Last week my wonderful client Nicole Evelina wrote on her blog Through the Mists of Time about the importance of social media for authors. If you take nothing else away from either her post or mine, at least take the lesson from the title of her post: Social Media Rule #1 for Writers – Be Social!
I know if you’re reading this, you’re likely a writer and almost definitely a person who loves words, so why do we sometimes forget the ‘social’ in social media?
There are some real downsides to treating social media like your own, personal broadcast media. If all you do on Twitter or Facebook is hawk your book or try to interest agents and editors in your manuscript you are probably not going to get anywhere but blocked. This is not to say you can’t ever talk about the interesting things you’re doing, this just can’t be all that you’re doing.
What is more interesting to me, though, is not the downside to being a broadcaster, but the upside to being actually social:
– Forming support groups – a large part of Nicole’s blog post discusses the group of writers she has fallen in with who make up #TeamAwesome on Twitter. They motivate one another in their writing and editing, as well as their publishing journeys in general. They live all over the world, but they are now critique partners and collaborators – and one of them even found her agent through #TeamAwesome
– Learning about the business you are in – being social isn’t just talking to other people, but also being interested in what other people have to say. If you follow a wide range of people (editors, agents, authors, bloggers, journalists, etc) you will get a great peek into what is going on in the industry. If nothing else, you’re guaranteed someone will tweet the article that everyone is talking about that week
– Doing your research – You have your list of agents or editors to query, but following them on social media like Twitter can help you get a better feel for exactly what they are looking for, as well as pet peeves. Some great hashtags to follow on Twitter: #tenqueries, #askagent, and, of course, #ask4word
– Gaining an audience – If you are genuinely interesting and engaging, you will have an audience for those (carefully chosen and not too frequent) times when you do have something you want to share, announce, or sell.
Social media is important, maybe even crucial, for writers today. Don’t get in over your head, try one or two things at a time and don’t add more until you feel you’ve gotten them down. It is better to do one thing really well than a few things poorly. Whatever you do, though, be social!
Come and be social with us!
Laurie | @AgentSavant
Gordon | @GordonWarnock
Jen | @DevourerofBooks
