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One of the little goals I set for myself last year (and that I’ve been trying to continue this year) is to buy more books. This is very different from reading more books. Reading books is amazing. It inspires and challenges and entertains you endlessly. Right now I have a handwritten list of about seventy books I want to read tacked to my bulletin board. I’ll check them out from my library and borrow them from friends and do anything I can to get a hold of them! The joy of reading a new book is great. But you already know this. So I’ll move on.

Reading books–even re-reading your favorite books–is not the same as buying books, though. And I don’t think I fully understood this until I became an author myself. I have several books that I adore and have read countless times and do not own. And I’m starting to feel ashamed about this.

Do you want to know the number one way to support and encourage an author? It’s not to give them a glowing review on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. It’s not to praise them to your friends. It’s not even to write them a letter or email letting them know how much they’ve impacted you. These are all really great, really positive ways to help out your favorite writers, but the big clincher here is actually quite simple:

The number one way to support an author is to buy their books.

I’ll go a step further and say that it is important to buy these books new. From a wholesale retailer.

Before you go and get the wrong impression of me and think that I’m a money-hungry mongrel who’s heavily biased by her own experience in the world of book selling, I should explain a few things.

The first thing I want to explain is that I love libraries. Did you hear me clearly? I LOVE libraries. I simply adore them. And librarians are some of my favorite people in the whole world. The idea that, in our country, we have nice clean buildings full of books that we can check out, take home, and read without charge is simply amazing. Libraries do so much to further the spread of literacy and author-appreciation, especially among children and teenagers still in school. I check out ten or so books from my library every month and give that card lots of use. And I visit at least a dozen libraries a year and speak to young readers and writers about my experiences in the world of books. So I just want to make it clear that I think public libraries are fantastic and do an incredible service to our youth.

However, I do think that libraries hold a specific purpose. And that is experimentation. I walk into my county library expecting to discover new books and authors. I often have a list of reviews that caught my eye or titles that came recommended by others. I check books out knowing that I may end up loving or hating them, and I feel absolutely no pressure to decide one way or the other. No money is invested and there’s really nothing at risk. You can read whatever you want and you may (and usually do) end up discovering something spectacular.

But once you’ve found a book you love at your library, you have an important decision to make. Do you want to support this author in his or her endeavors to write future books? Think about it. Imagine that this book has been checked out thirty times from your library. Most of those were probably first-time readers, but three or four kids might have checked this book out multiple times. They really connected to the story and wanted to read it again and again. You might be one of those kids and this might be your fourth time checking out this book. You want to know what happens next. Is the author going to write a sequel? Or will she write more books like this?

The truth is, so much of our success as authors depends on your loyalty as readers. We LOVE hearing about how much you’ve enjoyed our books or how you’ve convinced everyone in the library to check it out. Honestly, that thrills us. We wish that everyone could read our books for free again and again. But publishers have to make money. Authors have to make money. And the more books they sell, the more willing publishers are to sign more books, move forward deadlines, and send that author on book signings across the country so they can meet YOU–the loyal readers who made it happen!

The general rule I’ve made for myself is to only buy the books I absolutely LOVE. Like I said, I’ve checked out numerous books from the library in the past year alone. If I bought all of them, I’d go broke! But if I pick selectively, I can save enough money to buy two or three books a month by authors I truly love. These are writers who have influenced, entertained, or inspired in more ways than one. Because I love their books and want them to write more books, I choose to support them with a sale. That way they can go to their publisher, point to their sale history, and say, “See? Readers are interested in these stories. Are you ready to publish the next one?�

I would encourage you all to make it a priority to support your favorite authors. If you stalk them endlessly, rave about them to all your friends, and dream about their characters at night…buy their books. Like I said, I’m preaching this to myself as much as you. Authors are artists in so many ways, and backing up our words of praise with proof of sales is like saying, “I love you!� and then giving them a hug.

So how do you feel about buying books? Are there any authors you always make it to the book store for?

-Rachel

P.S. I should also make a shout-out to used book stores. One of my absolute favorite bookstores is a little secondhand shop called not too far from my house. However, I use this store to buy copies of books written by authors who are no longer living. Think Hemingway, Dickens, Twain, etc. Since these authors won’t be able to produce more works, I don’t have a problem buying cheaper used copies and supporting a local business! For living authors though, I try to buy the books new through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or independently owned bookstores in my area.

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