Black Friday and holiday sales will soon be upon us. Holiday stress brings out the worst in us. Do you have angst around “who gets what?” or “Who gets left out?”
Do you start shopping early and buy a whole bunch of the same things in case the need for an emergency gift rears its ugly head?
How about buying books from local and indie authors? As long as you’re spending $ 10 or $20, it’s a great way to support small businesses. Most indie artisans, including myself, have some success with direct sales, like organizing a book signing event at the Boulder Bookstore, where maybe 25 or 30 people turn out, mostly my friends. That’s not the most efficient way to go about book sales.
The publishing industry reflects the same economic divide we see everywhere else. The rich and famous receive substantial advances, national interviews, and prime shelf space.
The rest of us? We’re bootstrapping book tours, setting up folding tables in the corner of a bookstore, and hoping someone picks up a copy.
This isn’t just about books. It’s about art, access, and whose voices get heard. The creative economy has its own top 1%.
So if you’re tired of seeing the same celebrity memoirs dominate the conversation, you can do something about it: support local authors. Champion the storytellers in your own backyard.
On July 22, 2022, Michelle Obama tweeted that she had a new book out. By the end of that same day, she had sold 800,000 copies, give or take. Just like that. No fuss. No multi-city book tour in a beat-up Volkswagen. No lugging around boxes of books like you’re a literary UPS driver. One tweet, and boom, she made a cool million.
I have this wild dream that one day, one of my books or documentaries will catch fire like that. Not a Michelle Obama-level barn burner, necessarily. I’d settle for a slow burn that eventually flickers into a campfire. The truth is, for regular people without publicists, prime-time interviews, or a built-in audience of millions, selling books is an uphill slog through five-foot snowdrifts in January.
Sure, every now and then, an ordinary person breaks through. Usually, it’s because they’ve done something extraordinary, like Captain “Sully” Sullenberger, the U.S. Airways pilot who calmly landed an Airbus in the Hudson River.
Sully didn’t start out wanting to be a bestselling author. He just did a remarkable thing. Then a publisher called. Now he’s got three books and a biopic to his name. The moral of the story: Be heroically cool under pressure in the face of disaster, and the publishing deals will come.
Me? The closest I’ve come to a celebrity was running into Emilio Estevez at the Boulder International Film Festival. He was gracious. I was a bit starstruck.
My book, Beyond Heart Mountain, came out on February 27, 2022. That summer, I logged 3,000 miles on the road, speaking to rooms filled with anywhere from 12 to 60 people.
I had just started driving a used Nissan Leaf electric vehicle. At the time, there weren’t many high-speed chargers in the least EV-friendly state in the country. The range anxiety offset any glee I may have felt when I sold a book.
I try to put myself in situations where success is possible. I fantasize that one day I’ll be speaking at a library or community center, and in the back row, Oprah will be sitting with a cup of coffee and a curious expression. She buys my book. She tells Oprah. Oprah calls Reese. Viral.
My eyes are peeled for a person in a runaway wheelchair that I miraculously stop from rolling into traffic. The Today Show calls me.
- Savannah: Tell me, Alan, what’s it like being a hero?
- Me: Ah, it was nothing. Anyone would’ve done the same thing.
- Savannah: Is there anything else you’d like to tell our viewers?
- Me: Well, I just published this book …
Reality checks are everywhere. Speaking of The Today Show, Dylan Dreyer, the second-string weather person, casually mentions her new children’s book, Misty the Cloud. Nine months later, it has 4,000 Amazon reviews.
So here’s what I’ve learned: next time I do this, I’m going to become famous first, even if it’s grabbing an out-of-control wheelchair or landing a commercial jetliner on a river. Then I’ll write a book.
If you’re in a book club, choose a title by a hometown writer. If you’re browsing online or walking through a mega-chain bookstore, skip the celebrity display and buy from the guy at the card table. The author who drove 200 miles to speak to a dozen people? That’s the one who needs your support.
In an effort to help writers compete, check out Best Chance Media. It’s a unique publishing imprint. Best Chance is traditional in a nontraditional way, giving everyday writers a shot at being seen. It’s not a vanity or hybrid press.
So if you’re a writer who’s been rejected 60 times, don’t give up. If you’re a reader who believes that good stories should come from everywhere, not just the famous few, check out Best Chance Media and buy from indie authors (So far, it’s only me). Help level the field. Help change the game together, one book, one reader, one chance at a time.
If you have questions or comments, message the ALAN-BOT. We learn more and more every day!
