Look For The Helpers (And Do Your Best To Be One)

If you were stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire and no way to change it, you might be in need of any kind of help you could get. Whether it was someone who had the right tools to stop and help you change it, somebody who offered you a ride to a garage, or just someone who handed you a bottle of water and let you use their cell phone to make a call, when you find yourself struggling what you need most is a hand up so you can get back on track and start moving forward again.

There will be some people who drive by and ignore you. There will be others who roll their eyes, and blame you for not being prepared (where's their jack, where's their spare tire, where's their lug wrench, why can't they handle this themselves, etc.). There will be some who outright mock you because they aren't broken down on the side of the road, and it provides them a moment of mean-spirited joy to kick you while you're down.

As Mr. Rogers said, look for the helpers when times get tough. And if you can, do your best to be one of said helpers.

That review really helped. Thanks, man.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Authors Aren't Self-Made (No Matter What You've Heard)

Without fail, whenever an author (or any creator, really) asks for help from their audience there's always one asshat in the back who sniggeringly replies that if they're asking for help maybe they shouldn't be doing this for a living. Which, honestly, has very big, "If you want a living wage, go get a better job!" vibes to it.

And just like everyone who's worked in food service, retail, and every other genuinely necessary job during this pandemic, I would like to raise a point here. Because if you are consuming the content someone makes, then you are directly benefiting from their efforts and energies. Whether you're reading their stories, checking out their guides, watching their videos, listening to their audio tracks... you are benefiting from them. The same way that you benefit from a server taking your order at a diner, or the cashier ringing you up at the grocery store. And a lot of the time creators are making stuff for free (this blog, for instance, has no paywall. Neither do the videos I've contributed to the Azukail Games YouTube channel over the past few months), or just asking for a couple of bucks to enjoy something that took between a few months and a few years for them to create.

And for a majority of creators, that doesn't pay the bills. Not because we aren't putting in the effort, and not because of quality (which is completely subject to audience taste), but because we don't have people giving us the hand up we need.

Because finding helpers is hard.

Seriously, take a drink friend. It's rough pitching on the con floor all day.

Creators are doing our best to create a good product, and to put it out in front of people. And with startlingly few exceptions (and those of which are usually based on accidents in the algorithm), we cannot force our vehicles to go under our own power. We need our audience to reach out, and help however they can.

I've been talking about this for a while, and those who would like to help but aren't sure what would make an impact should take a look at Why Your Likes, Shares, Reviews, and Follows Matter To Creators. It's not all-inclusive, but I tried to give people some insight as to how their actions can make a difference to those of us who make content for a living.

Doom Posting (My Way of Being a Helper)

I generally try to help my fellow creators as much as I can. If someone has an idea for a project, and I know a publisher who would be interested, I try to set them up together. If someone has a new release, I share it on my channels and try to drive some traffic their way (incidentally, if you haven't read the brilliant Team Murderhobo: Assemble from Clinton Boomer, you owe it to yourself to check it out). I host reviews on my blogs to try to give people shout-outs, and I mention folks wherever I can.

There is something else I've been doing recently that anyone out there can do as well, and which I would actively recommend if you really want to help out the creators whose work you care about.

I call it doom posting.

Clock's ticking. Time to help some sorry sons a' bitches!

What I do is I pick a platform (usually Reddit, but Facebook sometimes gets this treatment as well). I then pick a creator whose work I like, and who needs to reach a larger audience. I will then find as many groups and communities as I can (ones I'm a part of and new ones) just to share the content they've made and try to boost their signal. This can lead to me making two or three dozen posts at a time when a work appeals to a lot of groups I'm already part of, or only making half a dozen posts if it's a little more niche.

I call it doom posting because I know that no matter how many posts I personally make, I'm just one individual. So it feels sort of hopeless, kind of like doom scrolling. There's always the chance, though, that these posts reach fresh eyes, get new people interested, and that even making a post that seemed like an outside chance of being noticed could lead to a much-needed landslide of attention. And since I know that admins and moderators get on creators' asses for posting their own work (often banning us from groups if we attempt to do so), I'm happy to act as the cat's paw to share other people's work so they don't have to face that kind of backlash.

