How readers can help authors

It’s a curious switch, from reader to writer. Not that you suddenly stop reading yourself – all authors I know read voraciously – but simply that you become more aware of how readers matter. I’ve been overwhelmed by the support I’ve had from friends, family and followers, on the e-publication of I Let You Go, and it made me determined to do more when I read a great book. It’s something I’ve thought about a great deal in my capacity as a literary festival director, when I bring readers and writers together and want them both to have a great time.
Here’s my list of what readers can do to support their favourite authors.
1. Buy the book
Let’s start with the obvious one. Sales are an author’s life-blood, and they don’t mind whether you buy their book in hardback, paperback or ebook. Buy it for yourself, buy it for a friend, sort out your Christmas shopping in one fell swoop…
2. Read the book
Not at all the same thing as number 1! Books are expensive, particularly when they first come out, and not everyone has enough disposable cash to treat themselves when they want to. Borrow a copy from your library, or from a friend (or enjoy that copy they’ve bought you for Christmas!) and read it. Ultimately all writers want to be read.
3. Ask for the book to be stocked
Speak to your local bookshop and ask them to consider stocking it. Sales reps brandish catalogues filled with hundreds of new titles, and with shelf space tight book shop managers have to make tough decisions. If they have enough customers asking for a particular author, it might affect what they put on the shelves. Similarly you can ask your nearest library to consider getting certain titles in.
4. Suggest the book to your reading group
If you’re in a book club and you think your fellow readers would enjoy it, why not suggest it as your next book for discussion? Authors are often very happy to answer questions by email, or even join the end of your discussion via Skype, which adds an extra dimension to a book club.
5. Tell people
We do this naturally, but it makes a big difference, so it’s worth including here. If you’ve read a book you’ve loved, tell your friends about it. That might be in the form of a blog post, a status update on Facebook or Twitter, or simply chatting to your mates in the pub. Word of mouth recommendation is the best way to find good reads, so make sure your friends know about your latest read!
6. Write a review
Everyone knows to take reviews with a pinch of salt, but they still make a big impact on people’s buying choices. It takes a few minutes to write your thoughts on a book, and on Amazon you can even leave your review in video form. The Goodreads community is strongly review-driven, and nothing makes an author happier than great feedback. Of course, inviting reviews means accepting the rough with the smooth, but that’s part of the contract authors enter into when they put their books out into the big wide world!
7. Take a photo
If you’re a social media devotee, a picture of your current read is worth a thousand words. An eye-catching cover image repeated hundreds of times across the internet is not only extremely exciting for an author to see, it also has a subtle but important influence on prospective readers. Imagine you’re browsing sea of covers in a bookshop or online store: something that looks familiar is more likely to catch your eye.
8. Follow the author
Not literally (that way prison lies), but keeping up with your favourite author pays dividends for you and them. Follow them on Facebook or Twitter, read their blog, or sign up to their mailing list (here’s mine) and you’ll be the first to hear when a new book is coming out. If they’re an internet-savvy author (and nowadays authors can’t afford not to be) you might also find exclusive extracts, offers, competitions and sneak previews.
9. Offer to take promotional material
Many authors have postcards or bookmarks to promote their latest titles, and if you’ve got a good distribution network (libraries, schools, societies, village halls etc) why not offer to take some and hand them around? A carefully placed bookmark in a book you’re returning to the library could encourage the next borrower to look up your favourite author and discover their books.
10. Attend events
Not all authors do events, and I’m not suggesting you follow your favourite author around the country (see the stalking warning in point 8). But if they’re coming to a bookshop or festival in your area, consider going to show your support. You might not buy a book – you might have them all already – but authors are always delighted to see readers, and are generally happy to sign books you’ve had for a while (although do ask first – sometimes priority is given to those buying at the event).*
 
So you see readers are hugely important to authors, and have huge influence over how well a book sells. What have you done to support your favourite author, and what have I missed out?
 
*I’ll be signing copies of I Let You Go on Thursday 13th November at a party held at Jaffé & Neale Bookshop & Café, in Chipping Norton, between 6pm and 8.30pm. If you’re in the area, do come along!