The Story

It started with a road trip.

In March of 2019, I visited 50 indie bookstores in 50 days, asking for feedback on my self-published novel, 2084. Over the course of the trip, cruising in my 1995 Mercury Tracer, Thunder, I grew to appreciate the importance of the indies..

Here was my route. I stayed with friends along the way, sometimes camping, sometimes crashing on a couch, sometimes sleeping in my car in Wal-Mart parking lots.

Here's my loyal steed, Thunder, from #ThunderGoesWest. Spoiler: #ThunderCameHome :)

I'm @mtengel22 on Insta & @mtengel22 on Snap if you want to see more of Thunder's high-performance body

It evolved into something more.

As you can tell, the trip was designed with *my* interests in mind. After a few hundred miles, though, after experiencing the community in the first dozen bookstores I visited, the trip started to change. The change manifested in two realizations.

1. I wanted to make a vlog about the journey.
2. I wanted to make a music video about the bookstores.

You can see the vlog on my Patreon page.

The new mission

The music video made me realize that I wanted to do something more, something to shine the light on the indies. That leads me to my new mission:

To create a Netflix documentary that showcases the importance of local bookstores.

Join the movement!

Here's my plan.

There are four phases, each of which I could use your help in.

Partnering with ABA
The support of the American Booksellers Association would be invaluable as I undertake this project. If you happen to be on the ABA board, or know someone who is, please feel free to reach out. Otherwise, you'll be hearing from me :)

Devising an indie business plan
More specifically, a comprehensive business plan for indie bookstores to succeed in the modern market. The thing is, though, I know far less than do the booksellers themselves--they've lived and breathed this business for years--so I'm hoping to outsource a lot of the expertise. But after my travels to 50+ stores, I do have some ideas about how the business paradigm can be improved.

Taking another road trip
The narrative throughline of the documentary will be a second road trip, this one to the east coast, interviewing booksellers as I go and telling their story.

Producing the documentary
I have a pretty extensive background in film, but I know I'm not ready to take on the documentary project alone. With outside guidance, though, I know I can create an inspiring story on behalf of the indie bookselling community.

Here's how you can help.

I will never understand every nuance of the book industry. Together, though, we can. If you're interested in helping, I'll send you periodic updates as I move through the documentary phases above (updates on which I would welcome constructive criticism), and occasionally, I'll reach out with specific questions. And you can answer at your leisure :)

Join the movement!