How To Be a Great Fan
Many of you enjoy reading books but may not
really know what an author might be thinking
about YOU, the reader, in any given situation. I
have gathered these quotes by currently
publishing authors. You will notice that
occasionally contrasting opinions are expressed.
Though they share a lot of commonalities, every
author is unique. I have not included the
authors' names here so they could speak freely.
I hope this gives you some insight on how you
can be make a good impression on your favorite
authors.
- I'm very happy when readers recommend my
books to others. There's no better way than
to increase readership than by word of
mouth.
- Writing is a solitary profession. I'm
excited when readers write to tell me how
much they love my story and how it may have
affected their lives. It makes all the hours
at the computer worth the effort.
- Write to your favorite author and tell
them why you loved the book! Writing can be
very discouraging and lonely at times. Your
kind words might keep a writer motivated to
finish that next novel.
- I love readers who go to Deseret Book,
Amazon, or other review sites and leave a
positive review because that always helps
sell books. I want to hug them and say,
"Thank you, thank you!"
- If a reader doesn't like a book, I hope
they calmly state why with valid reasons and
examples and not take shots at my character
or the entire novel. Saying things like,
"This novel stinks, or "What a terrible
effort," means nothing except the reader has
an axe to grind. How easy it is to hide
behind the anonymity of the Internet! Would
the reader say the same things face to face?
Keep in mind that positive criticism goes a
long, long way to helping writers improve,
as does pointing out what does work. After
all, every novel published by a valid
publisher must have some redeeming qualities
or it would still be in the slushpile.
- Saying that an author who writes books
about doing charity should give his/her
books away for free if they believe what
they write makes no sense at all. After all,
nurses, doctors, teachers, musicians,
orphanage workers, and many others do not
donate their services and they are still
perceived to be doing good. Writing is a
profession and needs to be respected as
such. Authors have families to support and
even if they wanted to give away books,
there's no way they could afford to pay the
printer to do so.
- I'm impressed when a reader tells me
she's passed my book to eight cousins and
fourteen nieces. I'm even more impressed
when a reader says she's bought books to
give to all her relatives for Christmas.
- I'm delighted to have people pass around
my books. More readers will eventually mean
more people who will love, recommend, and
buy my books.
- Readers may not understand that most
authors in the LDS market make between 50
cents and $1.30 in royalties for every book
their publisher sells. Many authors only
sell between 2,000 and 14,000 books. If an
author is lucky enough to earn $10,000
dollars from a book, they would have about
$5,000 left after paying taxes (there is a
hefty self employment tax) and, of course,
making deductions for tithing. That doesn't
even factor in expenses which include
purchasing books to donate or send for
reviews, website maintenance, travel
expenses for speaking engagements and
signings, paper, ink cartridges, computer
equipment, etc.
- If readers want the quality of LDS
literature to continue to rise, they must
support LDS authors by buying and
recommending good books so the authors can
spend more time writing and less time
promoting and trying to make ends meet.
- Most authors are happy to donate books
to a worthy cause, but if libraries,
schools, readers, and others understood that
writers have to buy their own books, they
might not be so quick to ask for a donation.
- Authors receive a very limited number of
free books (usually 10-25) from the
publisher when their book is first released,
and these are saved for immediate family or
passed on to people who helped with the
book. If there are any copies left, they are
generally sent to a reviewer in the hope of
gaining publicity. All other copies of the
book are always purchased by the author. So
if you receive a gift of a free book from an
author, please realize that it really is a
gift, not something they had lying around
their basement.
- If you really love a book you've read,
tell your friends about it! If you love it,
they probably will, too.
- Authors appreciate it when readers drop
in at signings and take time to chat. They
are even happier when you bring friends to
meet them!
- Coming to a book signing to chat is nice
and good, but when they proceed to walk away
without buying a book—or say how they borrow
every one of your titles from the
library—that happy bubble feeling pops. (If
they already have all my books, I love
hearing about how they enjoyed it!)
- Hint: Signed books make great gifts for
others!
- Spread the news when you read a book
you've enjoyed by inviting the author to
your book group or set up an on-line chat
with others who have enjoyed or are
interested about the book.
- Readers are the most wonderful people in
the world. THANK YOU!
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