Cheerleading is harder than it looks.
How do I know? Well, when I was in middle school, I became a cheerleader. 2 years! And, because I was a...um...good-sized girl, I was always one of the bases for stunts. Keeping those small and light girls at the top of the triangle alive was one of my jobs.
But cheering for my team? THAT wasn't the hard part! I loved encouraging them on - win or lose. I think that's why when I went to high school, I volunteered to be the mascot. Celebrating my team and encouraging the players and audience brought as much (if not more) joy to me than those around me because 1., I loved my team. 2. It was loads of fun. 3. I wanted others to love my team too.
That's why I appreciate the cheerleaders of our bookish world so much! There are THOUSANDS of readers who love our stories, have fun cheering for our stories, and want others to fall in love with our stories too.
Where can we find these reading cheerleaders?
Let me share a few examples of different places where bookish cheerleaders are rocking it!!
1. In person - Of course, any time you can have an opportunity to build a community in person, it's fantastic. Though most of our cheerleaders are on social media/online, it's AMAZING how folks will come out to an in-person event, sometimes traveling HOURS, to celebrate one of their favorite authors. It is AMAZING!
2. Bookstagram - Okay, ya'll. This group of readers are hardcore! I ADORE them. IG has been a social media outlet for me over the past 3-4 years and being surrounded by bookstagrammers has been SUCH a blessing. If you're not familiar with them, check out some of my favs like @bookstagrambyalissamorgan @books.n.blossoms, @jessthebookhoarder, @the.book.maiden, @dareyoutoread and @the_reel_bookery are just a FEW of the zillions of cheerleaders who celebrate books.
3. BookTok - I'm not as involved with TikTok because it overwhelms me, but the tokers there are just as excited about books as those on IG. If you want to narrow down what you see on this ever-growing and sometimes confusing social media platform, I suggest you narrow down your hashtags to #christiantiktok #christianbooks #christianfiction and #booktok. Some names to toss out here are @lindsay.dee, @valicityelaine, @jenniferautumnkropf, @laurenzyano, @chronicallybookish...just to name a VERY few!
4. BookTube -I'm super new to this one and am considering starting one myself just because I think it might suit my personality a bit better than TikTok, but this is a great place to meet bookish cheerleaders AND it allows for longer videos, organizes them all in a one-stop place to find, AND already has a community of BookTubers to cheer you on and introduce you to more books to read! One of my FAVORITE Booktubers is @BookLoverAmanda. Besides her accent being FANTASTIC (Go Tennessee!), her enthusiasm dances off the screen! I've just started following @Celestria and her love for books shines through on her videos too! Fantastic cheerleaders to add to your list!
5. Facebook - If you've never visited Avid Readers of Christian Fiction, a Facebook group, you are MISSING OUT! These folks are some of the very best cheerleaders on the planet and are constantly celebrating great Christian Fiction reads. Warning...you WILL be sucked into this delightful group of bookish people who also love Jesus! (Btw, isn't that a great shot of author Karen Witemeyer? :)
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You can
learn more about Pepper and her books on her website at www.pepperdbasham.com
Peppy, some good thoughts here. I wrote (or tried to write) secular fiction for years, and I've noticed a real difference since I followed my heart (and His will) to inspy. People inour cohort really WANT others to succeed, because we're all about the same thing: telling the Old, Old Story, through historical, contemporary, mystery, suspense, whatever. There's such support in the Christian writing community.
ReplyDeleteKathy Bailey
One of my favorite places for cheering is within book club (whether it's online or in person)... a group of readers sitting around talking books is just the best!
ReplyDeleteHubby and I were just talking about how the social media we authors engage in has morphed so much in the past ten years! Do you remember when EVERYONE had to have (fill in the blank)? From websites to newsletters to Facebook author pages to blogs to Instagram to podcasts to YouTube channels... it makes your head spin, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteBut the FUN part is to watch how creative people (i.e. readers!) find ways to cheer on their favorite authors.
Thanks for this great post, Pepper!