How Can Modern Writers Become & Stay Visible?

Otis Chandler, the CEO of Goodreads, recently had an excellent article: Winning the Battle of Book Discovery. (I highly recommend reading it.) He said this: “In an increasingly crowded and noisy marketplace . . . abundance has irrevocably changed the publishing industry, and it has made discovery the central problem facing the book business.” (Emphasis mine.)


Since “discovery” seems to be the central problem, then it stands to reason that becoming and staying “visible” is the solution.

And yet, those of us who’ve put our books out there know that becoming and staying visible is much harder than it sounds in today’s abundant book market.

Otis Chandler goes on in the article to list several book discovery trends. As a fairly visible author, I’d like to not only publicly thank Otis Chandler for his spot-on advice, but also to reiterate his points from my perspective.

Three primary ways for authors to stand out (as mentioned in Chandler’s article):

1. Generate Word of Mouth.

Chandler says: “The most valuable commodity for the sustained promotion of a book is word-of-mouth buzz . . . According to a recent survey of Goodreads members, 79% of them report discovering books from friends offline, and 64% find books from their Goodreads friends.”

When friends get excited enough about a book to start talking about it, that’s the highest praise and offers a huge boost to an author’s discoverability. Of course friends can’t genuinely get excited about a book that’s ho-hum or doesn’t grip them.

So obviously, we won’t start word of mouth promotion without a compelling book.

But when we do have a praiseworthy story, then we need to help facilitate chatter both in real life and online. I wrote a recent post about the importance of online reviews here, so I won’t go into great detail now, except to say, that word of mouth has played a pivotal role in getting my books noticed.

I started to keep a running list of blog reviews readers were posting about The Doctor’s Lady, but eventually I couldn’t keep up and stopped after about forty. Amazon has over 100 reviews. My Goodreads widget in my sidebar shows that readers are posting reviews about my book there too.

Every time a reader chats about a book whether in real life or online, that spreads the scope of the book to his or her circle of influence, giving a ripple effect to our discoverability.

2. Start Pre-Launch Buzz.

Chandler’s article mentions the increasing importance of starting the buzz about a book early in the book’s life cycle. And I can attest to that importance.

Getting our readers excited about our books starts many months before the release. Promoting the cover can often be the first thing we use to generate interest. My publisher got my readers involved in picking the cover of my next book, Unending Devotion (even though it doesn’t release until Sept.). Already 6 months ahead of release, Unending Devotion has been “marked-to-be-read” by numerous readers on Goodreads.

In the coming months, I have plans to help increase the buzz well before the release, just as I did with The Doctor’s Lady. In fact, my brainstorm list is already close to a page long.

3. Build a Tribe.

Chandler’s article says: “96% of [of Goodreads members] say they read books by authors they already know. This is why building a loyal following of readers will pay major dividends for authors when they publish their next book.” (Emphasis mine.)

We have to prepare ourselves for a slow uphill climb in building a loyal base of readers who love our books. Usually we won’t have millions of fans with our first book. But with each consecutive book we publish (by generating word of mouth and pre-launch buzz), hopefully we can continue to pull in new loyal readers to join our ever-widening fan base.

For unpublished or debut authors, the loyal tribe starts with those friends and connections we’ve established through building our web presence. I’ve found that the genuine friends I’ve made along the way to publication have been some of my biggest fans and supporters.

Summary: Even if we do all of the above and then some, we may still have a difficult time getting discovered by readers. As Chandler says, “There’s no one silver bullet when it comes to getting your book discovered.”

I learned early in my writing journey that I can’t hole away in my writer’s cave. I had to step out and get visible long before I published my first book. And I’ve continued to stay visible and to connect with readers after publication.

So my final advice for discoverability is to get out and connect with people. Be real. Be genuine. And be available.

Lots of questions today! Do you mostly stick with authors you already know and trust? Or are you willing to try new authors? What are some things your favorite authors do that help them stay visible? Or if you like their books well enough, do they even need to stay visible? Will you buy their books regardless of what they do?

P.S. The Doctor's Lady is currently ON SALE on Kindle for only $2.99 as part of Amazon's "The Big Deal" through March 25. Snag a copy while you can!

Are Your Efforts Unique? Or Do You Blend In?

Sometimes I get discouraged at how hard it is to stand out in today’s crowded book market. And finding innovative ways to stand out seems to be getting harder.

I recently read an article by Author Media called: Are You a Purple Cow? They described the purple cow principle this way: “In business, a purple cow is a product that is so revolutionary and different that people think of it as a novelty.” It’s unique and innovative and therefore grabs attention.

On the flip side, something can lose its ability to stand out when everyone begins to do the same thing. As everyone else reinvents himself or herself into a purple cow, the herd blends together into a mass of boringness. No one stands out anymore.

In the writing industry, with the millions of books hitting virtual shelves, it’s very difficult to be a purple cow. We work to build our brands and our online presences, but are we really doing the right things that can help us stand out? Are our efforts unique and innovative enough to help us grab attention?

Or are our efforts mimicking what everyone else is already doing? Are we jumping into the herd and doing the same old tried-and-true methods?

With thousands of writers on Twitter and Facebook clamoring to be heard, have we become a mass in which no one really stands out anymore? With so many bloggers, how can we hope to be unique from all the others tooting their horns?

What about those contests that we authors have in order to be a purple cow? At first, we were giving away gift cards. When that got boring, we had to make the giveaway more glamorous so we started giving away Kindles and iphones. But of course, that lasted until the ipad and Kindle Fire craze. What’s next?

And what about our books? How wild and crazy are we going with our stories in order to make them different? Are we willing to compromise our values or literary conscience to find that break-in book, and commercially viable, bestseller?

We’re always searching for the next best thing that can help us generate buzz and draw attention to ourselves and books. But where will we stop in our efforts to be a purple cow? How far is too far? And what really works to help us stand out anyway?

