3 Free Ways to Support Your Favorite Authors

There’s something you should know about me: I’m not independently wealthy. This means that as much as I love to read, and as often as I post about the books I’ve been enjoying, I actually don’t buy that many books. Why? Because new books aren’t cheap, my friend! And I’m willing to bet that the majority of my fellow readers face the same budgetary restraints that I do.

Reading is certainly a priority around here and my husband and I share a monthly book budget. Unfortunately, with two people the dollars only go so far, and as an avid reader and an aspiring author myself, that leaves me with a challenging conundrum: how do I support the authors I love when I can’t afford to buy every exciting title they create? If this is a question that has ever plagued you as well, fear not. You aren’t a bad book person for choosing not to spend unlimited amounts of hard earned cash on new books. And I’m here to tell you that you can (and should!) support amazing authors even without spending a single cent. Here’s how:

Request that your library purchase new books

This might vary from library to library, but our local library will allow you to recommend up to five titles per day through their Overdrive app at no cost. I try to recommend new books by favorite authors as soon as I hear about them. Once enough people request a certain book, the library will purchase one or more copies and put you on the hold list automatically. Many people request physical copy purchases, too. The extra benefit to this is that it’s not just you who will get to enjoy a library copy.

Follow them on social media (and share their stuff!)

Following your favorite authors and sharing posts about their new releases is never unwelcome. You never know who might see your post and become that authors newest fan, purchasing a copy for themselves or a friend, or requesting it from the library like I suggested above. As an added bonus for yourself, sometimes following an author will give you a heads up for neat stuff like sneak-peeks, giveaways, and more!

Related: 6 Tricks to Help You Read More Books

Leave a review

A great way to encourage authors is to leave them a review on Goodreads, Amazon, or whatever other bookish sites you frequent. Kind words are always appreciated, and the more reviews a book has, the more people will see it. Even a one or two line positive review is helpful, and it’s even better if you can leave one in more than one place – like one on Amazon, one on Goodreads, one on Barnes & Noble, etc.

What are some of your best tips for supporting authors? I especially want to hear from you if you ARE an author! Help us help you by telling us what we can do in the comments below.