by Jeanette O'Hagan
"If a tree falls in the forest and no one listening, does it still make a sound?"
The answer to this question depends on your world view, the intricacies of which I leave for another time and another place. But maybe it raises another question.
"If an author writes a book and no one reads it, does have purpose?"
This one is is easier to answer. Yes, because after all, the writer is the very first reader of a work. Besides, writing in and of itself has benefits. Writing, maybe especially writing stories, helps us process thoughts and feelings, can give release, help us move past blockages or provide escape from grim reality. Writing, in and of itself, can be therapeutic.
But, on another simpler level, if and when we seek to publish our stories, it's because we want someone to read them. (Even if we are pursuing fame and/or fortune, we will need readers.)
And, from my experience, while writing a novel or short story or memoir has it's challenges, getting the book published has perhaps greater challenges, but the biggest challenge of all is connecting with readers.
So how do we find readers, or probably more to the point, how do readers discover our books?
While I don't claim to have solved this conundrum, we can explore the possibilities.
Already Established Platform
Being already famous or well-known in another sphere, gives a leg-up on the visibility of your books. People buy books by household names because they know them and are curious. This is of particular advantage to those writing non-fiction but can also be useful for fiction.
In addition, someone who is in demand as a speaker is already connecting with people who may be interested in their books.
But that's not most of us.
Friends and Family
Our friends and family often want to see us succeed and may read our books because, well, they love us. Not that is is always the case. I can probably number on one hand my friends and family who are enthusiastic fans of my books. Most aren't that interested and certainly haven't read anything I written. In fact, apart from a few wonderful exceptions like my sister, it's my more distant relatives that have shown enthusiasm.
Another reason for not relying too heavily on close circles - your early fans can determine how your book is ranked on sites like Amazon. As a result, it's better to aim at the readers of your genre and audience. Plus, at some point, you probably want to reach beyond the people you know and launch your book out into the wide, wild world of readers.
Launches, Book Signings and Conventions
Face to face encounters provide another way to connect with readers. As part of Rendered Realms, Lynne Stringer, Adele Jones and I have attended Sci-Fiction and Fantasy conventions like OzComicCon and Supanova as a way of connection with people who love the genre we write and, a good proportion of them, who love to read.
Arranging book-signings or having a stall at the markets or book fair or organising school visits etc are all ways of connecting face-to-face with potential readers. This has a great impact, but is also limited by space and time.
Social Media
Social Media also provides a way for connecting with readers. It can be targeted a specific audience and has, at least in theory, the potential to go viral.
The sites
Social Media includes a huge number of options to pursue.
Facebook - the biggest at 2.89 billion monthly active users and it's also versatile - it's great for interest groups of people (like Christian Writers Downunder) and showcasing your creativity and work on an author's page. Facebook can also be a platform for advertising books.
Instagram - popular with young people and visual artists, if focuses on cool images and is a popular among many readers, book bloggers and authors. Hashtags work well here.
Twitter - with posts (or tweets) limited to 280 characters, it's a great way to learn to say more with few words and also has both an active author and active reader communities.
Goodreads - primarily a review site, it also has listopia (lists of books on a particular subject or genre), reading challenge and a multitude of book and writing groups. Even if you don't plan to frequent it, it's probably a good idea to claim your profile to make sure your books are linked as you would like them.
Bookbub - similar to Goodreads, Bookbub has book profiles and author profiles and sends out newsletters to members of books specials and free books. It can be a great paid promotional site for authors. Once again, maybe claim your author profile on this site.
You-tube - for presenting audio-visual content - such as presentations, book reviews or author readings.
TikTok - all about short snappy videos and is popular with young people (until the next big thing or the site gets too crowded with their parents). It has a very active book community - BookTok
Tumblr - is a blogsite, an alternative to blogger, cum-social media with following pages part of the culture, though it can be wild and hairy.
Pinterest - another visual site, in this case you can collect or pin cool images on virtual boards. Boards can be public, private or shared. For authors, it can be part of the creative process - pinning images that give inspiration or help with planning your stories. It's also possible to link blog posts (attached to an image) or book covers etc.
Wattpad - a writing site where fan fiction, short stories and other content is posted freely for users to read and give feedback. Some authors post stories in the hopes of developing fans who will crossover to their (not free) books.
