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Support Your Favorite Authors—Easy and Impactful Ways · Reality Writes

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, hello, and welcome to the Reality Rights podcast.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: I am Otharelli Alexander and I am here with Steve.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_03: That's I'm the tech guy.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: You're the tech guy.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, my name's not Steve.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Your name is not Steve.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's true.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: What is it?
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_03: It's a mystery.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's a mystery.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: We gotta keep it mysterious around here.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_03: Fond and mysterious.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_03: Except when we're talking about scammers and fishers and hackers, which we just did in the last episode.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: So that's right.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Go listen.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_03: Check that out for sure.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so this is the podcast where we sort of peel the curtain back behind all things writing, publishing, bookage.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: And we came up with 10 easy ways that you can support your favorite authors because your favorite authors probably need your support.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_03: It's hard being a writer, being an author, right?
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, the more you can grow your community, the better.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_03: Um and we have been doing this a long time and we've tried a lot of things.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_03: And uh even with as much effort as you put into it yourself, it you still rely on your readers to help you grow.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't think there's any other way you can grow.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like it is definitely it takes a village, it takes a village, and I and you are always so grateful when readers see some of the things.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so grateful um on this list.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's important too because um, you know, I have a lot of writer friends as we're speaking who are in the midst of getting series canceled, and I have had series canceled, and it's like books that you might love um that are only three, two, three books in that are fantastically written, could end up not getting renewals because of the way that publishing works.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's really like a numbers game, and it takes a long time to build a readership, to build a series.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so unfortunately, kind of in a world that we're in where everything has to happen so quickly, a lot of the publishing houses don't want to give, especially new writers, that time and space to let a series grow and develop and find its audience.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_03: And that I mean, that parallels a lot of things in life, right?
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_03: Like head coaches of sports teams don't get as much time as they should ever to develop a team into a winning program.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_03: Um, TV series don't get the time they need to develop an audience.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_03: And so it's the same thing for books.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, some of the best book series just they got cut before they really got a chance to grow.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_03: And so getting help from readers to grow an audience and and just like build that support around an author is so, so important.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's critically important.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, we were speaking from a place of you know being in this business for gosh, over a decade plus now.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: And um, like you said, and we've done a we did an earlier podcast about this, just sort of like throwing spaghetti at the wall with a first what would stick and what wouldn't.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: And our efforts have been great, but it really has been um because of the readership in this community that over time I've been able to grow because readers have shared and done all the things that we're gonna talk about.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Huge gratitude for you for that, uh, darlings, all of our darlings out there.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: And also, if you have a new favorite author, someone you've discovered, like definitely add all of these things to your list.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: And we're gonna go over, we came up with a couple ways that you can monetarily support an author, but um, we're also gonna talk about a lot of free things that you can do to support your favorite author and um their books.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_03: And it's important to point out, too, that all of these things are just as important for established authors like yourself uh as they are for new authors, because you know, it we the as as wonderful of a book communities we've built around your books and and all of the readers that you've made wonderful connections with uh in the uh you know, so far, um we always need to keep growing.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_03: You know, you always need to keep growing.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_03: Uh so all of these apply across the board.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_03: If you've got a favorite author, any of these ideas will work to help uh uh little ways that you can help your favorite authors keep putting out the content that you love so much.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's right, exactly.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and we're always shocked by um, we feel like we've said a dozen times, like, okay, you know, the next bake shop book, Sticks and Stones, is coming out in August.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: It is the next bake shop book, Sticks and Stones, is coming out in August.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I will feel like I have said that ad nauseum.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like, nobody wants to hear about this again.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I am constantly stunned by readers who were like, I didn't know a new bake shop was coming out.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, pushed by um social media, the algorithms, all those things.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that can get frustrating because as we talked about in that episode you referred to earlier, we um oh man, we put a lot of effort into trying to let people know, but it just they just they don't always see it.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_03: So share even you know, sharing anything cool from your favorite author that you see online on social isn't that's on our list.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Why don't we start with that?
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, okay, share content, share content.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me more, Jai.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, well, you know, I mean it's and and this is the thing that is, you know, for um like I I would say it was probably one of the reasons that a lot of the things we talked about in that episode we'd no longer do.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_03: Um, because they were things that really like a lot of people enjoyed them, like uh um this time it's murder.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_03: This time it's murder.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_03: That's a perfect example.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_03: Like it it just like it was fun to put together.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_03: It was a lot of work, but it was fun to put together.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_03: It was super creative.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_03: So that part was fun.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_03: Doesn't even feel like work when it's when it's that creative, but it was a lot of work.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_03: Posting it to all the platforms and everything, and editing editing, sound editing, like you know, recording the voiceovers, like all of that stuff, getting the props, like it was a lot of work, but we loved it, we had fun with it, and people really loved it at first, and then the you know, because it was an episodic uh piece of content, we saw the the views just go like this.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it's like the first episode there was a lot, and then they just kind of went down, you know.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_03: And um, but one of the things that kind of did it in was that it just wasn't getting shared.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_03: And and that that we we've been doing this marketing thing enough long enough to know that if the same audience is seeing the same stuff over and over and over, they're not, they're just it's it's going to fade over time because you know, with the way the uh social media platforms work and the algorithms work and everything, you're not gonna see the content um repeatedly.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_03: And so that was tough.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so if you do, if if you have a favorite author that is sharing content that you enjoy, well, it's great for you to comment and like it and and that's great.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_03: Don't stop doing that.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: But that's also on the list.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_03: That's oh, okay.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I'll let you talk about that one.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_03: But but share it, share it with your friends and your family.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_03: Like send that content along because that just helps it get into in front of uh you know, new eyeballs, essentially.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_03: And and it inevitably that person, those people are going to share it with their friends and their family, and your like favorite author that you're trying to help uh with um by sharing this content, you're going to help grow their community because inevitably new people are going the people who for whom that author is new will will see this content and will start following them and eventually probably buy their book or check their book out from the library or whatever.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and um the algorithms really like sharing.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, sharing is caring.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Sharing is carrying.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh well, you touched on another one.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so number one is share.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Share, share power and why why the sharing is carrying and share content.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Also, I think this is true for everything.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like, don't just share for the sake of sharing.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's nice, but um, share something that really resonates with you, you know, if if your favorite author has um has a quote from one of their books or has a new book coming out, or you know, anything that like feels authentic and resonates with you that you would want to share with friends, of course, I think is great.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um so that's number one.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Then um follow, follow your favorite authors on social media because that helps build um their audiences and then engage, like comment, like, oh, save, save a post, um, any of those things.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: Also, the algorithms love, and it's a way that you are actually going to hopefully get to engage in return that your favorite author is then gonna see your comment, appreciate it, you start a conversation.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's the social of social media, right?
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_03: And you follow them on different platforms.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_03: Like if you if you find an author that you like and you find them on X or Instagram or whatever, look for them on other platforms.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_03: Look go to their website, go to their link in bio or whatever, and and look for their other accounts because um it's not always the same content that gets shared across platforms.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, we we do that.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I mean, obviously, like if you're launching a new book or promoting a new book, you might post the same content across platforms.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_03: But this podcast is a perfect example.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_03: If you're listening on Spotify or you know, Apple Podcasts or iHeartRadio, that's great.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_03: But we also have a video version of this on YouTube, so you can actually see us.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, you can see Ellie's beautifully curated office and my complete disaster of uh creative space uh with like 3D printers going in the background and Star Wars stuff all over the place.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_03: But anyway, so you can you can you can find them on different different um platforms and get even more content.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, we should talk about one of the easiest paid ways that you can help support your author, your favorite author.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, this one's gonna be a shocker, it's really gonna stretch your brain, but you could buy their book.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that is an easy one.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_03: And it would seem obvious, but you would seem surprised.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: You would not believe how many times readers have said, like, is it helpful for you if I buy the book?
