Bookshops and libraries are becoming more, local author and Indie,
friendly. Visiting W. H. Smith in Rugby last week, I spotted a well laid-out
shelf labelled, Local Authors. The last time I was in the shop it wasn’t there,
so, exited by this, I made an appointment to see the Manageress the following
day. I took in two copies of each of my novels with me and after reading the
book-blurb on the back covers, she took all of them there and then. The Dudley sisters
are in several small bookshops, but to see them on the shelves of a High Street store like, W.H. Smith, was an ambition realised.
Checking the Junk Folder, which for some reason since I downloaded 10 a week ago half my emails end up in it, I found an email with an attachment from an author friend. Junk mail, indeed! Anyway, I immediately moved the email to the In Box and opened the attachment. To my delight and surprise there was a photograph of my three novels, sitting next to hers, in W.H. Smith, Rugby. Foxden Acres, Applause, and China Blue, are also in my cousin's shop, Oh Lovely, on Church Street, Lutterworth.
Feeling confident, I called into my local library where I had left a copy
of each of my novels some time ago. The manageress said she would love them in
the main library, the mobile library too, and was 99.9% sure head office would
agree. I borrow books from my local library, because I want to add to the
libraries borrowing numbers. Too many libraries in the Midlands, and I'm sure in the rest of the country, are being closed down through lack of funding.
My novels are printed on demand (POD), which even at author price cost as
much as some of the books on sale at W. H. Smith. So, to be competitive, I lose money on them – and I shall donate to the library. But I gain, because my novels
will be read by readers who either don’t have access to Amazon, or prefer to
browse before they buy, or borrow, a book. To me that is a win win
situation.
A lovely surprise
Checking the Junk Folder, which for some reason since I downloaded 10 a week ago half my emails end up in it, I found an email with an attachment from an author friend. Junk mail, indeed! Anyway, I immediately moved the email to the In Box and opened the attachment. To my delight and surprise there was a photograph of my three novels, sitting next to hers, in W.H. Smith, Rugby. Foxden Acres, Applause, and China Blue, are also in my cousin's shop, Oh Lovely, on Church Street, Lutterworth.
Books by Indie authors going into shops on the High Street is a small step in scheme of things, but it's a giant leap for the Independently published.
