How to support your favorite self-published author

Working in the publishing world you get to meet with lots of wonderful, and very talented authors, creative individuals who have spent a great deal of their time developing an idea into a story, or sharing an experience, or writing specific details of their knowledge within a certain arena, all dedicated to bringing this to an audience of interested and engaged readers.

And for the readers, we love to lose ourselves in a great author’s work, being taken on a journey or to learn something we never knew before, there are lots of reasons why we read and there are lots of ways that we can support those self-publishing authors that we love.

So, this year, why not support your favorite self-publishing / indie author, here are TEN ways that any reader can help.

One – Preorder

Many authors will start to advertise their books prior to launch, this will include offering their readers the option of preordering their latest title, if you like their work, preorder their new book.

Two – Give books as gifts

Most of us enjoy receiving a new book as a gift, it shows the thought of the person giving it to you and can be a great way to read new titles that you may not have picked out yourself. So, if you have an author you love, buy and gift multiple copies to friends and family who enjoy reading.

Three – Review

Reviews have such an impact on page ranking for indie authors, the more reviews the increased chances of being seen by more readers. So, if you loved your last read, review it and give them an appropriate star rating, just try to be kind when putting your thoughts out there, authors are still people too.

Four – Buy from the author

Most authors these days have their own website, here you can join their newsletter, find out more about them and see what’s happening with up-and-coming new releases, you can also (normally) buy a copy of their books directly from them. Doing this ensures that more of the profits from the sale of each book returns directly to the author, you may find that the author will also discount the book a little in comparison to the big-name online bookstores.

Five – Get social

Following your favorite indie author on social media and interacting in a polite way is a huge moral boost to many authors, because not every reader leaves a review on bookstores, it’s nice for authors to see that readers are enjoying their work and interested in future books. You can also share posts that you think your own friends/followers would be interested in and thus help promote your author at the same time.

Six – More social media

If there is a particular book or author that you love, shout about it on social media. Recommendations from friends and family really do help to sell books, so let others know what you think they should try reading next.

Seven – Nominate Authors

There are many publishing and book review websites which award authors each year, lots of these also work off votes from readers, a quick search for your genre will give you a list to choose from (although Goodreads offers many awards for authors too).

If you follow an author on social media, keep an eye out for when they post links to competitions their book is entered in to and support them.

Eight – Instagram their books

If you are creative with your camera then put it to use with an author’s book, taking an image of the paperback in a great (and apt) location and uploading with lots of relevant hashtags can help to increase the exposure of the book.

Nine – Sign up for newsletters

This can really help authors when letting you know about new books which are up and coming, they also tend to give more details about the author and their other books, so you can get a great insight into how they developed your favorite book and at the same time show support.

Ten – Buy in a traditional bookstore

Most of us love going into traditional bookstores (personally I can lose myself for hours in a good bookstore), just make sure you find an employee and ask for the book you want, they may well have to order this, but a lot of bookstores purchase new books based on interest, so anything that you can do to encourage this interest can help. Also, you’re showing support for your local store as well as an indie author.