Why Supporting Authors on Social Media and Patreon Is Essential for Book Lovers
I’ve been asked a few times to go into Patreon (subscription services, but since I use Patreon, I’ll use this as an umbrella term) a bit more, and explain some of the reasons I’ve been so excited about this platform lately.
For those who are unfamiliar, Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service to download and read books on Amazon that are listed as KU. From a reader side, this is great. For one price, you can read as much as you want.
From an author side, this is also great… but it’s also hard. When we put our books in KU, we give Amazon exclusive rights to hold our digital book. That means we can’t sell or give away our ebooks on any other platform. However, we also get paid for those page reads, so if a reader keeps going on our book, we get paid for that read.
Honestly, this is incredible for me. KU is where most of my readers find me, and Amazon is an excellent resource for book readers. KU is also great because you can test out a book and not feel guilty if it isn’t your thing. You return it via KU and the author gets paid for those page reads without getting penalized.
Penalized is where things get a bit shifty. If you purchase an ebook and return it (whether you read it or not, but there was a big thing on TikTok about how to get ‘free’ books by returning the book after you read it and it was really really painful), the author is the one who gets their money withdrawn. So, there’s a chance that you could have 10 ebook sales, followed immediately by 10 returns, and the author would get charged (that’s right, we would see NEGATIVE numbers meaning we were forced to pay Amazon) not just for the return of our royalty, but we would also lose the fee that we pay Amazon to host our book.
The other issue, which is the whole point of this post, is that KU payout is based on all the page reads for all books across the KU spectrum. Basically, it’s a pool of money, and it gets distributed to the authors who had page reads that month.
This does not mean it is distributed ‘appropriately’.
Lately, there has been an influx of AI generated books. Scammers looking to make a quick buck thanks to the very low barrier to entry when it comes to self publishing. These scammers throw poor quality or long page books into Amazon and begin watering down that KU pool of money. Which means when pay time comes, the payout for authors who genuinely put hard work into their stories are getting next to nothing for those page reads.
For example, my 700+ page book would only get about $2 if someone read it in KU.
Now, listen. This is not a post saying to go and cancel your KU subscription. Quite the opposite, actually. Many authors like myself rely on KU and love being able to provide our books to readers who can’t go out and buy individual ebooks or physical copies every time they want to read a book. Even I’m not one of those people.
But this does mean that we, as readers, should be a little more careful about how we go about Amazon books. Reading isn’t enough any more, but there are some INCREDIBLE and FREE (as well as paid) ways to support authors who you love.
Review books
If you loved a book, leave a review. If you hated the book, leave a review (just don’t tag the author). Reviews are not for authors, they are for other readers. Let them know what you liked or didn’t like, and let them use that information to decide if this book is for them. A red flag for you might be a green flag for someone else. Plus, how many times do you click on a book to see that there are only 10 reviews? Does that influence whether you take those reviews seriously or not? How about the book?
Next time you see a book with not a lot of reviews, give them a little love. Try out their story. Maybe they just suck at marketing their book.
The top places to review books are Amazon and Goodreads, but don’t hesitate to drop them on other sites as well.
Follow the author
Social media is our friend (and often our enemy). Self published authors are more often than not doing their own marketing. Some are great at it, garnering thousands of likes and shares and interactions on Instagram and Facebook. Others really struggle to get a few likes.
The algorithms are always changing, and as an author who wants to write more books, learning some new changes every week and adjusting our marketing strategy is another full time job on top of the many jobs we already perform as authors.
Following the author on social media will always be a critical piece of the algorithms.
Other ways is to genuinely interact. It doesn’t have to take much time. A like on Twitter. A little heart comment on Instagram. A “great photo” mention on Facebook.
You can also dedicate a little more time to an author you really like.
Add them to your favorites list on Insta. Tag them when you post a review of their book on social media (positive posts only, please don’t tag authors when you are bashing a book. It’s really sad, and rude, and it doesn’t help anyone).
Go above and beyond by looking for a newsletter to join. See if they have a street team on Facebook or Discord or another platform.
All of these things are free to you, only take a minute of your time, and provide WEEKS worth of joy and happiness to the author.
Talk about it
Similar to following the author on social media, if you loved a book, DON’T HESITATE TO TALK ABOUT IT! I guarantee if you send a message to an author saying how much you loved their book and what part of it you liked, you will absolutely send them into a malfunctioning mess of happy emotions.
Authors LOVE to talk about their books, but sometimes we feel pushy when it feels like we keep posting into the void about our writing babies. Talk to us about what you loved. Ask questions about specific things. Almost every self published author I know is MORE than willing to start a conversation about it. And, even better, maybe they’ll point you to a reader group or a street team they have to find like minded people.
At the end of the day, TALK ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS. If you read it - KU, library, ebook, physical - we want to hear what you have to say. Post on social media about books that changed you. Make that fan art. Write those fanfiction stories. Others will appear, and you’ll have a whole party. You’ll even convince your friends and strangers to hop on the bandwagon with you.
Support beyond - Individual Stores and Subscriptions
Here’s where the meat of this post lies. I’m talking about support beyond the freebies. This is more than just social media posts and joining street teams. This is DIRECT SUPPORT.
This can take many forms.
Sometimes it’s an Etsy store where the author sells their books direct (so they can keep more of the profits rather than pay a large fee to Amazon or other publishing platforms).
Sometimes it’s a simple “Buy me a Coffee”, a platform that allows you to essentially donate a specific amount one time or on a recurring basis. It’s quite literally what the service says. You’re buying the author a coffee (or many coffees). Some authors run subscription platforms like this, offering 'monthly tiers’ where you support them for the sake of support.
Then, sometimes, these authors have the time and means to do a little more. Platforms like Substack, Ream, and Patreon are being used to REWARD readers for their support. While some exist for a simple way to support the author, others (like mine) are a way to thank readers even more for their support by offering behind the scenes bonuses that are EXCLUSIVE to subscribers.
Obviously, this comes in many forms. Bonus artwork, voting power, direct livestreams or chats with the author. Pretty much, this is where authors can create a more direct conversation with their readers.
The great part about subscriptions on these platforms is that we (authors) are able to give readers a little more than what you see on social media. You can see the inside of our minds, but also join a small community that we treasure. And it’s not that we don’t love the support everywhere else, but money is required in our world to survive.
We also know that you choosing to support our subscription is an honor, and we aim to respect that and you by giving you a place where you feel welcome and loved. Go deeper into the reading journey, change authors’ lives and support their dreams, and build a community with us.
What’s next?
Well, simply put, go review a book you’ve read. A star rating and even a single sentence saying “this was good” is sufficient. It doesn’t have to take more than a few minutes of your time.
Then, if you’re feeling inclined, go search the links of your favorite authors. See if they have a newsletter you can join. Find a street team on Facebook or Discord. Maybe go as far as investigating their Patreon or Ream and see if they offer some benefits you’d really enjoy.
At the end of the day, there are perks to supporting authors, even if you can only manage the free ones. Connecting with authors on social media is a simple and extremely effective way to make an author extra happy today.
Remember, we love you and we are so grateful you picked up our book.
