There are many authors who juggle writing, edits, marketing and social media and wow, it’s a lot of work. Is it worth it? Is writing that book worth it? Yes. The thing is authors, especially Indie authors, are having to up their social media skills. Indie authors are finding ways to reach readers and how you might ask? Well, there’s a number of ways but it boils down to one word – networking.
Here’s how I view networking. It’s that hand shake, that eye to eye contact introduction but today it’s made via many mediums like Facebook, twitter, social networking groups like Goodreads, yahoo groups and blogs. Again, is it worth it? You’ll have to be the judge of that but gaining readers is key to any authors’ success. Another key thing to gain readers is to write more books. So yes, it’s a juggling act.
Traditionally published authors might have enjoyed being whisked from book signing to book signing thanks to their publisher but unless an Indie author has lots of funds lining their pockets they are doing things outside the box. Indie authors are linking together, going on virtual blog tours, creating author Facebook pages and even setting up character tweets from their books. Is it working? You bet it is. Are traditional publishing houses paying attention? Oh yeah.
Social media is about chatting. It’s got to be a two-way conversation. Pimping your book over and over again turns people off. And here’s the other things authors need to understand – following authors is okay but following readers sells. Connect with your readers. Try to engage them, ask them for input, launch a contest to get your fans to help you pick out your next major characters names – be innovative, be brave, be true and write.
I’m an Indie author. I market my book, I network, I twitter, I Facebook and yes, I blog. Oh, did I forget to mention I write. Yeah, I juggle like many and usually once I launch a book I go into hyper-marketing mode.
What I’d love to hear from all writers is what works for you? How do you connect with readers?
Marketing is by far the hardest part of the job. I think the challenge, other than time management, is finding what works and what doesn’t. Subsequently, I think we try to throw everything we can at promo and see what sticks. That can be exhausting and time consuming. It does help to watch and see what’s working for others and dive in and give it a try, but it seems as soon as you find one thing that works, everyone does it and then it becomes less effective.
I’ve been on a blog tour for the past two months. I’ve not seen an increase in sales and it has been a lot of work. Sales have stayed steady. So does that mean if I hadn’t done the tour, my sales would have decreased? Hard to tell. My next promo strategy is a blog hop and a “free” day or two in April. Cross promoting with other authors definitely has advantages and I’ve seen the benefits of being able to promote a book for free for a few days. I’ll let you know how that works out.
To me networking requires consistency of exposure without coming across as if your chirping like a baby bird waiting to be fed. Connecting with readers is key, but I find this to be much harder, especially writing YA. it takes some creative thinking and pounding the pavement a bit. It’s hard to find a balance. I also think that finding one or two avenues that you manage really well, is the trick. Whether it be FB or Twitter, Good Reads or Shelfari, you need to decide on one or two and commit to it. For me, finding which two that will work for me, is the trick.
Great post, Renee.
Great post, Renee. Promotion definitely eats up the time. I write at an old computer that doesn’t have Internet so it keeps me “honest.” Otherwise, I’d be social networking all day when I should be writing.
Thank you so much, Renee, and PJ Sharon, for this excellent advice. I’m still finishing the next two books in my collection, so I’m probably about two years away from actually marketing them. I’m working on reviews right now, especially from kids, and figuring out a plan to reach my miniscule niche. I hear that traditional publishers now expect their authors to hire their own publicists to engage an audience. Since I’ve already “produced” my books professionally (editor, illustrator, design team to create the book, and website developer for the site), I think this may be a nice way to finally launch the series. Do you hava any advice for indie authors who might use a publicist?
PJ great points and I agree. It’s hard to figure out what works but at least as Indie authors we control our destiny.
I’m not an Indie author as in having published my own books, but my books are published by very small royalty-paying publishers, which means I’m in the same boat–or at least one floating very near–as those who are indie published. My publishers do a little marketing/promo of my books, but for the most part it’s up to me.
And it is very, very difficult. I’m pretty awkward socially, which means conversations aren’t easy for me whether they’re face to face or online. I’ve tried the “throw mud at the barn” approach to promo, but that hasn’t worked at all; I have two or three books that have been out for two months or more and have absolutely no sales ranking on Amazon, which means those books haven’t sold a single copy there. I try not to do promo that involves spending money, because since my sales are low I don’t have the money to spend, but since I’m not spending it my sales aren’t increasing.
Social networking does seem to help; at least it’s getting my name in front of more people. But trying to think of things to say other than “Hi, I’m an author, buy my book” can be exhausting some days. (Have I mentioned I’m not good at conversations? LOL)
@Jo Marshall: Traditional publishers might *suggest* that authors hire their own publicist, but I question whether they *expect* it. I’m not saying you’re wrong; this just isn’t something I’ve heard about before. Royalty-paying publishers tend to stay away from expecting or requiring their authors to spend any money out of pocket. In that publishing world, money is supposed to flow *toward* the author; authors can spend money if they choose, but publishers shouldn’t be telling them they have to.
Sometimes I feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do it all.