With over 100,000 new titles hitting the bookshelves each year, many might say you’d be crazy to dream of becoming a published author in such a competitive marketplace.  Most writers barely scratch a living out of their ever-decreasing advances and annual royalty cheques, with the majority supplementing their living through other jobs such as teaching and journalism.  Whilst the life of an author can be at times exhilarating, rewarding and liberating – it can also be an existence of uncertainty, and let’s face it, genteel poverty!

But for the non-blockbuster, non-prize-winning, mid-list published author, the greatest fear of all is that they won’t sell enough books to be able to continue writing; a thought that for most is intolerable.

Thankfully, I’m part of the warm community of Twitter, in which I get to chat to other authors, readers and writers across the genres.  We share writing tips, alert each other to new opportunities and enjoy cheering conversations with the most important people of all – our readers.

This week I’ve been thinking about the ways in which we can all help our fellow authors in their uphill profession.  If you’ve loved a book, here are the 4 key things I think can make a big difference to an author:

1)  Tell others

I know this is obvious, but word of mouth is a powerful thing.  If you loved a book, tweet about it, facebook it and tell your mates at work.  The majority of books I read come to me through recommendation, and I love to discover new writing I’ve never heard of before.  So if you want to support a writer, just let the world know they exist!  I’ve recently met a number of lovely readers on twitter, who often retweet my news updates and post engaging, positive reviews of all the books they have read and enjoyed.  Amongst many others, I’m particularly thankful to @shazjera @pamreader @ibc4 @hmhunt who are the ultimate supportive tweeps.  To them I say thank you!  In return I try to retweet their updates and direct people to their fascinating writing & review blogs, which are always worth a look.

2)  Recommend an undiscovered book to your Book Group

I belong to a book group, and I can honestly say our most enjoyable, excitable discussions have been when we’ve read new authors.  This year, The Book of Fires was universally loved by everyone in my reading group – something we’d never experienced before when reading the high-profile, more obvious choices listed on, for example, The Richard and Judy Book Club.  And if you have an author living on your doorstep, make contact and they may be more than happy to return the favour by attending one of your reading group meetings.

3)  Post an Amazon Review

You can’t underestimate how much an Amazon review means to authors.  This is because a) it tells the writer you loved their book (we all need a boost every now and then) b) it tells other readers this is a great read and c) it influences the movers and shakers in the book industry.  To a lesser-known writer, reviews are their life-blood, as they show the world that this is book worth reading!  In the past year, amongst others, I’ve posted reviews for Jane Rusbridge, Gabrielle Kimm, Kate Long, Marika Cobbold, Jonathan Kemp and Elizabeth Haynes – all writers I’ve chatted to on Twitter and whose books I’ve enjoyed reading.  It’s a great way to show to support, and it helps Amazon to give you intelligent recommendations based on your reading preferences.

4)  Give undiscovered books as gifts

Now that I have first-hand experience as a struggling writer, I always give books as gifts to my friends and family.  My most gifted books this year were The Devil’s Music, His Last Duchess, The Book of Fires and Shooting Butterflies.  I loved reading them myself, and they’re all written by authors who I believe deserve a higher-profile.  The recipients raved about the books, and were delighted to discover authors they might never have come across otherwise.  And don’t you just love the feeling of being the first to discover something new?  So, for birthdays, Christmas, Secret Santas, teachers’ gifts etc etc – give ‘em a book!

We really are fortunate to have so many diverse and exciting writers emerging in the UK – let’s work together to keep them writing.  Thanks to all my readers and fellow writers for their much appreciated support.