Have you have ever reached the end of a book and gotten excited to find another book by the same author? They have brought joy and happiness to your life, so now you want MORE! And if you are a certain type of reader, you want to let that author know how much you love their books. Believe me, I understand. As a bookworm and mom to book nerds myself, I have looked for ways to let authors know how much we appreciate their work. And now that I have a long running series of books retelling Rapunzel’s misadventures published myself, I have been thrilled to have readers reach out to me. So read on if you are excited to learn 6 easy {and FUN} ways to share the book love!
Easy Way #1: Book Recommendations ROCK!
It is well-known in the author community that the best marketing is word of mouth. When readers love your books so much that they have to talk their friends into reading them too, life is amazing. And honestly? It is super easy to do. All you need is to consider who might enjoy a book you love. Aunt Wilma who loves gardening and women’s fiction? She will love Francine River’s book, Leota’s Garden. And your best friend MacKenzie who teaches middle grade English and loves fantasy should check out S.J. Howland’s The Traveller’s Stone or R.V. Bowman’s The Pirate Princess Chronicles. Did your roommate from college adore rom-coms? Please tell her to grab Emma St. Clair’s Love Cliche series.
I do this all the time. Just picture me using that cute little send button on my kindle app to share recommendations with my contacts when I read something I know they will love. I never have to even get up, and it clicks me right back over to my book. This costs maybe 2-5 minutes of your time and your friend feels special because you connected them with something you love.
Easy Way #2: Bookworms Having FUN on Social Media
Now, not everyone is social media guru, and that is totally okay. You don’t have to be a famous #bookstagrammer over on Instagram taking intricate photos of book flatlays or book shelfies unless you enjoy it. {And hey, if you do enjoy it, connect with me here, because I love it, too.} But if that’s not your thing, but you do want to give a favorite author or book some love, here are a few ideas. Share a quote you love on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram using appropriate hashtags. Make a Tiktok video or Reel dancing with the book and share the fun silliness with your followers. Go live and talk about the book and why it means so much to you. Create a “Books to Read” board on Pinterest and pin it there. I bet once you start looking around social media, you’ll find enjoyable creative ways to share your love for the book and author, which also helps your followers feel more connected with and valued by you.
Easy Way #3: Highlight in Your Kindle
I must give some credit with this tip. Thanks to @kikimojo, who writes under the pen names Emma St. Clair and Sullivan Grey, on Instagram for letting us know that authors can see important passages readers highlight in their Kindle. She uses those highlights to help her market her books! In fact, you can look them up, too, by going into your app and clicking popular highlights. If you are looking to share quotes, it’s already done for you! Want to spread the love further? Don’t just highlight in your Kindle, make sure to publish your highlights on Goodreads and then all your followers there will see what passages made the book special to you. Such an easy way to share the book love!
Easy Way #4: Ask For Your Best Books at the Library
Raise your hand if you are tight on funds but still want ALL THE BOOKS? Yep, you can’t see me, but I just raised my hand. Most public libraries, especially in the USA, have a certain portion of their budget set aside to acquire new titles every year. Some people might think that this rips off the author as the book gets bought only once and then is borrowed over and over again. Let me tell you, that’s just not true. First of all, libraries have a different purchasing model because of the borrowing system. Also, libraries create life-long readers who often check out books and go on to purchase their favorites and become rabid fans. What author WOULDN’T want to be part of a system that feeds into fandoms? Make sure to talk to your librarian, or just dig around on your library’s website to find how you can get your requests in. And make sure to check it out and encourage your friends to as well if your library purchases it. You definitely want your favorite author and their books to get a great reputation with those hard-working librarians!
Easy Way #5: Follow Your Favorite Author and Get Free Books!
What is better than receiving a free book? Umm, not much, right? If you follow your favorite author on Goodreads, you will get notified every time they are doing a giveaway. I am following a ton of authors over there and love getting little notifications of their giveaways and later when the book comes out. I loved the giveaway I did with Goodreads last year and look forward to shipping off more book boxes in the future, so feel free to follow me here.
Want more? If you join your favorite author’s mailing list, there is usually a free book as an incentive. Before the Tower, the prequel to Rapunzel’s Journey, is my freebie for joining my list. I love hearing from readers about how they have enjoyed knowing what came before Rapunzel was imprisoned in her tower. And many, many authors (including me!) will give even more free books to those who become part of their review team. You get a free book and copy and paste your honest review on several online retailers and/or all over social media. How fun and easy is that?
Easy Way #6: Become a Patron and Support Great Books
Did you know that you can directly influence how much time your author has to keep writing those books you love? I didn’t know about this till recently, either. A long time ago, wealthy aristocrats would support poor, starving artists, musicians, and authors monetarily so that they could afford to create their masterpieces. The idea was if their physical needs were met, they could continue pouring their hearts and souls into creating those works of art. Now, most of us artistic types aren’t funded by billionaires. We do, however, have “patrons” who supply different levels of support and we give back with early access to our works, etc. Creating my own Patreon account with several different levels has been so fun for me, and I was thrilled to see that patrons could give as little as a dollar a month and hop off if their finances or interests change. You can learn more by clicking here on my Patreon. Be sure to use the search bar to look up other authors you might want to support. Thank you in advance!
Which of these 6 Easy {and FUN} Ways to Share the Book Love Are You Going to Try?
So, there you have it, 6 easy {and FUN} ways you can share the book love. Whether you’re online, at the library, or making a monthly donation, there is always a simple way you can help your most treasured books keep getting written. Which one will you be trying? Let me know in the comments or by sending me a message!
About JacQueline
As the author of The Journey series, a young adult fantasy retelling Rapunzel’s misadventures, JacQueline also wrote Memoirs of a Headcase: Held by the God of Hope, to share hope in the battle against chronic pain and depression. Currently she lives in North Alabama with her karate husband and three book-crazy kids. All opinions expressed on this website come from her own experience. Do not substitute it for professional therapy or medical advice. Any affiliate links used on this website will provide additional income to JacQueline’s family at no additional cost to you.
If you are a reader wanting to connect with JacQueline, you can get a free book here. Each month you will receive book recommendations and other booknerd fun.
Are you a writer or an author looking for help? JacQueline has been writing all her life and loves meeting others who think writing is living. As an author coach, helping other writers on their journey gives her joy. Schedule your free coaching call to learn what steps you should take next now.
