Supporting an author is one of the best things you can do for both readers and authors. I have seen a lot of short lists with a few ideas on how to support authors. What I have tried to do here is compile the most comprehensive list of ways to support authors ever compiled.

Supporting an author for free

Ask where the title is in your local bookshop

Looking for the author’s book in a shop? Don’t find it yourself. Ask the store clerks. Doing that will cause them to look up the book on their system. Which means the big computer brain will note your interest.

Bookshops, both independent and chain, use customer interest as a measure of how many books to buy. By letting a bookshop know you are interested, you will encourage them to buy more copies from that author.

Reserve a copy at your local library

Just like the interest that bookshops use to guide buying, libraries do too. If you and a few friends reserve the same book, they will consider buying more copies. That means more sales for the author.

If the library has the book, borrow it

Checked out books, are the chief statistic for buying future titles. Borrow every last title by the author that you can get the library to lend you. Supporting an author by pumping up the loans rate is free but it shows the library this author is popular.

Also, libraries pay authors based on the number of books that are borrowed. So borrowing a book by an author may be a way to get that author paid.

If the library does not have the book ask them to get it in

Libraries often purchase only the books people actively ask them to get. Ask your library to get in the author’s books. If you request the books, they are very likely to buy copies. That equals sales for your author. Not to mention that people may borrow the book which helps too.

Recommend their books to your favourite independent or specialist shop

Niche and indie books can often carry a very wide range of merchandise. An honest recommendation could result in the shop carrying one or more titles from the author.

Independent bookshops are trying to make a profit in a difficult market. Your request may well have been made to the person who orders the books for the shop. They will see your love of this author and act on it.

It should go without saying that if an independent shop takes the trouble to get in titles you have suggested, buy them. The last thing you want to do is cause our dwindling supply of small shops to choke and die. Least of all because of your recommendations.

Reface the book to face outwards

In chain stores, they will turn books they want to push so you see the cover. If you see the author’s book in a store, there is nothing stopping you from facing them outward.

At the very least, this may cause more people to become aware of the author. It might even result in additional sales.

Leave them a glowing review on Amazon

While I may not entirely trust Amazon reviews, they do matter. Leave good reviews for books you have loved.

First of all, a good collection of highly positive reviews has an impact on how and where Amazon will push a title. The more reviews, the more likely the book is to be featured.

Second, some people check the reviews if they are thinking about buying a book. A decent review can influence their choice.

Leave them a glowing review on Goodreads

Another site where reviews matter – perhaps more than Amazon – is Goodreads. Readers use Goodreads to discover new titles and authors. A solid review will make a difference for an author.

There is no such thing as a review that is too long or too in depth. If your review is honest and insightful, it will help the author sell more books.

Leave them a glowing review on any other site that accepts reviews

Likewise, if you are a user of other sites that accept book reviews. Leave your review on that site too. Reviews matter to authors.

Write great reviews.

Write a book review on your blog

Book review blogs make a huge difference to authors. They matter because book review blogs can cause spikes in book sales. Even if your blog is not exclusively about books, a review can be a powerful boost for an author.

If you do not have a blog and love reading, why not start a review blog? Author Buzz has themes expressly for book reviews.

Recommend the book to your book reading group

If you love books, the chances are you are part of a reading group (or know of one). By recommending a book to a reading group, you may cause not only a sale per member but additional sales from those members that loved the book.

Recommend the best book by your author. Your recommendations will carry a lot more weight if the books your suggest are well appreciated.

Nominate the book for awards

Many book awards are given based on public recommendations. Simply being shortlisted can be a fantastic way for an author to promote themselves. Not to mention that the shortlisting is in itself great publicity.

Nominate your favourite new authors for awards.

Connect the author with speaking opportunities

Are you a teacher or part of a PTA? Do you run a club or anything else with members that would enjoy listening to an interesting speaker? What about your favourite author?

Connect your author with speaking opportunities and you introduce them to many new potential readers. Also, you will gain credit for setting up an interesting speaker.

Sign up for the author’s email list

An author’s email list is something that they (should) use to announce new books. That list is also something that can get the attention of agents. Authors with large lists are an easier sale for an agent.

Also, you may find out about books and events that you might not otherwise have heard about.

Word of mouth matters: Recommend to your friends

Even if you have no contacts, reading group, or niche shops, you still have friends (probably). Personally recommending a new author’s book is a powerful boost in sales.

Tell your friends about the books you love. Not only will they thank you for introducing them to a great new author (or book) but the author you support gains new readers.

Lend copies of their book to friends

One way of recommending a book is to lend it to another person. The chance to read a book by a new author will plant a seed that may grow into a new fandom.

Pay forward the debt you owe to whoever introduced you to this author by introducing another person.

Attend the author’s book reading and bring at least two non-writer friends

You signed up for the email list so hopefully you found out about a book reading in your area. Go. Bring your friends.

Hopefully, you have suggested the author to other friends. Which should mean you have shared an enjoyment of that author. Getting those friends along should be relatively easy.

A good turn out at a reading will do wonders for the bookshop, and the author. A good turnout will make a return visit much more likely. Not to mention ordering more copies of their books from then on.

Bring as many people as possible to their book release party

If you can get to an authors book release party, go. Bring as big a crowd as possible. Not only will everyone you bring be much more likely to buy the author’s books after attending such an event but a large crowd gives the author social proof. A large crowd says, “this author is popular, I should find out why.”

Furthermore, a successful launch party will be greatly encouraging for the author. An encouraged author is more likely to write more of the same. As a reader, more books is great news.

Read their book in public

People are strange. We tend to only want to buy books by authors we know about. We also tend to want to buy books when they are already popular. Unless, of course, we are the kind of person that wants to have liked it before it was famous.

