Building an army of rabid reader fans and feeding them with stories that keep them coming back for more are two separate challenges. Many indie authors believe this means endless posting, clicks, selfies, likes, and videos to feed algorithms, so they stay top of mind. But this strategy often leads to exhaustion and burnout. Moreover, the types of fans who want or need this type of engagement may not be the fans you want. 

A regular reader is happy to receive an email from you about your latest release and might even leave a positive review on Amazon or reply to a question in your Facebook group. There are plenty of regular readers out there, and each one is appreciated. A superfan, however, advocates for your stories, screaming about them to their friends. They share your posts, reply to comments, volunteer for your ARC team, and are first in line to buy your latest preorder. They’ll help other readers find your book and engage meaningfully and positively with the content you create. In short, they are the readership that forms the strongest and most reliable fanbase for any author, and particularly for one who’s still growing.

A superfan is built through loyalty and values their relationship with the author. They are built not by your constant stream of engagement but instead by consistently exceeding readers’ expectations and showing them you value their loyalty. However, loyalty is built through systems, clarity, and trust—not a constant presence. With an army of superfans advocating for your books, you can save yourself the mental strain of constantly being online and let others do the work for you.

A Note About Parasocial Relationships

Before getting deeper into the topic of superfans, it’s important to understand the dynamic between reader and author. When authors put themselves out into the world, humanize themselves, and ask readers to buy their books, they are building a parasocial relationship with the reader. Parasocial relationships are “one-sided relationships in which a person develops a strong sense of connection, intimacy, or familiarity with someone they don’t know,” according to Psychology Today. Readers want to feel like they know you as a friend, even if only through the posts and newsletters you’ve shared and the books you’ve published.

Authors who use a pen name are no different from those who publish under their real names. The same ideas remain—they must be true to themselves and their personas, even if their connection to their readers is one layer removed. The reader should still feel the same level of passion about their stories and their connection to the author. Readers appreciate human connection and authenticity, and authors can maintain both through the lens of a pen name. 

Parasocial relationships grow at different rates and with varying intensities. Some readers will feel a slight connection to their favorite author. Some readers will go to the opposite, unhealthy extreme, where they feel an almost intimate bond with the creator or author. But right in the middle of these two extremes is the superfan—the reader who will instantly buy every new release, respond to emails, engage in social groups, and advocate via word of mouth about their favorite books or buy them for all their friends and family. 

When it comes to parasocial relationships, authors should exercise varying degrees of separation between themselves and the reader. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Be careful of what you ask of readers. And always practice safety when it comes down to meeting anyone in person. Connecting with readers is still part of a business, and you should create boundaries accordingly; readers don’t need to understand every detail of your personal life to feel like they’ve connected with you. Still, the parasocial relationship is a tool that can be navigated safely, and when done right, it will help you build an army of fans who will clamber over each other for your newest release. 

Systems versus Constant Availability

One of the first ways authors can build lasting relationships with readers is through consistently engaging and interacting with them, on social media, through newsletters, or through in-person or virtual events. But consistent interaction doesn’t mean constant interaction. 

Maintaining reader engagement of any kind shouldn’t be a chore. With systems in place, you can make good on your promises and build trust with readers in a way that is genuine but doesn’t burn you out. Consider the platforms you use and which are most popular among your readers. For example, if you’ve found readers interact with you mostly through email, consider batching together more of those emails, then choose a day to respond to reply messages. Doing this regularly tells the reader that you’ll get to them, but you’ll do so when it makes the most sense for you. The other side of this is constantly checking your email to answer readers right away, and this sets a bad precedent for readers, in which they come to assume you’re always available. 

As your fanbase grows or you become more comfortable with your schedule, you can spread your attention across more platforms and more outlets, but maintain boundaries for yourself and your readers so that managing your engagement schedule doesn’t become overwhelming. 

Reaching a ‘Flow’ State

Maintaining a relationship with too many readers can result in spreading yourself too thin too quickly and sets the wrong expectations for how the reader-author relationship should look. Utilizing automations allows you to still cultivate readership without sacrificing your time.

Automations, sometimes called flows, are a series of text messages or emails that are scheduled to be sent at certain times or when certain conditions are met. These messages are pre-written, and a reader must first opt in as an indication they’re interested in hearing from the author. 

Authors are typically familiar with this as a “welcome” flow when a reader opts in to your newsletter in exchange for a free ebook. Instead of just welcoming the reader into your world, however, authors looking to build superfans should look for opportunities to personalize their message to readers. Imagine you meet a fan in person. What would you want them to know about you? How would you describe your books to them? Where would you want them to start? These are all preliminary questions that introduce readers to your world and help them decide if you are the right author for them or connect with you more personally. 

