What Writers and Publishers could learn from Public Librarians

You know one of the least-happy jobs a librarian has is the act of weeding the collection. People like new. We've only got a certain amount of space on our shelves. So, right now if a book on my shelf hasn't been read in 3 years (unless it's a classic) it goes down into our booksale. Today I found a great book I'd never heard of about a Native American and her fascination with the Florida panther. Much of it seemed like a root from which the Jane Yellowrock books could have grown. Nobody had read it since 2010. I'm still trying to decide...should I put it back out? Try to promote it? Or save my time and effort for the new books I get on a regular basis.

Secrets to gaining Readers at the Library:

1. Give an interesting title. If you plan an series (and you should), find a way to connect the books by title.

2. Beg, plead, work at getting decent artwork for your books. Make sure the characters on the cover match what is inside...and don't get too artsy with it. You may think a plain black cover with shiny leaves swirling across it (also in black) and a completely non-descriptive title is cool. Mainly it gets ignored. You are not Metallica--and even Metallica didn't do their first album that way.

3. Make sure your publisher sends out reading copies and pushes Booklist and Library Journal to review your work. 90% of the stuff I buy comes from a couple of resources...because I don't have the time to search 50 magazines for a good book review.

4. Write well and OFTEN. If you wait beyond 2 years for a new book in a series...people will find somebody else to read. So many of the books I had to weed were parts of series with only one or two books. Each time you write a new book in a series it attracts new readers who then go back and read the others in your series. It's a bit like dropping a stone in water--the ripples go on and on. Nora Roberts and James Patterson are NOT the best writers I've ever read--just the most prolific. They are the McDonald's of adult fiction. When a patron needs a new book...why THERE is a new Patterson! And a few weeks later...and a month later...Now I know most people aren't that prolific (and don't have a stable of authors to co-author with them) and I'm kind of glad--because taking time leads to better books IMHO...but don't play with your love child for 4 or 5 years after that first hit...most people won't care and you'll be back hoping for a readership.

5. Too thin is not good...neither is too thick. Sherrilyn Kenyon gets away with 900 pg monsters because she has been writing for a long time and has a huge audience of Menyons. Some mainstream authors write little Christmas gift books...yeah, people buy them, but not as many as you might think and I've got 5 copies of each of them in the library's used book sale--because nobody keeps them. And that includes J.K. Rowling. It's making me cringe to realize publishers are calling any fantasy book with kids in it "the next Harry Potter."

6. Friends help. Get folks to review your books on the myriad blogs, booksellers websites, and other online resources. Buy copies of the first book in a series and gift it to your local library...and be sure to talk to the manager about why the book is worth having. You may not get the book in that library--but I bet a new paperback definitely will find a place if they don't already own it. No public libraries are so well off to reject a new paperback of a reviewed author (and yes, REVIEWED is important...we have to justify our purchases and our collection. If you bring your personal "great American novel" and haven't gotten a decent review we can source...we won't put it into the collection...count on it).

7. If you have a fondness for genre fiction...please write that. People read mysteries, thrillers, romances, fantasy, urban fantasy, historical, science fiction, and occasionally westerns. They read them in bunches and tons. For every person checking out one non-genre fiction book, I've got someone else checking out 5 historical romance novels, 10 thrillers and 40 mysteries. I LOVE the mixing of genres...adding mystery and romance to an urban fantasy (thank you Faith Hunter) or alternative history with fantasy (thank you Naomi Novik) makes my job easier (and harder) as I attempt to draw people across genre lines to give them new books and authors to enjoy. :)

8. If you have any influence with your local libraries...ask them to put your favorite author on the Baker & Taylor "automatically yours" list. Any author on that list in the system will have every new book they write bought for the system--often multiple copies.

Good luck!

Al-PhA-BET

You know, anyone who has gone to school has learned the alphabet...that's a given. If you don't know the "Alphabet Song" by the time you're 4, there is something wrong with you. And yet, I have people coming into the library who CAN'T find a book on the shelf...in alphabetical order by last name. How HARD IS IT???? 

I've seen people walk down a row, staring at the top shelf and completely ignoring the shelves beneath. I've seen people (young and perfectly able to bend at the waist and look) who NEVER find books on the bottom shelf. How many people don't know how a BOOKSHELF works?????

Dang. Are you stupid or lazy or BOTH!

Please parents...consider your children's lives once you quit doing everything for them. Let them look first...and if they need help, teach them to come to me to ask. THAT will do more to help them in school than anything you can do by frantically looking at the piece of paper they handed you with their assignment on it and expecting me to find everything they need while they are off at soccer practice.

You are NOT doing them a favor!

I can look at the children coming into my library and have a good idea who will do well in school. They are the ones whose parents patiently help them look for books, but give them space to look first. The ones who hop up on the stool and search for what they want...and at age 9 can put them on hold too. The ones who say "please" and "thank you" when I help them. Resourcefulness and politeness...two major elements to future success. :)

Here's hoping kids don't lose the ability to search alphabetically because online they can just put in a word and have everything handed to them on Wiki...(they think).

HRUMPH!