So you
just read this novel and want to tell everyone about it and show support to the
author who just rocked your world. What do you do?
Here are
just a few things that I’ve learned over the past year of reviewing and
blogging that I’d like to share. Holy smokes, it’s been a year already!
The Easy-Peasy
things you can do:
· Share The News:
o Wherever you shop (Amazon, Barnes & Noble,
Smashwords, Chapters, etc), they will have some way to share the spectacular
news of your special find. Before You Buy even! With just a few clicks,
§ You can post on Facebook
§ Tweet about it
§ Post on Google +
§ Email it to a friend, or
§ If you are on Pinterest, you can
Pin it
o
Share
the news After You Buy:
§ I just realized this recently
(obviously I’m a little slow on the uptake) but on Amazon, after you purchase a
novel, towards the bottom of the page there’s an “I Just Bought” box already
filled in that you can Tweet, post on Facebook or Email to your friends. Very
cool!
§ I’m not sure if the other
retailers have this option because I do all my shopping at Amazon. If someone
knows, I’d love it if you could share…
· Likes on Amazon:
o
Likes
are an easy way to show support because it helps an author get their novels on
Recommendation Lists that are sent out to customers or just show up when you
are browsing. It’s great exposure and free publicity. You can Like,
§ a Book itself (top of page), and
§ the Author Page (over on the
right)
o
Again,
I’m not sure if the other retailers have something like this but if you know,
it would be awesome if you could share.
· Tagging:
o
Tags
identify elements or themes in a book. (such as Romance, Urban Fantasy,
Erotica, Poetry, kick-ass heroine, bad boy heroes, etc.) Important because it’s
another way to help an author to get their novels on the Recommendation Lists.
o
On
Amazon, if you scroll down to about midway of the page, you will see an area
where tags are usually already set up. You can agree with tags that are already
there or even add your own. Again, easy peasy! You just have to sign in to do
it.
· Reviews & Ratings:
o
Authors
love to get feedback on their work. Good or bad as long as it’s honest,
heartfelt and constructive.
o
If
you’re shy or just don’t know what to say, a simple “Good read. Made me feel
all warm and fuzzy inside. Entertaining from beginning to end. I’d highly
recommend to my friends” will suffice. It doesn’t have to be a long elaborate
spiel, just a few words will be very appreciated and they will be grateful.
o
If
you are really adventurous and techie, then you can try a video review. Amazon
and Smashwords allow you to post these. I’ve seen a few and they are awesome! I
haven’t done one yet but maybe some day.
o
And
of course tweeting and/or posting on Facebook that you’ve reviewed will help give
them exposure.
These are
just a few things I’ve learned over the past year that I can do to help support
these amazing artists. They truly pour their hearts and souls into their work
and love to hear from readers. We are their audience and if they’ve made some
kind of impact on us, they love to hear about it.
If you
have more ideas on how we can show our support or if I’ve got something wrong, as
always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Happy
Reading!
Great tips Kat! This is really helpful especially with self-published authors who heavily rely on their fans and word-of-mouth the spread the good news to the reading public.
ReplyDeleteThanks Braine. Great point and you're dead on that it's especially important for SP authors. But really for traditional ones as well who are in a popular genre and want to be seen. Most authors don't like to ask readers to do these things. They feel they're asking enough from us by reading their work. I don't mind at all doing things like this if asked, but some folk do i guess. That's why I did the post and hope it will help out a bit. thanks again luv for commenting!
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