Save Bookstores Day

My agent, Weronika Janczuk, forwarded this email to me a week or so ago and I forgot to post about it here:

Hi everyone,

I’ve gotten sick of reading the bookstore obituaries in the publishing news, so I’m starting a viral campaign to get people, on one day, to go buy books from their local bookstore. Might not end up changing the tides, but it’s something small I can do and I’m getting a good response so far. Here are the details for you to pass on to your friends/family/fellow booklovers:

Who: You and all the book-lovers in your life
When: June 25th, the first Saturday of Summer!
Where: Your local bookstore (and if you don’t have one near you, Powell’s ships)
Why: Because bookstores are dropping like flies and we want them to stay alive

Thanks for passing this along to whomever you think would want to get on board.

Warmest,
Kelly

Kelly Sonnack
Andrea Brown Literary Agency


Prefer to read on your god-damned Walmazart Kindle? Then buy a book for a book-lover you know!

Mark your calendars! DO IT!

How Do You Buy Books?

As a new writer, I'm often intimidated by the idea of trying to get my yet-to-be-published novel into the public eye. I want to vomit whenever the host of an agent panel asks an auditorium crowd how many of them are writers and four hundred people raise their eager hands.

But I know I'm not alone. Writers with new novels constantly have to face the public arena and hope that their book will be picked out from the crowd. It's not an easy task when so many superstars (literary and otherwise) are already taking center stage.

I've been trying to help out my fellow writers when I'm at the book stores. First of all, while I still end up going to the library a lot, I'm also buying books more often, at least one book a month. And, I'm making sure it's a new book rather than a used one.

When I go book shopping, I also try to pay attention to more than what's on the most prominent display tables. Even if I end up buying something like Water For Elephants, I at least give several other books a chance first. I peruse the shelves, pick up several books from authors I haven't heard of, in genres I wouldn't normally read, and I look at several random passages before deciding whether or not to buy it.

I also try to give books as gifts whenever I can. When I first started doing this, I made the mistake of giving people--including non-readers--books that I liked. That usually ended up with the book crying on some dusty shelf. Now, I give books that I think the recipient will like, and for non-readers, I choose shorter books with topics I know they are interested in. This has had a much higher success rate and many more thank yous.

How do you all obtain books? Do you buy them? Used or new? What do you do to help your fellow writers?

Are We Supporting Ourselves?

Lately I've been feeling guilty about my book buying habits. Here I am, a struggling novelist hoping that readers would give me a chance and buy my book (when the time comes). But, do I do that myself?

What are the last books I've purchased full price for?

Let me think.

Um.

And, when I do buy books, as I'm planning to do today, which ones am I choosing between? Currently, I'm trying to decide between buying Pulitzer Prize Winning The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, Janet Fitch's Paint It Black, and a book from Stephanie Meyer's series Twilight. I realized that I don't even really notice most novels unless they've already gotten a ton of critical and popular acclaim. So, how do these new books build readership? How do they get the attention they want and often deserve? To break out, assuming a writer didn't start with a million dollar advance and publisher co-op deals, debut novels somehow need to be stumbled upon by anxious readers, and not only that, but these readers have to open the books, read them, and actually consider giving them a chance.

As a writer, I am completely intimidated by the blockbuster publishing models that seem to be gaining popularity. This system works because book buyers choose books based on advertising and word-of-mouth. And, to try and play by these rules, I find myself planning ways to get blurbs, personal recommendations to agents, and developing the ever important hook and platform for my book. Basically, I am doing everything I can to make my book a blockbuster, knowing full well that it is impossible for every decent book out there to be THE ONE.

If any system other than the blockbuster model is to work, readers have to explore unheard-of books and give new writers a chance. I'm guilty of not doing this, myself, and I doubt I'm alone.

So, I have made a deal with myself to buy a new full-priced book at least every month. And, something I've already started doing is that I'm putting more effort into recommending books I think my friends will like and giving books as gifts. I'm set on exploring new books, books I've never heard of, with the idea that I might be able to change publishing trends. And, what I suspect will happen, is that I will find many, many books that will astound me, even though no one else has told be how good they are.