Let me tell you a story, ...

(psst — also it's Cyber Monday and I've got a cookie for you! Keep scrolling for something fun)

A friend of mine has published a very charming book. (It is about a Schnauzer, and over here we all approve of books about dogs.) His father is a good dad and he wants the book to do well.

One day, the father went to Target. Then he came to visit, way up in the tiny condo that my friend could never afford to upgrade because housing prices keep skyrocketing, and by now it's really quite cozy. They were having tea, watching the rain roll across the bay and into the city.

"You know," said the father, blowing on his tea and choosing his words carefully, "those little bookshelves they have right before the check-out registers at Target? Well, I was thinking..." He paused to pet the Schnauzer, who knew how to locate himself in perfect petting proximity. "If you could just get your book onto those, then you'd sell a lot of copies. Everyone would like it."

And he is so right!

Unfortunately for Schnauzers and Shelties, those end-caps are owned by the major publishing companies, who reserve them for the books they already know are going to sell. If you haven't got a household name, then you haven't got your book in an end-cap at Target.

Did you know that most of the airport book stores in the entire US have one book buyer? One person is picking the books they think you want. And that person's rationale for picking books might be nothing at all like the way you think about buying books.

I am a fan of more choices. Many choices. Always.

I have nothing against the books in the end-caps! I support books a million percent, and cheers to Colleen Hoover and Taylor Swift for keeping readers engaged. Sometimes I find the authors I love on the big displays.

But the thing is, when only the biggest names get a voice, we all lose out. History is written by the victors, and Schnauzers can't reach the end-caps.

Sometimes, the biggest names in publishing might not be the ones that speak to you. Sometimes, someone might be saying something insightful because they are not writing for the taste of that one airport buyer. Sometimes, if you can look somewhere new you might find something wonderful.

This newsletter isn't selling you anything. Ever.

As an author, you'd think I might be selling books — but I'm not. I started this newsletter to find people who want to read my books, and that's different.

I mean, that sparkly part in the middle is really nice, but an author needs people in the circles on either side. The purple people are going to be out there. If you want to be in that light blue circle and borrow every single one of my books from the library instead of buying them, and then you tell your friends and post reviews on Goodreads and pictures on your social media, then

one million puppy kisses for you!!!!! Thank you!

Some of you have already done this! I have woken up to see my blurb re-posted, or a message saying that your friend recommended the book and you want it too.

It really truly makes my heart so happy!!!

I'm just inviting you to take a stroll past the end-caps

The other ones. A different set of end-caps from the ones in Targets and airports, with some different books on them.

I want to lift up other authors. Sometimes, I'll share group events, or sometimes highlight a specific book. I'll try to choose books that you might enjoy, but I haven't read them all — and your opinion might be different from mine anyways.

Most of the books I share are free – it's an invitation to see if you like the author.

You might not like all of the authors I share, or any of them. You might not even like what I write, which is fine. (Hint: If you really hate semi-colons, you might not like my fiction, and if you really hate dogs, you might not like this newsletter — but you might like the fiction.) Thank you for giving me a chance!

If you have a moment, give the links a click and "stroll" past some new books. It really means a lot to new and midlist authors.

And if you're like the dad in the story at the top, and you're here because you like me and want my books to do well, then clicking on the links makes a big difference. Remember all that about training your email server, which is not as much fun as training a puppy? Your clicks are training the whole internet that my books are worth clicking on....um, or something like that. I'm better with dogs than HTML, but everything I read tells me it's good. So even if you just click through and close the window, it helps.

I am going to apply this knowledge to every author and small business newsletter I know, and I invite you to do the same. We might not ever be as big as Target, but we can make a difference in the world!

And now you get a cookie! Yum yum yum

When I was scheduling this email, I realized that it would land on December 2nd, and that happens to be the day of this really fun Women's Fiction event! Tracey Love has been working super hard to put this together, and so many authors have helped share and organize. It really is the perfect example of women helping other women authors and I'm honored to participate.

The cookie for you is that there are a ton of free e-books here, and a bunch more that are 99c.

Journey Women's Fiction

If you're a visual person, you can see a fun video intro for the Journey Women's Fiction event here and here, but the newsletter format won't let me upload them.

I know many of you are busy and exhausted this holiday season, and it's the time of year when sad emotions can catch up with us. It's okay to take care of yourself, too. Remember whatever it was in the first questionnaire, that you like to curl up with in the evening? You deserve some of that, and a free book, and some quiet time.

Thank you for reading! I'll see you in the Sheltie Gazette

If you're interested in hearing from voices in different fields, I do a Friday Shout-Out for creators and businesses over on Instagram. I feature more essays and artists there, and I focus on amplifying traditionally marginalized voices.

Before I go, here's a Sheltie, and here's that Schnauzer I was talking about:

Book about a Schnauzer

Sheltie whose nose is not supposed to be on the table

Best wishes, and thanks for reading,

Christy & the Shelties