Look at what Muumuu House sent me when I ordered Ellen Kennedy’s book (no, not the kitty):

Maybe the publishing industry as a whole would be doing better if every publisher lovingly wrapped each purchased book in colored paper and sealed it with a sticker of an original, hand-drawn animal thingy saying “thanks.”  Who wouldn’t like that?

Seriously.  Other publishers should not use this exact technique, of course, but a small gesture of caring, a small gesture demonstrating shared taste, a small first step toward community building can go a very long way.

I will likely buy a book from Muumuu House again.

I would not seek out an illegally copied Muumuu House book or ebook.  Almost certainly wouldn’t anyway, but I feel in my gut that I want to support them.

I follow Muumuu House on Twitter and am curious to see how they are doing and how this book is reviewed.

My attitude  is not all a result of this packaging, but the gesture definitely helped.  It didn’t cost them much and didn’t require too much time or effort.  If you want to look at it in cold business terms, they got a pretty damn big return on their marketing dollar (or their marketing penny).

I keep thinking of reasons why publishers, whenever possible, would be better off selling to their readers directly.  There are so many reasons.