And since we're on the subject, in addition to Mr. Boomer's book, I'd also suggest some of the following places for you to check out if you want fresh, free content from talented creators!

- A Vox in The Void: A YouTube channel that does spine-chilling reads and performances of classic horror and sci-fi stories, as well as Warhammer 40K fiction (official and non), going through the archive will take you a while. Trust me, it's worth it... so go like and subscribe!

- Alice The Author: Alice Liddell is a talented author who works in romance, fantasy, RPGs, and more! Her channel is great for authors, aspiring authors, and even for Game Masters looking for occasional bits of inspiration. Could definitely use a boost in followers.

- Azukail Games: All right, I'm cheating with the third one. As folks know I've been contributing a lot of content to the Azukail Games YouTube channel, but I'm not the only name and face putting stuff up there. So come on by, find some stuff you think is cool, and subscribe to help us hit our goals! It takes 1k subs and 4k hours of watched content in the last year (or 11.5 hours a day), so we need all the help we can get.

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

Why Your Likes, Shares, Reviews, and Follows Matter to Creators

All of us watch YouTube, and for a lot of us it's because there are creators on there whose channels we particularly enjoy. Video game streamers, DIY crafters, guerilla news shows, there's all kinds of creators on that platform. While it seems like every, single video has creators asking us to like and share, as well as subscribe to their channels, most of us don't even hear that request anymore. It's the neo-commercial of the Internet age; we just tune it out until we get back to our regularly scheduled program.

However, creators make that request because they need their audience to do those things in order to help them actually get paid for the stuff they make. That's the reason they put it in every, single video. Because there's no knowing which video is going to be seen by which people, and even if someone is a regular viewer getting your audience to do something can be like trying to get a toddler's attention; you have to say it seven or eight times before they actually hear and process what you're asking for.

And we don't do this just for kicks, or because it's part of the formula. We do it because we literally need your help to overcome algorithm inertia so we can actually get our work seen by the Internet at large.

Trust me... we don't like doing this anymore than you like hearing it.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Seriously, We Cannot Do This Without You

I've given this statistic before, but I feel like it bears repeating. YouTube requires a channel to have a minimum of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watched hours of content before it will actually allow the creators to be monetized. That's 11.5 hours of content watched per day for an entire year, for those of you who don't want to do the math. On that platform it doesn't matter how much time and effort you put in, how many scripts you have, or how much content you produce... if you can't get at least 1k people to click that subscribe button, YouTube is keeping all the earnings your content generates for itself... because it's still putting ads on your videos, but it's just putting the proceeds into its own pockets instead of splitting them with you.

Worse than that is that even once you are monetized, you basically only earn $3-$5 per 1k views on your videos... and if you don't have a large audience that's helping boost your signal, even getting your channel monetized might mean you're now making a couple bucks a month, and that's it.

One for me, none for you. Two for me, none for you...

So what, you might be thinking. After all, maybe the creators you like aren't on YouTube, so this isn't a concern of theirs because they're bloggers, podcasters, novelists, and so on. Well, the unfortunate facts of life are that while the platforms might change, the problems of overcoming algorithm inertia remain the same.

For example, consider my Twitter account. I've got 1,700 people following me there, which is enough to blow my mind a little bit (especially since I just crossed that threshold this past weekend). However, if you start looking behind the scenes at how many followers you need to have before the site actually starts promoting your tweets (showing them to people who don't already follow you, but who might be interested in your content), you don't really get any attention at all until you hit 5,000 people. Not only that, but you won't receive any kind of meaningful notice from the algorithm until you've got 10,000 followers or so.

Just in case you needed perspective about what counts for "good" numbers in this particular game.

You find this on basically any social media site, and on marketplace sites as well. For example, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife is the most-reviewed book I've written on Amazon. With that said, it's only got 28 reviews, and not the magical 50 it takes to get the site's wheels to start turning, putting your book in promotional banners that other shoppers will see. Facebook is happy to promote you if you have thousands of followers, but much like Twitter's system you won't even show up in the newsfeeds of people who have liked your page until you hit a few thousand (my Facebook is at just over 800, for folks who are curious).

