Originally posted by josephinemyles at Five things you can give your favourite authors for Christmas (and they won’t cost a penny)

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I’ve been thinking lately about ways I can let my favourite authors know how much I appreciate them, and things I can do to help them boost their sales – but without spending any money myself because it’s not in plentiful supply right now. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

Sending fan emails

There are few things nicer than opening up an email to discover a letter from a reader saying how much they enjoyed one of your stories (or all of your stories!) I always get a bit embarrassed writing them in case I come across like a deranged sycophant, but I’m getting over that and making an effort to write them more often. Feel free to ask questions about the story – most authors will be delighted to talk about them in more detail.

Five star Amazon reviews

These can have a real impact on sales, as for many authors (especially in our genre), a significant portion of their sales will come through Kindle editions. Because of the way Amazon works out its rankings, four and five star reviews have far more impact than a lower star rating with a glowing review. It can also help if you tag the book with as many relevant tags as you can think of, as this will help it show up more often when customers are idly browsing.

Reviews and ratings elsewhere

Amazon might be the biggie, but reviews on Goodreads and other bookseller’s sites can be valuable too. If you bought a book from Fictionwise, All Romance eBooks or elsewhere, have a check to see if you can leave a review/rating. Reviews don’t need to be long. Even just a couple of sentences saying why you loved something can be valuable in attracting new readers.

Listopia/Listmania votes

You can create a Listmania list on Amazon with your top ten favourite books with a specific theme. Goodreads have the Listopia system where you can create your own lists or add a book to an existing one. You might want to check if a favourite book is already on any Listopia lists (detailed on the Goodreads page for that book) and add your vote to help bump up its ranking.

Blog/Tweet/Facebook with links

Any way you can get the word out about a favourite book or author will help them in some way. It’s even more valuable to them if you include links to their blog and/or website, as incoming links help boost their search engine rankings, meaning more new readers might discover them when browsing.

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Jordan Adds:
Another easy way to help out the authors you like is to click on the tags that are already there beneath their books on Amazon. When the tags have lots of clicks, it affects the search algorithm and makes these books more discoverable to potential new readers who are searching for something different to read. It's easy, and it's anonymous.

In fact, I have a few things that came out this month that can really use your tag-clicks. It will take you less than a minute. I ESPECIALLY need them on the maze books.
50 Odious Over-and-Under Mazes
50 Excruciating Mazes
Fire Thief
Body Art: a Thriller