Patreon - an author or creative provides different level on content for their subscribers on a regular (monthly) basis - it can be short stories unavailable elsewhere, snippets from books, behind the scene stuff, artwork or even the books themselves.
Discord - a way for groups to get together and discuss things.
Redditt - a discussion group or maybe discussion groups within discussion group?
Blogger - a blogger site
World Anvil - a worldbuilding site tailored for gamers and authors - a place to document the world of your book, but also to interact with others by providing interesting content.
And there's more. Too many to mention.
Pros and Cons
All these platforms attract audiences/followers, and often many are avid book readers of both popular and niche genres. Building up an active following on these platforms, can result in a growing following of people interested in your books. They can also be used as a basis for paid advertising. If a post goes viral, it can really take off.
On the other hand, it's takes time and effort, rarely results in instant success and can be a confusing and a timewaster. And sometimes, social media becomes an echo chamber - writers connect with other writers (and can support and encourage each other, which is good) but don't connect with readers.
The huge variety can be daunting /off putting. It's probably impossible to be involved in each and every platform there is.
Start small, build and stay with it.
This is a marathon, not a sprint. Better to start small, build on your gains. And be strategic and genuine. Remain involved.
When starting out, choose one or perhaps two to get a handle of. Choose a media that resonates and you feel most comfortable with and which is more also popular to your readers. For instance, young people have deserted Facebook for Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok. If you have a lot of visual content, Instagram and Pinterest work well while Twitter is more word based (though even here visuals help attract attention).
Take time to understand the platform and the expectations of their users. Twitter users look more askance at Direct Messaging than Facebook users. Hash tags may be used differently at different sites.
Ask for help and do some research (including some excellent blogs on this site) and don't be afraid to experiment.
Add value for your readers/followers
Do you enjoy the shop owners who feel compelled to yell specials and 'buy, buy, buy' messages at you through a loud hailer as you walk past their shop? If you are anything like me, such loud and pushy tactics will make you want to run for the hills. So too with social media. Think about what content you can offer related to your books, engage with people, be helpful and pleasant. And make any promotions relevant, interesting and attractive.
Remember, it's as much as making connections and building relationships.
Be versatile
And remember, platforms change. Elon Musk has just bought out Twitter. Some earlier social media platforms no longer exist - anyone remember Yahoo groups or Myspace?
So the other point, is, don't be too dependent on any one social media. Have your own website (with or without a blog) and email list are other ways to connect with readers that is independent on the changes in policy and fortune of the big providers.
Beware of Time Munchers
Social media can swallow whole hours once you start swiping or scrolling. It's good to post regularly, put regular content up but don't let it swallow up all the available hours. Ask yourself would I be better off writing (or editing). Perhaps automate if possible or set aside time to work on certain tasks.
So which social media platform works best? It depends - on you, on your book, on your audience, and on the phase of the moon.
Okay, maybe not the phase of the moon, but there is a degree of unpredictability about all this. And all of these opportunities , these portals to readers - existing networks, face-to-face opportunities, social media, website and email newsletter, can and should work together.
And remember to have fun :)
It's a lot to learn and, often, a uphill struggle. Yet a thousand mile journey starts with the first step.
Some questions for the reader.
So, what social media and other means have you tried to connect with readers? What worked? What didn't work? Do you have some tips to share or questions you would love answered?
She has published over forty stories and poems, including the Under the Mountain Series (5 books), Ruhanna's Flight and Other Stories, Akrad's Children and Rasel's Song, the first two books in the Akrad's Legacy series - and new short story accepted for an upcoming Fantasy anthology.
Jeanette has practised medicine, studied communication, history, theology and a Master of Arts (Writing). She loves reading, painting, travel, catching up for coffee with friends, pondering the meaning of life.
Hi Jenny, what a handy and comprehensive breakdown of the social media platforms. I agree it's handy to stick to just two or three main ones, and even then they can be time suckers. But one thing is sure, it would be a shame never to utilise them at all, since have them at our fingertips and previous generations didn't.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paula. Yes, we do have a unique opportunity which brings it's own challenges - especially in time management :) Thanks for your comment.
Delete