The Reader Connection: How to Love an Author

by MaryAnn Diorio, PhD, MFA

Dear Reader,

As the year comes to a close and a new one is on the horizon, I want to thank you for being a faithful reader of this blog. You are the reason authors write. You are the reason I write.

Readers sometimes ask how they can help to support the authors whose stories they enjoy reading. So I thought I'd give you some suggestions from an author's point of view. Perhaps you'd like to implement some of these suggestions during the coming year.

1. Read the author's books. This may seem like a pretty obvious suggestion, one that rates a 5-star DUH! But over the years, I've discovered that some of my closest relatives and friends have never read my books. Not even one of them!

While on the one hand this surprises me, on the other hand it does not. Sometimes when we are very close to a person, we know them in one way and find it difficult to perceive them in another way. For example, a close friend with whom I grew up may still remember me as that girl who loved to play hopscotch, but she can't envision me as a novelist. Her lifelong perception of me prevents her from viewing me as anything other than the way she remembers me and has known me all her life. (In case you're wondering, I still play hopscotch with my grandchildren. So my friend may have a good point! :)

2. Post reviews of the books you read. Reviews are the lifeblood of an author's career. The best type of advertising has always been—and continues to be—word-of-mouth advertising. This is advertising in which one reader tells a friend about a great book she has read, and the friend then buys and reads that book as well. When you post a review of a book, you are helping your favorite authors in a huge way.

You see, when an author's books sell, she can pay her bills and write more books for you to read and enjoy. (If you're interested, I may do a future blog post on the cost of being an author.). So, posting reviews goes a long way in helping an author keep you supplied with good stories.

The review doesn't have to be long, only two or three sentences at most. It's not like a high school book review, so don't panic. :)

3. When you love a story, tell others about it. A book may be outstanding, but if no one knows about it, no one can be blessed by the book. So when you enjoy a novel, tell others about it. Again, the best kind of advertising is word-of-mouth.

4. Buy your favorite authors' books and give them as gifts. Books make outstanding gifts that never stop giving. So when the next birthday or anniversary comes up, consider giving those people the gift of a book.

5. When you enjoy a novel, write to the author to tell her (or him) how much you enjoyed the novel. You will make the author's day, guaranteed. Authors work very hard to create novels. Few people understand what goes in to writing a novel. So when you tell an author you appreciate her and her storytelling, you will catapult that author into writing her next great story for you.

So, these are just a few ways to love an author. Why not start today? Think of those authors whose novels have transformed your life in a special way, and start loving that author now!