Bookstagram and All That Jazz by Vanessa

              Social media is one of the easiest ways to grow your platform as an author. With all the different outlets, you can directly reach your readers with your writing content. But where to begin?

              In the summer of 2018, I attended Realm Makers, my first writing conference. I was blown away by the kindness of the speakers and attendants. But what I enjoyed the most was learning about the power of a social media platform. At the time, I was an aspiring author of Young Adult fiction and decided to take a class on outreach to YA readers taught by Mary Weber and Nadine Brandes.

Those two women opened my eyes to the benefits of keeping up with your social media, mainly Instagram. Up until that summer, I had used my Instagram account for personal use and posted every once in a while. But I quickly learned that if I wanted to reach potential readers and reviewers, I needed to step up my game. I was soon introduced to bookstagram.

What is bookstagram? In short, it’s a hashtag used on Instagram to indicate pictures and posts of books. If you search for it you will find simple pictures of just one book on a table to some of the more elaborate and beautiful book displays you’ve ever seen. Either way, they are all considered bookstagram.

Since attending Realm Makers, I revamped my Instagram account into a bookstagram account and have seen my followers increase dramatically. I once had only a few hundred and now have over a thousand! To help you grow your platform, here are a few tips and tricks I learned along the way:

The theme for this day was "Blue Books."

1.Be authentic- Followers and readers both want to know who you are as the author. Post books you’ve read or want to read but be honest in how you felt about them. If one wasn’t your favorite, explain why. You’d be amazed in how many people feel the same way!

2.  Post what’s in your comfort zone- I know many authors that have full families and additional jobs so they can’t post as often as others. But that’s okay! Post on your Instagram or other social media accounts when you can. I used to post every day before, but now I only post M-F. I decided I wanted to keep the weekends for my family and not have to worry about Instagram. This decision hasn’t hurt my numbers at all. 

3. Find like minded Instagrammers- There are a plethora of people on Instagram who LOVE bookish accounts. One of the best ways to find them are by participating in follow loops. A follow loop is where you comment on a “follow loop photo” and you follow everyone else that comments. (You are not required to follow people you feel uncomfortable with following). There are follow loops for every genre of writing. I’ve met a lot of different authors from follow loops and it’s been great seeing their different content and books.

The theme for this day was "Map Monday."

4. Get involved- You may be thinking, “But how will I know what book to post about or what my description should say?” This thought crossed my mind A LOT until I discovered book photo challenges. A book photo challenge is when an author (or group of authors) comes up with a theme for each day of the month featuring a different type of book. For example: A Friday can be themed “Fantasy Friday”. You can pick any fantasy book you’d like and snap a picture of it for the photo challenge. I’ve found this is a great way to keep my photos interesting, but not have to think too much about what I want to post. 

5. Have fun- Overall, your account should reflect who you are. If you love romantic comedies, talk about those. If you adore comic books, tell your readers your favorite one. Enjoy getting to know your followers and don’t be afraid to let them learn a little more about you, too!

If you'd like some ideas, head over to my Instagram page: vromasburton 

Happy Bookstagramming!

Vanessa

*I’m not an Instagram influencer or sponsored in anyway.*

Facebook Party Tips (Laurie)

Back in 2017 (how was it that long ago??), I did an "All About" series where I talked about various aspects of marketing and book launches. In case you're interested, they discussed Cover Reveals, Street Teams & Newsletters, and Reviews, ARCs, & Beta Readers. I always meant to do a fourth installment on Facebook parties, but when my book launch came up in early 2018, apparently I never got around to it! Since I happened to be a guest author in a Facebook party just this past weekend, I figured now would be a great time to finally share my thoughts on the subject :)

If you're not familiar with Facebook parties, they're events that happen right on Facebook. Usually they run for a few hours, but sometimes events can be as lengthy as a day or even stretch over a week or month. During that time, people post in the Facebook event, creating a virtual "party" where anyone, regardless of their location, can participate from the comfort of their own homes. I enjoy Facebook parties because they can be a fantastic way to interact with readers, collaborate with fellow authors, and talk about books! Probably other things, too, but the Facebook parties I'm a part of always center around books :)

I've been involved in enough Facebook parties as either a host or guest author by this point that I have a pretty good sense for what works and what doesn't. I'm sure other authors may have slightly different advice, but here are a few tips from my own experiences:

1) Be interactive! The event is called a "party," after all, and nothing will kill the feel of a party more quickly than a string of promotional posts that don't invite others to participate in some way. There are so many options, including questions, gif wars, quizzes, games, etc. And, if your posts do invite interaction, then actually interact! Readers will quickly figure out that your statement of "I can't wait to learn more about you!" wasn't genuine if you never show any evidence of reading their comments. In a really active party (I've seen posts with 60+ comments), it clearly won't be possible to respond to everyone, but make an effort to show you're actively involved.

