Five Ways to Help Authors

Two weeks since the publication of Kiss, Marry, Murder and while reviews have been excellent so far, there’s no doubt the long tail of book promotion is difficult and unrelenting. I’m currently seeking opportunities to promote myself but the time spent researching this takes me away from writing the next book, which is arguably a more vital sales tool. Whether traditionally or self-published, most people don’t realise the volume of marketing the average author has to do for themselves, often only shifting the needle by a tiny proportion. Getting other people to support you is key, because you simply can’t do it all alone.

If you want to support an author, the best five things you can do are:

1. BUY THE BOOK. This is the number one way you can support an author you know. Nothing says ‘I’ve got you’ like buying the book. If it’s not your thing, then give it away, leave it in a hotel, or donate it to charity – even put it in the bin if you have to. The act of buying the book is meaningful even if you never intend to read it. This includes e-books and audio books and borrowing from the library, which are less expensive investments for you but still really important for an author.

2. GIFT THE BOOK. Even if it’s a used copy. A reviewer on my blog tour messaged me to say she’d loved it so much, she was talking to her friend at dinner about it and then bought a copy for her afterwards. This is such an endorsement and really helps to spread the word beyond the author’s ‘reach’. (Also this will make you seem like the most amazing friend).

3. SHARE THE BOOK. Share on social media that you are reading/ have finished a great book. Even if you don’t want to buy it, or gift it, you can still share about it. Tag or collaborate with the author so they can share it too. Share the author’s website or link to purchase.

4. RECOMMEND THE BOOK. Tell your work colleagues. Tell your friends. Tell your mum. Get your bookclub involved. Write a review and put it on Goodreads or Amazon. Reviews are SO important to other readers, and if an author isn’t getting reviews, they won’t get seen. Period. If you enjoyed it, say what you liked about it, be specific without spoilers. Once you’ve reviewed a book, tell the author you’ve done it. They will be forever grateful.

5. Introduce the author to someone important. If you know someone who is influential, who runs a podcast or hosts a radio show, or writes for a magazine – or better still, you know a celebrity – gift them a book, and better still, make an introduction. Like it or not, endorsements from influential or famous people carry a lot of weight and your author friend will be forever grateful to you for doing it.

Hopefully some of these ideas resonate. And, in case it wasn’t obvious… I’m that author friend we’re talking about…