One of the things that has united this community from the very beginning is our passion for creating space for underrepresented voices in the publishing industry. Which has obviously been primarily focused on publishing and championing authors in the margins. But there are many other aspects of this work that we talk about less often, but matter just as much.

One being the fight for independent bookstores.

So let's talk. Because tomorrow is Independent Bookstore Day and I think it is important that we treat this as more than a PR opportunity for small businesses.

Indie booksellers play a pivotal role in the book economy. For many, they are just one of many options for buying their favorite books, but they are so much more important than many people realize.

One of the unique roles that indie booksellers fill is introducing new authors to their readers.

Publishing is incredibly difficult to break into. We all know that. It's not a secret. But I don't think we stop to really think about the tools that help authors achieve success early in their careers. Indie booksellers are a huge part of it for many.

As a publisher, I look at every single book as a unique project that requires its own marketing approach. But one thing we do for every single book is work to get indie booksellers invested. We reach out to booksellers and offer them Netgalley links, send them promotional materials, ship them physical ARCs and directly ask them to stock and feature the books.

Why?

Because despite most of us never thinking about what booksellers do to keep this industry alive, most of us have walked into a bookstore at some point in our lives and been introduced to an author we had never heard of previously. Either because of a carefully curated display, a well placed booksellers note, or because a bookseller personally walked up to us, asked what we were looking for, and recommended a book.

One of the most important fights in every author's career is the fight to find their readers. If they win that fight, they potentially position themselves for a long career. If they lose it, that becomes quite a bit more difficult.

Indie booksellers are an incredible asset in that fight.

It is their work that bridges the gap between readers and authors and helps to re-humanize an artform that has been wheezing at the feet of capitalism for decades.

And if we are honest with ourselves, we have to acknowledge that indie bookstores are in danger. All across the country, they are being priced out by companies like Amazon, who can afford to sell books at a loss because they know that once you come to them for your book purchases, you'll stay to order other products. And while that is happening, they are also being pushed out of neighborhoods left and right by massive companies like Barnes and Noble, who have the money to stock much larger numbers of books, and can streamline the process of buying books for Westerners who worship convenience.

Year by year, we lose more and more bookstores. Which not only means less access to books, but less direct access to authors who have not already proven themselves to massive corporations that only care about their bottom dollar.

As we lose indie bookstores, we lose booksellers who are passionate about discovering new voices and guiding them to readers who will go on to champion them.

What I am trying to say is... if we do not find a way to save indie bookstores, our fight for marginalized authors becomes considerably harder.

And this is a fact that we take very seriously here at Bindery. In fact, we feel so passionate about this that working with indie booksellers is a core part of our mission. And as a result, a huge percentage of the books we sell are actually sold at indie bookstores. Local booksellers are some of the biggest champions for our books and, together, we are making a difference.

Which is why it is important to me that this community--Left Unread--take the fight for indie bookstores very seriously.

As I said earlier in this blog, tomorrow is indie bookstore day. And I would like to ask you to help us make a big splash.

I partnered with Paperbacks & Frybread, an Indigenous-woman owned bookstore based in NC, to bring this community huge discounts on all of your book needs over a month ago. The goal was to help boost a local bookstore by sending them a flood of customers from our community who are passionate about supporting local business and championing marginalized authors. And since then, many of you have taken advantage of that discount and it has had an impact. And I would very much love it if we could show up in force tomorrow and give Paperbacks & Frybread the best sales day of the history of their store.

So here's the plan:

If you are reading this blog, I would like for you to go their website tomorrow and to order at least one book. Or better yet, use one of our discount codes and buy several books! If you are a $5 or $12 subscriber, you can find your discount code for 10% off HERE. And if you are a $25 subscriber, you can grab your 15% discount code HERE.

Please use your code without guilt! I assure you, the owner gave us access to these discounts because she wants you to use them. Dominique and I sat down and brainstormed how to best fight for change together, and this is a tool we EXCITEDLY developed for you. We weren't just aiming to save you a couple bucks on your next book purchase. We were thinking about long-term effects. Our goal was to both (a) thank you for the investment you make to our work here at Left Unread and to (b) flood Paperbacks & Frybread with new business from this massive community of readers. We thought this out well. And to be honest, it helps us to know how effective this tool is if we can track how many of you start shopping there. So use the code. I beg. lol

And if you need some suggestions for what to grab, here are a few:

BUY OUR BOOKS!

Cry, Voidbringer is an anarchist fantasy following a conscripted warrior who was taken from her home as a child and raised by a neighboring nation to fight in their war against a fading colonial power that fractured their country decades ago. When she comes across a small child who has been blessed by the gods with supernatural power, she decides to defy her orders and to save that little girl from being turned into a weapon in the same war that stole her childhood. This is The Mandalorian meets Broken Earth meets Poppy War.

Devil of the Deep is a Haitian fantasy following a mermaid who has to flee her home in order to escape a cult. Through a stroke of luck, she runs into a notorious pirate and an ambitious navy caption, who help her to protect an ancient artifact her enemies plan to use to raise an island from the sea and reshape the world in the image of their forgotten god. Think Pirates of the Caribbean meets Priory of the Orange Tree.

Buzzard is a near-future dystopian following Mae, one of the last reproductive health workers in a fractured version of the United States with the needed training and willingness to perform safe abortions. When she is caught and imprisoned for doing so, she uncovers a string of horrific human rights violations and has to decide between keeping her head down and maybe one day being reunited with her sons, and fighting to make a difference for the young women suffering beside her. Handmaids Tale meets Parable of the Sower.

OK, you know what to do. Indie Bookstore Day starts now. GET TO SHOPPING.

https://paperbacksandfrybread.com/