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, that's kind of ultimately how I get paid.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_03: Kind of keeps the lights on.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, helps keep the lights on.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: Lots of other ways that you can get the book.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, in fact, we could segue into this too, um, which is libraries.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Libraries buy lots of books.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: So um requesting a book at your local library if you don't have the budget to buy a book is another great way to support your favorite author.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_03: It's a fantastic way, and I don't think people under necessarily understand that.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_03: I I know that they a lot of readers don't know about this because we do know so many librarians, great friends, the algebra.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, um, who are librarians and they want you to request books.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_03: Like they they really do.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_03: They like that's how they just like you helping grow an author's account, like you help the library grow by requesting books that they may not know about that are that would be popular and of interest to other patrons.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_03: Um and so what readers should know is that authors do actually make money off of books that are purchased by libraries.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_03: Libraries pay a significantly higher fee per book uh than you as a reader do, just because they're buying one or two copies and then be loaning them out to potentially hundreds or thousands of people over time.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_03: So they pay more money up front um for fewer copies, but that helps readers.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_03: There are thousands and thousands of libraries, so if they all buy the books, like that that is a great thing.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_03: And you, as a library patron, you win too, because then you get to enjoy the book for free.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: And you're supposed to be able to do it.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_03: Unless you don't return it on time.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_03: And then maybe, you know.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: Or you drop it in the bathtub and then you have to do the library walk of shame.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_03: You know that all too well, right?
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the other thing about libraries, so if the library does not have the book in stock, you can request it.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: You can go to the circulation desk and say, Hey, I have this book.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm interested to know if you could order it.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: The other thing is if the library has the book, you can place a hold on the book because the more holds that a book has, the more likely the library is to order more copies.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: So let's say they have one copy in and they have one hold, then they're probably not going to get many more copies of that book in.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: But if they have one copy and they have, you know, 30 holds, they're gonna say, oh gosh, we should probably order more.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: So um placing a hold.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: And then um the third library-related thing is you can say, like, hey, if you're planning your you know, events for the next year, I would really love it if you could invite author X to come to the library because libraries also have budgets to pay authors to come speak, which is huge for authors.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: I think there's such a pervasive myth about authors being millionaires.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I can tell you right now, like 99% of the authors we live are nowhere near millionaires, myself included.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: There is like maybe it's five percent, maybe it's like, you know, there's there's five to ten percent potentially of authors who have hit it giant, you know, like big name authors who we can all name.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: They are probably making, you know, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars off of their books.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: But your average author is not even able to quit their day job.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: Most of my colleagues and author friends are working part-time jobs or gigging or doing other things in order to make intimate.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's very rare to be able to carve out a career as an author.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: So getting even like uh, you know, some sort of speaker fee to go speak at a library really helps offset um budgets too.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_03: And these speaker fees aren't like we're not being flown out to uh talk at a library, and you're not gonna be putting a down payment on a home with the speaker fee.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_03: But it is nice to to you know get to earn something for putting in the time and the travel and everything.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_03: Even with a speaker fee, most of the time I would say that you and I have done this.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_03: Um you we spend more money than than than we make.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_03: So it does help offset costs more than anything, which is which is great because you as a writer get to connect with readers um in person, face to face, which you know, we don't get as many chances to do anymore.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_03: And um and we don't need to spend thousands of dollars to uh do it every time, you know, outside of our local area.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I was just gonna say.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and a good example of that might be yeah, if you're in um, I don't know, like New Hampshire and your favorite author is in Wyoming, you might have a harder sell.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: But if you have, you know, someone you know in the region or the area that could drive in theory to the library, that's a great request.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it just might put your favorite author on a librarian's radar too, that they might not know about because librarians are tasked with knowing so much about the book world.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and it the librarians are gonna thank you too, because they're always looking for programming that would be of interest to their patrons.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_03: So you're serving something up on a platter to be like, hey, I know this really great author, and he, you know, she or he would love to come and give a book talk and meet with readers, and they will more often than not be super happy about reaching out and seeing if they can set something up.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh back to like buying the book too.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: Readers will also ask if it is advantageous to me if you buy the paperback version versus the audio versus the ebook version.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: And the truth of the matter that I always say is I want readers to read on whatever platform they prefer, right?
