6 Levels of Fandom

I’m not talking about the Olympics, though they’re on right now. I’m talking about books. If you love to read and have a favorite author or two, are you being a good fan?

1. Casual. A casual fan is one who reads a book and say, “hey, that was a pretty good book.” They may loan the book to a friend or two, but then forget all about it. The author’s name doesn’t register.

2. Interested. This person, upon reading a book, checks out the author’s name and what else they’ve written, especially if the one they enjoyed was part of a series. They may visit the author’s website, make a list, and borrow the books through the library.

3. Curious. The reader realizes they like everything they’ve read from this author and become curious about the author. They begin to check out the author’s blog periodically, and buy an additional book or two.

4. Follower. The reader subscribes to the author’s blog, begins to follow them on social media. They want regular updates and begin to see the author as a person, not just a book-writer, and eagerly await new novels.

5. Avid. The reader signs up for the author’s newsletters and may travel to a book signing if it’s in a nearby city. They may suggest these books to a book club they’re part of, buy them for gifts, and post reviews around the internet.

6. Tribe member: The reader aligns herself with that author and seeks out opportunities to tell others about the awesome books she’s read and can spend hours talking to other fans. She may hang out at the author’s forum for readers.

What kind of a fan are you?

It is an inverted triangle. Readers have many authors whose work they like, a few less whose work they love, and very few whose work they avidly seek out.

Many times readers don’t know how much it means to an author if you kick your fandom up a notch or two.

What can YOU do to encourage your favorite authors?

1. Subscribe to their blog and post comments. (Yes, comments!!)

2. Buy books. That ought to go without saying, but in this day and age of free, it still needs to be said.

3. Write reviews and place them on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or other online sites. Each one counts! While you’re on Amazon, feel free to click the LIKE button on the book page as well as the one on the author page. There’s also a link on the author page that says “Follow:” Follow to get new release updates and improved recommendations.

4. Subscribe to their newsletter. While it’s great to be a Facebook fan, many fans don’t see a fraction of the posts anyone puts up there, so don’t count on hearing big news on Facebook. Subscribing to the newsletter is the only way to be certain you’ll be kept up on breaking news. Mine is here.

What other ways can you show your support? Can you kick it up a notch for a few special authors in your life? Authors, feel free to share this post with your readers using the buttons below.