Do You Remember When Amazon Was Fun?

Do you remember when searching for books at Amazon was the coolest thing since sliced bread?

I found books I didn’t know existed, books by authors I wanted to buy for my keeper shelves, and also-bought recommendations that introduced me to new favorite authors.

I loved it.

And then things started to change. Also-boughts are gone, replaced with ads and more ads. And don’t get me started on the books they recommend as picked “just for me” in their emails. I thought their algorithm was smarter than that.

The other day I hopped into Amazon to look for a very specific book. I didn’t have a direct link, but I had the title and the author. I searched using the exact title and author. And it took me FIVE minutes to get to the actual order page! It was nuts!

The page was full of ads and books I wasn’t looking for. I was so frustrated when I finally landed where I wanted to. I thought Amazon was all about the “reader experience.” Yeah, not anymore.

So, how I buy books is starting to change, too. The biggest change is that I’m starting to buy direct from the authors. Why?

Well, buying from them has become easier than buying from the big online stores. This is a big change. And the authors offer discounts if I buy more than one book from them. So I go in wanting to buy one book and buy more. And sometimes, I end up getting the audiobooks, too. Haha

And, putting on my author hat here, I know the authors make more money on the sale when I buy direct from them. So it is a win for me and a win for them.

Here are some other reasons to buy direct from the author:

1. You can shop in your pajamas (this is one of my favorite reasons, lol)
2. Searching is a LOT easier in my bookstore. There aren’t a bunch of ads and other stuff. Once you get to a book page, it is super easy to buy the book (and get those fun discounts for buying more!)
3. Instant gratification. Okay, I know you can get that from a big store, too, but you can also get that glow from knowing that I’m getting more per sale and the big stores slow down that “instant gratification” with how hard they make the search!
4. You don’t have to worry about parking. Lol When we lived in the city, parking was a huge deal. Here in our small town, its a little less of a deal, but leaving the house? Always a big deal. Lol
5. My bookstore doesn’t judge and there’s no one there with you to judge you for wanting to take a crazy space adventure, or visit the Big Easy without leaving home.
6. You can shop when you need a book! You can browse without a clerk staring at you, wondering what you’re up to, or why you’re making them wait to close the store.

And, as I mentioned above, you are supporting my small business. You can get that wonderful feeling of knowing that your purchase will help me keep writing the books you want to read—and you can also buy more at a discount I can’t create in the big online bookstores.

I can offer bundles of books or offer discounts for buying more without Amazon punishing me by dropping my price down to the floor. And if you don’t see the bundle you want, you can email me, and I’ll set it up for you.

Why would I do all this? Because I’m a reader, too! I know times are tough, boy, do I know times are tough. Prices are going up everywhere, and everyone is just trying to make ends meet, including me. If I can sell my books at a better profit AND offer you a discount in the process? That makes me happy!

Now, if you don’t want to buy direct, I totally understand! But there is another way you can help me out.

Share my books with other readers! (You might need to send them direct links, however.)

Here are some links that will make it easy for you:

My Bookstore

My Amazon author page

Kobo Bookstore

Barnes & Noble 

GooglePlay

I would like to include a link for you to Apple Books, but they make it really hard to create a general link. If anyone knows and would share, that would be awesome!

And if you have read a book, give it some stars in your favorite bookstore. It all helps.

In the meantime, I don’t have words for how grateful I am to each and every person who buys one of my books. I get so much joy from writing them, but that joy increases when readers love them, too.

So happy reading—no matter how you do it or where you shop!

Perilously yours,
Pauline