For Authors
This week: Social Media Presence Edited by: Jeff More Newsletters By This Editor
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"The two most engaging powers of an author are to make
new things familiar, and to make familiar things new."
-- Samuel Johnson
Trivia of the Week: When trying to come up with a name for the magical land his character Dorothy is transported to, legend has is that L. Frank Baum was inspired to name it "Oz" after glancing at a nearby filing cabinet that had a drawer labeled "O - Z." The legend is not without alternative theories, though. Others have proposed that "Oz" was chosen for its similarity to "Boz," a pseudonym employed by Charles Dickens (one of Baum's favorite authors), that it was taken from the "Land of Uz" (the biblical home of Job), and that Baum, who reportedly "liked stories that caused the reader to exclaim with 'ohs' and 'ahs' of wonder" chose a name that sounded like those expressions. |
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SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE
Social media, for better or worse, has become a staple of the way people communicate. As authors, the use of social media presents a myriad of both opportunities and potential pitfalls. By being able to connect directly with our audience, we can engage with that audience and promote our work like never before. But the broad platform that we can use to reach all those people also means that everything we do and say gets broadcast everywhere at the speed of a few keyboard strokes or mouse clicks. And since an author's livelihood depends on in large part on having a supportive audience, it's worth considering what your presence on social media communicates to others.
Some aspects of social media an author may want to consider:
Frequency of posting. Audiences pay attention to how much you post. While some audience members prefer new information constantly and others prefer only "important" information (we all have both types of friends: the one who only posts a few times a week or month when it's really important, versus the one who seems to post literally every random thought and idea as it occurs), the rate at which you post will have a significant impact not just on which segment of your audience gets the most value out of your posts, but also the kind of material you post. It's functionally impossible - even for a full time social media maven - to be both prolific and poignant. When you're authoring one post a week, you can think about what you want to post, develop it, refine it, and post your best version of it. When you're authoring a new post multiple times per day, you simply don't have the bandwidth to give each post the same development and refinement and attention. Which brings us to our next aspect...
Subject matter. Choose very carefully the kinds of things you share with your audience. Not only are some topics dangerously incendiary (politics, religion, personal finances, gossip, etc.), but you also want to establish boundaries for an audience. If you're the type of person who will post about everything from your new book to your marriage issues to your colonoscopy, it creates a certain expectation that audiences are entitled to inside information on every aspect of your life, whereas specifically avoiding certain topics will help ensure that audience understand there are certain lines you won't cross (whatever the reason for that may be).
Responsiveness. Audiences also pay attention to how often you interact with them. This can be beneficial if it gives your audience the sense that you care about them and want to take the time to engage with them, or it can be detrimental if you come off as the kind of person who will let no insult or criticism go unaddressed. As with most things, a good middle ground is usually the best course of action. Spend some time interacting with the positive elements of your audience base, but you don't necessarily need to respond to everything everybody says.
Marketing. The number of your posts that are marketing related is definitely worth considering. It's not much of a social media "presence" (and you won't get many followers) if the extent of your posting is just "Buy my book" over and over and over again. There are lots of different ways to market your books (and social media itself just for the sake of it is a type of marketing), but no one wants to hear a hard sell 24/7. Make sure that you're promoting your work - in theory that's why you're interacting with your audience in the first place - but also make sure that your social media presence includes a little of your personality and off-topic interests so your audience can get to know you the author.
Social media is a really powerful tool that you can use to increase audience awareness of your products and market directly to consumers. But social media is only as strong and effective as the presence you maintain, so a little investment of time and energy into an effective social media presence can make a world of difference for your writing.
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"Blogocentric Formulations"
"New & Noteworthy Things"
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I encourage you to check out the following items:
EXCERPT: Plagiarism is taken rather seriously these days. Even in school, I was required to sign a paper by my history teacher, saying that I would not plagiarize on my research report. The consequences would be a 0 on my grade. My teacher had even downloaded a plagiarism app to run all of our writings through. It forced me to take extra precaution in making certain that the words I was writing were my own.
