Nine ways readers can support authors – for free

1. Write a review. Entice others to open the book you’ve enjoyed.
2. Suggest an author you like to your book club.
3. Attend author events. Most are free and involve a glass of wine, or a bun, or both, and are a great opportunity to meet like-minded people and learn a bit about the story behind the story.
4. Photograph a novel in the wild and post it on social media. Authors love seeing their books in the world.
5. Contact the author by email or letter or message. Hearing from readers is one of the greatest pleasures of being an author.
6. Follow and engage with authors on social media. Most authors have a presence on one or more of these platforms. Don’t be shy about retweeting, liking, commenting.
7. If you know someone who reads in an author’s particular genre, tell them about that author, even if it’s not a book you’d pick up and read yourself.
8. Enter giveaway competitions. Many authors do giveaways to celebrate a new publication, or a relevant occasion. Horror fan? Look out for Halloween giveaways. Saga, I hear you say? All year round, of course! What could be better than a free book dropping on the doorstep?
9. Read their blog (hi!) and offer an author an interview on your blog.