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Asking great Q&A questions: an amazing (and free!) way to support authors you love
Look, the best way to support authors is to buy their fucking books. There’s no getting around that. Pre-order (in hardcover!) from indie bookstores if you want extra credit.
Unless you’re willing to give their book to your good friend Oprah, get a tattoo of the book’s title, or nominate the author for a Macarthur Genius grant, buying their book early and often will remain the most direct way to support them.
But if you’re like me, there are hundreds of authors you want to support, far outpacing your monthly entertainment budget. And maybe you still want to do something helpful, even after you’ve requested their book from your library and spread the word.
What to do? Ask a great question during the Q&A portion of their reading at your local bookstore.
This summer, I had the privilege of traveling far and wide to support my first novel, Marilou Is Everywhere. The format of my readings varied — somtimes a friend interviewed me, sometimes the bookstore manager introduced me, and sometimes I just took the stage unannounced, like an audience member jumping into the wrestling ring. But one part of the format remained constant: the Q&A. And as long as the Q&A was there, it was attended by its inevitable counterpart, the deadly long…
