When you want to read a book but can't find it

I get quite a few notes that say something along the lines of:

I love your books SO much and I really want to read _______________ (insert book title there), but I can't find it at my library or bookstore. I would be so happy if you could send one to me please. Please, it would really mean a lot to me.

Okay, first of all, THANK YOU for reading and enjoying my books. I am really glad they've brought you joy. I truly am.

me being happy and saying thank you

But.

You knew there was going to be a but, right?

This is a little bit like if you live in Idaho and you see a dog you LOVE and you ask where the owner got it and she says she got it from a breeder in Maine. And so you go home and email the breeder and ask if she can send a puppy to you in Idaho, please, because you love their dogs SO much and there's no way you can find one in Idaho, but you really, really want one!

I suppose I can see why maybe people might think I can send books to people, since there are a couple of myths floating around out there that go something like this:

a) all authors are rich, and
b) authors get loads and loads of their books for free, because, after all, they wrote them

So let me debunk these myths right here and right now.

First - all authors are not rich, unfortunately. A few of the very well-known ones who've sold millions of books and have movies out and all of that are indeed rich. But most authors have a day job because they don't make enough money writing and selling books to live on. Also, many authors struggle to pay their bills every month because the way we get paid is SUPER crazy.

Traditionally published authors get checks for royalties (a percentage of book sales) twice a year. Think about that for a minute. The majority of people in America get paid every two weeks for their work, or once a month at the least. But not authors. Authors only get paychecks twice a YEAR. But what's even crazier than that is we have absolutely no idea how much those paychecks will be. They might be $10.00, they might be $10,000. We do not know, because the publisher is in charge of keeping track of sales.

What determines how much those checks will be? How many books we sell, through library and school sales, through bookstore sales, through e-book sales, and through on-line retailer sales.

You can imagine how exciting (but also terrifying) it is to get that paycheck every six months. But if I give a bunch of books away? Guess what!? I am missing out on sales that could be in that paycheck that helps feed my family and keeps a roof over our heads.

Second - authors get loads and load of our own books for free.

Nope. We don't. Each contract states how many we get. Standard number, I'm pretty sure, is twenty-five copies. Once I've given those copies away, I have to buy the books like everyone else.

Okay, then, so what do you do if you want a book and you can't find it in the store or at the library?

ASK. Please don't ask the author, ask the book store or library to order a copy for you. They are in the book business. Authors are not in the book business - authors are in the WRITING business.

This is me, writing. Or agonizing. Probably both.

If you don't have a book store or library near you, there are lots of online retailers, besides the big one everyone knows about, who can mail you a book right to your house!

Powell's books ships throughout the United States.
The Book Depository ships world wide.

The other reason it's so important for you to ASK if you can't find a book, rather than give up or email the author for a free copy, is because the publisher needs to make money on the book too. If the publisher loses money, guess what, that author may have trouble publishing books in the future. I am not joking when I say that for some authors (like me, ahem ahem) EVERY sale counts.

Let me be clear:
I love writing.
I love books.
I love it when people, especially kids and teens, love books and want to read more of my books.
I wish I could give every one of my readers free books.
But I also wish I could give homeless people homes and all of the hungry pets food and every child in the world an education.
I am one person who does what she can every day to make the world a better place, but like every other person, I can't do everything I'd like, you know?

My job is to show up on writing days and write the best book Lisa Schroeder can write. I can wish and hope and love things to the moon and back, but the writing is my job and I will continue to do my best as long as my books sell and make some money for me and my publisher.

But the second part of that equation isn't really up to me, is it? :)

The power of the pre-order

Dear readers, I am going to tell you something you may not know.

Apparently, Ewoks speak Tibetan

What a surprise, right? (Ewoks might be my favorite thing about Star Wars, just FYI).

All right, so maybe I'm going to tell you two things you may not know. Are you ready for the second thing?

Pre-ordering a book is one of the very best things you can do for an author whose work you enjoy.

What does pre-ordering mean, exactly? It means ordering the book before its official release date. I'm pretty sure the most common way people pre-order a book is to buy it through an on-line retailer, but did you know you can also pre-order a book from your favorite independent bookstore? What's great about this is that it lets a local brick-and-mortar store know there is interest in this particular book. If they weren't going to carry it before, or were undecided, a pre-order (or two or three) may help them see the error of their ways.

Some independent bookstores have an on-line ordering system, and as soon as the book is up on their site, you can pre-order it. But you can also call the bookstore and pre-order it that way. I'm pretty certain that whatever works for you will work for them! They want to sell you the books you are excited about, trust me.

