7 Ways Readers Can Help an Author Right Now

Here’s a doable list of things you can do to help your favorite author (or any author, really) stay in the business of writing the books you consume.

1 – Request your local library buy a copy of the author’s book.

While libraries make up around a little over 1.3% of book sales (according to a 2015 Publisher’s Weekly article), they are still buyers. Also, libraries display books, giving the casual browser an opportunity to see the covers, blurbs, and so forth. At a later date, the browser might be more likely to buy the same book they saw in the library when they come across it in a different setting. Like Barnes & Noble. Or on Amazon. Frequency illusion (the appearance that something is more popular than perhaps it really is because it crops up multiple times) could lead to a purchase. (Here’s the article by PW, which also gives reasons why we should continue to support libraries: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/66106-the-case-for-libraries.html)

2 – Check out the author’s books from the library.

If a book isn’t circulating, it might be discarded and future books by the author probably won’t be ordered.

3 – Leave a review on Goodreads, BookBub, and the place you bought the book from.

Reviews help drive sales, even the negative ones. If you see a novel with all rave reviews, you might think only family and friends read it. The review doesn’t have to be long. It could be a few notes on what you liked about the book, what you thought didn’t work, or you could just…

4 – Leave a rating.

If you don’t want to go through the hassle of writing up a review, Amazon now allows customers to leave a star rating alone. This is still very helpful for writers trying to get their work noticed.

5 – Tell your friends.

Just a word in passing. “Hey, what are you reading? I just finished THE ATLAS SIX by Olivie Blake and it was AMAZING!” Word of mouth sells books.

6 – Interact with and follow them on social media.

This especially goes for non-fiction writers. Literary agents/publishers want to see they have a good following before signing them. As for fiction authors, well, we could use the encouragement. Writing can be a lonely business, and our efforts a lot of times feel like they were for naught.

7 – Send them fan mail.

I mean, really, who doesn’t love to know they’ve made a difference in someone’s life? This sort of thing makes our day.
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We’ve talked about helping authors, but what are some ways AUTHORS can help READERS? I’d love to hear from you in the comments or in my inbox: bethovermyer [at] gmail [dot] com.

Keep your nose in a book,
Beth