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Sarah Bringhurst Familia's avatar

Mostly I think it’s sad for people to judge anything to do with people’s book-buying habits. I believe writers should be able to make a good living AND everyone should be able to afford to read. The capitalist society we live in (within which book publishing exists) doesn’t serve either of those ends particularly well. Authors are only getting a small fraction of every book sale, and blaming people who can’t afford to buy new books for the way capitalism works is just wrong-headed. I’m much more in favor of agitating for better terms for authors than shaming people who buy used books. And while I shop at both used and new bookstores, I’m also a huge proponent of libraries. Books for free AND the authors get royalties.

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Rosalynn Tyo's avatar

Couldn’t agree more!

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Kate Jones's avatar

You make some really good points here, Rosalynn, which I hadn't really considered in any depth before. I don't buy books from Amazon anymore, as I no longer even have an account with them. But I do buy pretty much all books second-hand, both on- and offline, and usually only if either it isn't available at my local library or I have read it from there and really want to keep a copy on my shelf. In an 'ideal' world, I would like to be able to pre-order and purchase brand new copies from local independent bookstores to support my favourite authors, but financially this just isn't viable. Also though, your point about a reader walking in and buying every book by a writer: I can think of several books I have bought at secondhand book sales without knowing the author, and have then gone on to buy everything they ever wrote! Some secondhand, some new. So I think you are right; you are doing a great service for books and writers in general!

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Rosalynn Tyo's avatar

Thank you, Kate! I love indies too, but do not have one in my current neighbourhood. I do seek them out while on vacation (preferably road trips, so i don’t have to worry as much about adding to my luggage weight!). I must admit, I almost never preorder, even though I know I should because it’s the absolute best for the author, and I feel guilty. Instead I wait for the trade paperback, because that’s by far my favourite format.

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Wendy Wright's avatar

I agree too. I would have to be seriously rich to buy all the books I want to read but instead I try to support my favourite authors by buying new, often from independent bookstores. I buy many second hand through my local Oxfam bookshop, often taking back copies that I’ve read but don’t plan to re read. Plus I buy from Persephone Books- an independent publishing house specialising in 20th century women authors.

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Rosalynn Tyo's avatar

I had not heard of Persephone Books, but I checked them out briefly just now and swooned over the books on offer as well as the phrase “each title has an elegant grey jacket and a patterned endpaper, along with a matching bookmark.” I envy you your collection, Wendy!

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Elizabeth Marro's avatar

This is a thoughtful piece and I agree with you. One of the most touching letters from a reader I ever received was from a 17-year-old girl who found my book at a used-book store and grabbed it thinking it would be an easy solution to a paper she had to write for a class. She ended up reading the book and thinking hard about the questions it raised and then contacted me with a long, thoughtful email full of insights and imaginings about what might have happened had the story continued. I loved that.

Also: books and authors thrive on word of mouth and used bookstores help with that just by making them available after their "sell-by" dates at commercial bookstores. Most readers get their books from a variety of sources. As a writer, I try to support writers financially with pre-orders and purchases but without the library or used bookstores, I would not be able to afford my reading habit.

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Rosalynn Tyo's avatar

That’s such a lovely story! Thanks for sharing it. I’m forever discovering new-to-me authors in here, and I find I’m more willing to “take the chance” on them here or in the library, when the investment is low. And inevitably, I discover that the author has a new book out, or a very long backlist that is slowly being released again in paperback, and I end up buying some new as well. I think it’s a pretty common phenomenon- or I hope it is, anyway!

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Nicola Billington's avatar

I also buy new and used books - I'm lucky that there is a fantastic independent bookshop where I live now, that I daren't go in too often! There's a small library, which I use mainly to order books from across the county, and several charity shops in the nearest town. I don't do Amazon any more - it's great that I don't need to - but like you, was excited about back in the day. I recently read a rather large tome that I think I got from a paperbook club many years ago, that's waited until now to be read!

One point I think, is that the author of a book wants their words to be read. Yes, ideally they would received remuneration every time, but for every new reader there's the chance of recommendation, and at the very least their writing has touched another person.

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Rosalynn Tyo's avatar

Sounds like an idyllic mix of book sources :) and I agree wholeheartedly with your point. Especially now, when there’s such an incredible amount of competition for each person’s attention!

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Sonny's avatar

I am a writer, and if I found one of my books that I published in a used bookstore, I would cry from happiness. That means that my book has already been sold (I already got the royalty/sale/etc) and it still had enough magic left in it to be shared with someone else, moved to a used bookstore, a little free library, somewhere else.

I firmly believe that books and the stories contained within are for everyone. So in the end, if I make a royalty/sale, and the book goes into someone's hands, it's no longer in mine. The transaction is over. What happens to the book and any other hands it may meet during its lifetime is fate, destiny, chance.

Maybe the buyer read it and gave it to a friend who never gave it back, and cleaned out shelves and donated to Goodwill. Maybe the original buyer didn't read it and just left it on the shelf till they cleaned out and sold to a used bookstore. Maybe the original buyer gave it away as a gift and the recipient treasured it for years, only to lose it in a box destined to get lost during a pivotal move.

In the end, the author already got the original transaction. Anything that happens after is a bonus. I hope one day every single book I write and publish finds its way into a used bookstore.

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Sonny's avatar

I also want to add that libraries are vital to communities, readers and non-readers alike. I have tried to give my books to libraries and I was told no, they must pay me to acquire a copy of my book. So even in the event of a book finding its way into a city library, the author still gets paid first. I'm 100% in favor of getting your hands on books for as little as possible. I don't want to put a paywall between my stories and the people I'm trying to share them with.

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