This year, instead of promoting your own books as holiday gifts, give back to your author community by working to promote your friends’ books.

Your author friends will appreciate the support while you enjoy the good feeling that comes with helping them reach new readers.

Here are five ideas to get you started.

1. Write a blog post listing your favorite books for 2016.

Since most authors are also big readers, this shouldn’t be too hard.

Be honest with your list. Maybe it includes a  mix of new books and books written decades ago that you read for the first time this year. Perhaps all of the books on your list were released this year. What counts is that you enjoyed reading them.

You can approach this in any way you want — but do a friend a favor by including his or her book on your favorites list.

2. Write a newsletter article about books you’re giving as gifts this year.

Many authors support the profession by giving books as gifts — why not make your gift list public? Share it with your email subscribers, and be certain to explain why each book is on your gift list.

3. Do a Facebook Live interview with an author friend.

This works when your author friend is local and you can get together in person for the broadcast.

If your author friends aren’t local, use Facebook Live to offer several holiday gift book reviews and recommendations over the next few weeks — and make sure at least one of the recommended books was written by a friend.

4. Create a “Books I Love” Pinterest board.

Pin book covers with links to their Amazon sales pages. In the “description” section for each image, tell people why you love the book.

5. Host a Twitter chat with an author friend.

Make sure you promote the chat in advance so people know when it will happen. Share your Twitter handle and your guest’s so people can search and find the conversation. Give the event a hashtag and share that with you networks, too.

It truly is better to give than to receive. This year, make your author friends the beneficiaries of your generosity.

Please add to this list. What else can you do in the next few weeks to help boost your friends’ book sales during the holiday season? 

Tip of the Month

I always share a “Tip of the Month,” a free resource or tool for authors, on the last Wednesday of the month.

If you have a smartphone, you probably use apps. One of my favorites is “Agent Obvious,” a collection of more than 500 tips and words of wisdom from literary agent Laurie Abkemeier.

Here’s just one example: “Don’t trash talk the competition in a proposal. Inevitably, people who worked on those books will read it.”

Download Agent Obvious for iPhones in the Apple app store.

If you don’t agree with the reasoning outlined in “Being a cheerleader for others helps you promote your own book,” then stop reading now.

Maybe you don’t believe that contributing to the success of other authors is an investment in your own success.

It’s possible you feel so overwhelmed by the tasks related to publishing and marketing your own book that you can’t bear to take even five minutes a day to help someone else.

Or . . . perhaps you’re willing to help, but don’t know what to do.

Get some good karma going

For those who understand karma, appreciate that you can learn by doing, or don’t have a lot of time, here are 26 super simple things you can do. They might not change the world, but each will mean a lot to authors you know or whose work you like or admire.

1. Cultivate a network of authors.

Keep expanding it. The more authors you know, the more you can support.

2. Buy their books when you can.

Nobody truly expects you to buy a book that you will never read or give away, but when it makes sense, buy a book written by an author you know rather than one written by a stranger.

3. Use your social networks to share information about new books with links to a purchase page.

4. When you receive a review copy of a book, take a picture of the cover and share it on Facebook with a positive comment.

Share that photo and comment on Instagram, too.

5. After you’ve read a book that you like, write a review on Amazon, BN.com, Goodreads, and other sites that are relevant.

6. If you’ve read a friend’s book and don’t like it, don’t review it.

Bad reviews help readers, but our goal here is to help writers.

7. If your blog readers will be interested in the book, review it on your blog.

8. Invite the author to contribute to your blog with a guest column, written Q&A, or an audio or video interview.

Similarly, if you host a podcast, invite your author friends to be guest on your show.

9. If you list books you like on your website, add your friends’ books to the list.

10. Send a brief book announcement e-mail to people in your address book you think will be interested in a specific book.

Be selective so your message has impact.

11. Recommend your author friends as speakers.

12. Like the author’s Facebook fan/book/author page.

13. Look for the book in stores.

If you find it, position it on the shelf so the cover faces shoppers. If it’s not there, ask the store to order it.

14. If it’s a great gift book, buy several copies so you’ve always got one to give away.

15. Make books in general your “go to” gift, whether it’s for bridal showers, birthdays, graduations, Christmas, or Hanukkah.

Become known as the person who gives great books that are carefully selected for the recipient.

16. When an author asks for help, oblige when you can.

Sometimes it’s impossible or not appropriate, but if you have to say “no,” try to re-direct the author to someone who can say “yes.”

17. If you write for magazines, newsletters, and/or websites and cover topics that your author friends write about, find ways to use them as sources in your articles.

18. Be generous with information and connections.

Help everyone by making those connections without being asked.

19. Check it out of your library.

20. Share their content with your social networks.

For example, promote the author’s virtual book tour appearances, re-tweet their exciting book news, or comment on (or share) their book updates on Facebook.

21. When they’re up for a “popular vote” award and ask for your support, vote early and often.

22. Add yourself to their mailing lists.

Publishers and others like to see author platforms with large mailing lists. Even one more subscriber helps.

23. Participate in and promote their book contests.

If they’re looking for contest prizes, offer to contribute if you can.

24. Provide a testimonial when asked . . . and if it makes sense.

25. Attend their book launch parties (and bring a few friends!).

26. Talk it up!

When you’ve read a book that you like, tell people about it.

I’m sure you can add to this list.

What are you doing to support authors, or what do you wish others could do to support you? Comment here!