Ten easy ways to help an author

Here are some things which really help – obviously only if comfortable. Do one, do ten, as you want!

Please pre-order the book, because no bookshop stocks everything. Seriously, if you go browsing for it, you could miss it.

Please tell your friends, word of mouth is still important

Please share your thoughts with other people on social media – I am on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and tag me if you like

Obviously sharing my social media too would be lovely!

Please consider reviewing it on Amazon, Goodreads, Waterstones.com, and anywhere else which seems appropriate.  Reviews don’t have to be essays, just a few sentences will do. Amazon will not take a review until publication day. Review it as soon as you can.

With reviewing, it is good form/expected to say if you were given a free copy but say that this did not affect your review. You 100% don’t have to declare that you know me. It’s not local authority procurement.

Please ask your local library to stock it. I get a few pence on each loan and it gets the book into the hands of people who might not otherwise see it

I think this book and its predecessor are great Book Club Books – bound to create discussions

Yes, suggest to your local bookseller if they will stock it. Don’t worry if they haven’t seen it or don’t remember – no one can remember everything. Be polite, try to choose a time when they are less busy, and give them this written handout. Don’t hassle them, give them the facts and let them make their own judgement.

More specialist advice

On Goodreads, mark to read. Like reviews which chime with your thoughts. ‘Shelf it’ where you think it lives.

Preorders signal interest to the trade.

Here are three things that don’t help. Please don’t:

Complain to me it is not in a particular shop. There is literally nothing I can usefully do about it.

Tag me in or show me poor reviews as I will probably have seen it. It’s not wise for an author to respond to a poor review.  I shrug them off – people’s tastes differ. The best solution for a bad review is a better one.

Be grumpy with booksellers, or other people online. Not that you lovely people would do that.