The Business of Books

The very first day I invited women to the book club, there was discussion of how to distribute books to women who could not afford to purchase one. This is how our Book Buddy System was created. In that embryonic stage we only kept track of women who were gifting books. In less than a month nearly fifty copies of Women, Race, & Class had been gifted to women across the country, and more than 160 women participated in our month-long online discussion about the book. So many copies of Women, Race, & Class were purchased that it became out-of-stocked, and library enthusiasts found themselves on a long wait list. It was incredible. The hunger to read was as apparent as the hunger to give.

The next month, we gifted even more featured books, including copies of The Hate U Give, The Mother of Black Hollywood, and So You Want to Talk about Race. That’s when we started noticing flaws in our system.

Some women would request a gifted book and would never be heard from again. Did she receive the book? Did she like it? Has she started reading it yet?

Other women volunteer to gift a woman a book, only to ‘forget’ to ever send it.

Women volunteer to gift a book, and then take several weeks to respond.

Each of these scenarios ends with a woman of color needing a copy of a book and not receiving it.

The business of books is a labor of literary love. It’s very time consuming, it is not free, but it is worth every person who leaves a comment on the book the day they finish it, telling us all how much they loved it, or how mad they are about the ending. Books change lives. Women, Race, & Class changes lives. I know it changed mine, which is what made me so eager to discuss it with women of different races. 167 women from all over the country, to be exact.

With the arrival of spring brings a new focus in how we gift and accept books. Our various ways of providing women of color with copies of books is the most important mission in this house, second to ensuring the safety and comfort for all cis and trans women of color. Because of this renewed focus, we have created a list of guidelines, tips, and answers to frequently asked questions.   

How to Gift a Book

Book gifters are used to provide a reader in need a copy of one of our featured books. Of course, there are all sorts of books that we want to read and discuss. However, because we promote conversation on featured books, those are the only ones that gifters are asked to purchase. If you are in a position to purchase an additional copy of a featured book, you can volunteer to do so on our Book Buddy page. Simply put up a post of something to the effect of, “I’ll be a book buddy!” and either myself or an SWA moderator will contact you. We may simply provide you with the name and postage information of the reader in need, and ask that you contact us when you order the book. In other cases, the reader may not mind meeting the woman who is gifting the book, and we will create a private group chat for the two of you to exchange information personally. Whether the exchange is being handled by myself or another third party, or the two of you are in a private group chat, ONLY POSTAGE INFORMATION SHOULD BE EXCHANGED. WE NEVER ASK FOR MONEY.

When it comes to exchanging books, it is incredibly important that process remains as pure and focused as possible. For the sake of those who participate, both the gifter and the reader, we NEVER promote or allow monetary exchange for books.

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      We cannot guarantee that the person who receives money will use it on a book

      

       Monetary exchange is neither necessary or allowed

        

      In an effort to maintain the integrity, intention, and success of our Book Buddy system, we have decided as a group (offline members) that it is in the best interest of the gifter and the reader to refrain from any form of monetary exchange

How to Receive a Book

If you are a book club member and would like to read any one of our feature books, we strive to provide you with a copy. And, by we, I mean me. Currently, I am the only one who is acting as a book agent (aka pairing up gifters with readers). This is because the system that was previously in place was not thoroughly organized, often failing to keep track of who had already gifted books. As myself and offline members tighten the loose screws in our old system, I’ll be the book agent in charge of book pairing. It is indeed work, but, I’ve got it down to a science. At my best, I found nearly forty books a good home, so,  I won’t leave you hanging.

SIGN UP TO RECEIVE A GIFTED BOOK HERE: Would you mind being paired up with your book buddy, or, would you prefer I handle your postage information directly? Your choice (although, we really do encourage that you meet your book buddy so you have someone to talk about the book with!). Just let me know in your message. In the event that I won’t be taking care of the exchange, I’ll personally make sure that a moderator finds you a book buddy. And, when they do, they’ll let you know when your book is shipped and/or when your book buddy will contact you.

*There is a seven (7) day probation period before women can accept gifted books in the book club.

