One Powerful Way to Help Authors…

First, thank you for reading HOWEVER you’re reading. You might be buying paperback books, buying ebooks, or buying audiobooks. You might be reading in KU. Or reading and/or listening through your library. All of that is a tremendous support to authors!

While there are still many who prefer paperbacks (and we treasure you people) I’ve personally watched the sales of the digital versions of my books grow enormously. Back when my first Christian romance, My Stubborn Heart, released in 2012, just 7% of the units that sold in the first royalty period were digital copies.

Five years later, when True to You released in 2017, 26% of the units sold in the first royalty period were digital copies.

With my parents at a B&N event celebrating True to You’s release

Five years later, when Turn to Me released in 2022, that number had risen to 50%.

With my most recent Sons of Scandal series (which I published independently) audiobooks, ebooks, and Kindle Unlimited accounted for approximately 90% of the unit sales and also 90% of my income as an author in 2024.

We’ve experienced a tremendous shift in how readers consume books. Authors navigating the seas of publishing over the last fifteen years have been on a wild ride! It’s also been wonderful because 1) people are still reading! And 2) it’s more possible than ever before for authors to publish and distribute their work themselves–and for readers to access their books in all the ways and formats they enjoy.

So, in this current publishing landscape, what’s one powerful way–in addition to reading books yourself–that you can help authors?

Request that your library carry your favorite books.

Here’s another statistic from my files… 25% of my income in 2024 came from Memory Lane and Rocky Road’s audiobooks. And the lion’s share of that came from libraries who purchased those audiobooks for their patrons. Why did so many libraries purchase those books? Because readers asked them to.

I’m thankful!

Here’s my encouragement to you . . . . Even if you yourself are a paperback-only reader, if you request Memory Lane, Rocky Road, and Uneasy Street (or other books by Inspired by Life authors or Christian fiction authors) in paperback as well as audiobook and ebook format via your library, and your library goes on to purchase those books, you’ve just made those novels available to a wide range of fellow readers. And you’ve helped authors, too!

I’d love to hear! Has the way that you consume books changed in the past 15 years? If so, how?