The 2009 Indies Choice Book Awards, and What Indie Buzz Can Do for You

In case you missed the announcement, the voting for the 2009 Indies Choice Book Awards has begun. Put on by the American Booksellers Association, this is an opportunity for all of the independent bookstores to vote on what they think are the best books of the year, as well as induct their top 3 picture books into the Hall of Fame.

As authors, this is a perfect opportunity to remember the important role independent book stores can play in the success of a book. Get to know the people running the independent stores. They would not own a bookstore if they did not love books, and the authors who write them. These booksellers want to know you, as evidenced by the category for "Most Engaging Author." The feedback they give is instant, and if there is enough support for you or your message, you might be amazed at how quickly word can spread about your book.

Consider Sara Gruen and her book Water for Elephants. Sara made herself and her advance copies available to the independents right from the beginning, during trade shows and mailings. The response was so positive her advance copies had to be printed three different times to keep up with demand from stores and big-media reviewers. This led to a huge increase in print run for the final book, and close to two million copies of the book have been sold to date. Her success was due largely to the immensely positive response from the independent bookselling community.

Having your book carried in the larger stores is very important for any author, but it is nice to see the effect the independent stores and old-fashioned word-of-mouth can have on the book industry. While you might not be able to vote in the ABA poll, it is fun to imagine who you might vote for if given the chance . . . or even what your book's title might look like on next year's ballot.