How to Truly Support Indie Authors (Beyond Just “Liking” Their Posts)
If there’s a list of things I love, writing dark fantasy is carved into the top like a ritual sigil. The thrill of fully realizing characters I love—and following them as their stories unfold—gives me immense joy. Combine that with the dark magic of crafting an immersive world from scratch, and it’s no wonder a full day of writing leaves me euphoric.
Self-publishing a series, on the other hand, is a labor of love—and often, it feels unrequited. I genuinely enjoy sharing my work and receiving thoughtful feedback, but maintaining a digital presence can feel like punishment for writing. I didn't sign up to be a content machine. I signed up to tell stories.
Rather than get into the tedium of getting a book from concept to Amazon (a tale for another day), let me instead focus on how you—dear reader—can support authors like me. Here are six ways to help self-published authors find their audience and keep creating.
1. Read the Book
Perhaps this one is obvious, but I rarely hear people mention it. And honestly, it’s the most important thing: read the book. Not skim. Not buy and shelve. Read it. Indie authors need readers who actually engage with their work. The reality is, what I need as an author is readers who LOVE what I write. The first review I received on Amazon was written by someone who knew me and thought it would be helpful to leave a review. He even felt very proud of himself for being the first person to do so. But here’s the problem: he hadn’t read the book, and I doubt he ever will. It was a pointless (and message-less) review that anyone could see was left by someone who hadn’t actually read the book. Rather than helping me, it probably made other readers suspect the other, authentic reviews for the book. Be the reader who matters. You just can’t do that if you don’t read the book.
2. Leave Honest Reviews
You guessed it, the second way to support indie authors is by leaving honest reviews. Leave them everywhere. Amazon. Goodreads. Bookbub. Retail sites, like B&N and Kobo. Reviews are oxygen to indie authors. Algorithms favor books with more reviews. More reviews means more visibility which means more readers. It’s necromancy, but for books. When trying to find reviewers, I often remind my ARC people that I ONLY want honest reviews. If they hate the book and leave a review, tell others why they hate it. If they love the book, then I really want them to tell others why they love it. Like I said, we need the algorithms to pay attention, so we need LOTS of reviews. And those can be extremely difficult to come by. Let me explain a few reasons why. First off, I can’t buy reviews. Besides the fact that buying them would clearly be unethical, it also isn’t allowed. And getting caught doing so can have a catastrophic impact on an author’s ability to sell books.
But forget the ethical side of things for a minute. What are reviews meant to accomplish? Why do you read reviews? Because you want to hear of other people’s experiences with a product you are considering purchasing. When I read reviews, which I do all the time for everything I plan to buy online, I read the five star reviews and the one star reviews first. I look for patterns. If a book has multiple one star reviews that all complain about a specific thing (poor pacing, no character development, terrible editing, or cliche writing, to give a few examples), then I know I can expect at least some degree of those things in the book; that it’s not just an outlier reader complaining. By contrast, if five star reviews gush over how well crafted the story is, or how irresistible it is to fall in love with the characters, or how deeply the ending moved them, I have a great sense of how I might also react to the book.
What isn’t helpful to me are reviews like this: “Loved it. Would recommend.” Or “Waste of time…”
WHY??? Tell me why you loved it or hated it—or felt ambivalent toward it. A simple star rating from a verified buyer can be helpful, too, but it’s far from ideal. Here is an excerpt from a review for the first book in my series, The Scarecrow Hunters. It is a three star review, so not great, but not terrible. “It is intricately detailed,” the reviewer wrote of the book, “which made the pace agonizingly slow. I fought with myself to keep reading because the story wasn't progressing, but the words were sublime. Weird, right?”
