Celebrate

Hi guys! I hope your weeks are going well! Me, I’ve been busy as ever, but having a lot of fun along the way. And for today, we’re taking a logical progression path through the eight best ways to support your author friends. Tuesday, we talked about buying the book, about saving your money and getting a copy of that book as soon as you possibly can, just so your author friend knows you care… but, you know, there’s more you could be doing.

#2: Read the Book

No, I really don’t care if you like to read. I don’t really care if you think it’s cool that you know an author, but you never read so you’ll never pick the book up (that’s not an excuse to not buy it either, by the way). I honestly don’t care. (and yes, I'm aware how that might bother some of you)

Why don't I care?

Because if you did something cool, if you made a CD or were in a dance recital or got a new job and wanted to celebrate, I bet your author friend will be right there cheering you on. Why do I think this? Because authors love seeing people in the arts, we love celebrating the arts. And what we do is part of the arts as well.

Our celebration of you doesn’t change just because we don’t like the thing you’re doing. Maybe you’re a rapper and you have a gig this weekend. Well, I honestly can't stand rap. But I’d probably still go if I knew you, because I’d want to support you.

It’s the same concept, it just might take you a little longer to do.

Read the dang book.

Your friend put a lot of time and effort into creating this book, into writing this beautiful story that they finally came up with the courage to share with the world around them—and you can’t even bring yourself to read it? *sigh*

There’s your problem.

To support your author friends, you need to get out of your head and into the book. You don’t have to like it. You don’t have to understand it. But you should read it, if only to tell your author friend that you love and support them in their new endeavor.

Be a friend. That’s basically what this boils down to. Be a friend, buy the book, and read it.

Like we talked about on Tuesday, you never know—you might actually find that you love the book, and find yourself with a whole new hobby you never knew you could enjoy.

Story is all around us. Story is a part of life. Reading is just another way of experiencing story, and your author friend would love if you’d take the plunge with them, even if it’s just this once.

[love]

{Rani Divine}