How to support authors when you can't afford their books
Or, like, further ways to support them after you have! That works too!
This post is divided in three parts: 1) How to support the book before its release, 2) How to get the book (when you can't afford to buy it), 3) After reading the book.
Pre-release love
Pre-release reviews
When I say that reviews are capital-I Important(TM), they really are. If you're active on platforms like Goodreads and Storygraph, adding a book to your TBR pile alone is already great promo, because it tells your friends on that platform that that book exists. If you want to go the extra mile, you can also add a review! Commenting something like, “Excited for this!” etc., can be really motivating for other people to pre-order the book too.
Street teams… maybe
That's something that some authors do, and some don't. While I personally don't like the idea of street teams (feels like asking for free labor, often from underaged people), a lot of authors make their street teams very fun experiences. If you're already a big fan of the author, you may want to check out if they have a street team for their next release!
Make. Some. Noise!!
I hope you read the above heading in a DJ-voice-while-DJing-at-a-basement. If you haven't, that hurts my feelings. Alas! The idea is that literally any noise is good noise. Unfortunately, this also works about books that you hate. Even speaking against it might only boost its popularity. That's why I'm a firm believer on spending your limited time, energy, and book talk, on the books you actually love.
How to get the book
Edelweiss/Netgalley
Let's start with the easiest out there: these two websites can grant you access to e-galleys (also called ARCs, from Advanced Readers Copy) to varying accessibility. Before I freelanced for a website that reviews books, I was granted zero books on Edelweiss. I'd say, unless you work to some degree in publishing, Netgalley is your best choice. It can be extremely US-centric though, so I'd suggest hanging out by the “Read Now” section to find interesting new books, rather than going to the websites for a specific read.
Get in touch with the author publicist
This may sound daunting, but 99% of the time, publicists are happy to give you access to an eARC, and sometimes even physical ARC of an upcoming book! If the info of who's the publicist isn't available on the author website (usually because they have more than one depending on book), you can always just contact the publisher's publicist. If you google “how to get arcs from publisher” you'll get a gazillion links from bloggers who are much more savvy on this than I am, with some cool email templates.
Ask around for the ARC… after publication
But WHAT IF the book you desperately want to read isn't an upcoming book, but from an author's backlist? Well, one way to get it is to ask around for an ARC. The whole point of ARCs are to be passed around and not collected, and maybe if you ask around on Twitter or whatever your favorite space of talking books is, you'll find someone willing to part ways with their advanced copy.
Libraries (Global South, don't close the tab yet!)
But if that doesn't work, don't worry, I still got you. Now, if you're from the Global South, I implore that you don't curse me out and leave the page just yet. We can make use of a tool that I wasn’t even aware until recently: Libby, and North American friends. Libby is an app that lets you borrow ebooks and audiobooks from your local library. The catch is that, of course, most of us in the Global South aren't even remotely close to any real libraries. But your North American friends may be willing to share their library card number with you, so you can have access to all the books in their library. You can even register more than one card, for all the access in the world. Bwahahaha, infinite books!!
After reading the book
The importance of reviews
Remember what I said about reviews early? Make that 10x as important after the release! I cannot stress how important it is to get your review on Goodreads/Storygraph, but also on Amazon, B&N, and Google Books. That's important for a few reasons:
Those ratings show up when you google the book,
In retailer websites, books need to reach a minimum of X reviews before it's shown broadly,
Even short reviews that are not five stars count positively, because the algorithm is just registering that the book is being talked about,
On Goodreads/Storygraph/Twitter/Instagram/your blog/YouTube/TikTok, you're also showing your own community that this book is worth picking up.
Before I move on, also on the importance of reviews… there's really cool research that tells us that for us to buy a product, we need to have heard about it/seen it Y number of times. It changes depending on the monetary cost and its impact to you personally, but anything from 8 to 18 times might convince your friends to finally buy that book!
Get in touch with the author… if you liked the book!
Let me explain the header first: do not tag authors in negative reviews. It's so cool to be tagged in a pretty edit, or if someone makes a playlist for our book. Collages are the coolest as well, and I love it when people tag me in live reactions. But that's all when it's positive. If there's one tiny portion that's negative, it can ruin my whole day.
This is not to say that you shouldn't be critical: like I said before, I encourage you to post reviews even if they're not all positive and it's not five stars! The thing is: tagging the author is a dick move. I guarantee they will see it, no matter how popular they are, if you tag them. And it'll make them feel bad.
As authors, we just have to not go to blogger spaces. I never go to my Goodreads or Amazon pages (okay, I go to Amazon sometimes to see how many reviews I have, but I don't read them!), or go looking for blog posts. This is the work ethic we should extend to all readers — mind our own business. But we just ask that you be kind and don't invite us into your business when it's saying bad things about us. Even if it's 9 good things and 1 bad thing. It will spoil our day. We're fragile little things. Believe me. Only tag if it's all raving and positive. Otherwise there will be tears.
Reviews are so important no reader can overestimate the value.
Thanks for this post. It's all so important. I with we could reach more pure readers with this message. Many writers know, but a lot of readers have no clue.