Let me address the pacing issue, which a few other reviewers have also noted, especially at the beginning. The first book in the series is absolutely the slowest, and it is the most tightly contained. It pretty much is written entirely from a single point-of-view, and we, the readers, only know, see and experience what that character—Eliot, our protagonist—knows, sees or experiences… even to the point that, when he misunderstands something, we probably misunderstand it, too. At least, we do if we expect the character’s perceptions to be trustworthy. But just like Eliot, we also have access to all the context clues. We experience his story in real time as it happens, along side flashback memories he experiences along the way as the spell-work meant to keep him “in the dark” starts crumbling. This is by design. And even though the reviewer above used the word agonizing, she also described the actual words telling the story sublime. It’s difficult for me to hate that.
The thing is, the pacing and limited point-of-view was intentional in the way I wrote the story. Not that I wanted to make it boring, but that I wanted the reader to feel as close to the way Eliot felt as I could. I knew this would be a gamble, and I absolutely knew it would not appeal to every reader. But here is an excerpt from a five star review that addresses the same issue: “I did feel the arc become somewhat sluggish in the middle… [but] it was perfect as it mirrored the psychology of the protagonist who was himself going in circles as he slowly realizes the truth of his journey. The climax was so well done and beautiful and does wrap up everything nicely while still leaving you with enough questions to want to keep reading. I'm excited to see what this author has in store.”
As a reader, if I read both of those reviews and took them together as a pattern, I would want to read the book. Because I am the kind of reader who likes to think while I read, who doesn’t look for twists as much as revelations discovered by the characters. When the last reviewer lists some of his favorite authors, “I'm a fan of Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, Clive Barker, and J.R.R. Tolkien, and you can find all of those influences here…”, I smile uncontrollably. Again, as a reader, I love all of those authors. Bradbury’s lyrical, often poetic prose. King’s absolute love for his characters, but his unerring commitment to the plot—even at the expense of those characters he loves. Barker’s ridiculous capacity to write horror—and, often, erotic horror—in a way that makes me unnerved and moved and unable to stop reading, like biting down on a toothache. And no one builds worlds like Tolkien. Based on all of that, I would suspect I’d also enjoy this book.
Another reviewer said, “Eric has mastered blending rural horror with fast-paced mystery in this book…,” while another reader called it a “quick read” they absolutely loved. But wasn’t this book “agonizingly slow” with a “sluggish” middle? This is why authentic reviews are so important. We aren’t all looking for the same thing in a story. Some people love spooky, but are totally turned off by outright horror. To many, the “dark” part of their fantasy may be blood and gore that makes them squirm. For others, it may be psychological horror that makes their pulse race and steals their breath. Some like stories that are easy to follow with a satisfying climax, making the experience an enjoyable bit of “popcorn” entertainment. Other readers want to have lingering questions after they turn that last page… Or, at least, the ability to draw their own conclusions about how the story ended, and what the ending actually means. Through reviews, readers find new books they will love based on the recommendations of like-minded enthusiasts, and indie authors find their ride-or-dies.
3. Recommend It
This brings me to the third suggestion for how you can offer support. Recommend the book out loud. Mention it to friends, book clubs, co-workers, your barista… Heck, post a pic on Instagram or TikTok with a quote or reaction. Better yet, compare it to a popular title—“It’s like so-and-so, but darker/smarter/queerer/funnier!” This helps the right people find their way to it. Word-of-mouth is still the most powerful magic. If you are like me, you have those friends you bond with over certain types of books or entertainment. I have a friend that every time we hang out, it is to watch movies in theaters. Most often, these are horror movies—think A24 horror, or other indie horror flicks I usually haven’t even heard of. That’s our thing. We also discuss books and make recommendations. I know that if my friend suggests a book, I am almost guaranteed to love it because we like the same things.
That’s why word-of-mouth recommendations are like speaking an incantation. We trust those we trust, and when they say, “this series deserves much more attention (than it gets) and is worth the read…”, as another reviewer said of my second book, we tend to listen. It’s one thing to see this written on Amazon. It’s another thing to hear it from a friend.
