8 Buying Tips for Book Lovers
helpful hints
KELSEY BRYAN-ZWICKGO BACK TO THE RESOURCE CENTER >
The literary landscape has changed dramatically over the course of my (almost) 35 years on this planet. From little corner bookstores, the mega box places with their own Starbucks inside, the juggernaut that is Amazon, the slow resurgence of indie spaces with their in-person readings, to the boom of Zoom and virtual gathering—one thing remains: people love books and will keep finding ways to discover new titles. And that is of course the best news, but the truth is also how you buy your books makes a huge impact on the small presses and the authors you love. So, let’s make these dollars count!
1. BUY FROM THE AUTHORS THEMSELVES
These days there are only rare opportunities to read in-person, so please, take the chance to talk to authors, to ask them questions, let them know what you appreciate about their work, and buy their book! Buy their mug! Buy their t-shirt if you can. When you buy from the author directly they are usually earning the most profit per book, which—let’s be honest—we think authors should be well paid!
2. BUY DIRECTLY FROM THE PRESS
Many presses will have pre-order sales which helps them to determine how many books to produce and you can sometimes earn free shipping or a signed copy. To buy from publishers check out their websites where you’ll likely come across other authors to love. In addition to pre-sales, small presses will often have their own package deals and yearly sales. Keep an eye out and your calendars marked!
3. BOOKSHOP.ORG
If you can’t buy directly from authors because of the pandemic or because they live in another city or state or country, bookshop.org provides a wide range of books all available with a few keystrokes. The reason we are thankful for bookshop.org is 10% of each sale goes toward supporting small presses that exist on small budgets. Look out for free shipping deals offered on occasion for extra savings. This model of remote book-buying is necessary in days like these, and allows us as readers to find the exact book we’re looking for. It also allows for literary groups like us at The Poetry Lab to curate our own selection of recommended books, selections you can browse as one might IRL. When you buy one of these gems from us, we get a portion of the sale which helps support us, our ability to recommend great authors, and the folx at Bookshop that stock and mail out the books. This is a win for small literary organizations and presses, for the authors and for the book distributor, and keeps all the literary wheels turning.
4. GOODREADS
Goodreads is a community based on recommendations. There you can review all of your favorite and least favorite books, giving each a rating. This is a community of readers that take critique into their own hands, often celebrating the writers that have uplifted and empowered them over the years. Books can be registered for free, creating a more equitable playing field for all authors. You can keep track of the books you have read, share what you are currently reading, and create a wish list so everyone will know what to get you this year for your birthday and other celebrations. Reviewing books in short form is also just one of the many free ways to support authors in your community (More on this later!)
5. BOOKFINDER.COM
For super niche or out of print titles, try bookfinder.com. This is a search engine that will scour the internet for you to find everywhere the book is listed for sale. Bookfinder is perfect for those of us keeping wish lists (after reading all the great recommendations on Goodreads, for example!). You may even discover booksellers in your area you were unaware of. In the first year of the pandemic many bookstores were hand-delivering books and providing curbside pickup when needed.
👀 Community Hint
Poetry Lab has a curated bookshop with tons of poetry and craft books to explore. Take a look!
6. Secondhand Bookstores
Small secondhand bookstores are a bookworm’s natural habitat, and I think this will always be the case. Employees are knowledgeable and fun to talk to and I value the ability to browse and discover books that I likely wouldn’t come across otherwise. When traveling, finding local anthologies or literary publications is a wonderful way to get to know new places. Many of these small stores will have a local authors’ section as well, which is another benefit of buying in person and in places that foster the literary community. If there is a local poetry reading, these are the folx that can point you in that direction. And if you happen to be peddling a book of your own, they are likely to have a process to add your book to their stock.
7. SPD
Online, to narrow in on small presses and their offerings I recommend Small Press Distributions (SPD), which provides monthly book recommendations, in addition to an extensive store of independent book offerings. You could spend hours going through the lists of books that are sorted by the press. SPD provides small presses with the vital service of storing and shipping books, a mechanism that can be difficult for these organizations to do on their own. Currently for Black History Month, they are offering 30% select titles, which is another reason to buy through them.
8. Support the writer directly through Patreon
My recommendation is to go a step further. If there are authors you truly believe in, find out if they have a Patreon account. Patreon allows authors to connect with their readers in a more direct way and is a platform where they provide exclusive content for their supporters. This is a powerful tool that allows you to be in conversation with the authors you admire, while also providing authors the ability to share their work throughout the ever-changing dynamics of this pandemic.
Bonus Talk:
There are many, many ways to support the literary community beyond book buying as well. Follow authors on social media! Like and re-share their posts. Leave uplifting comments so others know why you like them so much. Add a review on Goodreads, even a sentence or two can go a long way. When you’re done reading a book, pass it along to a friend or post the latest poem that totally floored you. Most small presses don’t have publicists and aren’t able to promote books with big advertising budgets, so anytime you share what you love about a book you are participating in its marketing! All these gestures are noticed, appreciated, and keep the literary community vibrant.
📙 Community Hint
Some of our community partners are independent book shops! Check out LibroMobile in Santa Ana, CA and Page Against the Machine in Long Beach, CA.
This article was published February 21, 2022. Written by: