tariffs – Elizabeth Barone

Book tariffs, pirating my own books, and ways Canadians can still support American authors

In the April edition of author Elizabeth Barone’s reader newsletter, Romance with a Body Count, I share what I’m working on, how we can all support each other during boycotts and tariff wars, and why I’m pirating my own books.

I’m trying to find my footing after all the things life’s been throwing at me, in an industry that’s more tumultuous than ever. With everything going on, I’ve had to make some big changes.

Romance with a Body Count

Author Elizabeth Barone’s Reader Newsletter

April 2025

Archive: January 2025 | February 2025

My dear readers, I pulled a classic “me.” I meant to send a March newsletter weeks ago, said weeks flew by, and now it’s April! On the plus side, it’s spring. And I’ve got even more updates for you, so let’s dive in.

what I’m working on 💻

I’ve been floundering these last few months, trying to find my footing after all the life-y things life’s been throwing at me, in an industry that’s more tumultuous than ever. With everything going on, I’ve really had to fortify my mental fortress. It no longer serves me to be frozen in anxiety from or reactive to every crisis that arises. Instead I’m focusing on being proactive where I can, and writing rather than worrying I’m not active enough on social media or booking enough appearances.

This means I’m less active on Instagram (Meta sucks anyway, more on that in a sec), my new podcast is on hiatus (at least until Mike and I find a peaceful home), and I’m no longer actively booking events.

I’m still working on Sleeve of Hearts revisions, even though my progress has slowed quite a bit with this latest flare a la peripheral neuropathy. PN really, really sucks! I’ve had it as a “side” symptom for a while, so I’m not exactly new to it, but this is the first time it’s gone full throttle on me, and that I’m not used to. Luckily it usually responds well to my Tylenol, ibuprofen, and cannabis cocktail, except when the New England weather is weather-ing, which is frequently. It responded beautifully to both courses of prednisone I did in March, but I think at this point I need a stronger, longer course. It’s tricky.

With all that said, 2025 is officially a writing year for me, and with everything on, it’s exactly what I need.

book tariffs are coming to publishing
what readers need to know 📖

Unfortunately, U.S. tariffs on books go into effect this week. This means readers could see a drastic increase in cover prices. Right now, indie books shouldn’t be effected at all, since most self-published authors use IngramSpark or Kindle Direct Publishing, and the tariffs are on books printed in China. We could see indie prices increase, though, depending on how well publishers and printers adjust to a forecast increase in demand.

It’s really just my forecast, though, so we might not see much impact on indies at all. Only time will tell.

If you’re interested in the deets, or if you’re an author who might be effected, I wrote a quick blog post about it with some recommendations.

pirating my own books 🏴‍☠️

Since Meta apparently used 15 of my titles to train its AI without my knowledge or consent, I’m pirating my own books.

Just kidding—I was actually already serializing the River Reapers MC series with plans to serialize my other indie romances. Just when I was thinking Should I continue?, The Atlantic published their database of the books that Meta copied, cementing my plans. The RRMC books were sort of a test balloon for me, and now I’ll almost definitely be “pirating” the rest of my books.

Why am I posting my books online for free?

I’ve always offered alternatives for readers on no, low-, or fixed incomes, because I believe reading should be accessible. That’s why I’ve always enrolled my books in library catalogs and why I chose Kobo Originals to publish my first trad series (they’re sisters to Overdrive/Libby, the most widely used ebook distributor for libraries). I enjoyed posting on sites like Wattpad and Radish, where my stories did pretty well if I do say so myself. I was fortunate to be able to set up something similar using WordPress, which also gave me the ability to offer paid subscriptions. Some of my serialized books will be free for all, some will be free for those subscribed to my (free) email list, and some will be exclusively for (paid) Sponsors.

Right now, you can read the first two books in the River Reapers series, and I post new episodes of Her Mercy every Tuesday and Thursday!

I’m also considering reopening my review program. It was wildly successful when I launched it a few years ago. Basically, readers could request a review copy of a book of mine they weren’t able to purchase, no questions asked, as long as they posted an honest review. If you think I should do this again, hit the like button below!

How Canadian readers can still support american authors 🇨🇦

Or, low-key, how American authors can support #BuyCanadian and #BoycottUS 🙌🏼

With all the shots our strangely orange president’s been taking at Canada, it’s no surprise that Canadians are boycotting U.S.-made products and services. In some bookish spaces, it’s getting pretty ugly on all sides. I don’t think any of my readers are like that, but I believe we all succeed when we work together, so I put together some recommendations.

I’m still working on my mega list of ways people can boycott Amazon while supporting authors. It started off as like 10 things and now it’s grown monstrous—a wonderful problem to have, so I’m breaking it into several parts. The first will go out this week, probably Wednesday or Friday.

Leave me an emoji comment if you’re a proud reader! 🇨🇦🇺🇸📚🙌🏼

It’s been a bumpy year, and it’s only April. We will get through this, though, I really believe that. We just have to stick together and get creative. That goes for anything in life, not just dictators and religious crazies. Nothing can get ya when you’re stubborn. 😉

Happy resisting, and happy reading! 🖤

Thank you to March and April’s Sponsors: Katy Nicole, Dee, B., and Lauren!

Become a sponsor for $5/month.
Subscribing to my free newsletter is another great way to support me.

Photo by Elin Melaas on Unsplash

Tariffs are coming to publishing

With tariffs coming to the publishing industry, authors, publishers, and book stores are (understandably) freaking out. Could tariffs actually be a blessing in disguise?

