Give us crumbs.
... To be fair, if you have local jackdaws, I'm sure they'd love some crumbs. But that's, err, not quite what I meant.
"The book sounds great, but..." is a phrase I'm all-too-used to hearing.
"... it's not really my genre"
"... I don't really read any more"
"... I can't really afford it right now"
Or, alternately:
"Yeah, I loved it! Are you famous yet? Has it made you rich yet? When's the next one coming out?"
And like... I get it, folks. Trust me. My Biology teacher wanted me to proof-read his children's fantasy novel when I was in the middle of A-levels and a mental breakdown, and I still feel guilty about never finishing it. My friend is going through a rough patch and I wish I could buy them a little gift to brighten their day, but I'm just as broke and too far away to give them a huge hug.
But, if you're sincere... Well, there are some other things you can do, y'know? So if you find yourself enjoying my content (and trust me, the Sylvestus Facebook page is a f*cking delight right now), or wanting to generally show support for a tired, anxious corvid who likes to make people happy, but you can't afford to buy Sylvestus or you already bought it and want to do more or you just don't fancy reading it... How about one of these other options?
Tell other people to read it!
"Historical fantasy but also kind of YA but also too mature to be YA and there's quite a bit of gore but also emotion-driven and with some hilarious narrative bits" is a genre that, understandably, isn't for everyone. But if it's not for you, it might be for someone else! A friend who enjoys reading more than you? Give 'em a recommendation! A wannabe-writer who wants to talk about writing, editing, and publishing? Send 'em my way! A teen whose birthday is coming up? Buy 'em a copy! In a digital marketing advertising world, it can be hard to remember that word of mouth is, historically... Okay, I'm not sure what the saying is, but it's like, good, innit?
Plus, "omg my friend is a writer, they just published a book about a Roman dude and a magic tiger death god thing-" is a great conversation starter, and you may quote me on that.
Tell other people to like the Facebook page!
... We do, after all, live in a digital marketing advertising world. I am infinitely grateful to everyone who's liked and followed facebook.com/Sylvestus, and I enjoy keeping it active and exciting. But no number of active exciting updates are gonna sell more copies if they're only going out to people who've already bought a copy, y'know?
Please, share posts you enjoy, tag people who you think might enjoy them, invite friends and family to like the page... Spread the word, and get those algorithms happy! 💕
Buy my other book!
Not a fan of historical fantasy? How about more traditional YA fodder: dystopian sci-fi!
Each Separate Dying Ember is a, well, dystopian sci-fi set in an alternate UK where everyone has wings and three very different protagonists are forced to compete in a gladiatorial-Olympics with fatal stakes. It's weird and great and in my opinion Sylv is just better-written but Dying Ember is still very good and a lot of people's favourite, y'know.
So, if you enjoyed Sylvestus and want more, find Dying Ember on Lulu.com, Amazon... And the links on the side of this page. And if you didn't enjoy Sylvestus, do that anyway, because you might enjoy it more.
Buy from Lulu.com, not Amazon!
I've debated about this one for a while, but hey, better to speak out about things, y'know?
As an independent small-time author slash poet slash zoologist slash server in a nice restaurant, I don't really have a choice but to make my work available on Amazon. Having my books available on the Kindle store is the largest source of business I get, and having the paperbacks up there means that they can be reviewed, and then promoted by Amazon - a huge bonus.
Unfortunately, Amazon is a garbage company run by a billionaire piece of trash, and for every copy they sell, they take 99% of the profits, despite the fact that their staff are underpaid and their printing costs are lower than other sources. Lulu.com is the world's largest independent bookstore; they're helpful, they pay their staff and their authors fairly, and the paper they use to print their books is environmentally-sourced.
If my books weren't available on Amazon, I wouldn't really sell any, to be honest. But if you're here, that means you care enough to want to help, right? I know it's a bit more hassle, but me - and the overworked, underpaid Amazon employees, and the Lulu employees, and... Well, you get it - would be infinitely grateful if you'd consider buying your paperbacks from Lulu, Barnes & Noble, or another independent distributor, and your ebooks from Kobo or Lulu.
Consider it like adopting from a shelter rather than from a puppy farm, except not quite the same because second-hand adoption of my books doesn't get me any money at all and you're still buying a new book.
... Okay, consider it like buying from a local, reputable, responsible, ethical breeder, rather than from a puppy farm. That's a better simile.
Ask your local libraries and independent bookstores to get a copy in!
Libraries have a limited budget, but one of the main ways they decide which books to spend it on when they, a few times a year, get their haul in, is based on what people want to read. If you happen to be passing your local library, maybe hover conspicuously in the YA/fantasy/new books section for a while, then mope over to the desk and (politely) ask if they have Sylvestus by *checks hand* Tatty Anna Web in, you've heard it's really good, and then act incredibly disappointed when they say no. Then make sure to write it down. Then get all your friends to do the same so they think it's the next big thing they have to get their hands on (which of course it is).
The same goes for small independent bookstores. And then you get the added bonus that when they do order it for you, you won't have to pay for the shipping!
As a note - this unfortunately does not work for large chain bookstores such as Waterstone's. I'd have to, like, sit in a meeting with big executives and sign a contract to get them to distribute my book, and I, like... Really don't want to do that. I sort of studied a first year Law Bachelor's for a few months, but only the Equity and Criminal parts, so I don't feel qualified to do that just yet.
(and if you own a small independent bookstore or work in a local library... drop me an email, i guess? emberfell@outlook.com 😘)
Review the book wherever you bought it!
This one's easier lol. If you've already bought your copy, give it a revieeewww. It doesn't even have to be a good review (although that would be preferable)! Any rating, on whichever site you purchased your copy, tells all those complicated website marketing algorithms that people are reading this book, and that they care enough to tell other people what they thought of it. It takes ten seconds, and it's probably the easiest way on this list to help, but also one of the most effective!
Buy me a Ko-fi!
Finally, the, err, last resort for helping out your favourite... Okay, I have to be your favourite something, right? Like maybe the jackdaw that made a nest across the street is your favourite jackdaw, and Claire Laminen is your favourite independent author, and your best friend is your favourite broke queer... But there's gotta be some combination of details that I fulfil in a way that makes me your favourite, even if only by process of elimination.
Ko-fi is a website that allows you to send exactly £3 to a content creator you enjoy. It's a nice little way of saying, "Hey, you make me happy; here's a little happiness for you". If you have a little spare cash, if you really enjoyed the book, if you really enjoy the promotional or book-unrelated content I create... Whatever the reason, consider dropping a little something to ko-fi.com/jackdaw_t?
... And keep being ya brilliant selves!
All right, I know it's cheesy, but legit. Receiving messages and comments from people - be it about a post I write, a book I publish, or a video I put up - makes it all worthwhile.
Thank-you for reading this far. Have a beautiful day, and even if it isn't mine, make someone's day a little bit brighter with something you do today 💕
