How to Support an Author Without Paying a Cent

 

Some Christian authors in Australia are selling tons of books and are able to write full-time for a living. BUT NEWSFLASH! Most of us aren't. In fact, a lot of Christian authors in Australia only sell a few hundred copies of their book or less. 

If you're traditionally published, you would typically get about 10% of the royalties, though contracts do of course vary. So if your book retails for $20, you might get $2 per book. You don't have to be a maths genius to work out that you need to sell a lot to make much. 

And in case you think the publisher is 'sitting pretty' on all the profits, they are only getting a small percentage as well because they're the ones who've paid for all of the editing, cover design, layout, distribution and so on. They have to sell a lot of copies to recoup their costs before they even start earning anything on your book. 

If you've indie-published, you get to keep the profits. YAY! But you may have spent thousands to produce the book in the first place, so you also have to sell a lot to get back the money you've invested. 

This might sound grim, but it's not all about money. Presumably, you've written your book because you feel God has given you a message that He wants you to share. However, that's difficult if it's not actually getting into the hands of readers.

The most obvious thing you can do to support an author is to buy their book. However, there is a cost-of-living crisis in Australia at the moment and a lot of people simply can't afford to buy extras such as books. But never fear! There are a number of ways you can support an author and help raise the profile of their books without spending a cent.

Order Books For Your Library

As part of the Australian Lending Right Schemes, eligible authors can receive some compensation when their books are being borrowed from libraries. However, their book has to make it into the library first, and that's where you come in. Libraries have budgets for new books and they are looking for suggestions, so why not request some? 

Check with your library first, as they would have a system in place for doing that. For example, my local library has an online form you can fill out for requests and they allow you to have three requests in at a time. They won't always purchase a book you request because it has to meet certain criteria and be something they think other readers would also like. Sometimes, they will get an inter-library loan for you instead of purchasing the book. However, you never know until you ask. I've successfully requested dozens of books for my local library over the years. Why not give it a try?

Once the book is in the library, other readers can discover it and read it. If they like it, they might request more books from that author or purchase books from that author. Win-win!

And if you've finished reading a book you own, think about donating it to your church library or a local neighbourhood library or street library. You never know who might be touched by it.

Write a Review

Consider writing reviews of the books you read and put them on sites such as Goodreads, Koorong, and Amazon. Reviews can help to increase the visibility of books on those sites so that readers can find books they might like. Remember these types of reviews are for readers. You don't need special qualifications. Just say what you liked or didn't like about the book. A review can be any length, but you can do a really good one in just four sentences:

• First sentence - What is the genre or what is the book about?
• Second sentence - What specifically did you like?
• Third sentence - Was there anything you didn't like or that didn't grab you?
• Fourth sentence - Something positive to end on, such as your overall impression or your suggestion regarding the type of person who might like this book.

Did you know that if you put a review on the Koorong site, you get points towards their reward scheme? So for every dollar you spend and every review you submit, you accumulate points towards a voucher. I think it's only available for Australian citizens, so check the details. Also, check the guidelines for the particular sites you use. Amazon has quite a strict set of guidelines and you have to have spent a certain amount in the last year to be eligible to review an item. Goodreads is often a good place to start as it's very reader friendly. 

If you want to write a review for every book you've ever read, then go for it. However, most of us have limits to our time and energy. Think of the books you've read recently, and maybe start by writing a review for someone who doesn't have many other reviews or ratings on the site. The author who already has 2000 reviews really doesn't need you to write another one for them. The person who only has two reviews could really use your help. Unless of course you hate their book and your poor rating will negatively impact their overall ranking. This can create a conundrum. There may be something about the book that you want to warn others about. However, if it's just not your cup of tea, maybe think about whether you really need to put that review up. There's nothing wrong with constructive criticism. In fact, it can even give more credence to your review. However, don't nitpick either.

It goes without saying that your review should be your own honest opinions. I've made a decision not to put up a negative review for authors I know personally. If I can't honestly give their book at least four stars, I don't review it at all. But everyone has to make their own decision about this. Don't give a five-star review if you didn't like the book, or worse if you haven't even read it. If you think people wouldn't do that, I saw a five-star review once in which the reviewer said something like, 'I haven't read this book yet, but I know I'll love it.' Please don't do that.

