Hit Me With Your Ideas… Please!

[AgentPete]

Following the successful launch of Short Story Hunters, I just wanted to emphasize that Litopia has always been an experimental platform for its members.

Litopia’s origin is not often discussed, but it grew out of the internet’s very first online community, the Well. At that time, the very idea of having an online community just for writers was considered pretty radical. Again, with our first-generation podcasts (the best of which are still available here) we were among the first to experiment with a new medium – partly for its own sake, and party to see what it might offer writers.

Experimenting is in our virtual DNA, so if you feel brave / outrageous / inspired / visionary / dangerous… let me know and we may just be able to facilitate your ideas

 

[Katie-Ellen]

The Writing Tips video cutaways are an interesting development, I think. This potentially targets #writers and the #writingcommunity on Twitter. This second hashtag is especially active on Twitter. And Twitter is pretty dire right now, furious, and frankly, a bit bananas. All the same, there is a sense that Litopia could optimize its use of Twitter more strategically. The account promises low volume, high quality tweets, and the following is very sizeable. OK. Fair enough. But there is little traction/leverage, traffic of engagement/cross engagement with potentially congruent high profile accounts.

These videos have a potentially broader appeal of general, topical publishing and cultural interest for readers, publishers and cultural commentators. Especially such episodes as the ones with Neill Denny, Nii Awikwei and Nicolas Cheetham.

The Story Tellers and The Story Sellers, Publishing Prophets of Our Times.

I keep remembering that opening credit from Arena. Or summat like that.

 

[AgentPete]

Twitter has been a bit of a wasted asset, if I’m to be brutally honest. We use it as an “announcement” medium but don’t engage.
Re Writing Tips… This was a bit of an experiment to see if short “tip” videos might get natural traction. They got almost no views But maybe we weren’t using effective keywords (on Twitter).
If anyone wants to take our Tweeting in hand, try a few new things, I’d be more than happy to let them have a go.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Try those vids out on Instagram aka Litopia on Bookstagram? Add Hashtag #Bookstagram on Pop-Ups on You Tube?

"Literary instagram, known as Bookstagram, has changed the way fiction is marketed, reviewed and read. Book blogging has always existed on the internet, but on Instagram it collided with the influencer economy. Particularly successful users are now able to sell copies with their Instagram posts, which are more colloquial than formal reviews.

"For a certain type of reader, hashtags and sponsorships ruin the literary world’s purity. But Bookstagrammers view the community as encouraging a love of reading. And publishers see their posts as a valuable marketing tool."

 

[KateESal]

It takes a little while to build up an audience on Twitter...as Katie-E says, an account (if it doesn't belong to someone who's already a big sleb) needs to engage with other tweeters to start gaining traction. To be honest, it takes a fair bit of work and regular tweeting/engagement to get it going. Same is true of Instagram, really. Personally, I have my doubts about the return to one's time investment in most social media platforms. There's so much content out there, you need to make a LOT of effort to create even a small splash nowadays. Jumping onto more prolific tweeters, who are friends of the show is one way...Emma Robinson, Mo O'Hara, RC Bridgestock, Rev Peter Laws are all quite busy tweeters who will re-tweet Litopia stuff without too much motivation...

 

[Jonny]

I think that’s right on the money @KateESal.

Social media is heavily overloaded now. Not like it was 10 years ago. There are gazillions of people tweeting and Instagramming every hour of every day.

The crosstalk and background static is relentless and is almost impenetrable now - unless you have an angle, or know folks already with big numbers of followers who will help get your message out there.

I have two accounts with over 30k followers in each but that doesn’t even scratch the surface in trying to get traction on anything.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Peter's publishing industry video cutaways may be landing on fallow ground on social meejia.

But one could see potential here for a TV documentary. Prophets of Publishing, with these and more in the pitch.