As I thought about the whole concept of trying to be a purple cow writer here are a few things I concluded:

1. Be willing to think outside-the-box. We don’t have to try to imitate or keep up with what everyone else is doing. Why not try something different? Why not use our creativity to think deeper for fresh ideas? (This is something I'm always trying to do, but I admit, it's hard to come up with new ideas!)

2. Don’t get stuck in old, comfortable ways of doing things. In these rapidly changing times, just when we finally get comfortable with something, there will likely be a new and more effective way of doing things. The modern writer has to remain flexible, adaptable, and willing to change. It’s easy to stagnate, grow stale, and keep on doing something just because.

3. Then again, know what’s working, and if it’s not broke don’t fix it. If something is working for us, then continue to give it time to grow. Sometimes we get impatient with our good efforts and think we should reinvent ourselves, when perhaps we need to persist and allow the organic growth that comes when we keep working hard.

4. Ultimately, pour our best energy into our stories. Even though it’s harder for our books to become purple cows in today’s industry, we can give our books a much bigger chance at standing out if we craft compelling stories that readers can fall in love with.

My final thoughts: In spite of the above ideas for becoming a purple cow, I can’t help wondering if it’s okay NOT to be a purple cow. If we’re doing what we love and finding joy in writing, then we’re far ahead of most people who have yet to find their passion.

And if our readers are deriving satisfaction in what we’re writing, perhaps that’s enough. If we’re reaching our audience and making them happy, why do we need to strive after the whole world?

Maybe we have to learn to be content where we’re at and be a good steward with what we’re given before we can take on more.

What do you think? Do you ever get discouraged about how hard it is to stand out? And do you ever think it’s okay to give ourselves permission not to have to be a purple cow?

Will Only Those Who Shout the Loudest Be Heard?

Many writers I rub shoulders with claim to be introverts. They recharge when they’re alone. They don’t mind spending hours holed away as they work on their stories. And they find fresh energy by delving into inner thoughts, exploring feelings, and probing the depths of their imaginations.

Of course, not every writer is an introvert. Some are extroverts who thrive on being around people and who are refueled from the energy of others. They have a harder time sitting alone at their laptops and have to take frequent breaks from their writing and get out of the house to be with people.

All of us fall somewhere on the spectrum from being painfully shy to an outgoing people-person.

The question I’ve seen raised around cyberland occasionally is this: In today’s noisy publishing industry where we have the constant clamor of online social media, are extroverts more likely to succeed? And likewise, are the shyer introverted writers doomed to obscurity?

In other words, since we’re all clamoring to be heard, to draw attention to our books, to get noticed, are those who shout the loudest going to have the most success garnering attention?

I don’t think introverts are doomed. And I don’t necessarily think extroverts are going to dominate. And here’s why:

The internet can level the playing field. 

Perhaps socializing comes easier for extroverts, even online. Perhaps they have a quicker wit and an easier time finding things to say. But usually I can’t tell the difference between the tweets or facebook comments of introverts versus extroverts. Introverts can add smiley faces and exclamation points and sound just as exuberant as anyone else, even if they cower behind their screens.

Even if interacting online is difficult or a “chore” or even painful, no one else will know—unless we complain about it (which is unprofessional). After all, we wouldn’t go to a book signing and grumble through the whole thing. And we shouldn’t do that on social media sites either—even if we’d rather not be there.

Instead, if introverts put forth a professional, confident, and successful attitude, most people are going to perceive them that way. The internet gives them the ability to put their best foot forward and hide the nervousness.

Sometimes the “shouting” turns into white noise. 

Those who talk the loudest often get ignored the most. I don’t know about you, but if someone tweets too much, my eyes start to glaze over when I see their comments. Even when they might be saying something really important, it gets overlooked because I’m not paying attention to anything they say anymore.

So being loud and witty and dominate on social media doesn’t necessarily equate success. It can in fact backfire so that people consider us obnoxious, particularly if our noise is mostly about numero uno.

Consistency is more important than quantity. 

Talking, tweeting, or blogging a lot isn’t the key to social media success. I’ve seen some writers jump into social media with flaring, flaming fanaticism. They burn brightly for a short time, seemingly everywhere all at once. But then eventually they fade out of sight like a meteor.

Those who work at having a steady, disciplined, consistent presence will burn like a star. They’re there for the long haul. No I’m not advocating that it’s okay to only post once a year on as long as we’re consistent with that once a year. The fact is, we need to remain visible.

One thing that helps me be consistent is having a social media notebook handy. I use it to jot down blog ideas as they pop up. I keep a running list of marketing ideas I’d like to try. I also sometimes make notes of tweets or facebook comments that I can use on those “blah” days when I don’t feel like I have anything to say.

And as always, we can look for ways to encourage. We may not always feel like we have something witty or worthwhile to say, but we can find ways to jump into the conversation and cheer others on.

Summary: No matter our natural bent, we have to go into the publishing process with the expectation that we’ll have to step out of our comfort zones. In the olden days, authors accepted the fact that book signings and speaking engagements would be part of the job—whether introvert or extrovert we expected to do them (and many of us still do them--I have three speaking engagements in March).

And the same is true today in our online marketing. We have to accept our online interaction as part of the job whether we're introverted or not. In fact, we need to do more than accept it. We need to make it a priority (but that’s the makings of another post!).

So what about you? Are you an introvert, extrovert, or somewhere in between? How hard or easy is online socializing for you as a result of your personality?

How to Build a Blog Following From the Ground Up

If you’re a blogger, do you want to build your following?

I’m guessing that 99.9% of bloggers would answer that question with a resounding YES. Most of us check our stat counter and visitor statistics religiously. We keep track of every new follower and throw parties when we reach milestones (like 100 followers or 1000). And we have good or bad days depending upon the number of comments we get.

Okay, so maybe we’re not that bonkers over building our followings. But the fact is, whether we're a writer or not, we crave genuine connections on our blogs. We’re relational people. And so when we put ourselves out there, we long for a response, for someone to take notice, to care, to communicate back.

Recently I had a couple of emails asking me how I built my blog following, questions like:

“I hold your blog as one of the best examples out there. How do you do it? I find it extremely hard to generate content for my own blog. Do you have any advice for starting down the long road of building an online presence?”

“I hear people mention you and your success and how you had a built-in audience when you finally published your books. I was wondering if you had any tips for building a blog readership? How long had you been blogging before you got an agent and published your first books?”

So how did I do it? How did I build my blog following?

Of course, everyone’s blogging journey will be different (just like our writing journeys will be unique). But I think there are some basic principles that can help any blogger connect with other bloggers (and subsequently find more fulfillment in the blogging experience).

Here’s what I did early in my blogging career:

1. Start blogging well before publication. I began blogging months before I had an agent or book contract. Thus I had plenty of time to build genuine relationships. My followers didn’t have to worry that I was blogging to sell them anything.

2. Actively seek others out and mingle. I didn’t sit back and wait for people to come to me. I made a point of sticking out the hand of friendship to others. I followed the links of bloggers in comments of more popular blogs I was reading (especially people whose comments indicated they might be someone I’d like to get to know). I went to their sites, started reading their posts, and took the initiative.

3. Comment regularly. Whenever I visited a blog, I tried to leave a thoughtful comment that would let the person know I was genuinely interested in what they had to say. Over time, they would get to know me and often would come visit my blog in return.

4. Follow others generously. Most blogs I visited, I signed up to follow. I figured it was supportive to that blogger. And even if they didn’t follow me back, I still was getting my name and avatar into a variety of places where others might see me and follow the link back to my blog.

5. Schedule time for visiting other blogs. During my early blogging days, I’d allot 30 minutes to an hour for reading and commenting on other blogs. After I got busier, I’d usually try to reciprocate visits to those who regularly visited me, or new visitors, or hard core followers. The important thing was that I scheduled blog-hopping and made a point of keeping in contact with followers on a regular basis.

6. Post on your own blog consistently. I also tried to post interesting, thought-provoking, or helpful posts to my readers. I made sure people knew my schedule and I stayed consistent. I also have always kept my name, author photo, and contact information clearly visible. In other words, I’ve tried to maintain a professional but warm appeal to my blog.

So that’s my story for building my blog following. Of course, now that I’ve been blogging for a number of years and have built a solid foundation, the techniques I currently employ in my blogging are very different from when I first started (but that’s the making of a future post!).

How about you? What’s been the most difficult aspect for you as you’ve tried to build your blog following?

What Is the Best Way for Authors to Get Noticed on the Internet?

Picture courtesy of Sarah Forgrave! Thanks, Sarah!

My Amazon page for The Doctor’s Lady says this at the top: The Doctor's Lady and over 950,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle.

950,000 books available on Kindle? I mean think about it. My book is just ONE out of nine hundred and fifty thousand currently available.

Yikes! The numbers of writers and books seems to be constantly growing. And if the numbers are increasing, how can writers ever hope to stand out amidst SO much competition? Is there any hope?

Most of us are coming to terms with the fact that modern authors need to develop a web presence in order to help our books stand out. But even when we make an effort, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd of all the other writers who are jumping onto the social media bandwagon.

Recently, @ellebethmiller asked me a question on Twitter: “What is the best way for an author to get noticed on the internet? There are so many options . . . it’s overwhelming.”

What is the best way to get noticed on the internet? What social media sites can help the most? And will the social media efforts really pay off?

I’ll tackle the questions and give you my opinions based on my experience so far. But make sure you chime in the comments with your thoughts.

What is the best way to get noticed on the internet? 

First, the most important aspect is to use social media to SOCIALIZE. And second, the socializing must be in a GENUINE, AUTHENTIC, and FRIENDLY way.

And no, social media isn’t a high school popularity contest. This isn’t about how much attention we can get, or how famous we can become, or how many friends we can accumulate.

Rather, we can approach social media with the goal of blessing others. We can take the focus off ourselves, stay humble, and look at how we can help, encourage, inspire, and pay the love forward to those we come into contact with. In doing so, others will begin to appreciate and respect our presence.

At the same time, our efforts must be consistent. We need to move outside of our comfort zone and meet new people. It WILL take a great deal of effort to regularly and genuinely interact.

What social media sites can help the most?

I don’t’ believe Twitter and Facebook alone are enough to build a vibrant web presence. They’re both great ways to chit-chat and begin to form relationships. But short comments are not enough to solidify friendships.

I also don’t think having a standout, knock-em dead website is enough either. While a website is a necessity for every author, it’s not designed for the back and forth exchange that people long for.

Of all the social media sites, I believe that my blog has helped me the most in standing out. Our blogs can be our home bases for socializing. We can engage people by sharing issues we're passionate about. But we need to do that sharing in ways that solicit interest, inspire, educate, and encourage, etc.

And yet, even if we have THE best content ever written, we still have to work at promoting our posts. That might mean visiting, commenting, and mingling with other bloggers (especially at the beginning). We can also share links to our posts on Twitter or Facebook. And if people appreciate and enjoy our blogs, they’ll usually keep coming back.

Will social media efforts really pay off?

If writers go to all the work of building a large social media presence, will it really help our books to stand out?

Yes. And no.

Yes, I believe writers who put forth the effort to develop an authentic and vibrant web presence will eventually help their books stand out. Maybe our books won’t hit Amazon’s Top 100 sellers. But we’ll give our books a slight boost in the right direction.

But no, social media efforts can only take us so far. The most important factor is and always will be THE BOOK ITSELF. If we rustle up all the social media attention in the world, it will fall flat if we don’t back it up with a book worthy of the attention.

If we want to see our books succeed in today’s market, then we’ll really need BOTH—an engaging web presence AND an engaging book.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my opinions? What do you think is THE best way for an author to get noticed on the internet?

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Check out these blog tour stops for your chance to WIN signed copies of my new release!

Monday 9/12:  Book reviewer Christy Janes interviews me in sassy Southern style on her blog!

Monday 9/12: I'm visiting with Susie Finkbeiner on her blog and sharing when I was little what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Tuesday 9/13: On Marji Lane's blog find out what event from Narcissa Whitman's diary I wish I could have included in the story but wasn't able to! 

Don't forget to enter my BE A TRAILBLAZER CONTEST!

How Can We Possibly Connect With ALL Our Followers?

I recently had a post entitled Marketing 101: Loving & Taking Care of Our Readers. Overall, the post resonated with most people. We all appreciate genuine and kind relationships on social media sites, as opposed to feeling “used” by others to promote themselves and their books.

However, the post did generate a few responses like, “Yeah, that sounds like a great idea in theory—to love and take care of your readers—but how in the world can you do that on a practical level?”

Betsy of @SevenEagles asked, “Just curious...how does one generously support over 1,200 followers? Are you able to personally connect with each one? Read all their blogs? Do you have a schedule you follow for when you pay them visits?"

Kristie Jackson asked, “Love the idea of connecting genuinely with readers and potential readers online. I just would love to know how people who do this well, do it without letting the social media part take over their life?”

The bottom line is that it IS hard to keep up with social media. It’s difficult no matter how many followers we have. But it gets more difficult as our web presence grows. If I were to even try to visit over 1200 blogs or chat with all my twitter followers, I’d have a new full time job. And I certainly wouldn’t have time for my writing—which is the most important aspect of my writing career (go figure!).

Here are a few things I’m learning about juggling social media relationships as my web presence grows:

1. As our presence grows, we won’t be able to keep up. And that’s normal.

When we first start blogging, we usually build our followings through reciprocal visiting and commenting on other blogs. That’s often the best way to meet people and find community. And we can do the same thing on Twitter. Get involved in writing communities. Meet and follow other writers.

However, as our followings grow, we won’t have the time to actively visit other blogs the same way. We won’t be able to read every tweet or comment when a friend says something on Facebook.

It’s normal (and even healthy) for writers to grow beyond their capacity. Agents and publishers like when writers are growing their followings. It tells them that the writer is doing something right.

2. Since building a brand is important, we shouldn’t limit our followings.

If we’re growing as we should be, we’ll likely reach a phase where we start to feel overwhelmed, like we can’t keep up with everyone. If we put the pressure on ourselves to keep doing what we did at first, we’ll get stressed.

Some writers take the approach of paring back their followers, limiting not only who they follow, even withdrawing from social media. But since numbers do matter (see this post: Why Are We So Obsessed With Our Numbers), we won’t be helping our efforts to pull back.

As we grow in our writing careers and build our readerships, we’ll always have more readers to meet. We won’t turn readers away simply because we have more than we can personally know or reach out to.

We can’t shut down because we’re overwhelmed. Instead, we need to get used to relating to new people in manageable ways.

3. We’ll have to look for ways to adjust our way of relating to others.

So, once we reach that place of being overwhelmed and unable to keep up the way we once did, what do we do (besides give up!)? How can we still genuinely care and connect with the followers we have? Is it even possible?

I believe it IS still possible to love and care for our readers and followers no matter how many we have. But we’ll need to do so on different levels:

Personal level: This is the level that takes the most time and will likely need the most adjusting. Maybe we won’t be able to respond to each blog comment anymore or reciprocate blog visits. But we can work to answer questions within blog posts or on twitter and respond to personal emails and messages. In other words, we can still be approachable and available.

Impersonal level: As we grow, we may have to address followers in a group effort. For example, I often answer individual questions in blog posts. That allows me to share my thoughts with everyone who may have a similar question. We can also support other bloggers when we retweet their links, shout out their good news, and help draw attention to their accomplishments. It might not be personal, but it’s supportive.

Professional level: Through our blogs and other articles, we can look for ways to give encouragement, support, knowledge, inspiration, and all of the things our readers need and appreciate. We can look for ways to bless our readers. Because ultimately it’s about them, not us.

What about you? Have you reached a point where you’ve been overwhelmed with trying to keep up with social media? Have you had to adjust your way of relating to others and if so, how?

My Secrets to Successfully Growing My Social Media Followings

Let’s be honest. All of us want to increase our numbers to one degree or another. When our followings go up, we gain satisfaction in knowing we’re connecting with others, that people are reading what we’re saying, and that we’re potentially growing our platforms (which is becoming increasingly important for modern authors).

But how do we grow our followings on various social media sites?

Gina Conroy, founder of Writer...Interrupted, recently sent me this email: How did you build your online presence, and did it grow after your book was published? It seems all my efforts don't generate enough traffic and follows. I took a blogging hiatus . . . and now I'm trying to build my web presence again. I don't want to keep trying and fail. What things were most successful for you?

Gina asked a lot of great questions. I’m going to break them down into bite-size portions:

Does a writer’s following grow after a book is published?

From time to time I hear people say that one of the reasons I’ve been able to develop large followings is because I landed a popular agent and got a three book deal with a major publisher.

And while having an agent and published book may give credibility to my writing advice, it’s a MYTH to think that it’s helped increase my numbers. If getting a great agent and book deal make any difference, then logically you’d expect all of Rachelle Gardner’s clients to have large blog followings, which is not the case. And logically, you’d expect all published authors with multi-book deals to have popular blogs, which is also not the case.

Sure, there may be a tiny spike in followers any time we make a big announcement, especially with an agent like Rachelle who does a great job promoting her clients on Twitter and Facebook. But . . . if we’re sitting back and waiting for an agent or book deal to give us a boost, we’ll end up disappointed.

In this business, we can’t ride coattails or expect an easy way to success. If we want to grow our followings, we just have to buckle down and do the hard work to make it happen.

What if all your efforts to grow your traffic aren’t paying off?

At first we may see our followings steadily increase. But at some point we may reach a plateau, where we don’t feel like we’re going anywhere anymore. We’re continuing to put forth the effort, but we’re not seeing the growth we’d like.

How do we push past that flat line and continue to climb?

Well, first, anytime we come back from an extended blogging hiatus, we’ll likely need to start rebuilding our following from the ground up. A faithful few friends may return, but we’ll have to work hard to regain most of our followers.

Second, if we hit a plateau, then it’s time to re-evaluate our strategies. We’ve obviously reached our potential with the audience we have, and we need to look for ways to move out of our comfort zones, shake things up a bit, think outside of the box, and be innovative.

What are some of the most successful strategies I’ve used to steadily increase my followings?

1. Provide quality content. Make each post relevant and interesting.

2. Meet reader needs. Put readers’ needs above our own.

3. Be real and open. Share personally. Be vulnerable.

4. Value followers. Interact. Answer questions. Be available.

5. Reach out. Don’t be shy. Make new friends. Follow & support others generously.

6. Be consistent. Post regularly. Be reliable.

7. Interweave all social media sites. Link to posts on Twitter and Facebook. But support others generously (and yes I mention this particular point again because it's SO important!).

8. Give it time. Don’t expect overnight success. It takes months, even years to grow followings.

9. Persevere. Keep at it regularly. Work even through dry spells.

10. Work hard. Realize it’s not easy. It won’t ever be. It’ll always be hard work.

There you have it—the secrets of my success. The bottom line is that there really aren’t any secret formulas to success. Growing our followings is a combination of a lot of factors, the most important being slow, steady, hard work.

Just like anything in this business, from getting an agent to book contract to making a best seller list, nothing comes easy.

Have you been looking for an easy way to grow your followings? Or are you willing to do the hard work that’s needed? And if so, what are some other things you’ve found helpful in gaining more followers?

5 Ways Authors Alienate Readers on Social Media Sites

Social media is revolutionizing the publishing industry. Authors can interact with readers in ways we never could before. We can get to know them on a personal basis. We can stay connected with them between books. We have the ability to reach out to more people in more places than we ever could physically.

Yes, social media can be very helpful for authors. In fact, I recently asked one of my readers, Amy (@MyFriendAmy on Twitter), to give me her perspective about authors and their use of social media. She has over 4000 Twitter followers and has a fantastic blog where she reviews books, so I figured she’s been around and seen enough to share her thoughts.

Here’s what Amy had to say about the positive influence authors have on social media: “Without social media and the charming presence of some authors on social media, I would never have discovered their books. I have a lot of fun conversing with authors on Twitter and am definitely more likely to want to support an author who has been kind, witty, or helpful on Twitter. I get excited to read their books because I hope that those same qualities will come through in their writing.”

Social media has the power to help authors. Immensely. But it also has the power to hurt them. And of course, I had to ask Amy to share ways that authors have alienated her on social media sites. Here are a few of the ways authors can turn off their readers (a combination of mine and Amy’s thoughts):

1. When authors voice their opinions TOO strongly.

Here’s what Amy said: “Authors who are too strong in their political views and say spiteful things about other political parties, who belittle any group of people. Readers want to engage with authors online, and readers come from all sorts of different backgrounds.”

2. When authors handle criticism POORLY.

Amy indicated when authors don’t handle criticism on their books well, it alienates readers. She said it might be unfair, but when authors come across as really angry and unpleasant, she’s less interested in their books. She said that many readers feel the same way.

3. When authors use social media ONLY as a promotional tool.

I loved what Amy said: “Social media is a conversation, not a promotional tool. Readers WANT to engage with authors and get to know them better. We want to know there's more to you than your book. And yes of course we do also want to know ABOUT your book . . .sneak peeks into the cover process or choosing a title . . . but we also want to know about what great books you're enjoying reading, how that marathon prep is going, the latest greatest free ebooks you've discovered, and whether or not that recipe turned out the way you thought it would.”

4. When authors DON’T acknowledge the comments of readers.

Amy said: “I also like to see authors acknowledge me if I say something to them on Twitter. For a lot of readers, it can take courage to send that first tweet to an author or post a comment on their blog or Facebook page. If authors make their readers feel noticed and appreciated it can really go a long way. I think there are ALWAYS more readers watching than actively take part and it's important to be mindful of the whole audience. If my tweet is acknowledged or you reply to me on Facebook--WIN!”

5. When authors make readers feel they’re too BUSY for them.

This has probably been one of the biggest turn-offs for me personally as a reader interacting with other authors. It’s presumptuous of authors to think that they’re busier than others. Everyone everywhere is busy. It’s good business practice to give each consumer (reader) the feeling that they’re the only one, that they’re important enough to receive our full and undivided attention, and for us not to complain about how busy we are to them.

As Shakespeare said (in As You Like It), “All the world’s a stage.” Now with the expansion of social media, all the world has taken on new meaning. More people are watching us than we realize. And with the greater exposure comes greater responsibility.

As writers (both unpublished and published), we would be wise to evaluate how we’re doing. Of course nobody’s perfect. But are we doing our best to have a positive social media presence?

What do you think? Has an author ever alienated you because of something they did on a social media site? What did they do? And how could they have improved their interaction?

*Picture from Toby Young's Memoir: How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

The Snowball Effect of Social Media

Can a writer’s blog really help build a platform and sell more books?

Most of us probably started blogging because we heard somewhere in cyberland that any author serious about publication needs to have a blog in order to develop a platform (which is the process of rising up above the masses, gaining a voice, and being heard.) In the online world, platform is essentially one’s web presence.

