14 Ways Fans Can Help Authors

As an author I just want to say that I love each and every one of my fans dearly. If you are an author, your fans are the backbone to getting the word out about your books.

If you are a fan of or even a family member of an author, I have put this list together for you. I have talked personally with many of my fans and it is surprising how many of them want to help and just don’t know how.

You, as a fan, have ALL the power in keeping your favorite writer in the business of writing new stories and new books.

This list includes 14 ways that you can quickly and easily, with the click of a few buttons, make worlds of difference in whether or not an author will get seen by the rest of the world.

1.       BUY THEIR BOOKS: This seems like an obvious fact, but many readers don’t realize that authors do not get credit for sharing or borrowing books from the library. Even buying a 99 cent digital copy on Amazon can make a world of difference when it comes to increasing the authors rank on the best sellers lists.

2.       AMAZON REVIEWS:                The reviews that authors get on Amazon are a huge factor in putting their book in the top searches for their genre. It only take a couple minutes to write what you think about the book and I promise authors will LOVE you for it.

3.       GOODREADS REVIEW: Like I said before, reviews can make or break an author. If you have a few minutes go to Goodreads and write a quick review. You will be surprised how much it will help the author.

4.       AMAZON “LIKE” BUTTON: Just beneath the Title and Author on Amazon, there is a little “thumbs up” button. All you have to do is click it when you go to write a review. It’s that simple.

5.       VOTE “UP” POSITIVE AMAZON REVIEWS: If you find a helpful review on Amazon, answer “yes” when it asks “was this review helpful?” This will allow the good reviews to move “up” to the top of the list. All you have to do is click the yes button.

6.       TWITTER: Send out a quick tweet on your twitter account about the author or the book. When you do this you are helping get the word out about the book or author exponentially.

7.       FACEBOOK: Tell your Facebook friends about the author or book. You can even quickly and easily click share on a post the author has already posted. This again will increase views exponentially in the social media circles.

8.       PINTEREST: Pin the book or author on your Pinterest page.

9.       OFFER AN ENDORSEMENT: If you are an author yourself, offer to endorse the book or author to help promote their work.

10.   BLOG: Write a review or post about the book or author on your blog.

11.   LET FRIENDS BORROW YOUR COPY OF A BOOK: I know you are saying this contradicts #1 on this list, but by talking to your friends and encouraging them to read the book you are potentially gaining a new fan for the author. If they like the book they are more likely to purchase their own copy or purchase future books from the author.

12.   GET TO KNOW THE AUTHOR: Find your favorite author on Facebook or Twitter and get to know them. Send them a message and let them know how much you appreciate their work and whether or not you are looking forward to new books in the future.

13.   PROVIDE SUPPORT ON THEIR BLOG OR WEBSITE: Go to your favorite authors blog and become active in commenting on their posts. Even a couple sentences on different posts lets the author know you are interested in what they are writing.

14.   GOOGLE+: Helping authors with Google+ is as easy as clicking the Google+ button on their blog posts. By clicking it, you are telling Google that this author has fans and they will raise you up in Google searches for the different keywords in the post.

So, if you want to help keep your favorite author in the writing business, take a few minutes and complete a few of the tasks listed above. Help spread the word about them to all of your friends and family, and let the author know how much you appreciate what they do.

Thank you so very much for all of your help “FANS!” I look forward to writing new stories and books for you guys for years to come!

If you have other suggestions about how to help authors please add them in the comments. I look forward to seeing different ways you have of sharing an author’s books and stories.