4 Tips for Opening Your Own Author Merch Store
From the humble bookmark to the now infamous Sally Rooney bucket hat, there’s an element of whimsy in supporting your favorite author as you might a favorite band. Although merch for artists varies, in cities where tote bags have a social cachet and one can declare anything from their favorite bookstore or deli to their political affiliation, it makes sense to add favorite author to the list of potential interests to wear on one’s literal sleeve. Of course, there’s always the underlying question: where did they get that?
To this point, I launched a merch store in conjunction with the release of my short story collection, Assemblage. The concept was formed in a writing Discord group when we began discussing the brilliant, and now certainly even more popular, death metal font Annie Ernaux merch produced by 7 Stories Press. Obviously, I purchased an Annie crop top. In the midst of joking about launching my own line of products, I began to seriously research. Things snowballed from there, and now I have a somewhat thriving author merch storefront.
Once I launched, I sold about as many items the first week as I had questions from other authors who expressed interest in opening their own online merch stores. So, here are a few tips to get you started.
DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT TO SELL
Obviously, tote bags are a writer’s best friend, they hold so many books! Bonus if you can find somewhere that makes eco-conscious ones. So, I chose tote bags and tops (a crop sweatshirt, unisex tee, and tank top), but there are many options from mugs and stickers to your own version of the Rooney bucket hat. Once you have an idea of what items you’re interested in selling, the next steps will be easier.
CHOOSE THE ART
Most authors have ready-made art with their book covers – stick it on a tote bag and Boom! However, if you want to get a little more creative there are other options out there. For those with graphic design skill, Canva.com has loads of templates and free use images to utilize. I ended up commissioning two artists from Fiverr.com to create the artwork I used in my shop. I gave the artists descriptions of my short stories and a loose concept, and they did their thing, then I paid for the commercial rights to the images. There are other places to commission artists as well, such as: Etsy, Covatar, or within your own community.
CHOOSE YOUR PLATFORM
Some website hosting services like Wix offer e-commerce platforms you can integrate into your already existing author website, but I was not interested in managing sales or ordering items to ship out myself. So, I looked primarily for print on demand options. The ones I looked into were: Printful, Printify, Teespring, and Teelaunch. I chose Printful because I wanted to host my shop on Big Cartel and the two platforms link together, meaning I can use Big Cartel’s e-commerce platform while also utilizing Printful for print on demand services and fulfillment.
LAUNCH THE SHOP
Once you’ve figured out the ins and outs of your chosen platform, created the shop front, and designed your merch items – you’re ready to launch! I did this by hosting a giveaway on my Instagram for a tote bag and ARC. You should go to whichever social media platform you are most comfortable with and share share share! Printful allows you to order discounted samples, so I had some items to take photos of for promotion. If you’re comfortable, share a photo of what wearable items look like on you. And make sure to add a link on your website or Linktree to make it easy for others to find.
Resources: