Hello Quties!
Today we’re going to talk about some different ways to intentionally support indie books. It goes beyond sharing an author's social media posts or recommending their books to your friends – there’s a lot of overlooked methods for helping these authors get their books out in the world. So let’s take a look at some of those methods!
1. Buy their books through mainstream platforms
If you buy an indie book through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or other well known distributing websites, it feeds that book’s algorithm. This is important because the algorithm is how more people will find that book; it helps the book get recommended to the right people, which causes more people to buy the book, which boosts the sale count, which - finally - makes it more marketable.
However, if you buy an indie book through the author’s website, a second hand shop (such as Thrift Books online or a thrift store in person), or read the book through your library, it will not directly feed into the book’s algorithm or sales.
I would like to note that buying books second hand or directly through the author is a great thing to do! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it, it just won’t have the same kind of effect as buying a book through a more mainstream platform. I would also like to note that if you buy a book directly from the author, the author will have more of a financial benefit than if you buy it through one of those other platforms. So once again, that is still supporting the author, just not necessarily the book.
2. Read their books
The problem of buying books and never reading them is an age-old one for bookworms, perhaps more so when the book you’re buying was written by someone you know. If you’re like me, you’re likely to impulse buy the book to support the author and then completely forget about it for a good amount of time. While it’s great to buy indie books for the sake of boosting numbers – especially if the book has recently come out – it’s important to remember that the reason the book exists to begin with, the reason why authors want those numbers to climb, is because the author wrote a story that they want others to read. The numbers don’t mean anything if they’re all buyers who haven’t read the book.
3. Review the books on every platform you can
Reviewing an indie book on one platform is good, but reviewing that indie book on multiple platforms is great. Leave your reviews and ratings on as many review and distributing sites as you can.
The more audiences you have the opportunity to reach, the better!
4. Give the books away
Become an unofficial distributor! This does cost money on your part, but it doesn’t have to cost much. Here are a few ways you can do this:
Book Fairy
If you haven’t heard of the Book Fairy, it is basically a book that you put a sticker or note on that says something along the lines of “read this book and pass it on.” The idea is that you set the book somewhere that it can be found – on a table in a coffee shop, a park bench, on a bus, etc. – and then when a stranger picks it up, they see the note, read the book, and then they leave is somewhere else once they’ve finished it. The book can travel all around your community or even country, and if it does really well, the world! If you do decide to do this, I recommend creating a tag or social media account for it (which you can write in the book somewhere) so that you can see where the book has been and who has read it.
(P.S. If you do this, tag @noquofficial in it so we can share your posts!)
Donate your indie books when you finish reading them
Donating to libraries, stores such as Half Price Books, or thrift stores is a great way to get an indie book passed around. It’s especially great for people who don’t like to keep books once they’ve read them, if you didn’t like the book, or if you just don’t have any space for books. This is also great because you’re not spending any additional money. One thing to keep in mind if you’re going to donate a book to a thrift store: Thrift stores often throw books away. So it is best if you just bring the book you’re donating into the store and set it on their shelves. This is very easy to do at places such as Good Will, since all the book prices are the same and don’t need to be written on the books themselves.
Holiday/birthday presents
If there's a bookworm in your life, buying them indie books for birthdays or Christmas and whatnot is a great way to help indie authors, and to get them books they might have even heard of otherwise.
Then that bookworm is likely to do the same (if they like the book) and that helps build momentum and popularity for the book.
Send a copy to your favorite reviewer(s)
Is there a booktuber or reviewer that you really like? Check to see if they have a PO box and ask them to review one of your favorite indie books! If they don’t want to, then they’ll very likely just donate the book to a library or something of the sort, so no harm will be done either way. There are also plenty of bloggers and reviewers who have forums for giving a review in exchange for a copy of the book, and so that is always an option if the reviewers you follow don't accept mail.
5. Make and post fan art
If you're an artist, whip up some fan art and post it on your socials! If you don't have socials, why not make a blog devoted to this kind of thing and post it there? If you do, make sure to share it with the authors whose books you feature! Indie authors don’t often get fanart or have fandoms based on their books, and so seeing someone creating art based on their books will, without a doubt, make their day.
If you do make fan art for an indie book, share your handle/website name/etc. in the comments below so the Qummunity can support your endeavors!
6. Hand out the author's bookmarks/business cards
Some authors have bookmarks or business cards – or in some cases bookmarks that double as business cards. If you're wanting to support a book's author, you should reach out to the authors you follow and ask if they have any and, if so, ask if you could have a few to pass around. Then you can ask your libraries, small businesses, and bookstores to pass them out at their counters, or you can of course pass them around yourself.
7. Buy the book’s merchandise
Not only does this support the author financially, but by buying a t-shirt, phone case, bag, pin, etc., with their book title or art on it is kind of like being a living advertisement. Someone might comment or compliment whatever it is you have, and that's a great opportunity to start a conversation about the book and author. Of course, not every book has merchandise related to it, but when it does this is a great way to spread news of the book around.
I think we could summarize the majority of this post by saying treat the book like you would any other fandom. If you genuinely loved a book, love it publicly and share it with others! The author will appreciate it and you may find other people to love the book with.
On that note, what is your favorite indie book? How did you hear about it? Do you have any other ideas for how to support and indie book?
We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
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