2) Don't be afraid to promote yourself! I know this seems to contradict what I just said, but read on! If you're hosting a Facebook party or have a slot as a guest author, you've put time and effort into planning for the party and may be offering a giveaway, so make sure you get something out of it! Not every post needs to be promotional, of course, but there are lots of ways to promote and interact at the same time. Find things readers have in common with your characters, share about the theme of your book and ask attendees about how that theme connects with them, make a quiz about the types of magic in your book, talk about the authors that inspire you and find out about everyone else's favorite authors - the possibilities are endless! And having participants sign up for your newsletter or follow you on social media can be a great way for them to enter a giveaway.

3) Graphics are attention-grabbing. Facebook parties can get very crowded with posts, so graphics can be a great way to help your posts stand out. My preference is to use a consistent background and fonts for all of my graphics so it's easy to distinguish my posts from what other authors are sharing, plus it gives off a professional vibe, but a more eclectic look can be fun, too! Either way, graphics can be a great way to highlight book covers, art connected with your books, giveaway prizes,and even a question you want people to answer. These are a few examples from my most recent party in case you're curious!

4) Be responsible. Hopefully this goes without saying, but I know these issues come up fairly often with these types of events so they're worth mentioning. If you are given or sign up for a certain period of time during which to post, make sure you follow through. Double check time zones, since those can get tricky when people from around the country or even world are involved. And if you have any concerns about being able to post during your time slot, you can always schedule them in advance. Dead space from an author no-show makes it really hard to keep the attention of party-goers. Also, if you offer a giveaway, make sure you actually pick a winner, contact him or her, and send the prize. Again, I know none of YOU would do these things, but it's still good to be aware :)


That's all I have for now! I could do a whole additional post on organizing a group Facebook party and finding opportunities to be a guest author, so if that would be helpful to anyone, let me know in the comments and I'll consider it for the future! And let me know if you have any questions! What's your take on Facebook parties? Have you ever been to one, or is the concept too bizarre?


Thanks for reading!
Laurie

Developing a Social Media Platform: The Basics (Lauricia, On Writing)

“I didn’t sign on for this,” I moan as I flop onto the couch. “I want to be a writer, not a marketer. If I wanted to be a marketer, I’d have gone to college for a marketing degree.”

I know I’m complaining just to vent. The fact of the matter is a writer without an audience is only half a writer. I’m tired an overwhelmed, but I know that once I’ve rested I will renew my marketing efforts. I have to. With one million new books being self-published in 2017 alone (Books and Such, Steve Laube), I have no choice but to get back on my computer and make myself known, and a social media platform is crucial to making this happen.

In my August On Writing post, I offered a list of actions I recommend for people who want to turn a story idea into a published novel, and I promised to go into greater detail as the opportunity arose. In today’s post I will address the second step on that list: developing your social media platform.

At its most basic, a social media platform is simply defined as your on-line presence. If you engage in Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or any other social media app, then you have a platform. If you desire to be known as an author, you just need to develop that platform a little more to make it contains three key elements:

 

1) Social Media Apps

Since I’ve already mentioned them, let’s begin here. This is the step that will require the least amount of agony on your part—just keep doing what you’re already doing. There’s no way to be actively involved on every platform available, so pick two or three that you’re already good at and continue to build your following. Don’t post about your writing every day, though. Research shows that people are tired of being sold to on social media. They want to engage, instead. So keep regularly posting content that displays your personality and your interests, and throw in posts about your writing once a week or so.

2) A Website (with an optional blog)

In the internet-driven age in which we live, a website is absolutely crucial. People need to be able to find you in a web-based space where your writing can be showcased without having to compete with others who share the same cyberspace.

