Go Greener Tips

I’d be lying if I said I’ve never dreamed of writing a emNew York Times/em bestseller. My little book, ema href=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Ultimate-Cheapskates-Road-Map-to-True-Riches/Jeff-Yeager/e/9780767926959/?itm=1 target=_newThe Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches/a/em, has sold okay, at least well enough that the publisher has me writing another one. But in terms of total sales, mine has never even entered the same solar system as books on the NYT list. div style=float:right;img alt=book shelf class=img height=230 hspace=10 src=http://l.yimg.com/a/feeds/us/grn/green_cheapstake/local-library-tip-med.jpg vspace=10 width=300//divpObviously, part of the reason for that is the fact that I write for and about cheapskates. Most of the folks who contact me to say that they liked my book eventually get around to admitting that they borrowed it from the a href=http://www.publiclibraries.com target=_newlibrary/a rather than bought a copy of their own. That’s fine with me. I’m a big supporter of public libraries and, of course, libraries pay for the copies they loan out. Libraries are inherently green institutions, a perfect example of what being a Green Cheapskate is all about. /ppBut then there are those readers who write to say that they loved my book so much they spent every lunch hour for the past two weeks standing in the back of a href=http://books.barnesandnoble.com target=_newBarnes Noble/a reading the whole thing. Those are always the fans who conclude with, PS – I can’t wait to read your next book! Ah, but for the economic realities of publishing. /ppMaybe I’m just trying to assuage my NYT emlist envy/em, but I had a touching email from a reader last week that made me feel even better than if I’d landed a berth on the emTimes/em’ prestigious roster. She wrote to tell me that my little book has occasionally had one of the longest waiting lists on the website a href=http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php target=_newPaperbackSwap.com/a, a terrific website where you post books you want to get rid of and send them off to folks who want them. You receive credits for the books you send to others, and then redeem your credits for books others are looking to giveaway. Books need to be in good condition, and you pay only for the postage on books you send out (usually about $2.50 per book). /ppThere are lots of other book exchanges on the web as well (some may charge membership and processing fees), including: /pullia href=http://www.bookmooch.com target=_newbookmooch.com/a/lilia href=http://www.bookins.com target=_newbookins.com/a/lilia href=http://www.SwapTree.com target=_newSwapTree.com/a/lilia href=http://www.titletrader.com target=_newtitletrader.com/a/lilia href=http://www.campusbookswap.org target=_newcampusbookswap.org/a/lilia href=http://www.novelaction.com target=_newnovelaction.com/a/li/ulpIn the current economy — with cash tighter than a drumhead — maybe there should be a strongnew/strongemNew York Times/em bestseller list, one composed of those books with the longest waiting lists at the public library and on sites like PaperbackSwap.com. That would be a list of the favorites among readers who are smart enough to understand that there’s a greener — and cheaper — way to read the books they want to read. /ppOf course, that doesn’t mean I’d turn down a slot on the emTimes/em’ current list if they come knocking./ppstrongMore from The Daily Green/strong/ppa href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/save-money-megaflip?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdg30+ Ways to Save Money by Going Green/a/ppa href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/vodka-uses-460424?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdg10 Surprising Uses for Vodka/a/ppa href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/latest/green-tips-10-easiest?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdg10 Easiest Green Tips/a/ppa href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/super-foods-44030408?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdg7 Superfoods You Should Be Eating/a/ppa href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/natural-swimming-pools-460908?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdg23 Breathtaking Natural Swimming Pools/a/pbr /pemJeff Yeager is the author of the book a href=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Ultimate-Cheapskates-Road-Map-to-True-Riches/Jeff-Yeager/e/9780767926959/?itm=1 target=_newThe Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches/a. His website is a href=http://www.ultimatecheapskate.com/ target=_newwww.UltimateCheapskate.com/a./em/ppReprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc/pp /p