In a recent post (Do Fiction Readers Really Read Author Blogs) there was a fairly large consensus (see the comments) that most (non-writing) readers aren’t flocking to author blogs. Yes, some do read blogs (I did get this confirmation from a couple readers on Twitter who read my post). But most readers who surf blogs are usually bloggers themselves.

If the average reader doesn’t have a blog, they probably won’t be out reading author blogs on a regular basis, and they’ll be commenting even less. As I mentioned, I’ve found myself connecting with those real genre readers primarily on facebook and through personal emails.

So, back to the question I raised above: Is blogging really worth the effort—particularly for a fiction writer?

 If readers aren’t swinging by, then what’s the point of blogging (especially if we started one to build a platform?) Can a blog really help a fiction author build a platform and sell more books? Or is it a waste of time—time that could be better spent on writing itself?

I can only share what’s worked for me, and obviously not everyone will have the same experience. But I truly do believe that my blogging efforts HAVE helped in the sales of my book, even though my blog is targeted to writers and has very few of my genre readers stopping by.

Here are just a few ways our blogs and other social media can help us.

1. Our blog readers get to know us and want to support us.

No, not everyone who follows us on our blogs, twitter, or facebook will want to buy our novels. We can’t expect it, especially since our blogs are nonfiction and comprise a different readership than our fiction.

However, I’ve been surprised at the numbers of followers/friends that have gone out and purchased my book simply because they’ve gotten to know me and want to support me. I’ve even had friends say that they don’t normally read historical romance, but bought and read my book anyway—and then ended up passing it along to others.

2. The connections open natural doors for other promotion.

When we go outside our writing/blogging cliques and develop a wide variety of friendships within the big writing community, we are setting the groundwork for later.

During the past months of my debut, I had over 40 blog interviews and close to 55 bloggers who reviewed my book. Out of the 90 or so different people who helped promote my book on their blogs, I didn’t have to beg, plead, or make a general nuisance of myself asking them to host me. Almost all of them emailed me with the offer, and I willingly and gratefully accepted.

I never once expected so many followers would go out of their way to help showcase my book, but when we develop a genuine, consistent, web presence, then our friends and even acquaintances want to draw us into their circle and introduce us to their sphere of influence.

3. The more our book is “talked” about in cyberland, the more important it becomes.

When I’m on Twitter and I see a particular book mentioned over and over by a number of people, it begins to perk my attention. I can’t help but think, “If so many people are reading that book, maybe I should too.”

When people chat about my book on their blogs and tweet about it, then their followers (who may not be connected to me yet) will begin to sit up and take notice of it.

4. Even if followers don’t read our book/genre, they’re often willing to share it with others.

As I said, not all my blog followers are fans of inspirational historical romance. But I know that many of those friends still promoted my book. They bought it for a spouse, gave it as a Christmas present to a mom, or recommended it to a book club. In other words they promoted my book to people they knew would be genuinely interested.

5. Writers are a supportive group.

Overall, writers go out of their way to help one another. We all know just how hard today’s market is for the modern writer (published or not). And because writers are also readers, so many of us want to do all we can to promote the industry and help each other succeed.

My Summary: Social media has a snowball effect on the sales of our books that isn’t easy to measure. As our books are rolled around cyberland, we never know where we'll pick up new readers and what will help our book gain momentum. Of course, it goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway), we have to give our friends a good book--one they can be proud to promote.

While I may not be able to quantify my sales as a result of social media, I'm realizing that my consistent efforts at blogging and developing a web presence have indeed influenced the sales of my books. I continue to hear from more and more blog, twitter, and facebook followers that they either purchased my book or bought it for someone else.

Whether social media contributes a little bit or a lot, I'm grateful for each person who's spread the word about The Preacher's Bride! Thank you!

What do you think? Have you ever been discouraged about blogging, wondering if it will really pay off in the long run? Has the social media snowball effect influenced you to buy a book? If so, do you think it can work to help in the promotion of your book someday?

P.S. Congratulations to my critique partner, Keli Gwyn, for getting her first book contract! Hard work and perseverance DO pay off! Keli is celebrating today on her blog!

Which Social Media is Most Effective in Reaching Readers?

More of the population is using social media than ever before. For authors social media is an excellent way to meet and mingle with readers. In fact, compared with book signings or other traditional ways of meeting readers, social media is easier, more immediate, and ongoing.

We get to interact from the convenience of our homes in between loads of laundry while we sit in our pj's. (Not that I’ve ever done that, mind you!) We can instantly meet a variety of people all over the world. And then with a little bit of effort, we can continue to “see” those people around cyberland.

In addition to the convenience for authors, social media benefits readers too. As a reader, I love getting an inside glimpse into the personal lives of my favorite authors. I’m always fascinated to hear about their writing process. And I’m thrilled when they take a minute to interact with me personally.

Social media is a fun and beneficial way for both readers and writers to mingle—at least that’s been my experience so far. But where’s the best place to hang out? On blogs? Facebook? Twitter? Yes, there are others, like MySpace or LinkedIn. But the top three current hot spots seem to be blogs, facebook, and twitter.

Between the three most popular, is one more effective than another in reaching out to readers? After all, we don’t want to spin our wheels and waste effort. We want to make wise use of our limited time and go to the places that will help us the most.

As I’ve traversed the hallways of various social media sites I’ve come to the conclusion the sites will only be as effective as we make them. Each one has pros and cons. But ultimately, the success or failure depends on how well we use them.

Blogging:

The Key to Using Effectively: Writing quality posts and visiting AND commenting on other blogs
Pros: More in depth communication, deeper sharing, learning more about others
Cons: Can take quite a bit of time to not only write posts but also visit other blogs, which can subsequently lead to blogger-burnout

Facebook:

The Key to Using Effectively: Sharing personally AND being interested in the personal lives of others
Pros: Quick way to stay in touch with others, especially about the non-writing aspects of life
Cons: Not the best place to advertise for our writing accomplishments (I recommend establishing a separate a Facebook Page geared more specifically toward our books and writing. See this post.)

