Wow, what a year! 2023 was by far the biggest year yet for Silverstones Books, and not just because it was the first full calendar year we were open. There were many ups and some downs throughout the year, but I’m really glad with where the store is as we close out the year. Let’s jump in as I break it all down.

2023 Recap

I started 2023 by doing pop-ups, but quickly abandoned that, as I was not seeing the traffic I needed for that due to many factors out of my control. So I went back to focusing on the online store front, making improvements to that where I could. That lead to the additions of the Wishlist and Rewards systems, which have been a big hit so far.

Summer 2023 was a rollercoaster for sure. I decided that the website needed a blog, so I reached out to Quinn, who had been diligently leaving reviews of every book he purchased from me for months at that point, and with him in tow we slowly built up the Silverstones Blog team into what by the end of the year is a five person team. I’m so grateful for Quinn, Mike, Matt, and Bill for agreeing to join the team, and I cannot wait to see what the blog achieves in 2024.

In June i had the pleasure of being a guest on the Derek & Justin’s Epic Quest podcast. It was a great time talking with such cool guys, and I hope we get to do it again in the future.

With the help of my husband, Nolan, we had a booth at O-Con Expo in Council Bluffs in July, and had an amazing time. It was the first actual time I got to see what owning a bookstore was like, and what I could do with a physical location. That lead to me spending the next couple months looking around the area for a location for a shop, and in October I found one!

I moved very quickly on that, and with the help of my husband, my in-laws, and the generous help of those who donated to the GoFundMe I was able to open the shop on November 7th. I’ve had amazing community support from many of the other small business in downtown Plattsmouth, and it’s been incredible getting to know all of them and building working relationships with those who have been running businesses much longer than me.

A week before the shop opened I was a guest on the Beard of Darkness Youtube channel. That was a little scary, as I had never done anything on Youtube, but Matt is a great host, and it was a good time (barring techinical difficulties on my end).

December 9th saw my husband and I hosting our official ribbon cutting at the shop. His family and our neighbors, as well as the Chamber of Commerce, came out to celebrate with us, it was a truly great time getting to make the shop OFFICIAL official.

Plans for 2024

I’m very excited to see what 2024 brings for Silverstones Books. The blog will be seeing a new member joining us in the new year. I have the first two author signings in the works for the shop. There’s even talk of maybe having a movie film at the shop (more on that in the future). I have also applied to be a vendor at O-Con Expo again next summer, so fingers crossed that works out.

I’m looking forward to growing my business relationship with Bureikou Tea with an expansion of offerings from them in the shop, as well as some in person events (tea pairings, parties, etc.) Tim and Angie are wonderful people, and I’m so happy to be working with them to reach a wider audience with their offerings.

In Conclusion

I just wanted to take a second before I wrap this up to thank each and every one of you for all the support you’ve shown me and my little operation over the past almost 2 years. I truly would not be able to do any of this without all of you. Keep an eye out on all the store’s socials for any new announcements, and make sure you also follow all of the blog’s members on their socials, too!

Thanks again, and have a happy new year!