Talk About the Books You Love

 On his Twitter account, author Joe Lansdale shared some ways you can help your favorite author promote their books. I thought I would note them here and mention ways you can have patrons help give their favorite authors the spotlight. 

1 - Preorder their books. 

2- Put titles on your Goodreads "Want to Read" shelf. 

3 - Good reviews on more platforms.

4 - Social media posts about the books you love. Tag the publisher and the author. 

5 - Let your local library know that you are interested in their book

For library purposes, 1 and 5 function the same. Set up a display and social media posts promoting your Patron Suggestion form. Let your patrons know that they can recommend titles for your collection. Your patrons may make you aware of books you have not heard about, in genres you are less familiar with, and emerging trends.

Regarding number 2, if you have book clubs at your library, you can set up a group on Goodreads for it. Those staff who lead book clubs can spend a little time at one of their meetings showing Goodreads, StoryGraph, and any other book tracking sites you like, demonstrating how to add books and indicate what forthcoming titles they are interested in. 

There are some passive programming ideas in 3 and 4. Set up a way either on paper, via email, or an online form by which patrons can submit book reviews to you. Establish a system for posting those reviews on your social media and in your building. This will help develop a community of readers at your library and will allow your patrons to help each other find great reads. You can tag the author and the publisher in these positive reviews. 

There are two things to note about patron book reviews. The first is that you should never post or put out negative reviews on your social media or in your building. Negative reviews are helpful in finding books you might love because the reason someone hates a book could be why you would love it. If someone seeks out reader or professional reviews, it can be assumed that some will be negative. This program should be about building positivity. If someone comes into your building or looks at your library's social media and sees their favorite book being trashed, that could color how they feel about the library. 

The second is that you need to decide if you are going to redact the patron's entire name, use initials, or just first names. Make certain that participants are aware that you will be posing them for other readers to see. With younger readers, you may need to get parent or guardian approval. 

Follow Joe's suggestions and help your readers generate hype for the books they love and the authors whose work has inspired them. 

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