Twitter:

The Key to Using Effectively: Making it mostly about socializing, encouraging, & building community
Pros: Easy way to chit-chat; quick way to post helpful links; unprecedented opportunities to meet business experts (agents, authors, social media experts)
Cons: Tweets come and go very quickly which makes it difficult to keep up with everyone (having a way to organize followers into lists can help)

I suggest a combination of all three. I try to mingle off and on throughout cyberland. I know there are some who have all three inter-connected so that blogs will automatically post to twitter and facebook, and so that their tweets will post onto facebook or vice-versa. This may save time and work to some extent.

But . . . I’m convinced that the most effective way to use all three is in the personal factor. The more personal we can be with those on our sites, the more we’ll benefit.

Here’s the thing, I know several authors who ONLY use one social media, like Facebook. They don’t blog or tweet. And yet, they do an excellent job of interacting with their readers—making a point of responding to each reader who leaves a comment. They’re using social media to personally connect and that’s the key.

Could they reach out to more readers if they branched out into other social media? Maybe. Could they extend their online presence? Probably. But by using one and doing it effectively, they’re accomplishing more than if they used ALL of the social media and only plugged their books.

My suggestion? Jump in and try new social media. Watch what others are doing. See what works and what doesn’t. Learn how to make the most out of each site. Don’t be shy. Step out of your comfort zone. Participate. And most of all, be personal.

What social media do you like the best and why? What are the pros and cons for you?

P.S. If you'd like a chance to win a copy of The Preacher's Bride, make sure you head over to the trivia question of the week and leave a comment there!

How Important is Blogging For Unpublished Writers?

At some point in our writing careers, most of us will feel the pressure to blog. I’m not really sure where that pressure comes from. Maybe there are some agents and editors who tell us it’s important. Or maybe we hear that writers should develop a web presence and then we think that means we should blog. Or perhaps everyone else and their brother is blogging, and so we think we should too.

Whatever the case, many of us jump into blogging long before we have an agent or publishing contract. But secretly we can’t help wondering if blogging is really necessary for unpublished writers. After all, it’s one of the most time-consuming of the social media outlets. If we’re going to start building a web presence, does it need to include blogging?

I loved this question by Brenda: "How important is blogging for someone who isn't yet published? I think I'm spending more time on blogging than I am on writing my novel. Am I putting the cart before the horse when I blog before my book is finished?"

As always, I can only share from my experiences and from what’s helped me. My journey isn’t a one-size-fits-all. Everyone needs to forge their own unique path and find out what works for them. With that said, here are a few of my thoughts:

Blogging won’t get us an agent or book deal.

Okay, maybe one or two writers out there somewhere have actually landed book deals because of their fabulous blogs and the fact that they have 30,000 visitors a month. But. . . the majority of our blogs aren’t going to be pivotal in sealing any deals.

When I landed my agent and my book contract, my blog following was still pretty small. And my daily visitor count wasn’t even worth mentioning. Of course I made sure my blog was as professional as possible so that any interested agents or editors could see that I took my writing career seriously. But ultimately, my blog had nothing to do with getting my agent or contract.

If blogging is taking away from writing time, then we need to cut back.

Yes, if we’re spending more time on blogging than working on our books or stories, then we need to cut back. As I mentioned, blogging won’t garner us book deals. Only a stellar story will do that. So, if we’re not putting our best energy and effort into our novels, then we may be working at building a platform we won’t ever get to use.

Notice I said cut back, not stop. If we’re seriously pursuing publication, then we’ll want to have a “home office” in cyberland, and for many unpublished writers a blog is that place (instead of a website). If we’re trying to maintain a professional blog, then sporadic, inconsistent posting won’t help.

I suggest picking a schedule, posting it on our blogs, and sticking to it. Some writers choose once a week and others twice. Because my writing career is at a hot spot, I’ve decided to continue with posting three times a week. But I honestly don’t think there are too many of us that need to post more often than that.

Blogging can promote community, but we have to know when to jump in and how deep.

I didn’t start my blog until after I’d been querying for many months. Before that I was content to observe from the sidelines and absorb all I could. In hindsight, I’m glad that during those growing years, I could focus solely on writing books and learning the basics of how to craft stories.

I personally think that when newer writers jump into blogging too soon and too furiously, they risk the chance of burning out. They’re trying to juggle the unnecessary pressure of building a platform too early in their careers instead of focusing on building their writing skills.

~My Summary: A well written book is THE most important thing for a writer’s career. We hear it all the time, but I’m currently learning that firsthand. Early reviews of The Preacher’s Bride are beginning to show up throughout cyberland. So far those favorable reviews are helping push my book into the spotlight in a variety of ways (book clubs picking it up, front page spots, etc.).

My blog won’t influence those reviewers. Only the book itself can do the impressing. Let's make sure to keep the horse before the cart.

What about you? How important do you think blogging is for unpublished writers? Are you feeling unnecessary pressure to blog, perhaps even burnout? What can you do to make sure your writing stays top priority?

If you want an additional opinion about blogging, agent Mary Kole at Kidlit.com recently had an interesting article: Do Unpublished Writers Have to Blog.

Common Excuses For Not Using Social Media

Last week I was emailing back and forth with a real-life friend. We’d both gotten busy in our lives and hadn’t been able to spend as much time together, so I off-handedly suggested we stay in touch via Facebook. She quickly dismissed the idea, saying she “doesn’t have time” for it.

I didn’t push her even though I thought it would be a great way for us to stay more connected between the times we’re able to chat face to face. In fact that’s one of the things I really like about my personal Facebook account, staying in better touch with real life friends.

