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It’s a hard question: Who helps sell your book more, bookstores or libraries? In Key West this week, it was both.

In 2019, I signed books at Books and Books Key West. It was a lot of fun, but a low-key affair (and there was a lot about that weekend in Key West and Stock Island that was great fodder for my current book. So when that current book, Florida Spectacular, came out and I scheduled another signing, I expected the same sort of event.

Then the Friends of the Key West Library got into the action. The event went from a simple signing at a fantastic bookstore (Judy Blume runs it as a nonprofit) to one at the Palm Garden of the Key West Library. The Friends arranged for Ellen T. White to interview me about my book, and Ellen did her homework. Not only did she read my book, she prepared a list of questions about some of the finer parts of the book. (She made me so happy when she gave me time to talk about why sharks are so much better than dolphins!)

We didn’t have long to chat — not quite an hour — but Ellen’s questions were definitely some of the best someone’s asked me about my experiences traveling through and writing about Florida.

The Key West Library — specifically, the Friends of the Key West Library — worked with the bookstore.

Emily, from Books and Books Key West, brought a wagon full of my books (and Ellen’s book about Key West history, Key West: Paradise Found), and happily sold them.

After the talk, I had dinner with Ellen and another writer, Roberta Isleib, who happens to be president of the Friends of the Key West Library. I know her work because I devour her Key West Food Critic mysteries. Aside from incredible company, I found a new place to eat when I visit Key West.

I’m so grateful to everyone there who worked hard to make the Speaker’s Series of which I was a part. But that’s not really the point of this post.

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The point of the post is how bookstores and libraries can work together.

Hopefully libraries will be here forever, but bookstores are  not as much of a sure thing. Running a bookstore is financially risky. Aside from the cost of a substantial amount  of inventory (that’s mostly made of paper, which leaves it open to water and fire damage), how is an indie bookstore supposed to compete with Amazon and Barnes & Noble?

It’s hard. I have watched bookstores close, and each one breaks my heart a little. There’s nothing as magical as a bookstore, because each book inside it is a window to a different world, and booksellers do an excellent job of helping people find the window to the world they want.

Bookstores and libraries can work together: Key West is proof.

The event at the Key West Library showed that it is, indeed possible for this type of partnership to happen. It’s the first library at which I’ve spoken where I have not sold my own books.

Look, I don’t mind selling my own books. I make a lot more money that way. Instead of only getting my royalties (8-10%), I get my royalties plus roughly half the book sale income (authors get a discount on their books).

But I also know that without bookstores, I’m dead in the water. Right now on Amazon, Florida Spectacular is ranked #897,423 in Books, #482,745 in the Kindle Store, #306 in History of Southern U.S., and  #8,706 in U.S. State & Local History. Backroads of Paradise comes in as #389,603 in Books, #38 in Florida Keys Travel Books, #376 in South Atlantic United States Travel Books, and #5,294 in U.S. State & Local History.

I love that Backroads is #38 in Florida Keys Travel Books, but none of those other numbers approach anything close to “great.” The algorithm isn’t going to put either of my books in front of a lot of people, but booksellers?

Booksellers sell books; algorithms don’t.

That’s a different story. It’s a bookseller’s job to match the book with the person, and booksellers don’t care about the algorithm. Those bestsellers? They will sell no matter what the bookseller suggests. I’m not speaking out of my ass here; I worked for Barnes & Noble for a while, and people used to run in and demand Oprah’s latest book, knowing neither the title nor the author. They only knew Oprah said to read it. No amount of, “You may enjoy this book as well/more/until we restock” would dissuade them.

But the person who walks in and says, “I want to buy a book about road trips in Florida”?  That bookseller is going to steer them toward a book like mine. Amazon? They steer you to Fodor’s and other series, with a few Florida authors sprinkled in the mix.

So who do I want to sell my books? That’s a no-brainer.

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So yes, bookstores and libraries are both amazing places for writers — and readers. Let this post serve as your reminder to join your local library’s friends group today. I finally joined Gulfport’s and am ashamed it took me so long. Please buy your next book from an indie bookseller. If you don’t have an indie bookseller in your city, please patronize Tombolo Books, the indie bookstore closest to me. They deliver. No, it’s not free, and no, it’s not Amazon.

It’s better.