**Participation will not be offered to members who previously accepted a gifted book, failed to participate in book discussions or share feedback on the book.

***Members who have received a gifted book, participated in group discussions, and share articles and book reviews will be a first priority at the start of every month when we pair readers with gifters.

****Books will not be gifted to any member who has not read and agreed to our terms pinned at the top of our Facebook page, as well as this blog post. If you have won a book, or wish to be paired up with a book gifter, and do not read and agree to our terms within 24 hours, the book you were supposed to be gifted will be sent to another reader.

Gifting via Our Wish Lists

This has become… a pretty big deal. Our original wish list was created after a reader heard me mention I would purchase a book the following week when I got paid. Yes, I still have to buy books. The Book Club Wish List was initially created for those who wanted to help me get books I wanted to read and review but couldn’t afford. Once the books began to pile up on my door step, I knew there was no way I could keep it to myself! There are currently three different ways that books from our wish list are exchanged:

1. SWA offline members often come to my house and pick a book out of our modest basket.

2. Sometimes, I see a woman of color battling ignorance on her timeline – or worse, mine, and I offer her a book.

3. Sometimes, a woman on the page mentions she wants to read a book, and I add it to the wish list. If/when it’s purchased, I message the woman who expressed interest in the book, and I ask for her postage information so I can send it to her.

4. We place the books in our Give Away Gallery and allow selected members to choose one they'd like to be shipped to them.

5. It goes on my book shelf. As soon as I read it, I post a review in #JustFinishedReading

Books off of our wish list have a way of getting around.

The Amazon issue cannot be avoided. I’m no bigger fan of Amazon and greedy conglomerates than the next man. However, SWA is not a one-woman show. Many offline members don’t want to discontinue using Amazon for the fact that they offer used books for pennies, and for many readers, pennies are all they have.

Rather than discontinue Amazon usage, we have provide alternatives for gifting books. We also have wish lists under Barnes and Nobles and Black-owned and operated mahoganybooks.com.

If you would like to gift a specific book on any one of the above mentioned wish lists, and it isn’t listed, please let me know and I’ll add it to the list.

FAQS

Can anyone gift a book?

Absolutely! Any book club member who has the means to gift a book is encouraged to do so.

Can anyone receive a gifted book?

All book gifting systems are exclusively for cis and trans women of color. That is who the book club was built for and is dedicated to, so it is our mission to make sure that as many women of color as possible are provided with books written by and for women of color.

Can I request for a gifted  book that is not featured?

No. Featured books are really important, and are always picked with the intention of all women being able to discuss as a group. We want everyone to have a copy of whatever book is featured so we can share opinions and insight. Books in our Give Away Gallery are reserved for women of color who actively participate in the book club, women of color who have had a bad day, women of color who can’t afford books, and women of color in our offline circle.

Am I supposed to do anything after I receive the book?

Yes. Keep us posted! Tell us what you like and/or don’t like about the book. Tell us what you think about the writing. Your commentary helps, whether you loved or hated the book. Post a photo of the book on the page. Let us know your thoughts.

I have a book I’d like to gift, but I cannot afford the postage. Will SWA cover it?

We do not promote, encourage, or approve of third-party monetary exchanges, and we ask that all group members respect this. We cannot compensate any loss in monetary exchange, and there is no guarantee that money which is said to be used to purchase books will indeed be used for that. 

One of the reasons why women have been so trustful with SWA in regard to book exchanging, is that we have been transparent from the beginning, and continue to strive to keep our systems as simple as possible. We take pride in being able to say that we can trace the exchange of almost every book that is gifted in our house. By exchanging books without exchanging money, we are able to say that there is no profit made and 

Can we donate books that are not written by women of color?

Only if they are educational. SWA Intersectional does not just encourage reading, we encourage reading literature written by cis and trans Black women and women of color. There are times when the work of a man of color slips through the back door, but, that is only in moments of the highest relevance. 

For questions, comments, and/or concerns please feel free to email me at shewritestolive@gmail.com. And, if you would like to show monetary appreciation for the labor involved in keeping our book buddy systems operating, please contribute here

#BooksNotBullshit

Tami