Thoughts & Things

Supporting the Underdog Books

Everyone loves to cheer for the underdog. I think it makes us feel like we can make it in our own endeavors too. The success of a regular person feels like our own success. The best way to cheer for an underdog is to actively support the underdog. With a "do unto others" mentality, we can support each other, support other writers, by carefully choosing what books we buy, what we talk about, what we share, and so on.

One of the best ways to support the underdog books is by starting with local talent. I previously wrote a post about this, "Supporting Local Talent" . Many independent book stores will sell books from local writers, and I have personally found that this is particularly true of comic book stores. Some local libraries will also offer displays of local writers' books, or feature the books with a sticker indicating that they are local. Some libraries and book stores, independent and chains, will also feature local writers for a Q&A and/or book signing. Conventions will also often feature local writers who offer up copies of their books, as well as signings.

We can also support underdog books on a global scale. Small, independent publishers typically have websites where you can purchase the books directly from the publisher. Many websites will feature lists of small presses or of books published by small presses to give you an idea of where to start, such as lists found here  , here  , and here  . There is also a whole new market for self-published books, which can be purchased with ease through websites like Amazon.

On an even more specific level, we can support the underdogs by going through websites like Kickstarter and Patreon. Patreon is best used to support writers who release ongoing work, such as through a blog, website, webcomic, etc. Kickstarter is a wonderful place for you to back works that have yet to even be released. You can find unique projects for specific fiction, nonfiction, comics, magazines, poetry, and more (such as non-book items, but that's not what I am speaking of at the moment). You can find projects with unique ideas, projects from people of diverse backgrounds, and even projects that are for charitable causes (such as the kickstarter right now for a comics collection to benefit Planned Parenthood).

We can also pay close attention to sites like Writing.Com, other writing sites, or writing facebook pages. This allows us to take note when other writers we may have connected with happen to be getting published. This allows us to support those within our own community. We can all help each other succeed simply by paying attention.

We can also all contribute in ways that are not financial. We may not always have the means to buy a new book, but we can always share links, let our other friends know what's up, borrow the book from the library or request that the library purchase the book, and so on. When we do have the chance to purchase or borrow a book, we can rate and review that book to let others know about it.

There are so many ways that we can contribute to helping out the underdog books. Whether this is financial or word of mouth, we can all lend a hand to our fellow writers and bolster our own community. Even for folks who are not writers, this is a way to help out the underdog in general. We've all been the underdog at one point or another. Let's do what we can to help each other out.