🙃 Well that was fast. 🙃

Ever since Trump announced all the tariffs he’s been threatening us with are going into effect this week, I’ve low-key been waiting for them to come for my industry. It’s bad enough I won’t be able to get a decent cucumber (Mexico and Canada export the best). Now I can’t afford to stay in business in an industry with already razor-thin profit margins.

Authors, publishers, and book stores are, understandably, freaking the fuck out. A 25% tariff on books printed outside the U.S. will make already-high cover prices astronomical. The White House has since amended the tariff to be lower on children’s books, and made religious exemptions for, say, bible publishers. (One wonders what constitutes as a “religious” book… Does Sierra Simone’s Priest count?)

Right now, if you’re an indie author using IngramSpark or KDP to print your books, the tariffs won’t effect you because both IS and KDP have facilities right here in the United States. With publishers large and small scrambling to save costs with this sudden announcement, though, we could see an influx in IS/KDP users, which could raise prices for everyone.

Or it could be a good thing, lowering printing costs for everyone. We don’t know yet.

In the meantime, authors may want to review your cover prices more frequently to make sure you’re still making a profit as costs fluctuate. You’ll also want to consider alternatives (like local book printers who can better handle your orders if IS/KDP get flooded), or ways to lower your costs (like creating truncated editions,publishing longer novels in parts, serializing chapters, or utilizing zines).

The publishing industry is constantly changing. We have to adapt or die, especially in times when external entities have tumultuous effect on publishing. Nothing could stop me from writing, not even my own body, so there’s no way in hell someone like Trump could ever.

This is the part where we get more creative.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

5 ways Canadian readers can boycott and still support American authors

In support of Canadian readers boycotting U.S.-made books and authors, I’ve put together a list of ways you can still support your favorite American authors.

🇨🇦 Buy Canadian. Boycott U.S. 🇨🇦
Yes, even the books!

It’s getting a bit ugly in some bookish spaces online, so before any of that ugliness comes here—not that any of my readers even act like that—I want to say something.

It’s good and right that Canadians are boycotting U.S.-made products and services. They have to, because of Trump’s insane tariffs. I’m American and adore my Canadian friends, readers, colleagues, associates, and publisher. That will never change! I don’t take Canadian boycotts personally because they aren’t personal attacks on me.

Authors, please don’t be angry with readers for your sales dropping. There are a few elements at play, here (one of those is Amazon’s sudden move to prevent readers from downloading ebooks they’ve purchased on their Kindle to their computer). People are speaking out with their dollars, and we should be supporting that; everyone wins when we support each other. (Amazon’s abuse of authors is something we need to talk about, but not today.)

I don’t want to get all soapbox-y, but we really do need to stick together and work cooperatively.

Here are some ways Canadian readers can still support their favorite American authors without spending a dime!

Join authors’ email lists ✍🏼

I’m genuinely surprised every time a reader doesn’t know I have a newsletter. I feel like I’m always pushing it, sometimes obnoxiously so, haha. Most authors have a newsletter (and if you don’t, you should). Joining an author’s email list lets them know you’re a fan, and doesn’t cost you a dime (it actually costs us). It’s also a great way to ensure that no stupid social media algorithm will keep you out of the loop.

My newsletter is free, and I typically send one every month. You’ll also get exclusive goodies and instant access to my serialized books.

Like, comment on, and share authors’ social media posts 💬

I’ve been serializing my River Reapers MC dark romance books here on my website, which doesn’t cost anything to read. If you’re a Canadian reader boycotting U.S. authors, liking, commenting on, and sharing those chapters is still a great way to support me. It’d actually help me out quite a bit, as it helps other people discover my website.

Even if authors aren’t doing anything like that, they’re usually posting on their socials, and engaging with those posts in any way is a huge help. Just like traffic, likes, comments, and shares helps people discover author websites, your interactions on social media help other people discover those author pages.

Email authors ✉️

Emailing an author out of the blue might feel awkward, but authors love to hear from readers! When I get an email from any reader, it always makes me smile. You don’t have to write a long letter or explain that you’re boycotting or tell us how much you love our books. You can simply say hi. It’s really encouraging to know there’s someone out there.

Post a review or rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

For indie authors especially, a book’s reviews and average rating are everything. If you’ve read an author’s work in the past, and didn’t get to leave a review, now’s a great time to throw down a quick 1-5 star rating. If you’ve got the time, write a couple sentences about what you enjoyed.

If you haven’t read the book yet, ask the author about their ARC team. I did a short-term review program for readers who weren’t able to buy my books for whatever reason, and I’ve been thinking about opening that list back up again. It was such a win/win.

Borrow books from the library 📖

This can be a bit tricky, since libraries have to purchase both print and ebook licenses, and if the publisher or author is American, Canadians may not want to borrow. If the library already has the book or ebook in circulation, though, it’s your tax dollars already spent, so you might as well make use of it.

A note on print-on-demand (POD) 🖨

In the same vein, purchasing indie ebooks in Canada gets really tricky. Although POD services like IngramSpark will ship to Canada, they don’t have printing facilities there (I asked).

Good news for Aussies, though! If you purchase one of my books in Australia, it’ll be printed in Australia. Same goes for American readers who like supporting U.S. businesses (Ingram Content is an American company operating out of Tennesee).

KDP does not have any printing facilities in Canada or any countries outside the U.S., as far as I know. I don’t use them, so if someone could get me a definitive answer, I’d really appreciate it!

I support all readers (and people) who are boycotting. It’s not easy, and it’s so important. We all need to do our part if we want to enjoy the world we live in and make it better for the future. I really hope these tips help.

Happy boycotting, and happy reading! 🖤

Photo by Nong on Unsplash