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: If if you're an audio reader, read the audio.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: If you like holding a paperback in your hands by the paperback, if you like an ebook and you know you want to download it instantly to your Kindle, then you use an eight book.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: But at the end of the day, if we're talking math and we still are going to do a book math episode, I've been running some numbers and I cannot wait to do a deep dive into the reality.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_03: It's probably pulling the curtain back too far for some people.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: I know it's gonna be painful, but um the truth of the matter is most authors just make a bigger royalty rate or percentage off of ebooks.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's just the truth of the matter because print books are expensive, they're expensive to make, they're expensive to ship, they're expensive to stock, um, and usually your royalty late rate is much lower.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_03: They're expensive to replace when unnamed people drop in their bathtub.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_03: Wait, it said sorry to uh tangent for a second here.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_03: What um do you do you still call it read?
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_03: Do you read an audiobook?
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_03: You still call it reading?
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, of course.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's reading.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_03: I nothing against audiobooks, so I do them occasionally too while I'm running, especially because it gets lonely out there the ninth or tenth mile.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: Oh no, yeah.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, you're reading that's reading.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_03: I was just checking.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_03: Just checking.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't want to get it all lit up in the comments.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and you should, yeah.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: Get ready.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's on.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: No, uh, there's there's a contingent out there of um readers and authors and bookish people in general.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's a war, like it's definitely an internal war.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: I would say it's a smaller group who don't believe that ebooks are reading, but I you mean audiobooks, because ebooks definitely are reading.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, sorry, that audiobooks are reading, and I vehemently disagree, especially coming from my speech pathology background and um communication in general, in any way, shape, or form that you're getting stories in.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: And if you also think back in time, like stories started around the fire where we're all just sitting around a campfire listening, right?
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: So we could we could do a whole podcast on that and we could start a war.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_03: This sounds like this sounds a little bit like Apple versus Samsung and Bikes versus e-bikes.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_03: And I don't know if we want to wade into that territory.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: I think bikes versus e-bikes is actually a perfect example.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and people who are in each of these camps, this is funny.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: I don't we must not have talked about this before, but I think I see it much more because I'm in this world, right?
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, they sort of will want to like die on a sword on either side, but uh I'm dying on the sword that any reading is reading.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_03: 100% I'm ebook, I'm e-bike, I'm e everything.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_03: Um I'll tell you right now, like I'll go up against any biker uh on a on a manual bike after riding my e-bike because I I write I have an e-bike because I run and I don't want to I bike commute, so I can't, it's just a lot to do both every day.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um you can get up to like the top of a mountain, like you could go do an amazing trail and actually like not spend four days.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that's yeah, I don't know.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_03: We yeah, sorry.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_03: It was just like I I meant it to be just a quick tangent.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_03: We've been on this for a while.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: You're stepping in it today, sir.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's on.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um on the library talk.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, the other spot that I think is so great from a library perspective is little free libraries.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, yeah.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_03: I was I was hoping that was on the list.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_03: It's on the list.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_03: Um because we actually this is related to the little free or the social content and sharing thing that we were talking about, too, because a couple of the coolest videos that we have made for um uh social media have been you going around to little free libraries and distributing dozens of copies of your books.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_03: And yeah, I was pretty proud of this.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_03: We came up with some really creative shots and like set it to music uh that that was really catchy.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_03: I I loved that that first one we did that was probably like eight years ago now.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_03: Um that was super fun.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_03: It was a lot of fun.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: All of like Jackson County in southern Oregon, that was so fun.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: We got up, we packed a like a book bag full of books.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: I signed them all first, and then we went and got copies, and then we drove all around.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you I don't even know how you mapped it, you found some.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Was it the Little Free Library map itself?
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_03: I just used a if uh so for just in case people don't know, little free libraries, you if you've ever been out on a walk, you've probably seen one.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_03: There are the little boxes in front of people's homes that are full of books.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_03: And we've seen some of the most creative, inventive.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_03: We've seen little free libraries that look exactly like the house that they're sitting in front of.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_03: We've seen book themed, like Harry Potter Little Free Libraries.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_03: We've seen little free libraries with chalkboards on the side and a little bucket of chalk so kids could come up and draw on them and everything.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_03: Um, there are ones with dog treats and everything.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_03: That is just a great way to like be, you know, give back to the community and share um uh new books with people.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_03: So when it we try to do it for every release, just yeah, we've been done for a while.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: This makes me think we should go do it.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_03: We we should do it, yeah.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_03: Go around and just distribute the books.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we've got some of my new secret bookcase series to see.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe we need to pepper the neighborhood.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: But um, if you've read a book and loved it and enjoyed it, you can tuck it in a little free library because then you know you're passing it on to another reader who might discover your favorite author and say, Oh, I would like to go to my main library or go to my local bookstore and um find more of this author's work.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_03: And while you're there, dropping off the book of your favorite author, look and see if there's something of interest to you, and maybe you'll just continue the cycle.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, bookstore requests.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: You can go into your local bookstore.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Same thing as this dovetails on libraries, but I think a lot of readers don't know.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I've I often will get messages like, oh, you know, I can't find a book at my local library or my local bookstore.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you can request that your local bookstore order a copy for you, which is fantastic.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_03: Um, another thing that I'm just shocked that uh we hear all the time, or at least I hear when you're you're doing your book talks and stuff, is that people don't know that they can ask their independent bookshop for any book and they will they will order it for you.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_03: And they can probably get it for you within a day or two, um, you know, unless it's super rare, but but usually within a day or two from the distributor, and they'll have it for you at the shop, or you know, they can send it to you in the mail, whatever.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but they they want you to do that.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, any bookstores are uh typically, with the exception of some, like PALs up in Portland, comes to mind, um, are rather large, but most in eBookshops are pretty small, they don't have a lot of retail space, and so they can't carry every book, but they can be a resource.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_03: If you want to buy the book and you want to support small businesses, you can just go to your local bookshop and ask them to order you anything and they will do it.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_03: Um uh, you know, shout out to like all the bookstores we know vintage books, beach books.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_03: I I place orders with them all the time for books.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_03: Um uh um, spoiler alert, we're probably gonna do that for Christmas again this year.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, and we just did a podcast about some of our favorite bookstores and some of our adventures over the years.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: But I know for a fact booksellers are always happy.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: And same thing, it might be another opportunity where I mean, again, that most indie stores have limited shelf space.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: So it's unlikely that they're gonna order dozens of copies and stock that book.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: But will they order it special for you?
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: And in the process, one of the booksellers might discover a new author or two that they end up carrying more of their titles or invite them to the store for a talk.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: So many other possibilities get opened up that way, and you're definitely supporting a community locally owned business, which is fantastic.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and yeah, I think one of the other paid ways, um, since we're on the topic of like buying the book and indie bookshops and everything, is buy two copies of the book.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm not being greedy here, I'm just saying like this is a low-cost way because most books, unless you know, I mean, you've you LA have done some hardcovers, so you like those tend to be higher price points, but but for the most part, like the mass market or trade paperback sizes are are pretty pretty reasonably priced.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_03: And when you're there and you know you're gonna enjoy this book, buy another copy and gift it to a friend.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_03: Just spread the bookish love.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_03: Um you know, it's just just a suggestion.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_03: Again, it's not gonna like you like if everybody did it, it'd be awesome, but it's just one other way that you can support your favorite author by um helping spread the word about the book, or or if you only buy one when you're done reading it, gift it to a friend.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, all of those options are great.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I think uh just briefly to touch on the concept of hardcover, one question that I get asked often would be like, Well, why is that series in hardcover?
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: Or why did you choose to see it in hardcover?
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_03: Why did you choose?
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_03: I love that one.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_03: I love it.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I didn't, I didn't.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: That all comes from the publishing houses and their plan and you know for traditionally published authors, it does.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_03: If I mean as an independently published author, which you are too, yes, um, we could choose to release books in hardcover, but we have not done that because it is incredibly expensive um for both us and readers.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_03: Um uh so paperback all the way or ebook.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I do I do love my ebooks.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I know.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like you're an ebook pusher today.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_03: I'm just saying we were we were just we were just on like a more than week long workslash book trip, and somebody ran out of books to read, and it wasn't me.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but then I got to go to the local independent bookstore and support the local independent bookstore by purchasing more books from them.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: Totally read through my stack.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: So there's that, and I also got to buy a friend's book at the local independent bookstore, which was like Chef's Kiss.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: Come on.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_03: I'm thinking we're gonna have to do an episode on uh print books versus ebooks.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_03: Kind of similar to the Taylor versus Star Wars episode.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_03: Um although I might I'm worried I might I might I might uh lose or gain uh more fans.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not sure.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not sure which.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure which either.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but yes, uh most authors, if we're talking about being traditionally published, are not making those choices themselves.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: Those are all coming from the publishing house and trickling down.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: Hardcovers, um, you know, there are certain bookstores that prefer to feature hardcover just in terms of shelf space.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then of course, libraries most often prefer hardcovers because they last longer.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_03: So they're durable, yeah.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_03: Unless you unless you drop them in the tub because that yeah that's another consistent thing.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um of the most underlooked ways, underutilized overlooked.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_03: Right?
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: Underlooked, yes, overlooked, underutilized, underutilized ways that you can support your favorite author.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed the book, please leave an honest review.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_03: Oh yeah, yeah, that is super important.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: Reviews are like gold.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: I can't even tell you.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't have to be a five-star review, like uh well, let's backtrack.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_03: It's like, whoa, okay.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: No, this just I think you should always leave an honest, authentic review.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want reviews that are just absolutely like it's the best book that I've ever read if you didn't read it.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and we did a whole thing about what kind of reviews uh readers piece sometimes, which is so annoying, where it's like, it was a book.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thanks.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's possible.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_02: Sorry.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so honest reviews, yes, but uh, this just happened to a friend who got a one-star review, which is fine.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like readers are entitled to whatever opinion they have of the book, and reviews are not for authors, reviews are for readers.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_00: Reviews help readers decide whether or not they want to purchase a book, right?
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um but if the reviewer tagged my authored son in that one star with the go through that, you don't need to do that at all.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's cool, lap.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's risky helpful.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_03: Reviews are reviews are tough because you you definitely want more of them and you want people to be honest, but you just like it.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_03: I the on the internet has given everyone a voice, and they just think they can say anything, and they think you know, it they think their opinion is like everyone should listen to it, and it's you know, the the best uh view of the content out there.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_03: And the thing is, books are subjective, like everything, right?
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_03: It's like you know, yeah, I you and I even have read, and we have very similar tastes, but but also very divergent tastes when it comes to certain things, and we've read books where I have been like this was amazing, and you're like and vice versa.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'm still a little unsure about updated.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I love that book.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_01: You gotta you gotta have the book blood talk, you still have a talk about the science that I don't understand why you are not on board with my opinion on.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, no, it it I mean it's just it it is it is tough, but just you know, like I think your your whole thing of like leave an honest review, just like and and and if you didn't like a book, that's fine if you want to leave a review, but say why, don't just say terrible, yeah, didn't like it.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, great.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_03: Why?
