How To Support Your Writer Friend (Or So Your Friend Has Decided to Ruin Their Life)

Emma Michelle on staying in your writer friend's good books when writing support is hard to come by.

Last year I self-published a book. I’d worked in bookstores for years so understood the process, but what I didn’t know were all the ways my friends and family (and strangers!) would lend a hand.

Once I let people know my book was nearing publication, by far the most common question I received was “How can I help?” On top of being incredibly sweet, it’s actually a good question. How do you support a writer friend who's publishing a book? How do you support a writer friend who’s about to self-publish a book? And how do you support a writer friend full stop?

Tip 1: Ask About Their Work

A lot of writers may think they hate this. What's worse than feeling stuck in the middle of a writing project, and suddenly everyone’s asking you how the project’s going? I mean, would you ask a PhD candidate how their thesis is going? (…)

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If you have a friend who works as a freelance writer or even as a hobbyist, one of the best things you can do is ask what they're working on. Regardless of the ebbs and flows of creativity, or how daily life often feels at odds with writing habits (see: lack of time/space/money, and an abundance of imposter syndrome), writers write because we love it.

If we're feeling deflated about a project sometimes a question from a well-meaning friend is all it takes to re-ignite our enthusiasm, as it allows us to talk things through aloud. I can't count how many times I've left a café or pub after catching up with friends and gone home to pick up a neglected writing project, simply because chatting about it has given me fresh enthusiasm or a new perspective.

Tip 2: Help Their Routine

This might sound strange. Surely writers don't expect their friends to stand over them while they're working and smack their hand with a ruler if it strays to open a new tab for Facebook? Also, it’s well-documented that writers work in different ways and everyone favours a different routine.

Whatever your routine, there are so many ways people can help you find the time to write. Social things can be leveraged as really nice buffers for working time (and vice versa). When you arrange to catch up for coffee, suggest a café near a library so your writer friend can see you either before or after a few hours of work. It’s so much more appealing to actually go somewhere and write if I know it’s only for a few hours, and I get to see a friend once it’s over. This is an easy one if you’re a student, because you can build regular study dates where you catch up on assignments and your writer friend works on drafts.

Another way you can help a writer’s routine is to remember we make great house sitters. Going away and need someone to look after your place, or your pets? Offer your writer friend this first so they can get away from distraction and focus on their work.

Tip 3: Buy Their Work

Maybe this one is too obvious... but it deserves a mention. Celebrate the successes of your friend, and if they have something published that’s available to buy, please do. Because I didn’t want to release my book prior to its launch, or promote the launch too extensively (mainly because my book was quite personal and I was afraid of prying questions) my launch was 80% just a big party with people I know and love. And that was great.

If your friend has a major publisher who is taking pre-orders, do this and encourage others to do so as well. Once my book was out, I had an amazing friend buy multiple copies of my book just so she could gift them to others, and she even left one copy in the library where we studied at uni for someone to stumble across and read (sorry, librarians…).

Tip 4: Review/Promote Their Work

Social media plays such an important role in promoting and marketing books, and there are easy ways to show your support and contribute to the success of your friend’s work. If they share their writing online, promote it far and wide. If they’ve released a book, give it a great review on Amazon, Google and GoodReads.

Does the book have a hashtag yet? If yes, use it. On top of getting the word out there, using a particular hashtag helps capture all the coverage the book is getting across different platforms (Instagram, Twitter) in a central place.

On the night of my book launch, when my photographer cancelled, a friend from work volunteered at short notice to snap pictures. Once the book was being stocked in stores, my best friend used her skills to design a bookmark and shelf talker that I could have professionally printed. As you can see, you can get pretty creative with how you promote your friend’s book.

Tip 5: Support Places that Support Local Authors

Self-published books are overwhelmingly stocked on consignment (where the author is paid only if they are sold) and therefore compete for shelf space with books from major publishers who have big budgets for marketing. Furthermore, hosting a book launch requires a lot of additional labour from the bookstore (e.g. ordering and entering more inventory, collating RSVPs, arranging catering, rostering additional staff or working after hours).

If you go along to a friend’s book launch make sure you add the bookstore that hosts it to your regular circuit of shopping. Likewise if you go along to a friend’s poetry reading at a pub: make sure you consider that place next time you invite people out for drinks. Spending your money at places that support writers means you’re actively contributing to making sure these places continue doing what they do. And if you’re short on cash you can still show your support. Bookstores sell a bunch of other stuff you need regularly, like greeting cards and stationery. You can also request that your local library get a copy of your friends book in.

At my book launch I watched the person I love not only buy a copy of my book but a different book as well, and a record, and then order something in as well. And my heart soared. Now more than ever – with the rise of online retailers and the devaluation of labour in the arts industry – it’s important to throw your support behind venues that support writers. Because when these places flourish, so too does the art scene.