In a time when an increasing number of authors are resorting to Facebook, or Amazon, as their primary web platform, it is refreshing to see an author establish their own web presence. @Cerece Rennie Murphy is one prime example.

Cerece recently took advantage of our Fall Book Special. I'm not just the type to place an ad and forget about it.  I actually check out the author's work and even provide unsolicited suggestions from time to time.  From my perspective it is a long term relationship not merely an anonymous financial transaction... but I digress.

After checking out Cerece's website, watching a couple of videos in her "For Authors" section, I came across her book store. Which included logos and links to IndieBound*, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and Booksamillion.  I followed each of the links and realized that I give Cerece a much better treatment of of her work than all of those websites. So I asked her to add AALBC.com logo to the page--which she did in a matter of hours (screenshot below).

I know for authors like @CDBurns, and @Mel Hopkins, this type of activity is a no-brainer.  But in practice, it really isn't. This is why I'm taking the time to point out what Cerece did in the hope other authors will follow her lead and do the same thing, not just for AALBC.com, but for the independent booksellers of their choice.

Cerece is not the first author I asked to do this, but she is the first I asked in quite some time.  One of the reasons I stopped asking is that most authors don't manage their own websites so the requests often went no where.  But a more alarming reaction I would get is that the author did not want to risk alienating other indie booksellers by recognizing any individual bookseller single "over" another.  

I always found that last response exasperating because those very same authors would prominently display Amazon's logo while excluding all other Black indie booksellers.  It is absolutely not preferable to ignore all the other platforms who have committed their very livelihoods to selling the author's work.  

But if you visit any author's site most will link to Amazon and most will not link to (support) an indie bookseller.  Now if you ask any author if indie booksellers, online and brick and mortar, are important they will, universally, say "yes."  

It is important that authors appreciate that indie booksellers, particularly the Black owned ones, can benefit a great deal more than Amazon by a simple link on an author's.  Of course increased support will benefit the authors themselves as the number of platforms available to promote, critically reviews, and sell their books grow in numbers and strength.

*Indiebound represents independent book sellers, but Black owned stores are not represented well.  Just a quick query of Manhattan shows a bunch of stores that have closed and does not include the last remaining Black owned bookstore in Manhattan Sisters Uptown.

See that aalbc logo looks great!  How can we get one? 

Here is the logo.  Thanks for asking.  It is a .png file with a transparent background.

 

On 11/12/2016 at 3:03 PM, Troy said:

It is a .png file with a transparent background.

Can you  tell me the significance of .png. Also why does a transparent background make a difference?  I ask because I think my logo has a opaque background and it shouldn't have been.

The transparent background allows you to place so that the back is not obscured by anything other than the logo.  

Consider the images below the first image used a .jpg file with a white background.  If your page is white this may be perfectly acceptable, but if your background is not white, or is another image, the effect may be less desireable.

The 2nd image used a transparent background, which allows you to see the author images behind the logo. The 2nd image also a bit transparent, allowing you to see through it a bit.

@Mel Hopkins, if you post your logo I may be able to remove the opaque background, which will give you much more flexibility on where and how  your log can be used.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank You! Will do! 

Thank you so much, Troy! It is a pleasure!