Dear Reader,

Writers are reputed to be a bit standoffish, a bit inside our own wonky, tortured heads. Many of us just don’t like our fellow human beings. By logical extension then, we authors, as a group, must not want to be bothered by the “little people” lucky enough to read our books, right? We must find such extra-literary contact irksome, sycophantic, even stalky.  I’m going to type this slowly so everyone will understand:

WHEN IT COMES TO INDIES, NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!

I cannot speak for the Rowlings, the Kings or the Kingsolvers of this world because I don’t know any of them (sigh), but I know a lot (as in thousands) of indie authors, and to a person they revel in hearing from readers. I know this because the briefest note left on their Facebook author page or website, the slightest comment made in the grocery store, an email, a tweet, a blurry instagram pic (tinted to look like a Polaroid from 1963), anything that suggests someone out there likes their writing—sends that author trumpeting joy all over social media like a happiness t-shirt cannon. Hearing from readers makes indie authors giddily, unreasonably, even stalkily, happy.

So please, Readers, don’t be shy. Don’t be sitting there all on your lonesome as you turn the last page of a cool indie novel, thinking, “Gee willickers, I loved this book. I wonder if the author is going to write a sequel? I wonder if any of it is biographical? I wonder if the centaur knew the chewing gum was inside that marshmallow before he gave it to the toothless guinea pig? Oh, well, I guess I’ll never know, because surely this author wouldn’t want to hear from the likes of me.”

Wipe that niggling negativity right out of your neurons because, trust me—hearing from you is that author’s lifeblood and will make his/her day. You don’t even have to say anything brilliant, pithy or insightful. On the contrary, it would be impossible for you to make a comment or ask a question about an indie book that the author of said book does not want to receive. To prove my point, here are some questions that might, on the surface, seem unwelcome, followed by a typical indie author’s response:

“Did you hire a two-year-old to write this drivel?”

“Thank you so much for contacting me. Funny you should ask, because my two year old did give me the idea about the marshmallow and the gum!”

“Why do you bother getting up in the morning if this is the result?”

“So nice to hear from you. I do most of my writing in the evening.”

“Can I pay you to stop writing books?”

“That is so sweet. You mean like a Kickstarter?”

See? No harm no foul. Though if you do ask questions like these, you might find yourself written into a novel only to be gummed to death by a toothless guinea pig. But, hey, that could be adorable!

And one more thing: if you are a parent, grandparent or teacher, please encourage and help (as needed) a young person to contact a favorite indie author. I often hear from young readers, and it makes me even more unreasonably giddy than when I hear from adult readers, because adding to the pleasure a child experiences through reading is, well, one of the highest accomplishments I can think of.

If you’ve been hurt before in your attempts to form meaningful relationships with your favorite authors, we understand.  Send us a note, ask us a question—on Goodreads, Amazon, FB, snail mail, smoke signals or knuckle tattoo.  I promise: we’ll love you right back.

Cynthia Port is the author of the humorous fiction series, Kibble Talk, 2015 Readers’ Favorite Gold Award winner.