Let's Talk About Author Swag...

...and the freebies being sent with books.

Last year, when my dear friend Nancy Thayer’s 37th novel All the Days of Summer, set on the island of Nantucket, hit bookstores, she sent me a copy of her book along with an adorable pair of Nantucket-themed socks and a package of saltwater candy from an island shop. I have no idea if I was the only person who got this—I’m sure I was not—but I immediately put on the socks, posed the candy with the book and snapped a photo for Instagram.

Cutest swag ever, I remember thinking.

Since writing my first novel in 2020, I’ve received myriad items from authors hoping that I’ll share images of their book on social media. While I’ve never created any official book-themed items to send with my books, I did send Elin Hilderbrand a copy of On Gin Lane, set in Southampton, along with a bottle of Wolffler’s “Summer in a Bottle” rosé and two wine tumblers from the Hamptons-based vineyard. (She blurbed my first novel, too, and I wanted to properly thank her!)

Nearly every industry sends swag hoping to get some extra promotion on their products. (I won’t mention the promo items my dentist husband gets from tooth-centric companies.) In the book world, much of the swag is centered on reprinting the cover of an author’s book on myriad products. Authors sometimes print cute little matchbooks with their book on the box (Annabel Monaghan made these for her next book Summer Romance) or they personalize tote bags; I still use the one Jimin Han gave me with her book The Apology printed on the side.

Nobody really knows if sending any of these promotional materials move the needle when it comes to sales but sometimes it can help a book get a little more attention on social media. Fashion writer

Amy Odell

sent out little gift boxes with her first book Tales From the Back Row: An Outsider’s View From Inside the Fashion Industry that included, among other items, tiny champagne bottles along with the hardcover.

“The idea was to create an Instagram moment,” says O’Dell. “That said, someone from the publicity team at my publisher told me that it was not worth the time to do all of this. I think she was probably right? Like, people should be excited to get your book, not just swag with your book (though the swag is a nice bonus).” When her biography of Anna Wintour, ANNA, released in May 2022, her team at Gallery sent out the books along with a personalized note from Amy on ANNA stationary; the book went on to hit the NYT bestseller list.

The New Yorker published a cartoon called, “Highly Effective Book Swag For Your Guaranteed Bestseller,” poking fun at all of the things authors do that may or may not work in terms of book promotion, like sending, “A genuinely hideous mug that you’ll keep on your desk for six months anyway,” or “A sugar cookie in the shape of the book that is somehow both stale and too soft.” Ha!

Yet you can’t blame authors for wanting to give their books the strongest starts possible. I’ve noticed that when paying for the swag themselves, authors tend to take the subtle route. For example, one of the most popular items that authors send reviewers and influencers are personalized bookmarks that readers can use while (hopefully!) enjoying the book.

Annissa Joy Armstrong, a bookstagrammer that reviews under “AnnissaBookishJoy,” says she appreciates the bookmarks that feature an author’s latest release on the front, their backlist titles on the back. “For me, the best swag items are the ones I can take with me,” she says. “Things you can throw in a backpack and have on hand to show other readers. Bookmarks, notepads, highlighters. I received a coffee mug but it was broken. T-shirts are tricky because of sizing.”

Michelle Jocson, a popular bookstagrammer who goes by “Nurse Bookie” on Instagram, says the more personalized an author makes the swag, the better. “A handwritten note is super extra special to me as a reader,” she says. But she’s also “received and enjoyed totes, personalized towels or personalized bookmarks, a necklace and one author sent me NIKEs with my name on them.”

In addition to postcards, stickers or magnets featuring a novel’s cover, sometimes authors or their publisher’s get more creative with their promo materials. When Natalie Jenner’s first novel The Jane Austen Society released in 2020, the team at St. Martin’s sent reviewers mini tea party baskets containing her novel and classic British teas and cookies. When Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me was releasing as a television series, Apple TV+ sent out a gourmet box of luxe eats. It included a copy of the novel, a typed note, a tea towel, a stylish can of olive oil, a package of fancy pasta and a recipe for “Hannah’s Brown Butter and Sage Pasta.” Um, awesome. (See bottom left photo, above.)

Susie Orman Schnall’s latest novel Anna Bright is Hiding Something sent her book out in a bubble wrap envelope personalized with her book cover. Inside is a copy of her novel and cute eye patches for puffy eyes, since the novel follows a female founder and the race to uncover the secret behind her multimillion dollar bogus eye implants. “I imagine everyone that I’m sending ARCs to is getting hundreds of book packages and I thought I’d try to find a way to stand out at least a little bit and make it somewhat memorable,” says Susie.

Corie Adjimi’s novel The Marriage Box came out last May; she sent multiple authors a stunning Judith Leiber-style clutch with a hand stitched version of her book’s cover attached to the front. Jackie Friedland, author of The Stockwell Letters, blurbed the book and received the purse, and she couldn’t get over how gorgeous the hand-stitching was on the handheld clutch. “I’m so jealous I didn’t think of something as creative as that,” she says.

A quick perusal around Instagram shows numerous elaborate boxes, and that kind of swag is often created by a publishing marketing team. For Lisa Scottoline’s latest novel The Truth About the Devlins, Putnam Books sent out a box of fresh baked pretzels straight from Philly with the novel.

Sarah Addison Allen’s team sent a beautiful box holding her latest book Other Birds. The promotion box was designed thoughtfully with a birdcage and birds printed on the outside as well as a lovely quote: “When you’ve lost your way, the right flock can guide you home.” Inside was a handwritten note from Sarah, the book and a small birdcage candle holder. Cozy authors like Joanne Fluke, says one source, might offer swag like aprons and recipe cards; a suspense novel by Jamie Day called The Block Party went out with beer cozies with the cover printed on them.

Michelle Jocson (Nurse Bookie) says that 2023 was a big year for swag and it hasn’t let up this January. While she appreciates the personalized touch most, she says that swag that comes in those pretty boxes make for better content on social media. “Getting swag leads to reels, and it’s just nicer to share an unboxing video which leads to greater views,” she says.

Think of an unboxing video as a new book’s birth announcement: An author opens a boring old box, lifts the flaps and inside are stacks of their novels. Who doesn’t love sharing the joy people feel when holding up their hard work—or the eye-catching swag sent to influencers along with it. We all want that box!

Still, some authors believe that when a publisher invests in a box that probably cost more than the shelf price of the book, readers take notice.

“It feels like a signal from a publisher that this is an important book for the season,” says Lynda Loigman, an author who has published bestselling novels Wartime Sisters and The Matchmaker’s Gift. When she sent copies of The Matchmaker’s Gift, which featured, in part, pickle makers, she sent a small DIY pickle kit. Loigman says she’s seen publishers make beautiful boxes for some books that go to influencers and booksellers. “I feel like booksellers especially know that if they receive a novel in lavish packaging, the publisher is very invested in that book. It’s saying, ‘This book is important to us.’”

I’m not planning to send any swag with my third novel other than vintage postcards with a handwritten note, but it did get me thinking about what items would be fun to send in one of these fancy promotional boxes for my book releasing in June. Hamptons sand in a small glass vial? Sunblock with my book on the cover? A pool towel with All the Summers in Between printed on one side? Ultimately, I’d have to consider which item would get the most play on social media.

Alas, I think I’ll stick to my handwritten notes. They’re free! Now to my dear publicity team, maybe you want to print some book-themed sunblocks for me? Wink.

Have you ever made or received a piece of author swag? Do you think swag helps catapult a book to success? Please share.