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_03: Like, why didn't you like it?
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_03: Why was it terrible?
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_03: Always follow your statement with why just like because you said it perfectly, and it's so important for people to understand is that the reviews aren't for the authors, the reviews are for the readers.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's you know, we're such a uh like we've grown into such a review-based culture where you know we we don't buy vitamins without reading uh everybody else's reviews of them to see like, okay, well, how many five stars did it give versus three stars?
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it's just all so it's important when you're leaving a review to just and and I'm not talking about having to write paragraphs, but just tell people why.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_03: Just tell them why you liked it, why you liked it, why you didn't like it.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: Don't tag an author in a different review, there's no need for that.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_03: But um oh, but that reminds me, we should we should do a a mean reviews episode of the podcast.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_03: We haven't done that in a while.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_03: We got some doozies, yeah.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: Right, there's some gem.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but going back to that concept of the fact that reviews are for readers and help a reader decide uh about a purchase or you know, whatever.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: I I was reading reviews from a coffee shop that we were gonna try, and there were a couple one-star reviews, and it made me want to go to the coffee shop because it was like, well, the turmeric latte was so like turmeric heavy.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, that's the coffee I want.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's a one-star review for you, but that's a yes for me.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: So the same is true for books, right?
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like maybe somebody's like uh Lance is way too over the top, like he's so dramatic with his like OSF artistic flair or whatever.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like some reader might be like, I want that.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: I want a little drama in my reader, you know, whatever it is.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_00: So, right.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and for those of you who like leaving one-star reviews out there, um, the one thing I will say is everyone's laughing at you because I I've we've been on many a road trip where SkyCon's been in the backseat just reading off one-star reviews on Yelp for restaurants and whatever we're going in the town we're going to.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_03: And we are just dying laughing at some of these things because it inevitably you might think you're coming off looking really smart and and well informed, but it nope.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: No, not so much.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_03: Not so much, yeah.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but back to the whole point of how you might help your favorite author, and uh, especially if an author or book is just out, having reviews early on and and continuing continuing to see reviews come in, A, help the algorithms, right?
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_00: And help booksellers and librarians and everybody else say, Oh, wow, this book is something that people are really excited about.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_00: We should buy another copy or we should feature this in the front of the store, or if somebody's shopping online, they might read through and say, like, wow, okay, there are there are dozens of great reviews.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm interested in this book now.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_03: So reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_03: And I'd say that's probably the one that has done those if not the least, it's in the top three of things that are done the least for authors, which always surprises me because it's just so it's so easy and it's so fast.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_03: Um, it just doesn't take that much effort.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_03: And I think uh so yeah, it I I would put that at the top of the list.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_03: If you really love a book, be your review.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_03: Review it.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, in this same vein, uh, recommending your favorite reads to friends and or book clubs that you might be part of.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_00: I I am like such a book pusher if I have loved a book.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I have my own mystery book club that I'm doing here uh with my friend and bookseller Lee at Lee's Books of Summivale.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I am just like, no, you all we have to read this book.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: Here's why, because blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: I get a little bit bossy about wanting to share books that I have loved.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but that helps so much because word of mouth is unparalleled.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you have enjoyed a book and you have similar reading tastes to a friend, odds are good that they're gonna enjoy it as well.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you should all um give yourselves a lot more credit.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_03: You are more influential than you think.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_03: You might not be an influencer on social media with millions of followers and everything, but when you talk to your friends and family about things, they listen.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and so if you tell them about something that's really, you know, got you excited, something you really loved, they're gonna check it out.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_03: Um pass it on.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, for sure.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then last but not least, and this is our other paid thing that you can do, is you can support your favorite authors on other platforms that they're on, like Patreon, Reen.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there are all these platforms now where authors, um Kindle Vella, are sharing like short stories, um works in progress, episodic books, um, on Patreon.
