5 Ways to Show Some Love to the Little Known Author in Your Life

Chances are you probably know an author. Maybe they published a book a few years ago or maybe their book is quite recent. Unless they won a major award this year (and even if they did) they’re probably not rolling around in money. They’re probably working a full time job, scraping money together and plugging away at a new project that’s got them wondering if it’s worth it.

And that’s a legitimate question for writers. Is it worth it?

A recent study showed that the average Canadian writer makes less than $12,000 a year, and I can tell you first hand, that for most of us, it’s a lot less than that. A LOT less – for projects that often take years and hours upon hours of work. They may not talk about it or complain about it openly, but the work to create and let your books live and then die with little buzz or financial benefit can be exhausting on more fronts than one. But they do it, we do it, because it’s our call, our release, our art, our escape, our passion.

So what can you do to help the authors in your life – financially or emotionally? 

1. Buy their books – for yourself and/or as gifts for friends. Have them sign them. It tells an author you believe their work is worth paying for and that it’s worth holding onto (it’s not so easy to ditch a personally autographed book). Readers love getting autographed books as gifts, and if you find the right book it’s like the best kind of love – so it’s a win-win for everyone.
2. Review their work on Goodreads and post about their work on Facebook and Twitter. Truth is, lots of people are looking for gift ideas now and year-round. There are so many books out there, and the chances of someone walking into a chain store, an indie store, or an online store, and stumbling upon a specific author’s work is unlikely – even with the weird social media mind-reading-cookies algorithms. Give your friends and family something to put in that search engine. Post a picture of the cover and mention the title. Talk about what you love about it with people. Do a selfie in the bookstore!
3. Mention the book at your indie bookstore…and buy it there. If you’re fortunate enough to have an indie bookstore in your neighbourhood, don’t just go looking for your friend’s book – talk to the owners about it. Mention what’s so great about the book and what’s great about the writer. If they don’t have the book, ask them to order a copy for you – they’re likely to get a few extras for the store when they do. Store owners are trying to keep up as well and they generally welcome a little help from their customers.
4. Buy the book for a teacher. This is just a good rule to live by anyway. If you’re getting gifts for a kid’s teacher, get them a book by an author they don’t know but should. Get them something that will provide them with insight that might help them with their curriculum. Think about kids’ books and biographies and really unique stories they may not only want to read but teach.
5. Sign the book out of the library. So there’s been a lot of mention about buying things, and that’s important. The economics of the book industry matter, and buying a book is a particular kind of gift, but libraries are also really important in the book culture. Signing out a book and requesting a book be added to the local library makes a difference as well. There’s tracking and statistics that bring money for authors when their book is signed out of the library, and this is a free and painless way to share the book love.

So what do you do if a friend’s book is not your style or your preference, which is what I hear a lot from neighbours who don’t get their friend’s work? Put it this way. I once went to a child's music recital for a family friend. They played the recorder for more than an hour. It was terrible, a kind of cruel torture at the hands of cute little people. But I went because the child was a friend, like family. And I would do it again. I would pay to get in and I would sit through it. All sixty plus torturous minutes of it.

When someone has poured years of their life into something that's unlikely to make them a sufficient amount of money, the least we can do as friends is spend a little time or money thanking them for a work that will mean something to somebody - even if that somebody's not you. So buy it and give it away if you want. Or keep it on your bookshelf as a memento of your friendship.