Comments on: Library Guilt

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 23:00:48 +0000

Library guilt is real. But so are all the benefits of borrowing books from the library! Online promotion is a great (free!) way to support your favorite author, as are all those recommendations to friends and family. Not to mention, the greater circulation an author’s book has, the greater likelihood a librarian will choose to order the next book from that author. When I feel the sting of library guilt, I remind myself how many more books I can read and promote because of my fabulous library. I even proudly displayed a library copy of the last book I reviewed on my website. (It was The Lost Girls by Heather Young, and I highly recommend it!)

By: Evie Gaughan

Evie Gaughan — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 10:00:58 +0000

Great post! I think libraries are the ideal place to experiment and check out books you mightn’t normally go for. I tend to buy novels that are a ‘sure thing’ for me, either I’m familiar with the genre or the author. But libraries are fantastic places for exploration and they’ve really helped me to broaden my tastes, which can only be a good thing. I believe libraries are there for that very reason: not everyone has much of a disposable income, but they don’t want to sacrifice their love of reading. This way, you don’t have to 🙂

By: Densie Webb

Densie Webb — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 11:50:35 +0000

In reply to Cee Arr. What an awesome idea! No, in the U.S. the author gets royalty when the library buys the book, but that's it. The only lending royalty that I'm aware of, comes from the Amazon lending program and that's based on the number of pages read. (They actually monitor that.)Thanks. Just learned something new.

By: Cee Arr

Cee Arr — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 08:44:58 +0000

Not sure how it works in other countries, but here in the UK, authors are given a small annual fee for the lending out of their books from libraries (a small amount per time the title is borrowed,) – yes, there is a fee-cap of something like £6000 or £7000, but honestly, I’d take that if they won’t!

By: Densie Webb

Densie Webb — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 11:09:56 +0000

In reply to julie brown. Julie, so glad you enjoyed (and share) my take on "library guilt." I think it's based on empathy for the writer. As I said, never thought about it, until I became one myself. Thanks for stopping by!

By: julie brown

julie brown — Sat, 04 Jun 2016 21:14:05 +0000

I agree! Long ago, I let go of guilt for using the library and for sharing books with friends. As an author who really does appreciate every person who purchases my book, I’m very happy if they borrow it, too. My hope is that they will write reviews and recommend the book to others.
That said, I have come to the conclusion that many people (not all!) hate spending money on books. They splurge on all kinds of stuff (like overpriced coffee, food, clothes, etc) but balk at spending $12 or $15 on a book that can be enjoyed many times over. And free e-books are making it worse for authors. I’ve heard of readers who download hundreds of free ebooks. They’ll read a few pages and if it doesn’t grab them, they trash it. And why not? It cost nothing. How can a $2.99 kindle book, regardless of how excellent it might be, compete with free? Good article Densie – let’s connect! Best of luck, Julie Brown (author of The Long Dance Home)