu’s education was in pyschotherapy, but after working in the field for 18 years, Osondu took a leap to follow her passion — books. “I was a psycho therapist who became a bibliotherapist,” she said. “I was in a helping field and found these wonderful
books that needed help to be sold.”
After purchasing the bookstore in 2004, she began immediately to expand its role in the community. It became a place where book and writing groups could meet, where children’s events where held, where authors came to discuss their books and sign autographs, where weekend music could be found and where those with a passion about books and the world they could open found a community of like-minded individuals.
Business was good, but the store was caught in a overarching trend where large chain bookstores and online book purchases dug deeply into the sales of independent book stores. There was still a niche for stores that featured local or regional authors and provided events that could appeal to many interests and all ages.
But the bookstore business in Waynesville took a turn when Robert Baggett opened a store catering to a similar clientele in the summer of 2007, and then the effects of a national recession began to take a toll.
In November 2009, Osondu Booksellers was sold to Blue Ridge Books and News, Inc. and owner Robert Baggett announced the two stores would remain separate for a time and that Osondu would manage both locations.
Early this year, the Osondu inventory was merged into the store at 184 N. Main and the store name was changed to reflect both store names. Osondu’s title was changed, but she was still employed full time doing such things as coordinating the store’s weekend events, putting out a newsletter, working on the website and spearheading community outreach, especially to the schools.
“I loved what I was doing and felt everything was working out well,” she said. “I was building relationships in the community as a new store with a merged identify. I never heard anyone say anything negative. It took a bit of adjustment when we first merged, but by mid-January I felt comfortable and it appeared to me everyone was getting along well.”
Then on April 28, at a company meeting, Baggett announced he was getting out of the book selling business and announced how the business would be carried on. The changes did not include Osondu.
“I was not apprised of anything until the decisions had been made and my services were no longer needed,” she said. “I was so surprised by everything, and I was confused. I didn’t talk until I had some distance.”
Suddenly without a job, Osondu took the time to visit Ireland, look up relatives and reassess her life. Then she started receiving calls. The first one was from Grateful Steps, a small Asheville publishing company that has a huge book coming out in October called “Look Up Asheville” and features stunning photography on the city’s architecture. She was recruited to help market books, a development she attributes to authors she has worked with through the years patronizing the company and telling them about her availability. Then another bookstore called to ask if she would serve as a consultant.
“I never realized people thought about me in that way,” she said of her newfound popularity in the consulting field. “It made me feel much better.”
Looking back on her years at the bookstore, Osondu has many fond memories. There was the six-month campaign to convince Oprah Winfrey to visit Waynesville and to promote independent booksellers, not just the national chain which was distributing her monthly book selection. For 180 days in a row, Osondu sent Winfrey a postcard, letter or piece of merchandise to make her point. Ultimately, the megastar asked Osondu to send in a video of the community to be aired on the show. She was given 48 hours to produce a video. The short deadline was met, though the footage never was shown.
The effort wasn’t a total loss. Winfrey’s magazine “O” began advising readers to pick up books not only at the national chain, but at their local independent booksellers, perhaps in response to the campaign.
Independent booksellers are crucial, Osondu said, to a free society. Currently the large book store chains have a seat at the table with authors and publishers to make decisions on what will be printed.
“My thinking of bookselling is that it is freedom of speech, and that it is threatened when big publishing companies and big bookstore chains are making decisions like that. The association of independent booksellers is vital to the freedom of speech.”
The association listed more than 5,000 members in 1994. That number has since dwindled to about 1,400, she said.
Another factor in the decline of independent book stores is the rise of the online industry, which now accounts for 3 percent of all book sales.
“It is how books will be sold in the future, but maybe not in my lifetime,” she predicts.
Other memorable times during her bookstore tenure include working with her daughter, Amanda, on a on a team writing group, and helping organize the first book fair that attracted 58 authors. Then there were the children’s events and the opportunity to interact with the writers who visited the store to promote their books. In some cases, Osondu had a chance to review manuscripts.
“It was just so much fun,” she said. “When I think of the sharing of the community and the friends I have made through the bookstore, I’m still in awe that I have been here such a short time but feel so loved and supported in whatever I’m doing.”
While her independent bookstore owner days have come to an end in the county, Osondu has no plans to move anywhere, and is hoping her part-time jobs will grow into full-time employment. As for the difficult end, she is beyond the grief stage.
“I sincerely believe when things change like that, even though it is really hard, there must be a good reason that I don’t know about,” Osondu said. “There was a lot of grief and frustration. But I got e-mails from so many people. This community is incredible and so loving. I feel like I’ve been here forever, even though it has just been six years. I feel so loved by so many people.”
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