For any of the sites, you would need to include a disclaimer if you have received a book for free. For example, 'I received an advanced reader copy from the publisher for the purposes of review, but these opinions are my own'. Sites like Amazon don't allow you to review a book if you've had anything to do with its production (e.g., publisher or editor), but check specific guidelines.

I hope I haven't made this sound too complicated. The main thing to know is that reviews help, especially if the author doesn't have many of them. Your review doesn't need to be long, but be specific and honest, and maybe pick up some bonus points from Koorong in the process.

Engage with Social Media

We live in the age of social media--Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), Threads, Goodreads, TikTok, YouTube and no doubt many more that people my age have never heard of. I don't claim to be an expert on social media, but I do know there are these mysterious things called algorithms that determine who sees your posts. You might have 500 friends on Facebook, but your post will only appear towards the top of the newsfeed for some of them. If you have an author business page, it can be even worse, especially if you post an external link to a blog post, event or newsletter; or if you use any key words like 'giveaway', 'sale', 'competition', 'book launch', and so on. 

The algorithms seem to have tightened up over the last few years. I understand that social media platforms are not charities and that it costs them money to keep them going. But it can be tough if you're a struggling author and just want to let people know that you have a new blog post out.

I don't pretend to understand how all of these algorithms work, but one thing all of these platforms want is engagement. Once people start liking your posts, commenting on them or sharing them, then more people will end up seeing them. So you can help an author by doing all of those things. Not only does it increase the likelihood of their post being seen, but it's also encouraging. I'm sure many of us can think of times when we've put a lot of effort into a blog post, but no one comments. Those little bits of encouragement can help us to keep going when the going gets tough. 

Sign Up for Author Newletters

As the algorithms on social media have gotten tighter, author newsletters have become more important. For many authors, it's the main way they can let their readers know about their books, upcoming events, giveaways and so on.

This is a tricky one, because most of us get more emails than we can handle and we don't want more 'spam' to add to the mix. I must admit that I've sometimes subscribed to a newsletter and later unsubscribed because it was coming too frequently or it didn't contain anything of real interest to me. However, if authors give their readers something of value rather than just always urging them to 'buy my book', readers will want to subscribe and read their news. 

Try signing up for some newsletters of authors you like. If they pose a question to readers, spend a minute to respond. If you like something they said, tell them. If they've got a link to their latest blog, read it and leave a comment on the blog site. Some of these things only take a minute or two, but they can mean a lot to an author.

Pray

Sometimes authors will put prayer requests on social media or in their newsletters, and we can join them in their prayers. However, we could also get into the habit of praying more for each other. (I'm writing this to myself too, as I often forget to pray for fellow authors.) We can pray for the books or other manuscripts they're currently writing, we can pray for upcoming events, we can pray about personal issues that are affecting their ability to write, and we can engage in spiritual warfare on their behalf. The enemy is not going to be pleased if any of us are writing Christian books that can impact others, so we can expect attack. However, praise God that He is stronger and His Word will prevail. I felt like I was under attack in the days leading up to my latest book launch, and it meant a lot to know that the members of my home group were praying for me. Everything went smoothly, thanks to God. Let's not neglect the importance of praying for each other.

Caveats

Are you feeling overwhelmed by all of these ideas? The good news is that you don't have to do them all. In fact, that would be impossible. We all have things that we need to do each day and social media can be a big time waster. However, it also has its advantages. It doesn't take long to 'like' someone's social media post, write a comment on their blog post, or answer a question they've asked in their newsletter.

There's also the 'do unto others' principle. If you're an author and you want people to write reviews of your books, comment on your posts or sign up for your newsletter, you need to be willing to do the same for others. I've written a previous post on that topic and you can read it here. We're all part of the Christian writing community and we operate best when the whole body is functioning well and supporting each other.

So what about you? Are there any of these things you could do right now? Are there a couple of these things you could do sometime this week? If we're intentional, we're more likely to do it, so let's support each other as part of God's team.

Have you already tried some of these things or do you have other suggestions? I'd love to hear your responses.