That awareness of an author can be influenced by seeing people reading their book. Perhaps you commute, maybe you frequent coffee houses, or sit on the beach during the summer. Simply reading an author’s book in public will subtly raise public awareness of the book and its author.

Public book reading can also be the reason why interesting conversations with fellow book lovers start.

Follow them on social media

Just as joining an author’s email list boosts the numbers they can brag about to agents, their social media follower count does that too. People are more likely to follow an author that is already popular. By following them before they were popular, you help them become popular.

Following an author can get your first in line for news about them and their books. Which I assume is something you would like as you are thinking about supporting an author. An author that I hope you love reading.

Join their Author Buzz group or make a fan group

This is an extension of following the author on social media. Buy showing Author Buzz users that your author is worth following, you make it more likely that they will discover them too.

Author Buzz is user run. Which means if there is no author group, there is nothing stopping you from making a fan group. I would love it if people made a fan group about my writing. I can be pretty sure other authors would too.

Follow the author’s blog and leave engaging comments

Nothing is quite so encouraging for a blog post writer than seeing a comment that shows someone else has been reading your stuff. It shows possible agents, potential fans, and the author that people are interested in what they are writing.

For an author, an insightful comment from a fan can be exactly what they need to stay motivated in writing that sequel you are waiting for. Unless you are George R. R. Martin – no one knows what it takes to make him get his books finished.

Share news of upcoming releases with your friends

Being so well connect with the author, you will probably be the first to learn about new releases. Help the author create some buzz by telling people about it.

Submit author news to Author Buzz

As a well-connected fan – one who shares things with their friends – help spread the author’s fame even further by promoting the news on Author Buzz. Like I said on the press releases blog post, I am always looking for industry-relevant news.

What better way to prove that you are their biggest super-fan – and should be president of their not-yet-created fan club – than by spreading the news of the author’s new book release on Author Buzz and other reliant sites?

Link to the author’s blog or website

If you run a blog, a post that links to a new author’s website is worth a lot to the author. Not just in terms of possible visitors following the link but in terms of search engines doing so too.

When you link to an author’s website, try not to link to the front page. Everyone does that – it is not worth much. Instead, deep link. Link to the exact page where the thing you are talking about is. If you are talking about a blog post, link to the post not the blog home page. Same for books, bio, or anything else.

Share, retweet, reblog, etc. their content and news

If an author shares something on social media, publishes a blog post, or tweets something, they probably hope that it will get traction and people will see it. That traction, in turn, means greater public awareness, and that means book sales.

You can help an author a great deal by simply championing their content and sharing it with your friends. Whatever the platform, give it a signal boost. Get that information out there.

Share a book selfie

A book selfie is exactly what you think it is – a selfie with a book included. When you share pictures of yourself, share pictures of the book you are reading. It might seem like nothing, but a book selfie is great free publicity for the author which shows just how big a fan base they are building.

Book selfies are fun. They increase your book-cred which is a thing that I may have just made up. That said, book lovers will probably love your share.

Share a few awesome quotes from their book

Nothing says fan love like sharing quotes. If the quote strikes a chord with your followers or is particularly witty, it may get shared. If another fan sees it, then you have something to bond over – the shared love of an author that few people know about. That sounds a lot like a new fan club starting.

Tumblr is particularly good for sharing quotes. As is the Say blog. We always need more quotes for Say. Quote Bot is not very hard working.

Send fan mail

The Internet being what it is, authors do not need to be around long before some slime starts telling them how they suck and all their work is derivative. Abuse like that is pretty much part and parcel of being an author. It should not be but it is.

To counter act the negative Nellies, some fan mail can be a huge boost to an author. They might not necessarily have time to reply but authors generally love it when you contact them just to say that you love their book. I know I would appreciate fan mail (I might not deserve any yet, but that’s another story).

Send a quick thank you email. Or, go old school. Send actual mail.

Offer to beta-read for the author

The author you wish to support might have enough test readers but they might value well structured input from a true fan. Even if they turn down your offer, the fact that you were willing to support them will have been most encouraging. Plus you get early access to their books. I call that a win.

Non-free ways to support an author

Buy their books. Buy all their books.

The only way to directly use your money to support an author is to buy their books. Buy the paper copy. If you can, buy the ebook edition too. Not only are ebook editions usually extremely inexpensive but they count just as much towards a book’s sales figures. Also, you have a digital backup in case someone fails to return the hard copy that you lent them.

Buy new instead of second hand

Most of the time, used books do not do anything for the author. Sales of used books rarely count as sales; they almost never financially benefit them. Used books are perfect when a title is out of print but if you want to support a new author, buy new books.

If you cannot afford new books, use the library. Library loans give money directly to authors. (Assuming they registered their book and all that).

Buy their books as birthday and Christmas gifts

Good friends give you good books. When it comes to gift giving, books are affordable and highly welcomed. Give copies of the author’s book to all your friends who may appreciate them.

If the author you wish to support has two or more books in a series, give away the first book. If they love the book, they will go out and buy the other books.

Buy an author lunch

Writing is a pretty terrible industry to make a living in. Supporting an author by buying them dinner can help off-set that.

If you know an author, take them out to lunch. If you do not know them, see if they have a patreon or tip jar you can donate to. You do not have to give much. Enough for a cup of coffee or a burger can be a help. Especially if a lot of the fans (that you are connecting with) get together to do that.

Anything you can do so the author stops worrying about paying the bills and starts plotting to kill off a favourite character is good for everyone. Established and well-payed authors probably do not need this type of support but the rest of us definitely do.

Did I miss anything?

Supporting an author, especially a new author, is a gift to the whole reading community. Which is why I have tried to compile the most comprehensive list of ideas ever compiled. Can you think of any more ways you can support a new author?