So why is the pre-order important? Because it makes the publisher happy to see pre-orders. And if the publisher is happy, good things might happen for the author. For example:

Pre-orders are crucial in helping a bookstore decide whether or not to carry a book. Yes, even the chain stores, because believe it or not, some books are NEVER picked up by the chains. Trust me, this is one of the worst things that can happen to an author. With solid pre-order numbers, the sales rep has a much easier time convincing stores to carry the book.

If another book the author has written is being considered by that publisher, pre-orders might help the publisher say yes to the next project.

If this book has a strong start, the author might get more publisher support/marketing dollars for the next book.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the NYT bestseller list. If a book is getting a lot of buzz and great reviews and there's a chance it could hit the list, pre-orders are vital in this situation, because pre-orders all count toward the first week's sales.

In short, pre-ordering a book is pretty much better than ordering a dozen cupcakes from Sprinkles Bakery and having them delivered to the author's home.

Better than cupcakes, people!! You know I don't say that lightly.

Okay, okay, so you really don't want to pre-order, for whatever reason. Maybe you don't have a credit card and are saving up your hard-earned babysitting money so you can buy the book when it comes out. (Anyone who buys books with their babysitting money is TOTALLY AWESOME, by the way). The next best thing you can do is buy the book in the first week or two that it's out. And then read it, and if you like it, tell all your friends about the book, too. I say this all the time - the best thing you can do for a book you love is to tell people about it. Tweet about it, talk about it, instagram it, whatever.

It's true that any time you buy a book, you are supporting the author, bookstores, the publishing industry, etc. and that is a *VERY* good thing.

But pre-orders? Better than cupcakes.

So there you go. A little Ewok trivia AND some things you may not have known about why pre-orders matter so much.

On buying books

Sometimes people make fun of me because when one of my favorite bands or singers has a new CD that comes out, I go to the store and I buy the CD.

Yes. I do.

Here is why. Buying the CD is the very best way I can support those bands and singers I love. I want them to keep making music. And although music is going more and more digital every day, CD sales still matter. And so, I want to do as much for them as I can. Buying the CD says - what you do matters to me. I value you as an artist.

The same can be said for books.

Yes, it's true, we may not get the same mileage out of books that we do out of a CD, since we usually are happy to listen to music over and over again and don't reread books like that. Although I will say, I have a lot of girls who have e-mailed me to tell me they've read my books many times. I think one girl told me she'd read It's Raining Cupcakes seventeen times. Wow!! Sometimes a good book feels like an old friend. I know people who pull out Harry Potter, for example, as a "comfort read."

Anyway, regardless of whether I'll read a book once or five times, I try to do my share of buying books. In fact, I have a book budget - every month, there is a certain amount of money set aside for me to spend on books. I don't always buy for myself - books make GREAT gifts. If I max out my budget, then I hold off and buy the books I really want the next month. And I may have to get a couple at the library.

But the important thing is that I'm buying books!

I've heard from so many people who are sad to see Borders go. If we want bookstores to stay in business, we HAVE to support them. That is, we have to go to the stores, and buy books. It's really that simple.

The same can be said for authors. If you want your favorite author to stay in business, to be able to keep writing books, you HAVE to support them. You have to buy their books.

So let's say you are one of those who says - I just don't have the money. And you may not. And if that's the case, then the library is your best friend. But some day, you will have money. And I hope when you do, you'll do as I do and allocate a certain amount of money every month to be spent on books.

Sometimes people complain about the cost of books. And I have to bite my tongue so I don't ask them the following questions:

How often do you spend $5.00 on a coffee drink?
How often do you spend $6.00 on a frozen yogurt?
How often do you spend $10.00 - $15.00 on a pizza?
How often do you spend $40.00 on a pair of shoes because they're "cute", when you don't really need them?

Three less coffee drinks a month, and you could buy a book.
One less pizza a month, and you could buy a book.
One less pair of cute shoes a month, and you could buy two or three or even four books (if they're paperback).

I hardly ever buy new clothes. I mean, I go shopping maybe twice a year, if that, and often, I shop at thrift stores.

That's what I give up in order to buy books. I wear the same things over and over until I can't stand it anymore, and then I try to find clothes that are cheap when I do shop.

So when you meet me, please, be kind in regard to my wardrobe, okay? I can't wear books, or I would be golden! Maybe I should just get a bunch of t-shirts that say "Buy Books" and wear those every where I go. Or something like this one would be good too.

I know I'm probably singing to the choir here, but every once in a while, I feel the need to do a post about buying books. Thanks for indulging me!!

And thank you to everyone who has bought my books - I appreciate it!

Answering the question: where's the best place to buy your book?