Author Bio

Nola Lorraine loves weaving words of courage and hope. Her inspirational historical novel 'Scattered' was shortlisted for the 2021 CALEB Awards. Her second book 'Comfort Zone: A 40-Day Devotional on the Father of All Comfort' was published by Armour Books in March 2025. She would love to connect with you through social media and her newsletter. For more information, see her website at www.nolalorraine.com.au

Photo Credits

Featured photo was taken at the launch of the anthology 'Symphony of Grace' edited by Anne Hamilton and Ruth Bonetti. The photo shows 17 of the 22 authors. Nola Lorraine author photo by Wayne Logan at Encouraging Photos. All other photos from Pixabay. Library by naobim, woman typing by jane13b, social media by AzamKamalov, newletter by LadyBB, and prayer by doungtepro.

Highlighting Book Reviews

 by Jeanette O'Hagan

As Jane Austen might have said, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that an up-and-coming author in possession of a new release must be in want of book reviews.”

But what is a book review and why do authors crave them so much? 

A book review gives a reader's evaluation or reaction of their reading experience of a particular book. Most often written on a review site, it can also be blogged, podcasted, on you-tube, Instagram or Tik Tok. 

Finding and connecting with new readers can be one of hardest challenges of being an author. Anything that can help us do that adds value. In an era of online book stores, a substantial number of good reviews gives a book 'social proof' and can help readers decide whether or not to buy and read the book.

But getting book reviews is not easy. Just as acquiring a suitable spouse in Jane Austen's England entailed challenges, frustrations and pitfalls, acquiring book reviews can have pitfalls for the unwary as well as rewards. 

Review of Jewel of the Stars

Some tips.

1. Remember, book reviews are primarily for readers not authors. 

As authors, the temptation is to see book reviews as a tool to be utilised, to even think that readers somehow owe us a review. However, the main purpose of a review is for readers to express their opinions about the book for the benefit of other readers. This is especially true of reader review sites, like Goodreads or Bookbub. 

In particular, we as authors cannot expect that every single reader will enjoy our books. Even all-time classic books attract  a small collection of negative and even scathing reviews.

In practice, this means being gracious when someone doesn't like our book. Never castigate a reader for a negative review - or to attempt to show them why they are wrong - or lambast them on your social media. Other readers are watching. In fact, on sties such as Goodreads or Amazon, the best policy is not to comment on readers reviews (even if to say thank you). 

Either develop a thick skin or don't read the reviews if it upsets you so much. 

And remember, for many readers, a book with only five and four star reviews might be seen as fake or only supported by friends and family.  Having some low-star reviews adds to the creditability of your book. And sometimes, the very things that are mentioned as negatives by one reader may in fact be seen as positives by other readers.

Review of Scattered by Nola Lorraine

2. As authors, it's okay to ask for reviews.

If you sell or give away enough book, eventually some readers will review them.  I'm not sure of a precise ration - but maybe one in every one hundred readers might review the book (less if the book is free). However, if having more reviews makes your book more attractive to readers, having no reviews may deter them.  Of course, there are other ways of connecting with readers, but how do we get more book reviews?

Giving out free review copies either before or around the launch can help.  Also, asking readers to leave a fair and honest review - at the end of the book, in your newsletter, on your social media or website can also help. You can also make requests for reviews - maybe from friends and family, other authors, perhaps influencers in your field. 

Though, think about who your ask to review your books. With Amazon, relevance is key. It's better to have fewer reviews by people who normally read in your genre than a whole slew of reviews from people who would normally read in different genres to your book, as this may confuse the Amazon bots.

Review of Unnoticed 

3. Be careful not to overdo your requests, or be too demanding. 

Readers do you a favour by taking the time to review your book.  And the best reviews are honest reviews. Don't put people off by spamming requests or only making the requests about what you want (buy my book, review my book) which can quickly drive away your potential readers.

As a general rule, do not pay for reviews - especially with Amazon reviews. (Exceptions might be sites like NetGallery or perhaps Kirkus Reviews). If  you sell your books on Amazon, be aware of their strict rules about who can and cannot review & never give anything in exchange for a review (you can give a free book with a request to review, thought not in exchange for a review.)  For Amazon, review swaps between authors can also cause trouble. 

Also, be patient and don't stress too much about reviews. While popular memes suggest 50 or 100 reviews on Amazon might be a magical threshold, other book marketing gurus suggest that 10-15 reviews may be enough to give your book social proof especially when combined with other methods of promoting your book. 

