Out: Amazon. In: Bookshop.org

Links will now be directed to independent booksellers

For the past year or so, I’ve been part of the Amazon Associates program. If you bought something on Amazon through a link on CulinaryWoman, I got a tiny commission. Nobody gets rich from them: the most I ever earned in any month was about $25, or less than a paid subscription, but it was income.

With the situation at the Washington Post, I’ve decided to cancel my personal Amazon Prime account and I will no longer link to Amazon for book sales and gear.

In the future, I will embed links to Bookshop.org or to the authors’ preferred websites. Bookshop.org is a clearing house that distributes sales among participating independent booksellers. The stores earn money, and authors get a small residual from sales of their books.

Of course, you should purchase books from your favorite book shop if you prefer. Many booksellers can ship nationally and internationally.

Some of my favorites are Schuler Books and Literati Bookshop in Ann Arbor, 2 Dandelions in Brighton, Mich., McLean and Eakin in Petoskey, Mich., Book Larder in Seattle and Parnassus Books in Nashville, among many helpful stores.

One note about upcoming books. Pre-orders are incredibly important now to authors.

Publishers gauge them to decide how many books to print, and how much marketing money to set aside to promote a book. They also determine slots on best-seller lists. If you see a future book that interests you, please place a pre-order.

Also, if you get books from your local library, request upcoming titles as soon as they show up in your library’s catalog. Those requests can prompt them to order additional copies. Library sales help authors, too.

Thanks for reading.