5 Ways To Show An Author Your Appreciation

by Will Viharo

​May is - okay, was - Author’s Appreciation Month. (Ironically, it’s also National Masturbation Month).  I normally don’t pay attention to this kind of arbitrary designation, but since I keep seeing my fellow writers giving each other shout-outs and high-fives in my Facebook feed, I thought I’d point out a few ways readers can also “celebrate” before it’s too late.
 
Meaning June.

“You’re riding high in April, show down in May…”
 
So Frank Sinatra sang in his 1966 hit song “That’s Life.” I’m not sure that’s why May was chosen as Author’s Appreciation Month (I wasn’t asked to be on that committee), but it’s as good a reason as any. Writers are basically moving targets for everything from critical tomatoes to sour grapes.
 
But as I have often said, perhaps too often: I’d rather be the brave person on the stage getting pelted with tomatoes than the coward in the audience throwing them.
 
So here are five ways readers can reach out and show their favorite authors some much needed and probably well deserved respect. In fact, giving them any attention at all will be warmly welcomed. We get pretty lonely out there…

1. “Like” their Facebook status updates regarding their careers – sounds simple, and it is, but nobody likes posting in a vacuum, about anything, much less news about their latest literary project. Even better: leave a supportive comment or if it’s an announcement of some sort, share it on your own page. The same goes for liking and re-tweeting their Twitter alerts. Writers are often solitary creatures by nature. Social outreach can be daunting, so they need your help. They are hungry for love and validation from the outside world. And by “they” I always mean “we.”
2. Attend one of their live readings – providing it’s a local venue, of course. Most readings are sparsely attended and depressing affairs, unless the author is a celebrity on a nationwide book tour, sponsored by their publishers. Indie writers typically have to set up their own events at indie bookstores, providing it’s one of the few that will actually allow DIY or small press authors to promote on their premises. Too many won’t even stock self-published books, though, for various reasons, mostly regarding the bottom line. One more reason so many authors feel like they (we) are in a perpetual state of frustrating if largely self-imposed isolation.
3. If you read and liked one of their stories or books, tell them – so often I’ve been in casual virtual or physical conversation with someone who will mention they liked one of my books, one they read either recently or long ago. And it’s news to me! Praise helps fuel writers’ creative engines, especially when they’re feeling like they’re running on empty, which often means their bank accounts. So never keep positive feedback to yourself. (Negative reactions, on the other hand, can probably wait indefinitely.) Which leads right into one of the most helpful things any reader can do for any writer…
4. Post a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads – I’ve written about this before, but I can’t stress the significance of this subject enough. While writers should always court bloggers and professional reviewers, nothing beats the totally unsolicited comments from a total stranger (or even a friend, though that can get complicated due to recent policies.). Consumers generally trust each other as much or more than industry professionals when it comes to third party validation of a product. Nothing makes a writer’s day more than seeing a new review on their book’s product page.  But before you do that, naturally you must…
5. Actually buy one of their books! – if you’re tired of seeing a writer’s endless pleas for purchases on his or her various social media platforms, the only way to appease or silence them, at least temporarily, is to just give in and take a chance. Almost all books, indie or otherwise, are available as eBooks, which are cheap and easy to download. Or buy one at one of their events. Or ask a bookstore to order it for you (which many won’t do, but that’s another story). If you really want them to shut up already, put your money where their mouth is.

 
Basically, what writers need more than anything is a reason to keep writing. Hope is priceless, and any one of these acts of kindness will provide that for them. Okay, us.

As the next line of the song goes: “But I know I’m gonna change that tune, when I’m back on top in June…”

PHOTO: WILL VIHARO