5 Ways to Support an Author You Love

Writing a book is simple. You string words together until a story is told. Being an author is hard. Writing at speed, editing ruthlessly, querying agents and dealing with rejection if you traditionally publish, DIYing design, layout, and logistics if you self-publish, navigating the arcane publishing process, marketing, marketing, more marketing—it’s a lot. 

So if you love an author and want to make it easier for them to find time and creativity to sit down and create, here are some ways you can help as a reader besides the most important one: buy, read, and enjoy their books! 

1. Follow & engage with them on social media

Social media content creation is a full-time job, and even traditionally published authors spend a lot of time building a presence. Help an author out by giving them a follow and engaging with or sharing their content when it comes across your feed. 

If you want to support me on social, I’m active on Bluesky and YouTube and for the moment I'm on Threads, Instagram, and TikTok.

2. Subscribe to their mailing list or newsletter

Email is the best way to reach people who want to know about your books, so opting in to hear from your fave author via email helps them connect with you. 

Sign up for my newsletter and more here!

3. Provide feedback as a beta reader

Beta readers read the book in its editing stage and provide feedback on characters, plot, pacing, etc. They’re a key part of the editing process, and it’s fun to get a sneak peek behind the curtain to see a book in its early stages long before it’s published. 

If you’re interested in being a beta reader for me, send me a request here.

4. Review their books and hype them up as an ARC reader

Around 3 months before the book is published and generally available, authors send out Advanced Reader Copies—ARCs—to readers who agree to leave an honest review in exchange for a free digital or print copy of the book. That timeline gives people time to read it and then leave a review close to launch, usually within the 2 weeks prior to launch day. Some authors ask their ARC readers to hold 1-star and 2-star reviews until a few weeks after launch so their book has a chance to get traction before negative reviews chase readers away, but what’s most important is that ARC readers are honest and let people know they’ve received a copy of the book in exchange for a review. 

Whether you read the book as an ARC reader or later once it’s published, please leave reviews! Reviews are critically important to online retailer algorithms that help a book be discovered and also a key factor in whether other readers choose to check it out. 

Want to ARC read A King's Trust? Sign up on my form.

5. Preorder their books

Most authors dream of hitting a bestseller list (or building a fanatical cult following), and one key way to reach that is with pre-orders. Preordering does a few things: 

• Preorders count as first week sales, so when that book launches, it will have a flood of first-week sales that can propel a book onto the bestseller list (Bestsellers are calculated weekly). Showing up on those lists makes more people seek the book out. 

• If an author is traditionally published, preorders signal interest to the publisher to increase print runs and marketing budgets. Early success breeds more success. 

• Preorders also send a signal to retailers to make larger orders ahead of launch to stock their shelves with more of that author’s writing. 

• If you’re preordering through an indie bookshop (and you should if you can!), preorders help them by giving guaranteed sales that they can plan around. Indie bookstores are huge supporters of local and indie authors. 

One last bonus tip for free: authors are anxious, neurotic little creatures putting their hearts out in black and white print in a very public forum. So if you love an author, let them know! Every single author welcomes a positive email, social comment, or review.

Go forth and hype those creators!