Welcome guest, Julie Moffett! Leave a comment to win one of two copies of the ebook of No Money Down!
My Top 5 List: How to Help Your Favorite Author
So, introductions aside, the topic of my blog today is how to help your favorite author. I started thinking about this because one of the most common questions I’m asked by readers is, “Why don’t you put more books out a year?”
People are often surprised to discover I hold down a full-time job in addition to writing (and single parenthood). Here’s a big surprise — writing isn’t always a lucrative business. Most mid-list writers are struggling artists. I have several friends who are considering giving up writing altogether because there is often little to no financial return for their time and effort investment. That always makes me sad. But, here’s the GOOD news! That doesn’t have to happen. There are ways YOU can help your favorite authors keep writing.
There are lots of reasons I could list, but I’ve chosen five ways you can help your favorite authors keep writing and maybe even take a shot of making a career of producing the novels you enjoy. So, without further ado, here is the list.
Buy the Book. Sounds simple and it is. Each book you buy helps the author increase his/her sales record and be better positioned for producing future books.
Buy the Book as a Gift. Books are the perfect gift. Seriously!! Besides, if you ask nicely, most authors will happily provide a bookmark or bookplate so you can give an autographed book. Pretty cool, right?!? There are also ways to sign e-books. Just shoot a quick note to your favorite author to find out if he/she knows how to do it. (I do!!)
Recommend the Book. Word of mouth is a great way to help your favorite authors get recognized by others. You can recommend it to your neighbors, friends and family. Or you can recommend the book by liking it, tagging it, suggesting it or writing a review on Amazon.com, GoodReads, BarnesandNoble.com and a zillion other sites and online bookstores. Blog about it! You get the idea.
Review the Book. Although this is mentioned in #3, it deserves an entire section of its own. If you have a blog, a Facebook account, a Twitter handle or belong to LinkedIn, tell others what you like about the book and/or the author in your own words. Share your thoughts about the books on your social media platform. If you liked the book, a few kind words can make a world of difference. It can be an entire blog post or it can be a few words. It doesn’t matter. Just get the word out. In today’s world, algorithms drive sales. Reviews create the algorithms. The more reviews, the more publicity. The more publicity, the more people see the book. The more people see the book, the bigger the sales. Simple math. All you’ve got to do is write the review.
So, did I miss anything? Please let me know. For commenting, I’ll draw two names to win a free e-copy of NO MONEY DOWN! Go!!
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Julie is a military brat (Air Force) and has traveled extensively. Her more exciting exploits include attending high school in Okinawa, Japan; backpacking around Europe and Scandinavia for several months; a year-long college graduate study in Warsaw, Poland; and a wonderful trip to Scotland and Ireland where she fell in love with castles, kilts and brogues. Julie has a B.A. in Political Science and Russian Language from Colorado College, a M.A. in International Affairs from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and an M.Ed from Liberty University. She has worked as a proposal writer, journalist, teacher, librarian and researcher. Julie speaks Russian and Polish and has two sons. Visit Julie’s website at: www.juliemoffett.com Follow Julie on Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JulieMoffettAuthor Twitter: @JMoffettAuthor Instagram: https://instagram.com/julie_moffett/