(Feel free to scoop the above image for posting elsewhere.
You can also access the animated gif version on my GIPHY page.)
I’ve had book creators ask me how to find book links for indie bookstores, so here is a short tutorial.
For U.S. indies, it’s relatively easy. Just go to Bookshop.org and enter the book title in the main search field….but please read the rest of the rest of this paragraph first! Because if you become an affiliate, you can earn 10% of every purchase made from a Bookshop sale AND a matching 10% will go to support independent bookstores.
In Canada, there doesn’t seem to be an easy way of just entering a book title on a page (if I am wrong about this, please let me know and I’ll update this post). To find a link for a book, you need to know the ISBN and then go to https://shoplocal.bookmanager.com/isbn/xxxxxxx, but replace the “xxx” bit at the end with the ISBN. If you’re not sure where to find the ISBN, just go to your publisher’s book page (or look up your book on Amazon). Here’s an example for I’M SORRY on the Simon & Schuster page (you can also often find the ISBN in your browser URL):
For example, here’s the link for I’M SORRY that will give users a list of all the local indie bookstores that carry that particular book: https://shoplocal.bookmanager.com/isbn/9781534415881 Not posting a screenshot of the map because, um, it gives a bit too much info about my home address. 🙂
Another way to find indie bookstore links is through Indiebound.org. Just enter the book title in the search field, and users will get a book info page as well as a list of local indie bookstores (for me, these were all in Canada) and then an option to click through to Bookshop.org. Note, however, that the list of bookstores along the right doesn’t necessarily mean that the bookstore carries your book. I clicked on the first bookstore listed in the example below and got a “sorry, no records found” message.
Ok, then. Now that you have these indie bookstore links, what do you with them? I include mine on my book pages. Here’s what users see, for example, when they click on the “BUY NOW” button on my book page.The pop-up is part of my website design via Being Wicked, so I can’t explain how to do that, but you can just include individual buy links.
I figure this way users have a choice of ways to buy the book. Some may not HAVE the option of an indie bookstore nearby, so might rely on Amazon.
Do you have other tips for those wanting to support indie bookstores on their website? Feel free to let me know! Also, my post focuses mainly on indies in the U.S. and Canada, but please let me know of any indie book link resources in other countries and I’ll update this post. Thanks!