This list goes on, but you get the idea. There are literally millions of people online looking for books, RPGs, videos, and so on, but without an audience to magnify a creator's signal (and to get them a megaphone) they can't reach a very big crowd.

Clicking Those Buttons Makes a Difference

Creators, whether they're writing novels, creating RPGs, making videos, or putting together some other kind of content, do the best we can to get it seen. Most of us spend a majority of our days posting on social media, leaving links in forums, giving interviews, and doing absolutely anything we can to keep our heads above water and get people to notice us. Because sure, it's possible we could just buy ads, and that those ads could help us find the audience we need... but most of us don't have a budget to buy ads. And if we spend money we can't spare rolling the dice on that, and it turns out we get nothing out of it, we've just cut off our foot before we have to run a race.

It's not a great gamble to take if you can't afford the loss.

That is where you come in.

Now, I said back in Direct Donations Really Are The Best Way To Help Creators You Love that you will have the biggest impact just dropping a tip into someone's jar, buying some of their merch, or becoming a Patreon patron. Hands down, no question. However, if you want to do more to help a creator that you want to encourage (or you need something you can do for free that will help), then giving their content on social media a react, and making sure they have one more follower, does make a difference.

Even if all you are is a warm body who subscribes to a social media page, that vote of confidence is one more hash mark that lets the algorithm know this creator is more popular, and they should be promoted. And the more you interact with that creator's content (likes, shares, retweets, comments over 5 words, etc.) the more of a splash that makes. At the end of the day, it's sort of like recycling; individually it might not look like much, but if you can get your friends, family, and community to help out, it's going to make a bigger impact than you think.

So if you want to do something nice for the creators whose work you enjoy, give them some online love. Leave reviews on the books you've bought, and help get them noticed by other readers. Leave a thumbs up on a video of theirs that you like, and toss a comment on it so it gets a little extra notice. Like their Facebook creator page, follow them on Twitter, and maybe leave a heart on a post of theirs that you want to boost. When you make these kinds of behaviors a habit, you start helping creators without really having to think about it... and trust me, we need all the help we can get!

If You'd Like To Start With Me...

For folks who've stumbled across this post, and would like to help me haul myself up a rung or two, here's a handy list of the places you can go where your efforts would be much appreciated!

- My Twitter

- My Facebook

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

If You Need Support as a Creator, Ask For It (You Might Be Surprised)

When you're an author you basically live or die on the support of your audience. It doesn't matter how much you write, what platform you use, or who publishes you... if you don't have an audience reading your work, at the end of the day you don't get paid. That's just the way it is.

Audience support goes beyond just sales, though. The algorithms on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter give preference to accounts that have the most subscribers. Books that have the most reviews, or videos that have the most upvotes, are the ones that get recommended to other shoppers and viewers, thus making it more likely for them to check out your work. So while buying books puts money directly into creator's pockets, reviewing books, following pages, commenting on and sharing posts, these things are all extremely important.

So how do you get people to help you out when you're a creator? Well... the easiest way is to just ask.

We've got to pump those numbers up! These are rookie numbers!

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron!

Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

It Really Is That Simple

There's are two, major schools of thought I've seen regarding building a following which I think are extremely silly, but a lot of people seem to buy into. First is the idea that people who see your work will be so struck by it that they will spontaneously follow all the things you release, give you good ratings, and binge all of your content. Don't get me wrong, those fans are great when you find them, but they are few and far between, so you shouldn't depend on them to do the work for you. Second is this idea that you have to be some kind of puppet master, using the proper keywords and oblique suggestions to plant the idea in your audience's mind that they should follow your channels, share your posts, etc. This school says that just coming out and telling them what to do is crass, and it's more likely to result in them not doing it because you weren't subtle enough.

Your audience is skittish, and you need to come at them sideways.

The idea that you need to be quiet about how your audience can help you reminds me of an example I was given in a textbook for a marketing class back when I was in college. You're at the mall looking for a new pair of shoes. There are two stores that both have the same model you want. The price is exactly the same, but you know if you buy from one store then a salesperson you like will get the commission. That knowledge that your actions are directly helping someone out can be the tipping point that sends you to their store, rather than somewhere else.

