As readers and lovers of all-things book, we know how important it is to support authors through buying their books. But sometimes money is tight; and as much as we wish we were able to spend all of our money on books to support our favorite and new writers, we have to make some sacrifices.
There are many ways to support authors, and the best thing is that some of these require no money at all.
1. borrow books from the library.
Yes, maybe this is an obvious one, but libraries are perhaps the most beautiful and important thing in the world and they deserve a shout out!
Not only do authors get money from royalties when the libraries purchase their books, but libraries also offer a lot of exposure to authors. Those books will get to the hands of a lot of readers, many of them who might even become fans and purchase those books for themselves. When you borrow a book from the library that is also their way of knowing that those books are wanted there, and if they are wanted by many people, they will order more copies which is going to help the author even more.
Yes, libraries are closed right now, but you can still borrow electronic books with your online library card or you can get one if you don’t have one already (seriously, if you don’t have one get one). You can read your library ebooks on the Libby app by Overdrive.
2. recommend or request books to librarians and booksellers
This one goes hand in hand with the last point because sometimes the book you want is not in the catalog. When this happens, you can always speak to librarians or booksellers and ask them to get a copy for their store or collection. And yes, because I know readers can be extremely shy and introverted sometimes, you can also request your local library to get the books you want online.
3. POst reviews to retail sites
If there was a book you loved and you really want to support the author and bless other readers with their magical words, post a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or other retail sites! The more reviews books have, the more popular they will become and it will be more likely that those books are recommended to other readers through the algorithm. Also, if a book has a lot of positive reviews it is more likely that other people are going to buy them.
4. Post about the books you’re reading and books you love on social media
Bookworms are always looking for new things to read, and one of the ways they get ideas is through the books they see other people reading and enjoying on social media. So if you were looking for an excuse to start that Twitter thread on your favorite books, to rant to your entire family on Facebook about what they should read, or to post a really artsy and aesthetically pleasing picture of your current read to your Instagram, this is your excuse. I’m officially endorsing you to do it!
5. spread the word, spread the love
This is similar to the last point, but on person-to-person communication instead. People pay attention to the things that others love and are excited about, and the next time they’re out–or in their computers–shopping for books they will look up those books you’re always going on about.
There’s probably even more ways to subtly help authors (like wearing book merch, reading their books in public, etc), but these are some of the ways I’ve found help the most and that authors themselves do and recommend doing. So read on and talk to anyone who will listen about the books you love.