On this date (August 23rd) in history:
Absolutely nothing of note has happened. Ever.
Instead, we celebrate the respective naissance of Dan "Rudy" Ruetiger...the working class dog himself, Rick Springfield...Kobe (the Bryant, not the beef)...and yours truly. Rudy's got a timeless movie, Rick has a bunch of hits and a soap opera role to his credit, Kobe's got pretty much everything, so it's my turn.
The only thing I want for my birthday is for you to support your writer friends, and for them to support you. There are some things we can do for each other better than anyone else. Here's what I want for my thirty*mumble* birthday:
1) Read and review. Reviews are our lifeblood. A lot authors have a free ebook somewhere. Free, homie. If it's within your genres of interest (or even if it's just not completely out of the realm of interest), download that bad boy, read it at your leisure, and post a quick review. If you're interested in doing a real review of a pay book, a lot of authors will send you a free copy, anyway.
2) Viralize. Like something that you read? Tweet it, Facebook it, G+ it. Hopefully others will, as well. Then do it again.
3) Tell your friends. If you know someone who likes to read a particular genre, and you also happen to know someone who writes in that same genre, channel your inner Chuck Woolery and hook 'em up. Maybe there will be sparks.
4) Turn "tomorrow" into "today," especially concerning ebooks. Yes, that $.99 book that really interests you will still be around tomorrow, and the day after...but will you remember it? There are a lot of distractions out there. So drop the buck. The impact that you have on the author will probably be much greater than the impact on your wallet.
5) Join forces. Whether huge or modest, you have a following. Someone else does, too. Introduce those fans to one another. Guest blog. Do an interview. Expose someone you admire to your audience. It won't hurt you, either.
6) Sharks with frickin' laser beams on their heads.
I think these are all pretty reasonable requests.
Remember, you got the touch. You got the power.
Dan
Awesome post man! I agree completely. I've actually stopped writing for a few days so I can read and review some friend's books. I think it's time well spent to support our community. And happy birthday!
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