Are You a Good Literary Citizen?

  

A good literary citizen is one who deeply cares about books and their future. They appreciate the history of books and admire authors who invest, time, money, heart, and soul to create something special. Good literary citizens become guardians of the written word, language, and literacy, and free speech. They are special people with good hearts, here to enjoy books and also to ensure the rest of the world does too. You can be a guest literary citizen, and maybe you already are.   

As a good literary citizen, you might do any of the following:

 

• Donate books.

• Mentor or advise other writers.

• Treat books fairly and respectfully when reviewing them.

• Write about meaningful things in a sincere way. 

• Support the book ecosystem of publishers, authors, libraries, bookstores, and those who work in the industry, from printers, marketing companies, literary agencies, etc. 

• Encourage others to read books.

• Lobby local, state, and federal governments to financially support the literary arts.

• Raise funds for the book world.

• Speak up for free speech.

• Protest book bans and censorship.

• Attend book signings, book fairs, publishing conferences, and writer workshops, in order to stay informed and involved.

• Be a literary mentor and donate to the cause.

• Write books that need to be published and serve a need or a community. 

• Be an authentic writer who lives to make your craft better and for your craft to better the world. 

• Where possible, buy printed books from bookstores, and not just order them online. Seek out print over digital or audio, more often than not.

• Just as you discuss shows that are streaming or what’s in the news, discuss the books you have read 

• Let people know what books mean to you - and how they can enhance or change another’s life. 

• Read the books that you buy or get as a gift -- don’t just display them on your shelf of shame. 

• Don’t give birth (write) to a book unless you truly feel it’s better than or different from what’s already out there. Set a standard or litmus test that you need to meet before you saturate the market.

• Re-read books to see if your appreciation for, and understanding of it, has changed.

• Encourage others to form or join a book club.

• Give books as gifts to others.

 

Do You Need Book Marketing & PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over 3.9 million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Brian Feinblum now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).  This award-winning blog has generated over four million pageviews. With 5,000+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, he has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.