Pre-order. You might be surprised to learn that pre-ordering a book is critical to the launch of a book. Publishers may make decisions about how much marketing support to provide a new release based on the volume of pre-orders. Some even determine the size of a first print run using those numbers. If a book has strong pre-order sales, reviewers are more likely to review it, the media is more likely to hype it up, and retailers are more likely to carry it in stock and give it premium placement. If you know an author has a book coming out, please pre-order it. Write a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. It doesn’t need to be very long or a deep literary analysis. The number of reviews a book receives affects the algorithms for getting found online. If you don’t like the book, don’t leave a review. As my mother used to say, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Spread the word. Let your friends and family know how much you enjoyed a book. Share this on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or wherever you do social media. Take a book-selfie. Post a picture of the book, your cat lying across the couch with a paw on the cover, you falling asleep on the couch with the book. Follow. Many authors have Facebook Pages you can like and follow. On Twitter, many authors have accounts and you can follow them and retweet to amplify their voices. Follow authors on…

Little Free Library Big Book Access Kickstarter Campaign met its fundraising goal last week to help get books into the hands of those who need them most. Created by Todd Bol, the campaign celebrated the 3rd anniversary of the non-profit which he started as a tribute to his mother who loved books and loved to share her passion for reading.   A couple years ago I sponsored Little Free Library #4094 in Ithaca, NY, where Amanda Jaros is the steward. Amanda loves to read books and she also writes. Literary Mama recently published her creative nonfiction essay, Temporary Custody.   I recently moved back to Appleton, Wisconsin, where I was a teenager in the 1970s. I didn’t appreciate then how much this place is a city of literacy. I want to share the fun up of taking up residence in a neighborhood of readers.   My first apartment in 1976 was two blocks from Jacobs Meat Market, started in 1945 by brothers John and Leonard Jacobs when on nearly every corner in the city you could find a grocer. My neighborhood grocer again, Jacobs is across the street from the 602 Club. In the backyard there is a large picnic table which fills every afternoon with young neighbors at the book oasis.     Across from City Park in Appleton there is a Little Free Library which looks like the steward’s house. Every neighborhood has one or more. Even empty lots have Little Free Libraries. Bright not blight.   Summer…

Whether you are a reader, aspiring author, or working on your next book, there are things YOU can do which make an enormous difference in the life of an author. The reason authors write a book is to connect with readers and the best rewards come from readers who let an author know their book had an impact. Most readers don’t know how important their support is to an author’s career. Publishers need to hear from reading audiences. An author may not get another publishing contract to write a next book if there isn’t much response from readers. If you are an aspiring author, consider it part of your civic duty as a literary citizen to support other authors and pay it forward. One of the things I appreciate about many of my clients is the way they support one another. Here’s a list of things you can do to support authors. Pre-order. You might be surprised to learn that pre-ordering a book is critical to the launch of a book. Many publishers make decisions about how much marketing support to provide a new release based on these pre-orders. Some even determine the size of a first print run. If a book has strong pre-order sales, reviewers are more likely to review it, the media is more likely to hype it up, and retailers are more likely to carry it in stock and give it premium placement. If you know an author has a book coming out, please pre-order it.…