Why would I want to sell books from my tiny website, when that bookselling behemoth Amazon is out there, selling millions of books to probably billions of people?

Because if you decide to buy my books, I’d rather the money comes to me than goes to Amazon. Wouldn’t you? They’re rich enough.

But of course I’m going to sell on Amazon too. It’s really important for any author to have a strong presence there; that’s why I’m urging all you readers to place reviews there. And hopefully there will be other outlets too. Later this year, a little tour of indie bookshops would be fun — an awareness builder.

But my own website bookstore gives me the opportunity to please the friends and supporters who are closest to me. Last Christmas, for example, one of my newsletter subscribers asked me if she could order copies of ‘The Marathon Years’ as gifts for friends. Well she couldn’t — because the book was nowhere near finished. But this was a really good bookstore idea. Gift packages for several friends? At a discounted price. What about special prices for people who wanted to pre-order? (Wait for it … that’s coming in May!) What about special editions, only from the website — signed copies, for example, or large print copies if anyone wanted to order them?

Let’s hear your ideas. What offers would you like to see here?