By Dennis Abrams

Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket

The Bookseller reports that Authors United has issued a letter from the author Daniel Handler – a.k.a. Lemony Snicket – encouraging writers to take part in Upstream, a new program set up to help promote independent bookstores.

Upstream, “cooked up” by Handler and “assorted interested parties”, aims to connect writers with their local independent booksellers.

Authors United founder Douglas Preston sent out letter, along with a note saying that he was doing so “in the interests of encouraging a healthy and diverse publishing ecosystem”. Authors United was established to encourage Amazon to settle its long-running dispute with Hachette Book Group in the US, which has affected a number of its authors whose books have been subject to delays in shipping, lack of pre-publication sales, etc.

In his letter, Handler wrote: “Whether or not you are an author published by Hachette (as I am), you may lately feel as if you are engulfed in a rather unpleasant flood – as if the fate of your books if whirling dreadfully out of your control, battered by the waters of some enormous South American river, the name of which I cannot remember at the moment. While all this fierce sword fighting rages on without you, you may find yourself feeling even more hapless and hopeless than authors usually do, while your local independent bookstore struggles with a similar feel that it’s some sort of jungle out there.

“As a tonic, allow me to suggest a new program, cooked up by assorted interested parties and named, after some tipsy debate, Upstream. The idea is to connect authors with their local independent booksellers to offer signed books as an alternative to, say, larger and more unnerving corporate machinations.”

Handler suggested that authors should select and speak with a bookseller close to where they live and sign books for them to sell. Both author and bookstore would be motivated to promote the arrangement, “spreading the word not only by an exciting source of signed books to your readers anywhere in the country, but about a program anyone can join.”

Here is the letter in full as posted by the ABA:

Daniel Handler
October 15, 2014
Dear Comrades-in-Ink,

Whether or not you are an author published by Hachette (as I am), you may lately feel as if you are engulfed in a rather unpleasant flood — as if the fate of your books is whirling dreadfully out of your control, battered by the waters of some enormous South American river, the name of which I cannot remember at the moment. While all this fierce sword fighting rages on without you, you may find yourself feeling even more hapless and hopeless than authors usually do, while your local independent bookstore struggles with a similar feeling that it’s some sort of jungle out there.

As a tonic, allow me to suggest a new program, cooked up by assorted interested parties and named, after some tipsy debate, Upstream. The idea is to connect authors with their local independent booksellers to offer signed books as an alternative to, say, larger and more unnerving corporate machinations. Upstream was test-piloted this summer and is now spreading steadily, like optimism or syphilis.
How does it work? Easily, hopefully. Here are some numbered steps.

1. Choose and contact a bookseller close to your home. If you cannot find one, the good folks at Indies First, coordinated by the American Booksellers Association, can be of service. They are quite excited about the launching of this new and hopefully enormous campaign.

2. The bookstore will order and sell your books; you will sign them. Perhaps you’ll stop by at regular intervals with your pen, or perhaps you can convince, with cake or gin, the bookseller to come to you.

3. Both you and the bookseller will promote this arrangement as best you can, spreading the word not only about an exciting source of signed books, but about a program anyone can join. Feel free to tell your publicist you’re participating. Upstream should be in full swing in time for the holidays, when signed books are good gifts for loved ones and distance acquaintances alike.

Will Upstream rescue us all from strife and worry? Of course not. But the hope is that it will remind both authors and booksellers of their local, less monolithic resources, and to improve general esprit de corps at a disheartening time.

With all due respect,

Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket

And as shown at the ABA’s site as well, he also wrote to independent booksellers:

Daniel Handler
October, 2014

Dear Independent Booksellers,

As you know, many authors lately feel as if they are engulfed in a rather unpleasant flood–as if the fate of their books is whirling dreadfully out of control, battered by the waters of some enormous South American river, the name of which I cannot remember at the moment. While all this fierce sword fighting rages on around them, independent bookstores continue to struggle with a similar feeling that it’s some sort of jungle out there.

As a tonic, allow me to share news of a program, cooked up by assorted interested parties and named, after some tipsy debate, Upstream. The idea is to connect authors with their local independent booksellers to offer signed books as an alternative to, say, larger and more unnerving corporate machinations. Upstream was test-piloted this summer and is now spreading steadily, like optimism or syphilis.
How does it work? Easily, hopefully. Especially when aligned with the growing Indies First campaign. Here are the numbered steps that I’ve shared with my author colleagues through Authors United:

1. To participate, authors will contact a local store directly, or sign themselves up at the Indies First author registry. Stores too, can contact an author and ask them to become an Upstream partner. If your store doesn’t know of a local author to go Upstream with, you can check the listing of interested authors on the ABA website.

2. Once the store and the author have agreed to partner for Upstream, your store will order and sell the books; the author will sign them before they go out the door. Perhaps the author will stop by at regular intervals with his or her pen, or perhaps the author will convince you, using cake or gin, to come to them. Be sure to let ABA know about the arrangement, so your author’s fans will know where to find his/her signed books.

3. Both the store and the author will promote this arrangement as best as possible, spreading the word not only about an exciting source of signed books, but about Upstream and Indies First.
Will Upstream rescue us all from strife and worry? Of course not. But the hope is that it will remind both authors and booksellers of their local, less monolithic resources, and to improve general esprit de corps at a disheartening time.

With all due respect,

Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket