What you can do for your favourite authors

Did you enjoy a good book lately?

If you genuinely enjoyed the book, and would like to read more of that author’s work, then I strongly encourage you to support the book and the author’s writing career in ways that are either cheap or free.

How? It’s very simple: Tell everyone you know how much you liked the book. This is especially true of books you borrowed or otherwise didn’t pay for. But if you enjoyed the book, you can pay the author for entertaining you in other ways, including talking up a storm.  If the author doesn’t receive either money or word-of-mouth then that author’s careers is doomed to be short-lived.

Here’s some suggestions for what you can do to help your favourite authors continue to be able to write:

• Tell your colleagues, your friends, (your enemies?) about the new book you’ve just read, and the great new publisher you’ve discovered, where you can find more of the same.  Talk about it over coffee, during phone conversations, on email discussion lists you belong to, etc.
• Write a Letter to the Editor or mini-review for newsletters of appropriate organizations to which you belong.
• Go to Amazon.com and write a 5-star review…if you think that’s deserved, of course.
• Does your favourite on-line bookstore carry the books?  Ask them to stock them.
• Buy a copy of the book as a gift (in print or e-book) to friends and relatives who might like it.
• If you know the author, ask them for promotional material (bookmarks, postcards) that you can give out to friends (the author may even sign them for you). Put bookmarks into return envelopes and mailings.
• Do you have a favorite reader site or review site, or fiction site? Does it have reader bulletin boards? Talk about the author! List the titles, or add your own reader review.
• Go to the Preditors & Editors poll. (http://www.critters.org/predpoll/). Vote for the author and all their books that you have enjoyed.
• Add a link to your website. (Email the author for their official website and permission, which I’m sure the author will be delighted to give.)
• Does the author do speeches and presentations? Lectures? Considering having the author attend your annual convention as a keynote speaker or panelist.
• Tell the author!  Tell her how much you liked the book. No, she doesn’t hear it all the time, and no, she doesn’t ever tire of hearing how much people have enjoyed her books.

This is a win-win situation for everyone—by helping authors, you will gain the benefit of more novels that you enjoy.