Updated: This post has been revised and updated on 8/12/18

Purchasing the book is just one way that we can support an author’s work. There are many more. Can’t afford the book? Know your options.

• Buy the Book

Obviously, the best way to support an author is to purchase their books. This helps us financially as well as build our fan base. If you like the book we hope that you will be back for more.

• Review the Book

There are so many advantages to you reviewing a book after you’ve read it. Amazon’s algorithm judges the author’s popularity and therefore the book’s quality as a product to promote by sales and reviews. It gives those who have not read it insight into what the book is about (beyond the blurb), helps them to see if it’s worth reading, and shows readers that others are talking about the author. This is important because Indie Authors have to do a lot themselves and will often be seen self-promoting. Book Reviews give us a chance to involve others unrelated to the work to do the promoting for us. As an author, this shows readers that you aren’t just tooting your own horn. Others enjoy your writing too. Book reviews are a form of social proof.

• Rate the Book

If you don’t have time to review it, rating it is just as good. It will bring more attention to the book and make it more visible to readers. You can rate books via Amazon and Goodreads. This shows up at the top of your updates for your friends to see just like if you left a review. Also, if you rate a book it will automatically mark the book as read (so don’t rate books you haven’t actually read).

• Mark the Book as “To read” on Goodreads

Again, this boosts a book’s credibility. The more people who mark the book as “To Read” the more attention if gets from people looking at the page. The book will also show up at the top of your timeline so that other readers can see it too, boosting visibility for the author. If you know of an author and you’d like to support them but you can’t purchase or review their book right now, head on over to their page on Goodreads and mark the book as “To read”. They’ll appreciate it. Also, if you’re an author, be sure to set up an Author Account on Goodreads. When you first join, you will be defaulted to a reader account. To learn how to upgrade to an author account, read this article HERE.

• Follow the Author’s Amazon Page

If the author has the link to their amazon page on their site you can just click it and push the follow author button. However, if not you can always search them. Go to Amazon.com and enter their name into the box. Amazon’s search engine acts similar to Google’s so I am sure you will find the author you’re looking for. When you find them, follow their Amazon page to be alerted to new books.

• Rate the Author’s Top Reviews

Scroll through the author’s reviews and pick one of their best ones. Then, if it’s helpful in determining your decision on whether or not to buy, click that it is helpful. Like ratings and reviews, this helps the book to show up more as a recommended read.

Other ways to support an author include, but are not limited to:

• Follow the author’s blog
• Join the author’s email list / newsletter
• Follow the author on social media

• Follow / Befriend me on Goodreads

• Follow me on Amazon

• Follow this Blog

• Follow me on Twitter

• Like My Facebook Page

• Follow me on Instagram