8 Quick Ways To Support Other Writers
This week, I am in the midst of four books, all by people I know, all well-written and engaging, all well worth my time. I will read them all, but it’s slow-going for me in these days of a tiny human who wants to climb – literally – the walls. I average about three pages at a time – before I plunge into sleep at night or if I get the privilege of using the bathroom alone. (This opportunity is particularly rare.)
Because my reading is so slow, I’ve been actively cultivating quick ways to support my writer friends, even when my reading of their work is moving at a turtle-like pace. Here are the things I’m doing:
- Build their social proof. “Social proof” is the phrase that people use to describe the evidence that people like what a person does. It includes everything from follower numbers on Twitter to numbers of reviews on booksellers (More on that one in a moment). Here are a few quick ways to help them build their social proof:
- Follow them on BookBub. BookBub is a site that promotes books, if you aren’t familiar. That’s all they promote, so if you’re a reader, it’s a great site to subscribe to. You can follow writers there and help them get more attention in that space. Here’s my profile if you’d like to grace me with your follow.
- Follow them on Amazon. Same principle as BookBub. You’ll get updates on new books, too, which is nice if you really like an author.
- Follow them on social media. Give their Facebook page a like. Connect with them on SnapChat. Follow them on Twitter or Instagram. Those numbers help them find other readers, and if they’re trying to get a publishing contract, those numbers are particularly important.
- Like what they post on social media. This task is so simple. If you see a post from them on social media, give it a like. Or even better, give it a comment. Those little things help the social media algorithms share the post more frequently, which is good for anyone.
- Subscribe to their newsletter. Signing up is free. Sometimes you get a free tool or book. Plus, you get to stay up to date on what that writer is doing and saying, and you help them increase their numbers for the eyes of an agent or a publisher and sometimes even other opportunities like being an affiliate for good resources like courses for writers.
- Buy their books. This means of support is pretty obvious, but it’s a big one. Book sales help writers write more books. So if you like what a writer does, this action is a simple way to help ensure they write more.
- Also, buy – or at least recommend – their books for your local public library, church library, or school library. Recently, a friend of mine bought two sets of my books for their school and public libraries. What an honor.
- Review their books. Wherever you can – BookBub, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, etc – post a review of a book. You can copy and paste the same review everywhere, but those reviews help garner attention from potential readers and from advertisers, too. You review doesn’t have to be long, and it should be honest. But any review is a good thing . . . although of course most of us prefer the positive ones.
I’d love to hear what you do to support the writers you know. Do you have a routine you follow when a writer you like publishes something? Or is there something in particular you, as a writer, appreciate from your fellow writers?