Being an author is one of the biggest challenges you'll ever face. Writing the book, editing, synopsis, book cover, pricing, bookstore websites, marketing, promotion, it's a lot of work. Is it worth it as a self-published author? It surely is and I wouldn't change it for the world. There's a lot of decision-making that has to be done on a daily basis along with budgeting yourself. With that said, here are some pointers when it comes to authors:
1. If you know the author personally, asking us for a discount is not something we're really going to do. If we've published a few books and you want to buy a large amount, then it's at our discretion that we cut you a deal and give you one book for free. But don't ask us for a discount or ask to borrow a book if you personally know us because at the end of the day, you surely can't walk into a Barnes and Noble and ask the cashier or employee if you can get a discount on a book (unless you're signed up for rewards) or ask to borrow the book and bring it back. We're entrepreneurs but in a different light, keep that in mind when it comes to dealing with us.
2. If you buy any of our books, we need reviews at the end of you reading it. Buying our books just to "support" us does absolutely no justice. The book reviews are what affects our algorithm rating on Amazon and other book websites. It's great you're going out of your way to buy a book we've written but completing the process by reading and writing a review is imperative. We lose out on potential book sales because of our lack of reviews on book sites.
3. If an author's books aren't for you or aren't your topic, that's totally fine. But it definitely does help if you repost anything we post on social media. This isn't an obligatory thing that has to be done, but it does go a long way because there's a good chance someone on your friends list or someone who is following you might be interested in the book we wrote, the blog we posted, the YouTube video we recorded or the podcast we recorded and posted.
4. No book an author writes is going to be perfect, there will be grammatical errors here and there. Or things that are written that can be worded differently. Most books that are written will have these things or the author writes differently than others but if it makes sense and it sounds right, it's fine to go with it. I've read plenty of books where I've read something and I worded it differently in my head, interpretations of how things are written and said will always be done.
5. Congratulating us is great, we don't mind the praises and messages sent our way. What goes a long way is asking about how we write, what motivates us to write and the process of everything. It means that you show an interest in how we go about things. That makes us feel good more than liking something on social media and moving along. The relationships and interactions is what matters to most authors in this technological age. Social media is a great help to us by talking to people that we can't see but when you see us authors, don't hesitate to start a conversation with us.
These are my top 5 things when it comes to dealing with an author.
Be good and go accomplish your goals.
Jamell Crouthers
Aquarianmind
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