by Cathi Stevenson—When independent authors think about marketing their books, they usually focus on Amazon, bookstores, advertising, podcasts, newsletters, and social media. Libraries rarely make the list. That’s a mistake. Getting your book into libraries probably won’t make you an overnight bestseller, but it can do something equally valuable: put your work in front of readers who may never have discovered it otherwise. Unlike a bookstore sale, where one copy usually reaches one reader, a single library copy can circulate for years. It may be borrowed dozens—or even hundreds—of times. Every checkout is another opportunity for someone to recommend [...]