Twenty years ago, a book followed a routine process: You poured your heart and soul into a manuscript and when you finished it, you started calling agents and editors who most likely told you to send them a query letter. Next step was usually a book proposal, and a few sample chapters. Then the waiting game started, usually ending with disappointment. On the other hand, the option to self-publish was there, but it had a certain stigma; a stigma that still exists today: “Your book isn’t really published because you couldn’t get it accepted by a “real publisher”. A real publisher? Excuse me for not laughing my butt off, are we not  human beings? Or are Self-Publishers merely robots? Or are Traditional Publishers too foolish to know that the only difference between a Traditional Publisher and a Self-Publisher is that the Self-Publisher does everything themselves? Anyone can be a publisher.

So here I am, scrolling down my WordPress reader feed, sorting through the posts with the tag “Writing”, and then I find a bunch of brilliant writing with zero likes or comments.

Seriously, there’s a bunch of talented authors out there who are simply invisiblebecause they don’t know how social media works.

It’s all about engagement, people.

Anyway. I’m all about encouraging talented writers, so I go ahead and leave them a message. “Hey, great job!”, or “Hey, I liked this!”, and I click ‘like’ on their posts too, because their writing deserves some love.

And then I never hear back from those authors again. This is super common (specially amongst newbies).

Look, it’s a simple rule: Engage with your audience.

When someone reaches out to you, reach out to them, especially if they say they like your work. Check their blogs, figure out how they would…

And, if you enjoyed that book, share the information with fellow Readers: On Goodreads, BookLikes, Amazon, Kobo, iTunes, your blog, my blog (Reading Recommendations), review sites, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, with the staff at your local bookstore (whether indie, chain, or online), with librarians … essentially wherever other Readers congregate and learn about which great books to read next.

I and all of my fellow authors will thank you by continuing to write what you love to read.

And please, Authors and Readers, feel free to reblog and share this message, the importance of which can never be overstated. Word-of-mouth is still our very best promotional tool and the most effective means for other Readers to discover new books. If you get into the habit of reviewing what you read and passing on the information, ALL Authors, and Readers, will thank you in return!