Review of Midnight Sun to Southern Cross

4. Give as well as receive

Sometimes as authors, we can make it all about us - our book, our need to promote, our need to get reviews etc.  Yet one of the strengths of the author community is mutual support. If you want other authors to support you, then be prepared to support them too. 

I know this can be tricky. As I said, a straight out review swap on Amazon can get your banned from the site, especially if reviews are put up close to each other.  However, other sites - such as Goodreads and Bookbub are not so restrictive. Also, you can use your newsletter, website or blogs on other sites to post reviews of other authors, or maybe do a blog tour.

Reviews don't have to be long. They are usually a personal reflection of your reading of the book, so there is no right or wrong way to write one. Though remember to be kind, be honest and never, never summarise the whole plot or give away spoilers (without a spoiler warning).

Some authors prefer not to review other authors at all - or will only review positively - because they do not want to hurt their fellow-author's feelings and/or are afraid of retribution if they give a negative review.  

Personally, I review almost all the books I read on Goodreads - and I strive to give honest and fair reviews. This means that I will talk about the things I didn't like in a book, but I always strive to find some positives as well. I enjoy supporting other authors by reviewing their books and get a thrill when someone reviews my books. 

Review of Under the Mountain - Box Set book 1-3

What about you?

Do you find getting book reviews hard?

Do you support other authors through reviewing their books?

What sites do you use to write or look for reviews?

Do you have any tips about giving or receiving reviews?

 

Jeanette O'Hagan has spun tales in the world of Nardva from the age of eight. She enjoys writing fantasy, sci-fi, poetry, and editing. Her Nardvan stories span continents, millennia and cultures. Some involve shapeshifters and magic. Others include space stations and cyborgs.

She has published over forty stories and poems, including the Under the Mountain Series (5 books), Ruhanna's Flight and Other Stories, Akrad's Children and Rasel's Song, the first two books in the Akrad's Legacy series.

Jeanette has practised medicine, studied communication, history, theology and a Master of Arts (Writing). She loves reading, painting, travel, catching up for coffee with friends, pondering the meaning of life.

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Meet Our Members: Sally Poyzer

Most Thursdays in 2019 we will be interviewing one of the members of Christian Writers Downunder – to find out a little bit more about them and their writing/editing goals.

Today interview Sally Poyzer

Tells us three things about who you are and where you come from.

I got married to Josh when I was 19 years old and we’ve now been married nearly 21 years. We have two wonderful kids: our daughter, Promise (10) and our son, Rockford (4).

I grew up in cold, wet Mount Gambier at the bottom of South Australia. After our honeymoon Josh and I moved to the top of the country to sunny, tropical Darwin. We really loved it up there! 

Following God’s call into ministry, we moved back to Adelaide nearly 11 years ago.

Tell us about your writing (or editing/illustrating etc).  What do you write and why?

I have written non-fiction books, novels, middle grade fiction, picture books, poems, plays and even a musical!

So far I’ve only (self) published one book, ‘That Book for Wives’. I wrote it because I found the first few years of marriage challenging: my husband just wouldn’t do what I wanted him to do! I whinged to God and He began to show me how I could change my marriage. As I saw my marriage transform, I jotted down the different lessons God was teaching me. Eventually I turned it in to a book and published it. It only took me 14 years! It’s an easy to read book with lots of short, super-practical tips.

I write because I love to write – it is fun to create stories and I really enjoy trying to construct a well-written sentence. My other main motivation is wanting to help draw others nearer to God.

Who has read your work? Who would you like to read it?

It’s been lovely hearing from complete strangers in Australian and the US who have emailed me to say how much my book has helped their marriage. But, of course, I’d love many more people to read it. I would also love more CWD members to read it because I think we all appreciate how important reviews are to authors! So, to get more CWD members reading and (hopefully) reviewing it, I’d like to offer two things:

1. A giveaway. I’m going to give away one a free copy of ‘That Book for Wives’, posted to anywhere in Australia. To have a chance of winning the free book, please share in the comments your best tip for someone who is about to get married. Next week I’ll send ‘That Book for Wives’ to my favourite tip!
2. A free PDF. If you’d like to read my book and write an honest review on Amazon, Goodreads or Koorong (or all three!), please message me your email address and I’d be happy to email you a PDF of ‘That Book for Wives’.

Tell us something about your process. What challenges do you face? What helps you the most?

