A good friend of mine recently self published his first novel. With a good year and a bit separating our publications I’ve been able to step back and observe the similarities that arise from us indie authors who are just starting out. One thing I notice across the board is that at first we depend and thrive on the initial support we receive from friends and family. I am still blown away by the support I get from my friends, and I’m sure there are a lot of other indies who feel the same, no matter their medium. If you happen to be one of those people who has shown support for a budding indie artist, go ahead and get yourself a cookie or something because you deserve it. I’ll wait.

Got the cookie? Okay good. 

Supporting artists is awesome, but I get a lot of people asking me what the best thing they can do would be. I love this question, and I thought I’d answer it here.

My answer to the most asked question: How can I help?

• Leave a review. I follow my sales trends pretty closely, and I get a small bump in activity every time a good review pops up. Think about how you find most of the books you’ve read – you tend to buy them based on recommendations from others, right? You can leave reviews on the site you purchased the book, such as Amazon or Smashwords, or if you’re an avid reader you might consider joining Goodreads.
• Spread the word. Much like a review, recommending your author’s work to another person is going to get that person one more step toward making a purchase. Again, consider how much your purchases depend on recommendations from other people.
• Follow us. Most indie authors have (or should) pages on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, etc. These sites can be great ways to connect and interact with us, as well as keep up to date on what we’re releasing!

So there are my top three answers. Practice these and your authors will thank you!

What’s something else you can do? Comment on this blog! Readers: Who is your favorite indie author and what do you do to show your appreciation? Authors: How do you answer when readers ask what they can do to help?