Are You A Good Citizen of Book World?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: We have such a wonderful community here–we’ve been blogging with you all for eighteen years. EIGHTEEN YEARS! (Can that possibly be true? 365 times 18 is the number of blogs we’ve posted. How many is that?)

Anyway, we are so grateful to all of you, and one thing for sure: you are all wonderful citizens of book world. And we are grateful.

One of our fabulous fellow citizens, and massive friend of the Reds, is the brilliant Carter Wilson, whose new book TELL ME WHAT YOU DID is unbelievably tense and intense. I truly was holding my breath reading it. It’s terrific. And I am telling everyone about it.

But Reds and Readers, what does it mean to be a  good and valued citizen of book world? The fabulous Carter has some thoughts. And when you get through Carter’s list, YOU tell us what you think number 10 should be.

Welcome to Book World

  by Carter Wilson


Writers are delicate creatures, full of caffeine and insecurity. We need your help, more than you may think. It’s easy to think published authors have it made—and about .005% do—but for most of us getting published is just the start. It’s a grind. Years of building up a backlist. Decades of getting an audience. And nothing happens without you, the reader. So this is what you can do.

1. Consume the book. Yes, ideally you buy a copy, or maybe several. But you can borrow one from the library. Listen on audible. Get an early free copy on NetGalley. Even borrow one from a friend or neighborhood little library. More important than sales—initially—is word of mouth. Yes, it’s on the author to write a book worth talking about, but if they do and you read it, spread the word.

2. Don’t pirate. My one exception for ways to consume a book is pirating. Don’t get a free copy from some shady Russian website. And if you do, I hope the book stinks and your computer gets infected.

3. Leave a review. So important. Take one minute out of your day to leave an honest review, even if it’s just one sentence. Good places for reviews are Amazon, BN.com, Goodreads, and anywhere on social media. Ideally, you’ll leave a good review, but if you didn’t like the book that’s okay to write about as well. Note: if you leave me a one-star review, make sure to include your address, phone number, and social-security number.

 4. Pre-order. Pre-orders make a difference when it comes to buyers like B&N deciding how many copies they want for their stores. So if there’s a book you’re looking forward to, don’t wait until it releases, pre-order as soon as you can. And you can pre-order from anywhere, not just the big booksellers.

5. Support independent bookstores. So many of these stores are in a daily struggle for survival. Yes, of course, authors also want their books in B&N, Target, and Costco, but indie bookstores are the pillars supporting the entire publishing industry. Stop in, buy a book, get a latte. You’ll be happy you did.

6. Go to a book event. Events are great ways to support authors, and sales at those stores get reported for any potential bestseller lists. Remember how I said authors are insecure? Just think about when a book is launched and three people show up at the main launch event. Do your favorite author a favor and go see them when they’re in town—chances are there won’t be as many people there as you’d expect.

7. Follow authors. Not literally, unless you want to give them a good stalker idea for a story. But if you have a favorite author, follow them on social media, share posts, and subscribe to their newsletter (thank you!)

8. Be patient. We live in a short-attention-span world, and authors aren’t competing with each other as much as we are with everything else vying for your attention (phones, Netflix, Wordle, children, etc). When you crack a book open, reserve judgment for at least 50 pages. Chances are you’re reading something that sold to a publisher from an agent, and went through months of edits and rewrites. Chances are that book took at least one-to-two years to write, rewrite, sell, and edit, and a lot of thought went into every page. It might not be the right book for you, but let it develop long enough to see if it surprises you.

9. Support free speech. This is really the most important thing you can do. Support libraries, donate to free-speech initiatives, fight back against anyone ignorant enough to think ANY book should be banned. And, of course, make sure to vote for folks who rightly think books change lives. After all, literacy is damn sexy.

HANK: Whoo hoo and absolutely. I think number 10 on this list should be “If you love the book, TELL someone about it!” 

Oh, but wait, Carter put that in his number 1. Well, you cannot say it too many times.

What do you think might be number 10, Reds and Readers?



Carter Wilson is the USA Today bestselling author of ten critically

acclaimed, standalone psychological thrillers, as well as numerous short stories. He is an ITW Thriller Award finalist, a five-time winner of the Colorado Book Award, and his works have been optioned for television and film. Additionally, he is the host of the Making It Up podcast and founder of the Unbound Writer company, which provides coaching services, writing retreats, and online classes. Carter lives in Erie, Colorado in a Victorian house that is spooky but isn’t haunted…yet. His latest release is TELL ME WHAT YOU DID, which Kimberly Belle calls “The perfect book for readers who love their thrillers gripping and utterly original.”

TELL ME WHAT YOU DID

"A brilliant thriller...I didn't just read this book, I devoured it in an adrenaline fueled frenzy!" —Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling suspense author

She gets people to confess their crimes for a living. He knows she's hiding a terrible secret. It's time for the truth to come out...

Poe Webb, host of a popular true crime podcast, invites people to anonymously confess crimes they've committed to her audience. She can't guarantee the police won't come after her "guests," but her show grants simultaneous anonymity and instant fame―a potent combination that's proven difficult to resist. After an episode recording, Poe usually erases both criminal and crime from her mind.

But when a strange and oddly familiar man appears on her show, Poe is forced to take a second look. Not only because he claims to be her mother's murderer from years ago, but because Poe knows something no one else does. Her mother's murderer is dead.

Poe killed him.

From the USA Today bestselling author of The Dead Girl in 2A and The New Neighbor comes a chilling new thriller that forces the question: are murderers always the bad guys?