The purpose of your website is to showcase your writing, and a blog is a great way for new authors to do this. While conventional wisdom is shifting in the majority’s opinion about the necessity of a blog, nearly everyone agrees that it can be an excellent way for readers to taste the flavor of your poetry or prose. If you wonder what to blog about, you can post some of your better writing excerpts from whatever you’re working on at the time. Or you can keep a digital journal reflecting on your writing experience on a daily or weekly basis. Another option is to join a blog hop or a blogging group. There are also a ton of lists available on the internet; simply use the term “blog ideas for fiction writers” on your favorite search engine.

3) An Email List

Many book marketing experts will tell you that your email list is the single, most critical part of your platform because this is where you build your tribe—the group of readers who love your stuff so much that they can’t wait to read more. However, when you’re just starting out, this can be daunting. You don’t want to invest a lot of money into something that’s only going to reach a few people. Fortunately, there are ways to solve that. Many email providers have sliding rates based on the number of readers you send content to, and some even start out at the magic rate of free. Utilizing the services of one of these websites would be a great way to learn the basics of email formatting, content, and etiquette so that, when the day comes, you will be ready to connect via this venue.

Even though I’ve only listed three aspects as the foundation of your social media platform, each of the above is so detailed and multi-faceted that they can take a long time to master. If you need more information about any of the things mentioned here, some of the resources I access frequently are the Novel Marketing podcast, the Creative Penn podcast (content can be a bit mature), and the Science-Fiction and FantasyMarketing podcast (concent can be a bit mature), as well as Your First 1000 Copies: The Step-by-Step Guide to Marketing Your Book by Tim Grahl, and Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers by Seth Godin. (Please note: None of these is an affiliate link. They are simply here to make your life easier.)

As always, you can also feel free to comment below or contact me at Lauricia.Matuska@gmail.com

Your Turn: Your Favorite Social Media Site (Jill)

Recently, I asked my author group a question: which do you like better, Instagram or Twitter? Instagram was the winner, although someone went rogue and voted for Facebook. I started thinking about all the different social media sites I was encouraged to be on, to build my platform. And unfortunately, that never stops. I’m assuming my gravestone’s epitaph will be “Follow me at “https://www.facebook.com/jmhackman/!”

I’ve made an account on Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads, Twitter, Google+, as well as my own personal author website. That’s a lot to keep track of, but since my favorite is Facebook, that’s where I usually am.

My question for you? What is your favorite social media site? Do you manage to stay active on several at a time? Maybe you have a social media tip or technique that’s worked really well for you? 

Please share below in the comments!

Photo by William Iven on Unsplash

Top 3 Time Suckers (Jill)

I've been working on a project recently with a single-minded focus. Or at least trying to. After coming back from the Realm Makers Conference, I was energized to get back to work. I'd learned so much and spent such a good time with like-minded friends. But once I unpacked everything I'd experienced, I found myself spinning my wheels, getting distracted, and just in general not getting as much done as I'd like.
And it's due to Time Suckers-- those things we do that take time away from our projects. I'm not talking about laundry or meal prep or running errands. I'm talking about those things that really aren't necessary, even though we sometimes make excuses for them.

3. Crafty projects
As a creative, I tend to have several DIY projects going at once. Near my favorite chair, some beautiful Swarovski crystals are packed in a bag, waiting to be wire-wrapped. There's a piece of cool embossed fabric sitting on the counter that will be turned into a book cover. I also have some paper I've put aside for Christmas cards (I have to start early. Fall/winter is crazy busy in our household.)

 2. Social Media
When I sit down to write, I often find myself opening up my email, or my Facebook account, or my Twitter account to see what's happening. This is a terrible habit and before I can blink, I've lost an hour or more. Pinterest is even worse. With one peek, I'll be sucked into a visual rabbit hole and won't emerge until hours later. So I'm making an effort to focus on the project (and only the project!) when I sit down at the computer.

1. Reading
Writers are told to read, read often, and read in our genre. But there comes a time, when I need to put the book down and start working. Sometimes it's so tempting to start reading one more book, because the cover is so gorgeous, and that blurb so interesting, and... I have to stop. And start putting my own words on paper.

So these are the top three things that distract me from finishing my project. What are yours? Any of these? Or do you have other distractions that make you lose focus?
Share them below -- we'd love to hear about them!