The Little Things Authors Do...

Author's are interesting people. They provide readers with an escape from our day to day lives, they give us a chance to see the world in a different light, and most of all they often do things that make us laugh or cry. For this last one I'm not only talking about the books they write, but the little things they add to it that I don't always see.

I recently received a book that had the most delightful note from it's author in the first few pages. This note made me start to think about the interesting and silly things author's do that I really enjoy seeing. Things like quirky acknowledgments, regular blog posts, a quick reply to a fan, and yes notes to their readers in their books. There are a good deal more of these things that I've noticed over the years and I always love seeing author's interact with their audience in creative ways.


Let me take a moment to say that I'm not discrediting traditional ways that author's interact with their audience, like speaking/signing events or even letters. I'm just pointing out other ways that I've noticed them reaching out.

My favorite thing I see authors do is when they go well out of their way to interact with their audience. For instance like when they set up times to answer questions online or when they take up space in their book to talk to the reader. I love hearing an author's thoughts on their book, seeing why they did something, and getting to look at a map or chart, but most of all I love hearing from them.

I've found author's to be as interesting as the books that they write. And so I love getting to see a little bit more of them than just their books. When an author is willing to put a silly bio at the back of their book, or they really try to stay in touch with their audience through their website or blog it tells me a lot about them. It makes me lean in closer and listen to what they have to say, and yes it also makes me even more eager to read whatever they are writing next.

All of this to say two things: the first is to say thank you to all the authors who write silly bios and have crazy blog posts. Thank you to all the authors who've thanked their readers in their acknowledgements and to all the authors brave enough to have question and answer sessions on their blogs. And thank you to all the authors who do so much more than I've even listed here. Secondly I wanted to point it out to readers and possible future authors. These are things to notice, and to do. These are interesting ways to connect with other readers.  And maybe, just maybe they are simply fun.

Keep your eyes open.

~Dawn