Tags
A Career of Nerdy
I was a teacher’s pet. I remember my second grade year sitting in a circle taking turns reading aloud, and being nervous that I would get a word wrong. In third grade we had some fancy (for back then) projected reading helper that I thought was the coolest thing ever. In fourth grade, I remember my young teacher reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer aloud to us in class, and how we students were all transported to another time and place. By then, I was allowed to visit the library on my own and check out books as an advanced reader.
In fourth grade I also began playing an instrument, the flute, and so started the other love of my life. Like reading, music just came naturally to me. I was supremely self-motivated by it’s creativity and endless resources of learning.
Fast forward to college. I was a music education/performance major, but another vivid memory is reading Sophie’s Choice while lying on my couch in my apartment, totally transfixed. It was an indulgent pleasure that was a break from the intensive school study of music. When it came to the end of my degree studies and time for student teaching, I had found a part-time job in a bookstore to make ends meet. Why not? I had always loved books, so that was a no-brainer. Little did I know that it would be the beginning of my career.
At that store I met sales reps who traveled to sell the new books coming out from the major publishers. After I graduated and went home, I took a job at the big local department store chain, while I decided my next career move. I took my teacher’s certification test for music K-12, but I’d been in school my entire life, and I was desperate to be independent. When the department store found out I had bookstore experience they put me right in the book department on the day after Thanksgiving. There I met the store wide book buyer with a national reputation. She took me aside and told me that if I stayed in the book business for 6 months or 6 years, she would mentor me and it would be the best experience I would ever have. I stayed, and she did and it was a once in a lifetime experience. Even then though, the retail business was in transition. Big department stores were phasing out all their specialty departments and book departments were becoming obsolete. Big dollar returns were expected from square footage allotments, and books didn’t have a high enough price tag or made enough turns for exceptional profitability.
From there I went to an independent bookstore, where I learned more about bookselling and book buying. I was tapped by one of those original sales reps from my college days when there was an opening for a publisher’s rep job. I took it. I was all of 24 and I was working for a big NY publishing company. That was twenty-seven years ago.
Today I am an independent publisher’s rep, meaning that we are our own company of representatives. A group of reps, representing a group of publishers. I don’t think it could be any more appropriate that my ultimate career choice was an innate love of reading that even predated my inner musician. I am still that musician. I married a musician and my son is a musician. They are readers, too. So we all have both things in common. There was a time when I imagined that I could never marry anyone other than a musician, because how would they understand me otherwise? When I read about how we nerds recognize each other, I’m right there with you. My husband thinks the same way.
I am privileged to have a career in bookselling and publishing. I have met many wonderful people spanning all segments of the industry. I have traveled extensively doing it. I managed to eke out a family and a family life while doing it and continue to learn and grow and read and find new books and wonderful authors. Sometimes I get to practice my flute, too.
Teresa Rolfe Kravtin
@trkravtin
http://arepreading.tumblr.com/
Teresa has been a bookseller for 30 years, a reader for a lifetime. She is a publisher representative in the southeast, selling books to bookstores, museums, and wholesalers. She see’s herself as a teacher, sharing information about books, authors, art and ideas with anybody who will listen.
Nerdy Book Club 
Yay, Teresa!
Hello, everybody. This is for all of the #nerdybookclub folks that follow the comments. Teresa is one of the first people to jump onto/into our idea for a classroom-based Ning site. Teresa has shared ARCs from the different publishing houses she represents (and there is almost always something in there for Noah and Maddie too). Teresa has become a member of our reading family (yes, even Kristie friends and follows Teresa). Thanks for everything, T!
Make sure to friend or follow Teresa for new titles coming out of publishers like Abrams and Candlewick. Teresa is a strong supporter of the Indie bookseller and can give you lots of information for and motivation toward switching one’s paradigm when it comes to the support and maintenance of these important community staples of literacy (the library and the Indie should be working together throughout the year).
You are the Pied Piper, Paul, to borrow a musical analogy! How could I resist your enthusiasm? I am so glad you opened up the world of teachers to me online because I get the most wonderful feedback about the books I sell from them. Thank YOU for all you do out there to spread the word about books, authors, and independent bookstores. I cherish my #nerdybookclub friends and I’m thrilled to do whatever I can to support all of you.
Hi Teresa!
I echo Paul’s comments. If you don’t follow Teresa on Twitter, @trkravtin, you absolutely should. She is very knowledgeable about books and can give you recommendations or point you in another direction.
Teresa, thanks for all of the books this year. Thanks for the positive comments on my writing as well. Love this blog. Your reading life is similar to mine. I played the flute as well but didn’t have the talent you did. 🙂
Katherine
Katherine! We are double nerds! Extra qualified! You rock, my dear, and I am so happy to know you. :->
Teresa – Love hearing your story. Thanks for sharing with us and thanks for being so supportive to teachers and educators. We truly appreciate it.
It is my pleasure. Really!
I’m really enjoying this blog! Thanks to everyone who is writing for it, and thanks to everyone who comments! 🙂
Ah, I knew we had some kind of connection besides being in the south. I remember “round robin” reading very well. We used to move up a seat so that we could read next to the teacher. I graduated and went to Furman to major in vocal performance. But, I was an only child who had never been away from home. I hated being in the tiny practice room by myself so I planned to ditch the vocal stuff and go into music ed. But, I ended up in elem. ed. like my mother. I read, but hated to read what I was required to read. I read what was “too racy” for me. I started teaching and became a radical because I hated that horrible basal.
That was in 1971. You sold books. I bought books and am still buying books. I spent over $3,000 (that is a fact) last year to set up my library where I tutor. Over half of what I made there went for books. That’s not counting ebay, kindle, Goodreads swaps. No, I’m not crazy. Just can’t stand for a child (not just my students) to want to read and you have to say go to your school or to the public library. I like to strike while they are in the mood.
My wish for the holidays is more advanced reader copies to review and share. Oh yea, there is one more almost – I am the tolerated Christian in a wonderful group of friends who are Jewish. Happy Hanukkah, my friend. June (Chorkie)
Oh, June! I’m just now seeing this. It is wonderful to know how much we have in common. Another reason I wish we could have met in Charleston in September. We WILL meet one day. In the meantime, I can certainly help with books for your library! Thank you for the
lovely comment. :->
I love your perspective on the book world. Connecting through Twitter has let me see so many different aspects of the world of books. Before I was just a reader and now I feel like I know so much more about the life of a book before it even gets to the bookshelf at the store and into the hands of readers like me.
Teresa-
Thanks for the wonderful post! I’ve always been an avid reader and am just now finding out through the internet that there are so many other people out there just like me! 🙂 I teach 6th graders, but I’ve always said that I would READ for a living if I could so all of my reading that I do now I can justify-it’s for my job! 🙂
Shannon
http://extremereadingandwriting.wordpress.com/
http://6thgradescottforesmanreadingstreetresources.wordpress.com/
#shannonclark7