Reading has been my greatest pleasure and at times my saviour since I was very young, and I’m eternally grateful to word magicians for creating their captivating worlds, characters and stories. Yet it never occurred to me that I, as a reader, was also important to those writers. It’s only been since I began my author career that I’ve come to truly understand the value of reader support.
Make no mistake: readers are vital to writers in what they think, say and do about the books they read, and writers are immensely grateful for the support they receive.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that one of the best ways to support your favourite authors is through buying their books, but that isn’t what this article is about. I’d like to let you know what else you can do to help writers continue producing the books you love to read.
Word of Mouth
How do you usually choose what books to buy? Do you search for the writers or series you like and check if there’s anything you haven’t read yet? Many readers prefer to read books by authors they already know or who were recommended to them by friends or family. As a result, word of mouth is one of a writer’s most powerful weapons in the fight to attract readers to their work. If you have a writer you love, don’t be shy in telling everyone you know about his or her work, especially if they already read that genre. You could be doing both the writer and your friend a big favour by introducing them.
Leaving Reviews
Sometimes frequent review requests can become annoying. Amazon sends emails, and writers put reminders at the end of their books and gentle prompts on social media and newsletters. The reason for all these requests is that reviews are essential to a book’s success. Those golden stars are eye-catching and for some readers they’re a one-stop assessment of a book’s worth. Additionally, some promotion sites only accept books that have a minimum number of reviews. So one of the best ways you can support your favourite writers is leaving a review, even if it’s only a sentence or two.
However, in case you’re wondering whether it’s helpful to leave neutral or negative review, the answer is no. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t leave whatever review you want, but only positive, 4- or 5-star reviews really help a novel shine. Most books will receive negative reviews that give readers a balanced viewpoint anyway. If you’d like to feed back to the writer with some constructive criticism, you can write them an email. Most writers include their contact details on their websites and are happy to hear your opinion.
The best place to leave your review is on the book’s page at the bookstore, whether that’s Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, Googleplay or elsewhere. Amazon has become notorious for making leaving a review difficult, though, and sometimes deletes reviews. If you can’t leave a review on the bookstore’s page, write it on Goodreads or Bookbub instead (or as well!)
ARC Teams
You might have heard this term bandied about or you might even belong to an ARC team. ARC stands for Advanced Review Copy or Advanced Reader Copy, and these are books that teams of readers receive free of charge with the hope that they will leave a review. Usually, the ARC teams receive their books before the publication date. Joining an ARC team is a great way to support a writer, but the above caveat applies: If you don’t enjoy a book, the best way to help the author is to write to them directly and not voice your concerns in a public review.
Social Media
Some say social media is the bane of modern existence, others love it. Whatever your feelings are about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etcetera, don’t doubt that for many writers, social media is essential in raising their public profiles and selling books. From a reader’s perspective, it’s another effective avenue for supporting writers without spending a penny. Every time you like, share and comment on a post it tickles the algorithms and the post is shown to more people.
Kindle Unlimited
Amazon readers have the option to join Kindle Unlimited (KU) and pay a monthly subscription to download as many books as they like for no extra cost. Some writers don’t like the exclusivity that KU demands, but for others the money they receive according to the number of pages read makes up a large proportion of their income. If you’re in KU, simply borrowing an author’s book is helpful because the book then rises in the rankings. But be careful to not read a KU book on your ereader in page flip mode because Amazon doesn’t register the pages read.
Following Authors
The best way to follow authors really depends on what works for you. Some readers love to receive authors’ newsletters, but if you aren’t likely to open or click on yet another email, it probably isn’t helpful to the writer to join his or her mailing list. A better alternative would be to follow the author on Amazon or Bookbub if you’d like to hear about new releases, or on Goodreads to offer general support.
Libraries
Although these wonderful establishments are under pressure in many countries, libraries remain an essential source of reading material for many readers. You can help the writers you like and other readers by asking your local library to add your recommended books to their collection.
Changes in the publishing industry over the last few years have resulted in writers producing a wider range of books and genres than ever. By supporting your favourite writers, you’re helping them to continue to supply you with the books you love. If you have any more suggestions or questions on how to support writers, please write them in the comment box below.