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I have friends who do like handwritten birthday cards.
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I joined the platform last year and I get to send character letters and you do like cool um test candles where our patrons have to be sluice and sniff out sends.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_03: Um and going with this this podcast is another benefit Patreons get because they the uh your patrons get the after party, which is where I really go off on some of these subjects, right?
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_00: It is not PG.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: Oh the tech guy is unleashed in the after party.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but supporting authors on platforms like that, it's just another way for an author to potentially make like a little bit more steady income.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because going back to the initial myth that I constantly have to bust, it is highly unlikely that your favorite authors are millionaires.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, whether it's$5 a month that you're buying them a cup of coffee in exchange for getting some insider information or, you know, whatever it is to be able to continue to work and share and produce content is um it's a real gift.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, for sure.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_03: It's a lot of fun to do that extra content too.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_03: Um it's more work, but it's fun.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_03: Uh yeah.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_03: One thing um I thought about that, I I don't know.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_03: I you so stop me if we talked about this, but when we were talking about um sharing and stuff, uh and this ties into that and reviews, is people can share about their favorite authors on social media.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_03: So they can share their own content.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_03: Like they can and and we know a lot of people that do this, a lot a lot of your readers do it, and and it's really that's super helpful.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_03: And that is a time when you can tag your your favorite author.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_03: And right, right.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_03: When you're when you're talking them up and and bragging about uh how much you love their their content and everything, go go ahead and tag them.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but yeah, share a beautiful picture of uh your favorite author's book online, share a picture of you reading it by the pool or at a coffee shop or you know, or whatever.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_03: Just um, but just spread the word that way.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_03: It doesn't even have to be in person, it can be on social media.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_03: That really helps.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_00: It really does.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_00: And um, not only does it help in terms of you know, potentially growing an audience or connecting more readers to an author's works, but it also um it helps because as writers, we're in our little silos, right?
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_00: And we're writing in our head, and most of us um are a little too self-critical, maybe slightly neurotic, a little anxious.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_02: Slightly.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_00: And um, then you know, you send this book out into the world and it doesn't become yours anymore.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it's so lovely if someone has enjoyed it.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like there is no better gift ever than that, to be able to be like, oh, okay, this thing that I just like poured months and months and months of blood and sweat and tears into by myself is out there and someone else picked it up and enjoyed it.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like, come on, that's amazing.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no, it's it's really and some some of the people who've shared your stuff over the years, they've been like you know, incredibly creative in the way that they've done it.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_03: And so I'd like don't get worried about that.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_03: You not everybody needs to be a professional photographer, you don't need to be an interior decorator or like set designer or anything, like just yeah, just share.
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, you just be authentic.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_03: I guess that's what it comes down to.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_03: Just be authentic, whether you're leaving a review, you're talking to friends, you're talking to bookstore owners, librarians, or sharing content online.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_03: Just be authentic about it and just be honest in your opinions about the book.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_03: Or the author.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_00: What are the authors?
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think we have single-handedly today saved multiple series from cancellation.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: Who convinced?
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm putting that energy out there because all right.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_00: I have three series that I'm not gonna name that are at risk of cancellation right now, and I'm gonna be hate to hear that.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_02: I know I would really hate to hear that.
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, not mine, but I have had in the past two series get canceled, and it's it's in God punch, and I didn't see either of them coming.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I have three friends in this position right now, and all three of those books are so great.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_00: So share.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, well, and um, you know, for all of you out there listening, if you're listening or watching on a platform that lets you comment on this, like let's hear from you.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_03: Like, what are other ways that you support your favorite authors?
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_03: Because I'm sure we're forgetting something or haven't even thought of another great way that can really help authors out.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_03: We'd love to spread the work.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_00: On that note, um, thank you, Darwin, for all that you do for um myself and the other authors out there and still next time.