Costs are up. Everything is expensive. A pack of blueberries cost $7 and monthly rent is as much as a monthly paycheck. But you still want to read, and importantly, you’ve got authors or writers you want to support.

It’s been my experience that a lot of people think that to buy an authors work is the only way you can support them, and if money is tight, you can’t support them at all.

Au Contrare!

There are a TON of ways to support people (even financially) that won’t involve you digging into your savings. In this article, I’ll break down free ways to help authors in a variety of ways.

Note that a lot of this can be applied to other content makers and creatives, and that not every writer uses all these revenue streams. And for my fellow writers, artists, authors, creatives reading this, maybe it will help you find ways to build your brand or lean into social capital.

Financial Capital Vs. Social Capital

There are different ways to define wealth, but for our purposes we are going to focus on two types of wealth building authors need to engage in for their livelihoods.

Financial Capital is money. The physical items like money and credit that we typically associate with wealth.

Social Capital is less obvious, but it’s a person’s ability to connect with others. We can see some numerical representations of this in follower count, engagement, Klout score and other metrics.

In general, because we can’t all be J. D. Salinger living the hermit life, writers need some sort of social capital to accrue any consistency. Sometimes their writing is enough to to warrant a word-of-mouth success, but even if they aren’t cultivating social capital, you can bet their publicists are. And this capital is going to be imminently important across all these options.

That social capital is also has a real-life component when we talk about algorithms and online presence. The more something or someone is mentioned, the more likely they will appear in searches or suggestions (1).

And there are different ways to use social capital to support your favorite authors and artists with no money down.

Free Ways To Support Writers

Library Check-Outs

If you don’t have the dough to get your own copy of a book, the best thing is to check it out from your local library. Every time you check out a book, it keeps it in circulation, and that gives other readers a chance to discover your favorite writer’s work.

Is your favorite author not at your library? Most library branches have a request process. You can typically request a book and the library system can purchase or lease it. This also works if you need a book in a more accessible format (like as an audiobook or large print). Libraries often pay for specific versions that also have a higher profit margin for authors. The more a library does services the better they can justify funding, so its a win-win.

Word of mouth

It costs nothing to make a recommendation, but the potential for new sales and readers can readily increase a writer’s earning potential. It’s the time-tested way to gift social capital to a writer and it also can give them some legitimacy. These recommendations can be ephemeral — spoken, tweeted, posted- or they can have a little more permanence either with a recommendation on your personal website or blog, or through a larger site.

If you ever want to chance to meet a favorite author, make sure to recommend them as guest to a conference or convention. Even a single recommendation can create a world of opportunity, and all it cost you was a little of your time.

Social Media Follows

Emerging and established writers can both benefit from a defined social media presence. While there is a lot of debate about how a social media profile should be run (personal, professional, strictly promotional, ect.), regardless, the more follows a writer has, the more visibility they have to sell their work or share their writing.

Accruing social capital becomes measurable with social media follows and engagement. Though it may not be fair, in this industry, having a higher follower count on a platform (Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok; etc.) can lead to greater publicity and opportunity. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram are more likely to recommend social media profiles with higher followers to other members. They are more likely to be rotated on timelines.

It has been debated in author circles whether social media follows translate into book-sales, but we do know it can translate to other publication and publicity opportunities. We also know that liking posts, commenting, and reposting increase visibility and that will help an author’s exposure.

Reviews

This has some of the largest impact on authors, one of the easiest things to do, and yet, remains incredibly elusive for so many authors. Reviews, yes, even critical reviews, help readers find the books they want. People are more willing to take a chance on reading a new author or book if its already been read by others (1).

Pound for pound, this is the most impactful way to help an author out. Writing a public review, filming a review, or even posting on a website like Goodreads is one of the best ways to help an author get sales.

Yes, this includes posting non-five star and critical reviews (2). Reviews help readers find the books that are right for them, and avoid ones that they won’t like. And that, in turn, helps writers.

Get on the Street!…Team

If you’d like to do the review thing and potentially get free items from the author consider joining an author’s street team. Alot of authors have street teams who are a group of fans who help promote the author’s work. Street Team members can get perks like early access to works or free copies if they agree to promote the author online and at events. Its a cool way to help build an author’s brand and get swag.

Other authors also have ways to become a beta reader or can give review copies, so you can even get the books for free.

Fan Art it Up

Really liked a book or seried? Have an artistic bent? Consider drawing fan art or writing fan fiction! Fan fiction, fan art, and cosplay are deeply important to the life cycle of book. Posted fan art, fics, and the like keep a work in the public conscious. They cement the work into pop culture and are also a way to spread the word about your favorite works. Don’t believe the naysayers — fan art and fanfic are good, actually (3).

You’ve likely supported an author or artist in one way or another without noticing. But trust me — authors know that every little recommendation, social media like, review and more, goes a long way.

Did I miss anything? Let me know bellow.

(1) It really is the “you need five years of experience for this entry-level position” of the writer world.

(2) However, a lot of authors don’t like being tagged in critical reviews, so that’s best avoided.

(3) A lot of folks are still burned on the Anne Rice thing, but most writers are not that protective. As long as no one is selling it and playing fast and loose with copyright infringement, you’re likely in the clear. However, just know that a lot of authors are not comfortable reading fanfiction of their own work for a myriad of reasons.

This is part 11 in a series for a personal challenge to blog every week for 39 weeks. Read more about that here. And if you like information on writing, publishing and self-promotion, check out here and here.