You want to support an author, you buy their book, right?

Well, not always.

A lot of the greatest authors of our time haven’t even been published yet. I have been invested in authors’ journeys sometimes years before their publication. And even if they have been published, there are a lot more ways to show them support in addition to reading their book.

• Write reviews! If they’re published, read their book and leave a review on Amazon. You would be surprised at how few people do this, and how crucial it can be to an author’s popularity. If they aren’t published yet but you’ve had the privilege of reading their book, talk about it! (With permission, of course.) There are plenty of spoiler-free ways that you can hype up their unpublished novel.
• Interact with their social media accounts! And that doesn’t just mean viewing their stories. I mean liking, commenting, sharing, the whole nine yards. When you comment on their posts, ask them questions! This gives them a chance to talk more about their work. Sadly, because of how digitalized our culture is becoming, some agents and publishers will use social media numbers as proof of credibility. As sad as it is, every interaction could be essential to their success.
• Direct people to their website! The more traffic their website gets, the higher up it’s going to show up on search engines. Ideally, an author’s website will be the first thing that shows up when you search their name.
• Read their small publications! A lot of authors will try to get smaller pieces published in magazines for credibility and a little bit of extra cash as they try to get their book published. Read them! Tell the author how good it was! It gives authors a boost of confidence when people tell them that they are invested in their work, no matter how small.
• Ask them what you can do for them! Most likely, they have specific needs that they would be more than happy to have help with.

So why am I talking about this? My friend Alyssa Endacott (@alyssaendacott on Instagram) just finished the first draft of her debut fantasy novel. Over the six months that I’ve known her, I’ve had the chance to see the love and effort that she is putting into this book, and I can’t wait to see her success. As a fellow small author, I would love to see her get the support that will help encourage her through the process of editing and publication.

One of the greatest things writers get the privilege of doing is not only supporting other writers, but also understanding the joy found in every success. Hearing the word “finished” fills us with a great sense of joy, because we understand that every milestone is an achievement that deserves to be celebrated. From every finished sentence to every finished draft, every success resonates with us, whether it’s something we’ve experienced before or something that we have yet to achieve.

If there’s something I can do to help my author friends feel supported and encouraged, I want to do that, but I know that the support of just one person isn’t enough. That’s why I’m asking for you to take the extra few minutes out of your day to show support to the authors (and other artists, for that matter) in your life.