Like many others, I would like to spend my money more ethically, and as a writer this is especially the case with the purchase of books. Instead of contributing to Jeff Bezos’ “let’s send Katy Perry into orbit inside a giant space rocket” fund, I try to buy most of my books from local indie bookstores, at book festivals, and directly from small publishers.
It often costs a little more, but as someone in the indie book industry I am very aware of the difference even small amounts of money make when the money is spent locally or at small publishers. It really helps both booksellers, publishers and authors, and it makes the good books come.
1. Your local library
There are several apps that allow you to borrow library books as e-books. The biggest are OverDrive’s Libby, which also offers audiobooks, and for UK residents there’s also BorrowBox, which sticks to text rather than audio and is favored by many UK councils. Libby and BorrowBox also have a range of magazines for you to browse, and Overdrive has another app, Sora, designed specifically for students from participating schools.
Both Libby and BorrowBox are based on using your borrower’s card as ID (and make it easy to get one if you don’t already have one). Once you’ve logged in with it and created your account, you can send titles to your device just like you would borrow a physical book from the library. And just like physical library books, your loans are limited in number and must be returned by a certain time.
2. Bookshop.org
One of the things I love about Bookshop.org is that when I buy books from it, a small amount of my money is given to my nominated bookstore. And now the same can happen when I buy audiobooks.
This is a relatively new service for us in the UK so the selection is currently small, but the prices of high profile books such as Cory Doctorow’s One hit authentication is close to Amazon’s and there are plenty of big name authors.
And there’s a big advantage to the much smaller selection: you’re not wading through AI slop and low-quality shovelware to find the diamonds.
3. Libro.fm
Libro is my favorite audiobook source – and like Bookshop.org, it allows me to buy audiobooks and give a piece of the payment pie to my nominated local bookstore.
The most cost-effective way is to take out a subscription (the standard $14.99 / £7.99 per month subscription gives you one credit for one book per month) rather than buying books individually, as the latter option charges full price. Subscribers also receive discounts on additional audiobook purchases and special members-only sales.
Libro.fm doesn’t have the breadth of Amazon’s Audible, but its catalog of 600,000 titles is hardly small. And your audiobooks aren’t copy-protected, so they’re yours to move between your various devices without turning you into a criminal.
4. Smashwords
TL;DR – Top Tips for eBooks and Audiobooks
1. Download an app
If you read a lot of e-books, a dedicated library app can help you keep track of your collection – and we happen to have a guide to the best e-book organizers right here.
2. Look for unlimited
Many e-book and audio book platforms offer titles that do not have digital rights management (DRM), which can lock purchases to a single device or account.
3. Sample the sound
It sounds petty, but I’ve had to bail on some audiobooks because I hated the way they were narrated. Where possible, listen to a sample before you buy that audiobook!
If you’re looking for more independent and self-published authors like those on Amazon’s Kindle platform, Smashwords is a great place to go—especially if your tastes run toward romance, fantasy, and sci-fi.
Smashwords ebooks are sold without copy protection and mostly in ePub format, and authors generally offer very generous free samples, so you can be sure you’re buying something you’ll enjoy reading.
It’s also good for the authors: unlike some platforms, Smashwords sales are final, so people can’t read your book and then get a refund.
5. Direct from independent publishers
If you really want to support independent authors, buying directly from their publishers often means they’ll get the best possible royalty rate (and probably get it sooner too).
For example, my publisher 404 ink will happily sell you e-book versions of all my books and those of my fellow authors, and this is common in independent publishing where margins are tight and every sale counts.
For small presses, direct sales can make the difference between surviving and thriving – and small presses are often where the literary stars of tomorrow take their first steps into publishing, so you’re helping to support the stars of the future.
