20 Ways You Can Help an Author

Over the years, I've been blessed to have very awesome fans who have done a number of things to help me in my career, besides buying my books. Many of my readers have followed my journey from the first book to my most recent one, and I'm often asked by these very generous people, "What can I do to help you?"

Today I'm going to share with you some of the ways you can help me--and other authors.

1. Tell your friends and family about the author and his/her work. Word of mouth creates buzz and excitement. Any time you read a good book, let people know.
2. When an author's book comes out, promote it on your Facebook, Myspace, Twitter networks. You can often share one of the author's posts directly from his/her blog by using share buttons. Mention how much you look forward to this author's latest work.
3. Pre-order the book as soon as it's available for pre-orders. That shows everyone there is a demand for it. It also could result in extra promotion for the author as publishers get excited when they see solid early sales.
4. If you miss the pre-order sale, buy the author's book on launch day or during the first 6 weeks. Early sales often determine whether an author gets shelf space at a store and whether she's offered another book contract. The last thing an author wants is to see books being returned.
5. Suggest that your friends and family buy it on launch day too. Send them a link to the buy page of their favorite retailer.
6. Buy extra copies for gifts, even if Christmas is 6 months away. If you're giving ereaders as gifts, load them with books by your favorite author. Once they're done reading them, your friends can create their own account and upload their choices.
7. Buying the author's book from Amazon.com could result in an early bestseller; however, so can buying through various bookstores and other online retailers. When in doubt, you could always ask the author if they have a preference; often they'll post links on their website. Or you can support your local independent bookstore. You can always ask the store if they report on bestsellers to any of the newspapers.
8. Don't read pirated book and don't pirate them yourself. Don't accept free copies from any website unless it's from the author or a respected book retailer. Pirating is theft of the author's copyright. Someone has created a file that is being uploaded for free, and the author does not benefit from this in any way. If you really want to read an author's work, have the decency to pay for it.
9. Ask your local libraries to order in copies of the author's book.
10. If appropriate, suggest it to your town's schools. Also, suggest appropriate books as gifts for students at the end of the year or for awards.
11. If you know anyone in a book club, suggest that they buy the author's book for their next pick.
12. If you enjoy the book, review it. Reviews do help sell more books and authors are always very happy to find a review posted on Amazon, Chapters, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, your blog and other review sites. Plus you'll make the author's day when he/she reads your review.
13. Add the author's blog to your blogroll, if you have one. Add the author's website link to your website and blogs.
14. Blog about the author and his/her work. Or invite the author to submit a guest post. Most won't turn you down. I know I won't. If you want me to visit your blog and write something for you, just ask me.
15. Interview the author for your blog or website. Again, most authors won't turn you down, especially mid-list and newer authors or those published by smaller publishers.
16. If you know of an event that could benefit from having the author visit and speak, let the event organizers know. Most authors enjoy visiting
17. If you have contacts in the film industry and think the author's book would make an awesome movie, let your film contacts know. Send them a copy of the book.
18. Nominate the author for any national or local awards she may qualify. Not just literary awards but "Woman of Vision" or "Man of the Hour" kinds of awards. Also do the literary award nominations. Often you can find these by googling "awards" and your city, province or state.
19. I've even had fans contact publishers on my behalf, asking that they publish my novels. One contacted a large print publisher to request large print editions of my books. Though nothing has come of this yet, I am very grateful that this reader did this. In the book industry, an author never knows when something will "click" and then great things happen.
20. Keep reading the author's books. Make a point of looking for his/her books. Read his/her backlist and new releases. If you enjoy an author's work, buying their other titles is one of the best ways to let them know. 

I am so very grateful to all my readers, for their loyalty and interest. Without them, I only have words on paper.I strive with every book to create something intriguing and different, and I hope you'll always keep reading. Thank you.

Tomorrow is the launch of my new contemporary romantic suspense, Lancelot's Lady, followed by a 14 day online book tour with lots of prizes and free ebooks at nearly every stop. Please help me spread the news by tweeting my blog posts.

Lancelot's Lady ~ A Bahamas holiday from dying billionaire JT Lance, a man with a dark secret, leads palliative nurse Rhianna McLeod to Jonathan, a man with his own troubled past, and Rhianna finds herself drawn to the handsome recluse, while unbeknownst to her, someone with a horrific plan is hunting her down.

Lancelot's Lady is available in ebook edition at Amazon's Kindle Store, Smashwords and other ebook retailers. Read Lancelot's Lady on your computer, laptop, select ereaders and smartphones. 

You can learn more about Lancelot's Lady and Cherish D'Angelo (aka Cheryl Kaye Tardif) at http://www.cherishdangelo.com and http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com. Follow Cherish from September 27 to October 10 on her Cherish the Romance Virtual Book Tour and win prizes. 

Lancelot's Lady - only $4.99 US

I hope you'll consider picking up a copy tomorrow. Help me celebrate by following me on my tour, and "Cherish the romance..."

Cherish D'Angelo
aka Cheryl Kaye Tardif