My email conversation with this friend got me thinking, however, about the excuses we often make for not trying new things. My friend isn’t a writer and obviously doesn’t have the same motivation for branching into social media that a writer pursuing publication would. In fact, I respect her choice. Not everyone is going to like or want to connect through social media avenues.

And yet, I often I hear excuses from writers seriously pursuing publication. Here are just a few of the most common excuses I’ve heard:

Excuse #1: “It’s just not my thing.”

Any time we start something unfamiliar, it takes a while before we get the hang of it. We shouldn’t let the frustrations of setting up accounts and learning how things work prevent us from dipping our toes in the water.

Remember the first time we tried using a computer or the internet? They were strange, cumbersome, and often frustrating. But most of us now have laptops surgically embedded to our fingertips, and we run to the internet every time we need information about anything.

If we’re serious about a writing career, then we have to be willing to step out of our comfort zones. As technology continues to advance, we’ll need to challenge ourselves to branch out and give new ideas a shot.

Excuse #2: “I don’t have time.”

When my friend said she didn’t have time for facebook, was she implying that I did? That she was busier than me? Or was she hinting that I’m wasting my time using social media, time I could devote to other more worthy causes?

The bottom line is that there are very few of us that have much time. I'm probably just as busy as anyone else. But we can make the time if we want, especially for the things we feel are important. Perhaps the “I don’t have time” excuse stems more from a fear of mishandling time, the knowledge that we’re weak in self-discipline, and that if we add one more social media outlet, we’ll get sucked in too far. Then the issue becomes knowing how to set appropriate boundaries—the same way we must for everything (including eating, TV viewing, etc).

Excuse #3: “I’ve tried Twitter (etc.) and I didn’t benefit from using it.

If we don’t think we’re benefitting, then perhaps we need to re-evaluate exactly what we’re defining as the “benefit.” More sales? More recognition? If we’re attempting to use social media in the traditional marketing format, we won’t get much out of it. In fact, we’ll probably risk alienating our followers.

Instead, we need to get a better grasp on successful social media strategies. As I’ve said plenty of times on my blog, social media is ALL about being social. To make the most of twitter, facebook, and blogging, writers need to understand that relationships drive the success or lack-thereof.

~Obviously, like my real-life friend, there are some writers who just don’t want to use social media. However an online presence is an increasingly important aspect of the future of publishing. When a writer reaches a point in their writing careers when they’re seriously pursuing publication (at the querying stage or beyond), then they need consider long and hard whether they have a truly legitimate reason before saying “no.”

What do you think of the excuses? Have you ever used one or heard someone else offer one as a reason for not being willing to try social media? What do you think constitutes a legitimate reason for NOT using social media?

Why an Online Presence Can Help Every Kind of Writer

Writers are told to get online because that’s where the population is hanging out, and that’s where we’ll engage our readers. But what about those who write for children? Most children aren’t blog hopping or hanging out on Twitter. My six year old sure isn’t. Other than playing Webkinz occasionally, he doesn’t have much interest in the internet.

Rachna Chhabria asked this great question: How does blogging or online interactions help writers who write Middle Grade, Chapter, Picture Books, or Early Readers? How do these writers connect with their readers who will be in school?

I think the heart of Rachna’s question is this: Children’s writers usually aren’t going to connect with their readership online. So, does a web presence really matter for them?

If done correctly, I think an online presence can help every kind of writer—no matter their genre. And here are several reasons why:

1. When we actively and genuinely participate in online communities, we gain a team.

Some call it a “tribe.” I personally favor “team.” We’re all in the game together and we’re cheering one another on. When one person succeeds in landing an agent, we rush over to congratulate her because we know what an accomplishment that is. When a friend lands a book deal, we set off cyber fireworks .

We become invested in seeing our teammates succeed, no matter their genre. In the long run, the people on our team will be our strongest supporters and promoters. And ultimately promotion is more successful when it comes from the mouth of another rather than our own.

2. The friendships we form online can lead to further opportunities.

As we begin to develop a web presence, those connections often lead to new opportunities. For example, I have a list of online interviews and guest posts lined up over the next several months during the release of my debut book. Almost all of them are from people who offered to host me. I didn’t have to go knocking on cyber doors trying to sell myself and asking for interviews. An online presence can open doors in a natural way.

3. “Word of mouth has become World of mouth.”

We’ve all heard it said, “Word of mouth is the best marketing.” One person raves about a book to five friends, who then each tell five more, and the numbers begin to spiral exponentially. Internet connections make this sharing possible on a worldwide spectrum in a much faster way. People around the world already know about The Preacher’s Bride, even before publication because of the power of the internet.

4. Maybe we won’t mingle with our readers directly, but the indirect connections can still have an impact.

Not all my internet friends are fans of inspirational historical romance. But some online friends have told me they’re buying my book for their moms, or wives, or friends who like the genre I write. In other words, maybe not all my friends will read The Preacher’s Bride the moment it comes off the press, but they’ll still be able to talk about me as an author and recommend my book to others who DO like my genre. And the same is true of children & youth books, maybe even more so, because usually parents are the ones buying the books for their kids.

5. In online marketing, relationships count the most.

In We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide for Social Media, author Kristin Lamb says this: “Social media will capitalize on what is known as relationship sales. People will generally buy your book not because they are being pitched to and hounded, but because they know you and it makes them feel good to support who they know.”

Kristin’s statement is true for me. I’ve purchased books of authors I’ve met online for no other reason than because I like them and want to support them. When an author is genuine, approachable, and kind, we’re drawn to them even more. Likewise, when they’re cold and distant, using social media as a billboard for their glory, we’re often less likely to want to support them.

My Summary: The key to social media success doesn’t rest upon the genre we write. Whether we’re writing picture books or memoirs, science fiction or cookbooks—online success has to do with being able to harness and use social media outlets effectively.

What are your thoughts? Do you think a web presence can help any author if done correctly? Or do you think there are some writers—like children’s—who won’t benefit as much from developing a web presence?