10 Simple Ways to Support Authors You Love

Before I was published, I didn’t realize how much authors appreciated readers taking the time to publicly support them. In fact, I didn’t know my support was important. And even if I had known, I wouldn’t have had a clue what kinds of things would help my favorite authors the most.

But now that I’m on the other side of the fence, with one published book out and another hitting the shelves in four months, I realize just how much it means when readers take a little extra time to offer their public support.

Yes, THE best support is actually reading the author’s book. But, if you enjoyed the book, you’ll do the author a BIG favor by taking the support one step further. That one step can make a huge difference. A reader’s word-of-mouth promotion has an enormous influence on pushing a book even further into the public eye.

The support doesn’t have to require enormous effort (like a blog review/interview—although those are good too!). In fact, many of the most effective ways to show support require only a couple of minutes of time.

Here are some the short but sweet things readers have done for The Preacher’s Bride, things I would urge all of us to consider doing:

10 Simple Ways to Support Authors You Love:

1. Write a book review and post it on Amazon. If you’ve ever ordered on Amazon then you’re eligible to post a review. It’s very simple to do and incredibly helpful (if it’s a good review!). The Preacher’s Bride has garnered several #1 slots on Amazon’s Kindle store due to the positive ratings readers have taken the time to write. (SO THANK YOU to those who’ve done that already!)

[Side Note: If you’re a writer, use your author name when writing reviews. This can give your name extra exposure. For example, Holly Weiss, author of Crestmont, put the first review for The Preacher’s Bride on Amazon (and she did a fantastic job with the review!). Now her name and book are the first that people see when they visit the Amazon page for The Preacher's Bride.]

2. Copy and paste your review onto other online bookstores. There’s nothing wrong with copying your Amazon review and using it on other sites, like GoodReads, Shelfari, Barnes&Noble.com or CBD.com.

3. Click the “Like” button on a book’s Amazon page. (If you're not sure what this is, head over to The Preacher's Bride Amazon page and you'll find it near the top.)

4. Click on the “Tags People Associate With This Product” on Amazon. If you scroll down on The Preacher’s Bride Amazon page, you’ll see approximately 32 tags. The more tags and the more clicks, the better a book will come up in search results.

5. Tweet about the book. Recently Pamela Trawick tweeted a noteworthy tweet about The Preacher’s Bride. In 140 characters she managed to capture the essence of her reading experience: The Preacher’s Bride is outstanding. Great tension, good pace, fabulous plot. Read it. (Thanks, Pamela, for a fantastic shout out about the book!)

6. Make a short comment of praise about the book on Facebook (or copy the one from Twitter). Twitter streams move quickly, and so tweets come and go. But on facebook, news has the ability to stick around a bit longer. Be sure to include the author’s name (when you use an @ in front of any name, it will make the comment show up your facebook wall and theirs).

7. Pass along the book to a friend or to family. And ask them to pass it along when they’re done.

8. Better yet, BUY the book as a gift for friends and family. For birthdays, anniversaries, Mother’s Day, or any other special occasion. Publishing houses keep track of every book sale. And each purchase is important to an author.

[Side note: If you win a book or get a free influencer copy, you can still buy a copy of the book and give away one copy as a blog prize or gift to someone. My critique partner, Keli Gwyn, purchased many copies of my book to use as giveaways.Thank you, Keli!]

9. Ask your local library to carry the book. First check if they have the book (you can usually look it up online). And if they don’t, next time you’re at your library, personally request the book.

10. Make an effort to pass on your love of the book. Somehow, someway tell someone how much you liked the book. Word-of-mouth is the best way to help support an author! The more times a person hears about or sees a book, the greater the chances that they'll pick it up and read it.

What are some other practical ways readers can help support authors? What have you done? Have you taken the time to publicly support a book or author you’ve liked? Or haven’t you given it much thought before now?

*A special THANK YOU to all those who’ve supported me in one way or another! Your help means SO much! I appreciate each and every effort!!