Many readers will be shocked to hear that authors are paid a tiny amount each time their book is borrowed from a library – some years it is calculated at 9 pence per borrow, other times as much as 30 pence a borrow. The lovely people at PRL collect the data and calculate the final amount and today, I received my annual payment. Boy, am I chuffed!!!
My regular followers will know that I always donate copies of my books to my local libraries on publication day. I like library readers to have the chance to pre-order, collect and begin reading on the same day as a purchased reader. It is something I believed in from day one as a published author, as my joinery as a reader began in a tiny local library, armed with three green cardboard library tickets. The tickets were numbered one, two and three, of which ticket one had my name written very badly/squashed untidily on the small dotted line – which narked me even then, I always used that ticket last! But I let the librarian off because she was the keeper of all the books – I’ve remembered it for 46 years instead!
I’m frequently asked if I use and borrow from libraries and the answer is yes. For 50 pence, I can order a book from anywhere in the county, have it delivered to my local library, borrow it and return it – which also saves precious space in my house.
And just for good measure, in case you missed how grateful i am to you for this annual payment, thank you xx