EXCERPT: The human psyche is a mystery many have studied, but few have definitively solved. We all have a face we show to the world, a face we show only to ourselves or those close to us, and a face hidden so deep that we may not even know it exists. These hidden parts of ourselves often reveal themselves to us in moments of undue stress, taking us to a primal place where we react from instinct rather than intellect. This hidden face is a shadow formed by feelings and capacities rejected by our conscious selves and constantly in contract with the depths of our souls. It is elusive, kept in the dark because our day-to-day focus is on other things - things we need to be productive adults and fit in with those around us (Zweig and Abrams, XVII-XVIII). In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the character of Hamlet walks a fine line between sanity and madness, pretending to be something he is not in hopes of exposing the truth about his father's death in order to exact vengeance on his uncle, Claudius. There has long been speculation as to whether Hamlet's madness was real or feigned, but the truth lies somewhere in between.
EXCERPT: For the last four years, my writing place has been on my sailboat where I live. I'm either hunkered down on my bed or sitting at the large table in the cockpit where I can see the light blue water, watch the goings on and enjoy the magnificent sunsets. It's a very peaceful place for the most part.
EXCERPT: Perhaps the greatest shame for a country so proudly declaring itself “the home of the free” is, or should be, that its oldest peoples still face constant challenges to their rights and freedoms. The history of relations between the United States and the numerous Native American tribes living within its borders would make for an impressive tennis match, as treaties, legislation, and court rulings give and take, establish and retract, accept and deny in turn.
EXCERPT: During the final days of the year, many high school seniors parade down the halls bragging about their plans to continue on with school, but in a new way - a way they have dreamed of since their first days of high school. Everything is about to change. The college life is different and everybody knows it: living on campus and partying every night. This stereotypical definition of a "college life" is, however, realized by a slim few (and only until they are put on academic probation and take a "long break" from school). In fact, for most, college will be nothing like what they imagined. They may even find that living at home and joining professional student organizations on campus is infinitely more rewarding than the party life. Though it may appear as if living on campus is the only way to go, there is no single formula for a positive college experience.
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Feedback from my last newsletter about flex goals ("For Authors Newsletter (May 11, 2016)" ):
DB Cooper writes: "Congratulations! This newsletter inspires me not to give up hope. I needed to hear something positive."
I'm very happy to hear you found this newsletter inspiring!
Jellyfish writes: "Wow Jeff well done on getting mentioned in the CAPTAIN AMERICA Credits! I am interested to know what you were credited for "
If you watch the end credits on the movie, you'll see my name in the Marvel Studios section as "Credits Executive." I'm the guy responsible for making sure that big long list of names at the end of the movie is completely accurate and arranged correctly, and it's a big enough job that I got to put my own name in there.
Alexis Kaye Wright writes: "Dear Jeff, I literally just finished editing my inspirational book and my goal is for it to be published by a traditional publishing company who pays the author on top of the royalties the author receives when the books are sold, where I don't pay anything to an agent or to the publishing company because I am broke. Is that a realistic goal in today's publishing world? Thanks for this interesting insight into what kind of goals to set, and the difference between dreams and goals!"
There are still plenty of traditionally published (i.e., the publishing house pays you an advance and a royalty, and your agent only takes a commission on the money you make) titles every year. They're certainly not getting any easier to land, but those opportunities are still out there and a great many authors are still pursuing them. Good luck with your inspirational book!
Quick-Quill writes: "I agree that reachable goals should be entering a contest.. Write at least 100 words every day. They don't have to make sense but the need to be about something you know. Prepping now for the NANO in November is a good goal. Attend a writing conference or a writers group."
Yeah, the most important part is making sure the goals are something that makes sense to you. Just because Stephen King recommends writing two thousand words per day doesn't mean that's the right goal for everybody. We all need to examine our own lives and schedules and figure out what realistic, achievable goals fit in that framework.
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ASIN: B07P4NVL51 |
Product Type: Toys & Games
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