Tips for YA Lit:
How you can help a
writer (aside from
buying the book)
Recently, I came across two things that just seemed to coincide with each other, so I thought I'd discuss it in a post. The first, a friend asked me what it really does if she clicks "like" on social media. The second was a writer begging for help to boost book sales. How do these relate? Well, clicking that like button (a very valid question for us not-so computer savy folks) ends up doing just that. It can help a writer boost sales. I explain it below and discuss further ways you can help out a author with a few simple clicks of a mouse.
1. Like everything of theirs. When you click like, your friends can see the like, so if the author shares it with let's say 500 friends, you click like and you have 500 friends, now the post can be seen by 1000 friends. Note for authors, make sure you set the privacy settings to "public" so it can be seen by everyone.
2. Share/retweet etc. The same as above. People will see your friend's post (as long as it's public). This spreads their post to more people. Sharing is caring people, so share from one account to another for them as well. Takes less than a minute and you might help the author sell a few books by getting it to an interested audience.
3. Follow them. But not just on social media. Go on Goodreads and Amazon and follow them. The more people who follow, the more strangers might be interested. It gives an author validity if people support that author. It makes others read their books.
4. Leave a review. Okay, so this one might take you more than a minute but if you really want to help the author, this might be the best way. All avid readers scour reviews before they buy, afraid to waste their money. This is essential for an author's success. Remember, you can reuse the same review on various websites like Goodreads and Amazon. If you end up doing this frequently and have a little spare time, you could start your own blog. It's a great way share your passion and score free copies of books in exchange for a review.
5. Show up to their book launch and book signing parties. There's comfort in numbers. If there's a small crowd, whether virtual or in person, it will attract strangers. It will get people talking. People you know will see you're going and this might make them ask you about it. You never know. You might win some prizes too.
6. Word of mouth. The age old telling people about it can work as well. It's not your job as a friend to advertise, but make every opportunity that arises to promote it. If someone says something about a writer or a good book, simply bring up your friend's. They would love to be friends with someone who knows a published writer. You could be forging a new friendship between them as well.
There are more ways to obviously help authors, but I wanted to limit it to the easiest ways possible that won't infringe on your time. Please feel free to comment on more ways to help below.
How you can help a
writer (aside from
buying the book)
Recently, I came across two things that just seemed to coincide with each other, so I thought I'd discuss it in a post. The first, a friend asked me what it really does if she clicks "like" on social media. The second was a writer begging for help to boost book sales. How do these relate? Well, clicking that like button (a very valid question for us not-so computer savy folks) ends up doing just that. It can help a writer boost sales. I explain it below and discuss further ways you can help out a author with a few simple clicks of a mouse.
2. Share/retweet etc. The same as above. People will see your friend's post (as long as it's public). This spreads their post to more people. Sharing is caring people, so share from one account to another for them as well. Takes less than a minute and you might help the author sell a few books by getting it to an interested audience.
3. Follow them. But not just on social media. Go on Goodreads and Amazon and follow them. The more people who follow, the more strangers might be interested. It gives an author validity if people support that author. It makes others read their books.
4. Leave a review. Okay, so this one might take you more than a minute but if you really want to help the author, this might be the best way. All avid readers scour reviews before they buy, afraid to waste their money. This is essential for an author's success. Remember, you can reuse the same review on various websites like Goodreads and Amazon. If you end up doing this frequently and have a little spare time, you could start your own blog. It's a great way share your passion and score free copies of books in exchange for a review.5. Show up to their book launch and book signing parties. There's comfort in numbers. If there's a small crowd, whether virtual or in person, it will attract strangers. It will get people talking. People you know will see you're going and this might make them ask you about it. You never know. You might win some prizes too.
6. Word of mouth. The age old telling people about it can work as well. It's not your job as a friend to advertise, but make every opportunity that arises to promote it. If someone says something about a writer or a good book, simply bring up your friend's. They would love to be friends with someone who knows a published writer. You could be forging a new friendship between them as well.
There are more ways to obviously help authors, but I wanted to limit it to the easiest ways possible that won't infringe on your time. Please feel free to comment on more ways to help below.