Do you have a writer in your life? Are they miserable? Do they need some Christmas cheer? Looking for ideas to slather your author friends and family with love? You’ve come to the right place!
The absolute best thing you can buy your writer friends is their books. Not for them, of course. They probably have copies of their own books. Like, find their books on Amazon, and purchase them. Give them as gifts. Keep a copy for yourself. Very little encourages an author as seeing someone buy their books.
The next thing you can do for them is leave reviews. Seriously, you have no idea how much it encourages a writer to see that people didn’t just buy their books. They read them! They had enough feelings to leave a few sentences for other people to read! So awesome!
Want to do more for your author buddies? Talk about their books on social media. “Hey, I read this, and it was great!” Reviews are better. They may not seem as personal, but a review is more public and sticks to the book on Amazon or Goodreads or whatever for other people to read. Still, a social media post will warm the cockles of many hearts!
Ah, but what if you’ve already bought the books and posted on social media and left reviews? Is there anything left you can get your author pals?
Yes. Post on social media that you’ve enjoyed the book, even if you read it years ago. Seriously, it is so encouraging to know that something you wrote has affected someone else that much.
If you happen to be nearby physically, see if there’s anything you can do to help the writer have more time to write. Babysit the kids! Pick up someone from school so they don’t have to! Donate a chalet for them to retreat to!
And finally, find out if that author can recommend any of their own author friends you might not know yet. It’s fun to be able to say, “Hey, yeah, let me tell you about…” And then point to a friend and say, “Check that out!”
Oh, and maybe buy them a couple books to read, too. Most authors enjoy reading. Or having TBR stacks that just keep growing and growing.
And as Christmas approaches, I hope you have a great holiday season!
Jonathon Mast: Author 