On Buying Used Books
Just a reminder in these tight economic times. When you buy a used book, several things don’t happen. The first is that the author whom (hopefully) you have enjoyed, receives no royalties from your purchase of their book. The second thing is that a purchase of a used book doesn’t count towards the overall number of books sold. In this day and age where the publishing world is at least as rocky economically as my cobweb encrusted wallet, low sales are likely to bring low advances on the next contract.
If there is a next contract.
Most of the authors I read devote a great deal of time and effort in the creation of their work. None of them are rich. Most live, barely, from contract to contract. A larger advance means they get to spend more time and effort in their next work. A smaller advance means they have to rush or make compromises in the quality of their work, if they can stay in the game at all.
Not all new books are created equal, though. The sale of remainders do not count towards either royalties or copies sold. The sales of deep discount books such as those titles sold at Costco, may not count towards royalties either although they do affect number of copies sold.
I don’t mean to suggest that you shouldn’t buy used books. But when you can, please buy new. For those authors you really like, buy the hard cover. For many authors, an extra 200 copies of a hard cover edition can make a difference in their next contract. That means you can be part of that difference, too.
Whenever you can, buy early in the release cycle. Many publishers use the numbers from the first eight weeks after a book is released to determine what the next contract with that author will look like.