How to Help Authors

From personal experience, I’ve discovered that gaining recognition and creating an audience as a new author – especially as a self-published one – is borderline impossible.

So, in order to help out new authors, I’ve created a short guide on some important things you can do that they’ll definitely appreciate.

Let’s begin!

1. Buy the book. Buy it for yourself. Buy it for your family. Buy it for your friends. It’s an obvious point, but still important, especially as many ranking statistics are determined by sales. Additionally, sales are one of the only ways that authors – especially self-published authors – will receive any profit from their work.
2. Write a review. Reviews are the next most important thing after buying the book, sometimes more important. The first 10-20 reviews – even if they’re just a few words long – are what can set the book on the right path. Reviews are evidence that the book is being read and talked about.
3. Promote it on social media. When the author mentions their book on social media, share the news with your own followers. Include a small note about what the book is and why they should buy it.
4. Follow them on Amazon and Goodreads. Following on Amazon gives you updates on when the author releases a new book, and Goodreads lets you interact further with the author, including blogs, other books, recommendations, and questions. Goodreads will also give you notifications if books are being listed in giveaways, giving you the chance to win a free copy of the book while giving the author an opportunity to promote their releases.
5. Feature them in your blog, podcast, or newsletter. All publicity is good publicity. Authors definitely appreciate all the help they can get. (Sidenote: From experience, I can confirm that almost every other type of marketing or publicity is expensive.)
6. Ask for the book to be stocked at your library or bookstore. Offline visibility is exceptionally difficult for new authors as libraries and bookstores tend to stock books that are popular or highly marketed. If your favourite author has a new book, swing by your local libraries and stores to see if they have a copy. If not, find out if they can order one. Many love affairs are born between readers and books at the local library.