How to Buy a Picture Book (without Buying a Picture Book)

By Josh Funk

My first book came out last September: Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast. I have two new books out this September: Pirasaurs! and Dear Dragon. You’re probably tired of hearing about it by now, so lucky for you, I don’t plan on talking about them in this post.

Today it’s how to support picture book authors and illustrators.

One of the best things you can do is buy their books.

But what if you’re not in the market for picture books at this time in your life, so the idea of buying one doesn’t really interest you? Maybe it doesn’t fit your budget. Or maybe you have an irrational fear of dinosaur-pirates, letter-writing-dragons, and anthropomorphic breakfast foods.

Here are ten other ways to support picture book authors and illustrators:

1. Give the book as a gift. You probably know someone who might like it. Give it to her/him. Or donate it to your library. Or to your dentist for the waiting room. Or anyplace where small children look at books.
2. Request that your local library purchase a copy. This can be done in person or often in an online form.
3. Reserve and borrow it from the library. Increased circulation of books is noticed by librarians. They are smart people.
4. Review the book. On goodreads. On Amazon. On bn.com. Text reviews are even more valuable than just star-ratings.
5. Talk about the book with librarians and booksellers. There are a lot of great books out there. Get this book on their radar.
6. Talk about the book with friends. Or parents of your child’s friends. Or your child’s teacher. Or strangers on the street.
7. Share the book on social media. Tweet about it. Blog about it. Post on Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, MySpace, etc. about it. Share the cover image. If you see it in the wild, snap a picture and share that. And tag the author or illustrator (or both). We love that!
8. Share the author or illustrator’s posts on social media. Follow them on social media sites and share with your networks.
9. Read the book in public. Like at the park. Or in a restaurant. Or the airport.
10. Make your own fan book trailer. And post to YouTube. If that’s your thing.

Note: I’m not the first to write a post like this. Here are a few other posts which have similar and more detailed info. Please check them out:

• Debbie Ridpath Ohi’s Want to support an author’s or illustrator’s new book but can’t afford to buy it? Here’s what you can do
• Publishing Craw’s How to Support an Author Beyond Buying Their Book
• Jen Malone of Writers’ Rumpus’ How to Help an Author (Beyond Buying the Book) Part1, Part 2, and Part 3

Also Note: These ideas can apply to any type of book, not just picture books.

Thanks for reading. And thank you very much for supporting picture book authors and illustrators, however you choose to do so.

Do you have any other ideas of how to buy a picture book without actually buying a picture book? Share your thoughts in the comments.

[This post originally appeared (in slightly different form) on Josh Funk’s Blog, here.]