It's the same when you make content online. Because most people who consume our content don't think of things in terms of audience size, review numbers, traffic, and algorithm inertia. Generally it just comes down to, "Did I like that thing I just saw?" and occasionally the yes is strong enough for them to click the like button, or to subscribe to us all on their own. But if you don't want to leave it up to chance, take your audience's hand and tell them explicitly how they can help you keep producing content by liking, subscribing, sharing, buying copies, etc.

A personal example of this that I had recently was reaching out to the various communities familiar with my work to try to build the following on the Azukail Games YouTube channel. While grabbing around 40 fresh subscribers in a day is child's play for a lot of folks, it's probably the largest 1-day jump the channel has experienced in some time. While that only put it up to 195 subscribers (and it needs 1,000+ before it can get monetized) that's not a bad start. And all I did was tell people the channel existed, tell them how far we were from our goals, and asked for a bit of help boosting the signal and subscriber base.

Incidentally, if you're reading this and you enjoy world building, audio dramas, and listening to creators talk about their work, consider subscribing yourself to help boost the signal!

So if you want to get people to support your work, tell them how. Tell them often. Because it might feel repetitive, but a lot of people don't actually know how to support you, or even think about it at all while they're enjoying it. Be direct, be clear, and give people actionable instructions. Don't drop hints and hope for the best, because then you have no one to blame but yourself for your audience moving on without hitting any of the buttons you want them to.

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

Like and Share This Post

Most people think that authors are literary rock stars. They sit in their posh studios writing down made up stories, and when they're done cashing their million dollar checks they take vacations to go to book signing events or conventions to rub elbows with the unwashed masses.

It's not like that. It's more like this.

We who are about to write, salute you!

In the coliseum of modern entertainment, authors have become the new gladiators. We create a personal experience, a unique brand, and in many cases a persona just to get noticed. We practice, sharpen, and edit ourselves until we reach the peak of our game. We are not there to perform for the publishers, the Caesar who sits above the game and decides yay or nay on whether we publish or perish. We are there to perform for you. The Mob.

The Truth of the Metaphor

It's a little sad, but it's true. As I said in this post, publishers are not interested in art. They're not interested, by and large, in literary merit. They don't really care if the books they publish are going to remembered for years to come as the books that set the standard of the age. What publishers care about is whether or not they sell books. As with the gladiators of old, the arena masters care about how well their staff of authors plays with the crowd. The louder the crowd roars, the more support they throw behind a particular author, the longer and more fruitful that author's career will be on the bloody sands of the bestseller lists.

So if you want to see an author succeed, you need to raise your voice and make sure those on high can hear you loud and clear.

How to Support Your Favorites

Now that your illusions about how easy your favorite artists have it has been irrevocably shattered, you might start to worry. After all if the audience goes silent then it doesn't matter how long the gladiator in question has been the champion; the blade's coming down. Unless you and all your fellow fans start making yourselves heard, that is.

The best way to do that is of course to buy books. Publishers notice when people buy books, and they make sure to do more promotion for authors who's books fly off the shelves. Unfortunately money is not an easy-to-come-by commodity, no matter how big of a fan someone is. Fortunately you can raise a ruckus even if your pocket book is a little on the lighter side.

The next best thing you can do is to help promote authors you like. For instance, if someone wanted to help promote me, I would ask them to follow my blog here, and to drop by my author Facebook page, to follow me on Tumblr, and to drop by my Goodreads page to see what books I have available. I would also ask my readers to leave reviews of the books they'd read, and to help me signal boost posts about my work. Sometimes all it takes is for one person to start the wave for the rest of the bleachers to join in, and that will catch everyone's attention.

Is That All it Takes?

Yes and no. If an author writes a novel that is a smash hit, but doesn't do anything else (the literary equivalent of pop music's one-hit-wonders) then that one splash in the pond is going to stagnate pretty quickly. The same is true of an author's fan base. Someone who writers a book review that goes viral has done a great service for that author in the short-term. But the wheels turn on constant awareness. Authors have to keep writing, and fans have to keep talking them up.

Lastly, remember this. Cheers are contagious, especially in crowds. The louder you cheer, the more interested your fellow mob-members are going to be. Pretty soon they're going to be cheering right alongside you.