4. Buy the Book (and Give It Away!)
The next suggestion is pretty straight forward: buy the ebook. If you love it, buy the ebook and a print copy. A sale—especially in the first week of release—helps authors climb category charts. And if the title is available on Kindle Unlimited, pages read converts to royalties for the author. Speaking of author royalties, here’s another tip: buying directly from the author’s website gives them a higher royalty cut. But this isn’t just about an author making money, which is a novel thing I’d love to experience one day. Have you ever noticed that “verified purchase” qualifier on an Amazon review? Yeah, that generally means a human being bought the product (in this case a book), read it, and felt influenced enough by the experience to leave a review. It’s not a spam review. It’s not AI. It’s a real person who really bought the book, and this makes a difference.
Here is another way buying a book can be helpful for authors. When I publish a new book, I have a list of friends, family and dedicated readers I’ll buy and give a signed copy to. With this, I always include a little note that, in some fashion, says this: “This book is not free. If you enjoy it, review it. I NEED HONEST REVIEWS. And if you feel compelled to pay me for the book because you want to support me, buy a copy for someone you think will love it, instead.” That way, you are combining word-of-mouth, reviews, and the power of manipulation (“You still haven’t read that book I bought you and know you will love?!?!”) to help the author find another passionate reader. Books make great gifts for birthdays, holidays, or just because. Print books can be classy gifts, and ebooks can be given with just a few clicks. Books are the only things you can give that haunt someone—in a good way.
5. Follow, Subscribe & Engage
Another great way to support self-published authors is by following them on social media and subscribing to their newsletter. Don’t just follow and subscribe, however. Interact. Like, comment and share on social media. Tag the author if you post a quote or photo. It tells the algorithm, “This content matters,” and pushes it out to more people. Think of it as feeding the beast. Forward the newsletter to other readers who might find it interesting. Or heck, just start by opening the emails. Click a link or two. Reply once in a while with encouragement or questions. It’s direct support—no algorithmic middlemen. You can also join an author’s ARC crew.
For those who may not be aware, ARC means “advanced reader copy,” and these are often given away before the launch of a book in order to drum up interest, get reviews, and generate word-of-mouth excitement. It’s not spammy if it’s genuine love. I have a review club that anyone can join for free. As a member, you receive the first book in my series. After you read and review it, you send me a link to that review, and, no matter if it’s a five star review or a one star wishing it was a zero star, I send you the next book or anthology in the series for free. Theoretically, you could read every book I ever write without paying for a single copy. (You can learn more about that on the CONTACT page at ericshanelove.com if you’re interested.)
The point is… interact with the book online. Like. Share. Comment. Forward. Subscribe. Reply. Repeat. Not only does it make the algorithm pay attention, this also tells the author that *you* care. Which, frankly, means everything.
6. Go Beyond—Get Creative
There are other, more creative ways to support indie-authors. Request it at your local library or bookstore. Just ask. It’s that simple. One request could equal many readers. And yes, it counts toward author earnings if they use library distributors like IngramSpark or Draft2Digital. Or, for something even more impactful, create something! Creating fan art or fan fiction inspired by a book tells others it's worth obsessing over.
And don’t underestimate occasionally reaching out to your favorite authors to let them know how their works effected you. I love this kind of feedback, and I really love when readers ask questions. About the characters. About my process and what inspires me. About what’s coming…
In the end, next to writing, which is the reason I do any of this, the goal for me as an author is to build connections with a vibrant community of readers who long for the kinds of stories I love telling. It honestly isn’t about sales. I’d love to one day be able to write full-time, but for now, I’d be utterly delighted if book sales payed for the self-publishing and marketing expenses.
What thrills me is finding readers who say things to me like, “This was one of those books I didn’t know I needed until I read it.” Discovering a new book on the recommendation of a friend is like going to a haunted house together around Halloween, and herein I mean the type of haunted house with actors and sets and fake chainsaws and goofy effects that threaten to make you pee your pants from jump scares and laughter alike. The point is sharing the experience together. What I want as an indie author is to recreate the haunted house experience with my readers. The writing is worth every bit of effort writing takes, but the rest of being an indie author? That part is only worth it if I can feel readers like you beside me, enjoying the adventure.
