October 22~ Twitter as a Marketing Tool for Writers

Twitter is one of my favorite pass times, a.k.a. my favorite internet time suck. Some people don’t get it. I didn’t at first myself. I was following celebrities and news channels and it was BORING advertising. I left my account idle for probably a year before I came back to it, determined to try again. It wasn’t until I started making actual friends on Twitter that I enjoyed it. And no, celebrities don’t want to be your friend or follow you.

 

I saw a lot of people advertising their books on Twitter and I still do. I even do it myself, but I’m willing to bet I actually get very few book sales as a result. I still think Twitter is valuable to writers though and here’s why. The benefit is more indirect and maybe not as easily teased out.

 

 

I’ve met friends and writers on Twitter that have supported me when no one else would. I live in a rural area with no writer’s groups or potential critique partners close by, so tapping into the writer’s community on Twitter has been invaluable. Some folks I’ve met directly on Twitter, but others I’ve met elsewhere and found later on Twitter. I’ve met writers, agents, and editors there.

 

I’ve met small press publishers directly on Twitter, or indirectly through Twitter, that I never would have met in person. Some of those small presses ended up publishing my work. Hush Puppy was requested by an editor at Featherweight Press after I took part in an online pitch event organized by some romance writers I saw advertised on Twitter. I had been submitting the book the traditional way (query) to agents without any luck, but the pitch event gave me the chance to have an online dialog with the editor and really discuss the project in more detail.  This year, I took part in another online pitch event directly on Twitter, and was able to make a deal on another manuscript to be published by Month9Books in 2015. So basically, I owe Twitter a lot.

 

 

With regards to marketing the book, it’s been a little more difficult to see a direct benefit from Twitter, i.e. actual sales. I’ve been able to connect with some really great bloggers via Twitter, some of whom have provided very kind reviews for which I’m eternally grateful. It’s too early to tell, but those reviews may turn out to be what sells books.  I think more than anything, books sell by word of mouth and that’s a slow process without a giant marketing machine behind you, but with every good review, the ball gets rolling a little more and more. We’ll see how it goes. 

 

For now, I’d say the real benefit of Twitter to me is having a supportive community/network of like-minded individuals who cheer you on, celebrate your successes, and pick you up when you’re down. I’d recommend it to any writer. What do you think of Twitter? What have your experiences been? I’d like to know.

 

October 3 ~ Social Media for Writers

 


I recently got some great advice regarding promoting one's writing on social media and I thought I'd pass it along to you. Well actually, there's two things:


First off, you may have heard all the advice about building an online platform for yourself. You've got to have a presence on Twitter and Goodreads and Tumbr and Facebook and Linkdin and Pinterest and a blog and who knows what else!!  All that is fine and good if you are a twenty-something techno-geek that loves playing online 24/7.  It's not fine if you have a family and a real job and real life responsibilities like most people. It can get overwhelming in a hurry.  Yes, you still do need to promote yourself and your work online. So what to do?  Here's the great advice:

Explore your options and decide which ones appeal the most to you. Do those!

If you aren't an "status update" kind of person, maybe Facebook isn't for you.  If you don't see the point in saying anything less than 140 characters, maybe Twitter isn't your thing.  You will be most effective on those sites that you enjoy visiting and using and conversing with readers on. There's no reason to try to use a site that makes no sense to your brain (i.e. me and Tumblr). You won't be effective there anyway, so don't worry about it. If your writing is good, your readers will find you wherever you are, which leads me to the second thing I wanted to mention:

Writers write!  Don't spend so much time on social media that you sacrifice your writing. That's my new problem, so with that, I'm going to write! See you tomorrow~

Hush Puppy Blog Tour

Exciting stuff peeps! Hush Puppy was released on Monday, August 19, 2013. With that, I have to tell you the blog here may seem a bit like an infomercial while I promote the book. For those of you who don’t know, the web has become a major player in how books are promoted, especially with shrinking marketing budgets. The web is now the way many authors use to connect with tons more people than they could ever meet in person.

I’ll be making a blog tour to various other authors’ web sites to promote the book with interviews and excerpts. I hope you’ll be able to visit a few of them and support those blogs with comments, follows, tweets, and likes.  And of course, you can always visit my Facebook page for easy updates too. 

Early reviews have been overwhelmingly positive:

With a lot of emotion and skill, Cresswell weaves together a story that promotes the power of friendship and the importance of being true to oneself.

Hush Puppy is a sweet, sweet story of conquering prejudices, forgiveness and family, and a reminder that positive perspective, determination, and the support of one special person are enough to overcome whatever trauma life may deal.

I want to extend my gratitude to the following bloggers ahead of time. I sure appreciate their support for my blog tour.  Ladies, if you ever need anything, just ask. 

Kenya Wright

Stephanie Wardrop

Morgan Shamy

Laura Jamez

Coleen Burright

Missy Ames 

Kara Leigh Miller

Rachel Schieffelbein

And you, dear reader, can help too if you want.  The best advertisement for any book is a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads or your own blog. I’ve add the book to Goodreads already if you’d like to add it to your “To Be Read” list and look for in ebook now.  I hope you enjoy it~

A Short Rant on a Long Rant

I got a little fired up the other day about this article in Salon.  In it, an author complains about having to be on social media in order to market his book.  I took exception to his whiny, foot stomping tirade about hating to be forced to be social, which probably got his article a ton of views on Salon, but I can tell you personally, it certainly doesn't make me want to read his books. Ever.

 

I guess in that way, social media can cause more harm than good for an author. It can turn a reader off before they've even looked at your first page, which is a very bad thing if you want people to read your book.  I also have a feeling that we authors have been sold this terrible lie: you have to be on social media to sell your book.  I don't know about you, but nobody has ever convinced me to buy a book by tweeting ads about it 24/7.

Books are sold by word of mouth, by friends telling friends "hey, you should read this." You can't buy that or make it happen if your book isn't any good.  Readers have a limited time in their lives and authors have to respect their choices. No amount of hours on social media is going to change that.

The other point I want to make is this because I see a lot of other authors feel the same way as the guy on Salon. Yes, almost every author wants you to enjoy their story and they can take it very much to heart if you don't. We're all human. It takes an amazing amount to strength to put yourself out there for people to judge.  Believe me, I know how hard that is.  But don't ever doubt for one second that you have something important to say. Don't do that to yourself!

Work hard. Perfect your craft. Make it the best it can be. And if you can't stand the thought of talking to strangers on social media about it, just don't do it. A good book can speak for you.  Books have been doing it for hundreds of years and hopefully, they'll keep on doing it for hundreds more. ~peace~