Pro Tip: Most automations allow for personalization of the recipient’s name if they’ve given it to you when they opt in. Use their name for increased engagement rates, and make sure you default to something applicable like “Dear reader” if they haven’t. Also consider writing your messages in a relaxed, conversational tone, reminiscent of a coffeeshop conversation, rather than a formal, prescriptive tone.

These flows can be replicated in other entry points to your backlist as well. Readers can be introduced to additional stories you’ve written in other series if you create a separate flow and give them a separate link to sign up. You won’t be enticing them with a reader magnet this go-around, but you can ask them to opt in to learn more about certain stories or worlds you’ve created. 

Creative Energy as a Business Asset

If you consider your books a product that your business sells, then you know it’s difficult to just create another one. There is significant time and energy needed to write a novel, and that creative energy needs to be used wisely. Burning out from having to write quickly to reach deadlines, responding to endless emails, or overextending yourself trying to manage other administrative duties is not just possible but imminent if you don’t protect your creative energy. 

Set aside time each day dedicated to the creative process, and make sure it’s separate from all the other duties you have as a business owner, like advertising and customer service. Authors who find a need for a personal assistant (PA) or virtual assistant (VA) might also use them to fill in some of the engagement gaps when their time is limited or a release is near. A well-trained PA or VA can be a designated expert on your books or series and be ready to engage with fans in your groups or email while you’re away. They can also run giveaways or answer customer service emails in the short term, freeing you up to do what you need to do. Establish a rhythm and routine for your business by blocking time for the tasks you need to accomplish so you can return to the tasks you want to accomplish.

Part of the Process

Superfans want to feel involved, special, and seen by their favorite authors. Feeding these fans without burning out isn’t impossible. Often, it just requires shifting the focus of your engagement back to your stories and the writing process. That way, fan engagement is part of your writing process rather than a separate task to accomplish.

In your normal writing process, the author is used to doing certain tasks that seem solitary or individualized, but with a little ingenuity and consideration for what your readers want, authors can quickly turn tasks into opportunities for engaging their fans. One way authors have been implementing fan engagement into their writing process is by asking fans to offer input on the direction of the story or series. Authors give up a level of creative control in exchange for their fans feeling recognized and included in an exclusive part of the process. Other authors engage fans and cultivate superfans by including them in other areas of their writing process, such as watching a live-stream of the author writing the book or voting on the names of the characters. When authors include their fans directly in their processes, their readers feel vested in their stories, and they are more likely to consider that author when looking for their next purchase. 

Pro Tip: Why not ask your readers how they’d like to be included in the writing process? It ensures you offer the opportunities that will matter most to your readers, and it’s another form of interaction and engagement on its own.

Readers are becoming accustomed to authors offering different opportunities to support their work. Christopher Hopper holds an annual Hopper-Con for his readers who want to attend in person. Willow Winters offers different levels of Patreon tiers for those readers who want to learn about different parts of her worlds. Don’t be afraid to think creatively and try something new to engage your readers; more unique opportunities may set you apart from other authors in a positive way.

Less is More

Not every author can be present in their Facebook Group, reply to every email from fans, send thank-you cards to customers, or run their own convention. Authors should become comfortable with the idea that less is more when it comes to engagement—as long as that engagement is still meaningful and personal. There is no right amount of engagement or a right number of emails to send to keep readers up to date; simply do what you can, even if that differs from another author’s minimums.  

What a Career Looks Like

In creating a long-term outlook for their career, an indie author or publisher should be considerate of their goals for their business and how best to achieve them in a way that is sensible and sustainable. An author is more likely to burn out if they feel pressure to produce beyond their capabilities for long periods of time. An author who reaches an unsustainable level of output and burns out will inevitably stop being there for their fans and superfans, losing them slowly over time as the levels of engagement they promised are also reduced. 

A career in publishing should have limits and boundaries just as a traditional career in the marketplace would. This may mean limits on the number of hours spent working, revisiting salary expectations for the work performed, or setting realistic goals and milestones, such as the number of books sold in a single year. Authors should define their career goals early on, then develop a path to get there that doesn’t ignore the dreaded middle—all the steps between start and finish—and how long it takes to get there. 

Realistically, most authors don’t break out with their first book and jump headfirst into writing full time. Most authors must juggle family, day jobs, hobbies, and more while publishing. Superfans will understand the need to step back and slow down, especially if the focus is on family. Authors should feel like they have the freedom to do what is best for their business and their mental health. Where indies make their biggest mistake is when they make their goals or outlook the same as someone else’s. 

The smartest move an indie author can make is defining what they want for their career, then establishing clear paths and boundaries to help them get there. Building a reader base isn’t a numbers game; it’s about the quality of reader relationships and the lengths they will go to support your work. Those relationships can be supported in ways that don’t negatively impact your mental health, and keeping both the long-term plan for your business and your own longevity in mind is the best approach for any author.