Unfortunately, we bookworms do not have unlimited budgets to just buy books and support all of our favorite authors that way. But there are other easy, and free ways to support authors and writers! 

First off, share about their book! Word of mouth is one of the best ways for a book to find new readers. I’m way more likely to pick up a book recommended to me by a friend. Post about it on Bookstagram, message a friend about it—spread the word. 

Secondly, suggest it to your local library for purchase. Most libraries have an online form you can fill out for books you’d like the library to add to their collection. If the library decides to purchase the book, that’s a sale for the author, as well as exposing the book to all the potential readers who use your library. 

Third, sign up for their newsletters! Most authors have some form of a newsletter/email list that you can sign up for on their website. You can connect with your favorite writers in a new way and typically get some “behind-the-scenes” peeks into what’s going on in their writing. This also helps grow their platform numbers, which is something that publishers look at when considering an author. 

Subscribing to newsletters is also a great way to support unpublished writers. Whenever I get a a subscriber, I personally get really excited, because that’s another person that cheering me on in my writing journey and publication dreams. Plus, like I said above, that’s growing my platform, which can strengthen my book proposal. 

If you’d like to sign up for my monthly newsletter, and get a FREE short story, you can do so here or under the Newsletter tab at the top of the page! Do you have any other free ways to support authors? Let me know in the comments!