I find it very challenging to get time on the computer to write. I have run my own consulting business from home for nearly 10 years, which has been a great blessing with young kids. However, it also means my kids always see me on the computer (for work) so trying to get back on it to write (for fun) is hard – to them it just looks like I’m ignoring them again! Not getting much time on the computer can be frustrating, especially since I have about 10 different books I’m thinking about/working on at the moment (4 books in a kids adventure series, 2 novels, 3 books in the ‘That Book for …’ series and a cookbook!).

One trick that’s helped has been to record my ideas on the Voice Recorder app on my phone, which I can do when driving to pick up the kids from school. Knowing the ideas are recorded removes the worry that I will forget them.

I also make sure I have a small exercise book lying around my house so I can quickly jot down thoughts when I get them. Then, when I actually get time to jump on the computer and type, I have plenty of material to work with. I usually aim to write for a couple of hours every Sunday afternoon, although sometimes I just end up crashing in bed with a good book and some chocolate!

What is your favourite Writing Craft Book and why?

I recently read Lisa Cron’s ‘Story Genius’, as recommended by some of you in CWD. I borrowed it from the library and quickly realised I needed to buy my own copy so I could highlight it. It’s definitely a book you need to interact with! I loved the first third or so because it really got me thinking about my characters and their motivation and how this (rather than the external plot) is really what the story is about. However, from there it got a little bit too prescriptive for me. I finished it, but the last part of the book had a lot less highlighting. Still, it was definitely worth reading.

If you were to give a shout-out to a CWD author, writer, editor or illustrator – who would they be?

Um, all of them? I am so grateful for this group. When I first joined CWD (at the recommendation of someone at Book Whispers) I had no idea about the publishing and marketing process. I have learnt so much from the blogs, from people’s posts and from members who have answered my questions. Thank you everyone, for sharing your wealth of knowledge and allowing me to be a part of your journey too.

What are your writing goals for 2019? How will you achieve them?

My goals for this year are to:

• Finish writing the fourth book in my adventure series for 7-10 year old kids and hopefully find a publisher, which may be a bit challenging. The books have a strong Christian message, but also have some toilet humour! The kids who’ve read my drafts love the humour and the suspense, but I’m not sure if Christian publishers will be keen to publish books with references to wee and booger, even if the kids in the books meet heroes from the Bible and learn valuable Scriptural truths. Thoughts and suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.

• Launch a blog. I watched a video by Cyle Young (a Christian literary agent) last year where he talked about the importance of platform which made me realise a blog could be a good way to increase my platform. My plan is to focus on writing practical blogs about Christianity (e.g. an overview of the story of the Bible, a ‘Reading the Bible for the first time’ reading plan), marriage (e.g. how to forgive when he hasn’t said sorry, how to apologise well), and parenting (e.g. teaching your kids to be kind to each other, how I got rid of TV during the week). I’ve started writing it already but want to get a few more finished before launching. I’m also thinking these blogs will help me get some content written for a couple of books in my ‘That Book for …’ series. I’m not sure how I’m going to achieve these two goals with only a couple of hours each Sunday, but I figure it’s one word at a time!

How does your faith impact and shape your writing?

All of my books (apart from the cookbook!) have a significant faith element. All the ‘That Book for …’ books are Biblically-based. I started writing the kids series because I was trying to teach my daughter powerful truths from the Bible (such as, you don’t need to be afraid because God is always with you) in a fun, engaging way. Even my novels, which don’t have a particular ‘message’, are written from a Christian world-view.

I’m really conscious that Christians don’t love super-preachy books, but at the same time, I believe story is a very powerful way of sharing the truth of the gospel. Hopefully I can get the balance right!

Sally Poyzer is a credentialed pastor with CRC Churches International and has spent many years ministering to women, particularly in the area of marriage. She is passionate about sharing how God can help wives enjoy being married.

​With a background in corporate training and a Bachelor in Adult and Vocational Education, Sally is an experienced and enthusiastic preacher and teacher. She has her own consulting business, specialising in writing and facilitating customised training programs, as well as writing and formatting business documents.

Sally was married at nineteen to Josh Poyzer, who is now the Senior Pastor of Portlife Church. They have been married over twenty years and live with their two gorgeous children, Promise and Rockford, in Adelaide, South Australia. She loves reading, especially literature, with Pride & Prejudice easily topping her list of favourite books.