Getting behind your favourite authors
No... I didn't mean that!
You know that thing when authors start to pick up momentum and suddenly get a much higher profile? Sometimes that's the result of a concerted marketing effort, but more often than not it's just a matter of an author hitting a critical tipping point.
It's the buzz that gets going when a new book is out, the chatter on Facebook and Twitter, the chorus of "Oh, have you read...?"
Keen fans - what marketers call power users - can make all the difference. They take it upon themselves to go out to bat for their favourite authors. They write reviews, they get the buzz going in social media, they tweet and retweet; they mention new books to friends and relatives and even to complete strangers; they talk about "their authors" with pride and affection, and they feel that they're playing a key role in helping their favourites get that next book out.
And they are. They make all the difference. Every time someone posts a positive comment, or recommends a book to a friend, that's so much more valuable than anything an author or his/her publicist can do. It's for real.
So what can you do to help your authors? Here's a quick checklist, in no particular order.
Post reviews.
You don't need to write a long, in-depth essay if you don't want to. All it takes is a sentence or three: why you liked this book and a bit of context (you liked it because you liked X, or because you like books about Y). Amazon and Barnes and Noble make it easy to post reviews.Blogs.
Do you blog? If so, why not post an entry on books you've been reading? Or how about posting about books that have just come out that you can't wait to read?Facebook.
Statuses about what you're reading can be great for getting book buzz going, as can commenting on other people's statuses, Liking authors' pages and so on.Twitter.
Another place to mention books and authors. Why not follow your favourite authors and retweet their book tweets? For the record, I'm @pollyjadams.Goodreads.
I've put this in a category of its own because Goodreads is a bit of an odd one. Occasionally it seems to generate a culture of bitchiness, which is a shame, but it makes good reviews here all the more valuable for an author.Tagging at Amazon.
Each book's entries at Amazon has space for readers to add tags that they think describe the book; this helps other readers find the kinds of books they like.Online forums.
Amazon has forums for readers to discuss and recommend books, and there are plenty of other places around the internet where you can do this.Word of mouth.
Most of the above is just high-tech word of mouth, more ways of telling friends about books and authors they might enjoy.Mailing lists.
Lots of authors have mailing lists where fans can keep up with their work, pick up freebies and bargains, etc. If you're keen to spread the word, then a mailing list is often the best way to get the news first....and I'm sure there are many more ways. This is where fans are so much better than authors: you guys get excited about books and want to share that enthusiasm, and you come up with all kinds of ways to do it. Authors? We just sit down and write stuff.
You know that thing when authors start to pick up momentum and suddenly get a much higher profile? Sometimes that's the result of a concerted marketing effort, but more often than not it's just a matter of an author hitting a critical tipping point.
It's the buzz that gets going when a new book is out, the chatter on Facebook and Twitter, the chorus of "Oh, have you read...?"
Keen fans - what marketers call power users - can make all the difference. They take it upon themselves to go out to bat for their favourite authors. They write reviews, they get the buzz going in social media, they tweet and retweet; they mention new books to friends and relatives and even to complete strangers; they talk about "their authors" with pride and affection, and they feel that they're playing a key role in helping their favourites get that next book out.
And they are. They make all the difference. Every time someone posts a positive comment, or recommends a book to a friend, that's so much more valuable than anything an author or his/her publicist can do. It's for real.
So what can you do to help your authors? Here's a quick checklist, in no particular order.
Post reviews.
You don't need to write a long, in-depth essay if you don't want to. All it takes is a sentence or three: why you liked this book and a bit of context (you liked it because you liked X, or because you like books about Y). Amazon and Barnes and Noble make it easy to post reviews.Blogs.
Do you blog? If so, why not post an entry on books you've been reading? Or how about posting about books that have just come out that you can't wait to read?Facebook.
Statuses about what you're reading can be great for getting book buzz going, as can commenting on other people's statuses, Liking authors' pages and so on.Twitter.
Another place to mention books and authors. Why not follow your favourite authors and retweet their book tweets? For the record, I'm @pollyjadams.Goodreads.
I've put this in a category of its own because Goodreads is a bit of an odd one. Occasionally it seems to generate a culture of bitchiness, which is a shame, but it makes good reviews here all the more valuable for an author.Tagging at Amazon.
Each book's entries at Amazon has space for readers to add tags that they think describe the book; this helps other readers find the kinds of books they like.Online forums.
Amazon has forums for readers to discuss and recommend books, and there are plenty of other places around the internet where you can do this.Word of mouth.
Most of the above is just high-tech word of mouth, more ways of telling friends about books and authors they might enjoy.Mailing lists.
Lots of authors have mailing lists where fans can keep up with their work, pick up freebies and bargains, etc. If you're keen to spread the word, then a mailing list is often the best way to get the news first....and I'm sure there are many more ways. This is where fans are so much better than authors: you guys get excited about books and want to share that enthusiasm, and you come up with all kinds of ways to do it. Authors? We just sit down and write stuff.
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