Sometimes people ask me this question, so today, I'm answering it!

Now there is a part of me, a big part of me, that simply wants to say - you want to buy my book? You do? For REAL!? SERIOUSLY!?!? OH MY GOSH, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, that is so awesome, just buy it anywhere, it doesn't really matter.

But, if I'm being honest, it does matter a tiny bit. What they mean, I think, is - I want to support you in the best way possible. How do I do that?

So today, I'm going to tell you. And while I'm at it, I'll try to shed light on some things the average Joe Reader may not know about authors and publishing and book sales.

My first preference would be for you to walk or drive down to your local independent book store and buy my book there. A few examples of well-known independent book stores: Powell's in Portland, OR, Books of Wonder in New York City, Vroman's in Pasadena, or Books, Inc in San Francisco. Independent book stores are lovely things. Authors do not want them to go away. But we must support them, that is BUY BOOKS FROM THEM, if they're going to be able to stay in business.

Now, you might say, "But Lisa, I walked down to my local indie store, and they didn't have your book. How can I buy it if it's not there?"

I know this can be frustrating. I do!! But if you think about how many books there are and the amount of shelf space these days, it's not surprising that you may not be able to find every single book you want on the shelves. But here is the great thing - independent book stores WANT to serve you! They want to help you, so you'll come back again and again. So please - ASK someone to order the book for you!

This not only helps the book store, but it really, REALLY helps the author too. Because usually, if they're ordering one book, they'll think, well, maybe I should order a couple of more to put on the shelves. Do you get this? No? Okay, let me explain it to you.

Because of YOU, my books are now in a book store where they didn't use to be. THIS IS VERY GOOD! Because hopefully someone will be strolling along, looking for a good book, pick mine up, read the flap copy and buy it! If the book isn't on the shelf, it's impossible for that to happen.

Some of you are rolling your eyes about now, thinking, yeah, well, I'm not as lucky as those people in Portland or NYC or Pasadena - there is no independent bookstore near me. At all. So go suck on a pickle, Lisa, because you're rubbing it in my face I don't have a great book store like that.

Oh... sorry!! Come visit me and I'll take you to Powell's! :)

If you have a chain store near you (Barnes and Noble or Chapters or Books-A-Million), PLEASE go there and pick up the book. I love the chain stores too - they have been very good to me and my books! Sometimes it's more convenient for me to go to a chain store, and so I do buy from them as well. Spreading the love around is a great thing to do if you are lucky, like I am, and have lots of book stores near you. And again, if they don't have the book in stock you're looking for, please ask someone to order it for you, for all of the reasons above.

Another thing you may not know - sales in book stores are tracked very closely by an author's publisher. They want to know how many copies were sold the first week it was out. The first month it was out. The first three months. And six. And twelve. You get the picture.

These numbers come into play the next time we've written a book and want to try and sell it to our publisher. Sometimes, these numbers MAKE OR BREAK an author's career.

They also come into play when the New York Times is determining which books "hit the list." Now, it's a bit of a mystery how any of that works and what's necessary sales-wise any given week for a book to make the list. But I can tell you that sales from book stores the first week a book is out in the world are VERY IMPORTANT for this reason. If you love an author with all of your heart, the very best thing you can do is go out and buy the new book from a book store the week it is released. That right there is awesomesauce for an author. And if I could, I'd send every one of you cupcakes for doing that when one of my books is released.

I know some of you are thinking, but the landscape is changing. More and more people are downloading what they read. Believe me, I get it! And publishers should probably start paying more attention and putting more weight in digital sales. But for now, print sales from brick and mortar stores still matter the most as far as I can tell.

You've probably figured out by now - Amazon would be my last choice. But sometimes, I know the discount Amazon offers up is the reason people are buying books at all. If the choice is - buy my books from Amazon or don't buy them at all, guess what? I want you to buy books and support authors as much as possible! (Note: Another thing you can do is request that your library order a copy. Most libraries have a process in place to request titles to be ordered. Just ask one of the librarians next time you're in how to do that).

I do know more and more people have e-readers and they're just not going to buy regular books anymore. If that's you, then great - download the book and enjoy!! I thank you for that purchase as well, because I know you have thousands of e-books at your finger tips to choose from.

Sorry, this post got long, but hopefully it sheds light on why authors prefer you buy from book stores and why we love you a whole whole lot when you make that purchase the first week a book is out. For most of us, the NYT is a pie-in-the-sky dream, but your support the first week does make a difference for authors with a big push from their publishers and good distribution.

For other ways you can support authors, please check out this post I wrote a couple of years ago called Supporting Authors When Your Heart is Bigger Than Your Wallet.

Happy reading!