3 Ways to Support Small Business Saturday As a Writer

In the United States, we're now in the busy shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and today is Small Business Saturday. Not as popular or crazy as Black Friday, which has been around for decades, Small Business Saturday, a registered trademark of American Express, is six years old and focuses on shopping small and local.

In St. Louis, our wonderful local bookstore, Left Bank Books, is guest-hosting many authors and inviting people to come in and shop. Their email invitation made me think about three other ways, besides visiting local, independent bookstores, that writers could participate in Small Business Saturday.

1. Buy an independent or small press book from their websites. It's great if you buy a small press or self-published book from Amazon or Barnes and Noble, and often, you do this because you want to download it as an e-book. But often times, you can buy straight from the author on his or her website or from the small press's website. I know this because my novels are published with a small press, and I sell my novels from my website. Is there a book you've been wanting to purchase recently? How about some of our blog tour authors? Make Saturday the day you finally sit down and make your purchases.

2. Hire an editor, graphic designer, or audio book actor. So you've been wanting to publish your book or get it ready for submitting to an agent. Maybe you've been putting off hiring a graphic designer for your book cover, or you've finally decided to make your book available as an audio book. Today, contact that person and take the plunge or at least get the conversation going and show your interest in their services.

3. Take a WOW! class or enter our flash fiction contest. Yes, you can celebrate Small Business Saturday right here! WOW! Women on Writing is a small business designed to help writers--men and women--reach their goals and fulfill their dreams. We offer several online classes, currently listed on the WOW! classroom page and begin the first week of December through the first week of March. Some are offered every month; some are offered a couple times a year, so check that out here and sign up for a class on Saturday. Or enter our fall short story contest with a deadline of November 30. You can read the rules and submission information here.

However you decide to honor Small Business Saturday this year, may it help you reach your writing goals and bring you continued productivity and success into 2017.

Margo L. Dill is a writer, teacher, editor, and writing coach, living in St. Louis. She teaches a novel writing course for the WOW! classroom, which begins the first Friday of every month. To find out more about Margo and her books, please visit http://www.margoldill.com.