Wherever books are sold
So, I have a new novel out today: Against All Silence, a sequel to my 2014 cyberthriller about teenage hacktivists, The Silence of Six. This book is more of the same—yet also very different, because that's what I like most in sequels. I often say Quantum Coin (the sequel to Fair Coin) is like Back to the Future II; well, I've been thinking of Against All Silence as my literary equivalent of... Super Mario Bros. 2.
Typically on publication day, a question I hear from friends, fans, and family is "Where should I buy your book?" The assumption is it might be better to buy it from a brick-and-mortar store instead of online, or a physical copy vs. eBook, because I may get more money for it or it'll count differently toward sales. My response is always, Thank you for asking! I really appreciate the support, and I'm happy you want to buy it. You should get it wherever you like!
But this time, I have a different answer. Where should you buy Against All Silence?
In fact, that's the only place you'll be able to find it, whether it be a B&N store or online. My publisher, Adaptive Books, has struck a deal with Barnes & Noble that gives them exclusive rights to sell new books for six months. (You can read more about that in this New York Times article.) So if you'd like to read my book now, Barnes & Noble is where it's at—until sometime in February 2017.
I'm interested to see how this experiment plays out, since I know many people default to Amazon.com and Kindle. I'm also thrilled to know for certain that my book is in B&N stores—every B&N store in this great nation—and prominently displayed. I believe you can find them on tables and endcaps marked "Adaptive: A Script-to-Novel-to-Screen Project" or perhaps under "Real Life Stories," because I guess these near-future techno nightmares I've been writing are actually more contemporary than I thought.
If you can't find the book where you prefer right now, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it will be out in other venues and formats soon! Ish. But let's go back to that question, which is really, "How can readers best support the authors they like?"
Although yes, authors generally earn different percentages of sales from physical and electronic copies, and less if they're discounted, personally I think the question of bigger bang for your buck is more where than when. If you plan to buy someone's new novel because you want to read it and also would like them to keep selling and writing books in the future, it's most beneficial to buy their books in the first week of release. There's always a chance that if enough people do that, it might find its way onto the New York Times Bestsellers list, which I hear is pretty great. Publishers and stores also pay attention to how many copies are being sold and adjust their purchasing and marketing accordingly. If you're like me, you probably have a huge to-be-read pile, but I still try to pre-order and buy books on launch day when I can, even if I won't read them for a while. It really can make a difference!
The next best way to support an author is to write a review. It doesn't have to be lengthy, it doesn't even have to be a good review (but obviously if you liked a book, it helps more to tell people that). And it doesn't take long to leave a star-rating and a few lines and drop it at Goodreads, BN.com, Amazon, etc. The more places the better!
All that said, I still am just thrilled that people are reading my books, whether they bought them or borrowed them. (Requesting it from your local library is also very helpful! Libraries are awesome.) So if you do pick up Against All Silence, today or ever, thank you so much. I hope you enjoy it.
Where do you usually buy or borrow new books?