Social Media - Is It Worth It?

[Jason Byrne]

Expected, I don't know. Not all literary agents or publishers have a Twitter account, but many do, and tweet about book 'happenings,' their own, and each others. They also hold open submission events from time to time, or 'pitch parties,' where you are invited to tweet an elevator pitch of 140 characters and less. Curtis Brown did this for the first time in July and say it's too soon to know if they will sign up any writers in consequence of their pitch event, but they are looking at a few from July, and will run another of these pitch events tomorrow Read More Here

There are dozens of literary agent profiles, and those events are a lot of fun — and I'm sure lead to success for some authors. I haven't heard about an upcoming Pitchwar in a while; I can't wait.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

Proof, if proof be needed, that Twitter is a popularity contest comes from this report on Twitter's 'Verified Users'. Several of we Colonists have commented on how we really need to be more than one person to accomplish all of the multifarious tasks of being a writer -creating a story, editing it, marketing and schmoozing via the social media. Well, famous and wealthy people have flunkies to do their tweeting for them - which is why they sometimes put their foot in it when they do it themselves, by making indiscreet remarks.

https://medium.com/@Haje/who-are-twitter-s-verified-users-af976fc1b032

 

[Robinne Weiss]

I will happily use social media when it is the right tool for the job. But Tweeting for the sake of racking up a bunch of numbers to make it look like I've got a huge fan base (when, really they've only followed me so I will follow them and they can look good, too...), nah. Can't be bothered. Too much useless shit out there on the internet already. I don't have the time for that nonsense.

 

[Emurelda]

I only started using twitter when my business partner had employed a wonderful social media manager to tweet on behalf of our businesses. I had no idea what it was about. Then i got the hang of it and did it myself..but less 'selly' and more organic..ie tweet when i felt like it.

It's become an outlet on occasion and also support other members by retweeting. But i have used it to connect with gamers originally for meetups, exhibitions convos and connect with potential sponsors.

And absolutely it is time consuming that's why there are job postings recruiting people to blog, tweet and keep social media updated always. But the concept of connecting isn't anything new...forsighted companies would have, and still do, press releases sent off to local and national papers and mail shots sent out to their target market.

All social media has done is make it free, in cost terms but has saturated the market so that everyone is doing it.

 

[K.J. Simmill]

Hmm, let me see.

I use Twitter a lot, (as you may guess from my followers which I am proud to say I painstakingly acquired through hard work). I use it to interact with people, as well as drop snippets of info about my book. I tweet a lot about other people's work, and they generally return in kind, meaning if you use your 140 characters wisely, you can reach a far larger audience than just your followers.
Sales wise, I really can't comment yet, but I can say that the last 15 or so books (with the exception of @Karen Gray and @Island Writer) have all been because I saw a post on twitter from someone, and it caught my attention. I have also been invited to write in a charity anthology next year, again thanks to Twitter.

Outside of the internet, I can count my friends on one hand. I used to have so many 'real life' friends, but you tend to find when someone gets ill, they tend to fade into the background, especially since you suddenly find yourself with little to talk about and not able to 'meet up' as often, if at all. (A few years back now my hubby was really ill and given weeks to live. He is still with us now, but still requires a lot of care and support) My point though, I do have one, is that I already have a number of pre-orders for both of my books. Nothing massive, but I can guarantee if I wasn't using social media I wouldn't have had them. It has given me a chance to connect with readers.

Time wise I probably commit an hour or less a day to Twitter, I use this to follow back, re-tweet and engage with people, but I don't do it all at once, I have a cup of tea, my phone comes out for five minutes. the exception being Wednesdays and Fridays when I do shout outs to followers.

Facebook on the other hand, I tend to just pop on there every now and again to catch up with people who I knew that have moved to other countries. Also I find that with Facebook, they limit the people who see your posts, so even if I do post something, there is little chance people will see it.

LinkedIn I don't tend to use, I have an account, add people back, and have my blog auto post to it. When I get chance I endorse people, but that is about it.

All in all, I think, for me, Twitter has been a worthwhile venture and I have connected with numerous authors and found lots of new books that I otherwise wouldn't have come across, since I have found people, I can only assume people will too find me

 

[Emurelda]

I find twitter especially useful for finding who works where. This is something linkedin should be number one on but twitter is informal so find it easier to navigate.

 

[Octopus Messiah]

I wonder the same thing. My wife runs a high-volume restaurant and has a "dedicated child" to run their website, check for twitter trends, run contests and promote events etc. My favorite line on the matter which I wish I could attribute:

Social media is extremely important for promoting your brand, esp for new businesses-- just ask anyone who does social media for a living.

For what it's worth:

Twatter has allowed me to connect with other writers and also to harangue future LAD guests but to me it always feels like an annoying cloud of flies. I haven't really tried to whip up a storm of followers and am really impressed by Jason's success. There are tools for this, I'm told and one day plan to back the dedicated child into a corner, feed him cocktails and ply him for advice, watch this space. But like Paul said, it's a time killer. Aren't I supposed to be writing? Agent Pete has grown disillusioned with the platform, says it used to be a conversation and now is basically an advertising hoarding. His advice to writers is to create and promote a separate, personal platform that separates them from the yodeling herd. Litopia has 40,000 followers but you never hear him very excited about it. Or maybe that's an English thing?

About a month ago I put together a website but didn't want it to be an endless series of plugs, so mainly use it to provide fun content-- previous articles, praise for people I admire, nature photography, this pointless instagram thing I'm doing photographing local street art and writing stupid captions etc. AND I layer it with book plugs and promos for LAD-- the classic s*** sandwich with the fun stuff being the bread and the important stuff being... Mainly I want the site to be something I enjoy doing, something people enjoy reading and also be a place to to direct people interested in my work. Feedback has been good so far and I love getting contacted through the site way more than a twatter notification!

Faceberk I've realized (belatedly, I'm slow) is not the place to invest any type of promotional effort (except for the Litopia After Dark page which is used for promoting shows and the work of previous guests) I plan to be more active on that in future, once we start putting up more shows. But my personal account is just that: "We have a brilliant show on LAD, OMG dude interviewed Bin Laden!" 6 likes. "Here is the dog catching a ball!" 30 likes, three shares. Thus when I promote things on faceberk I do so solely to nurture my misanthropy. And big up the dog. Obvs.

 

[Karen Gray]

I wonder the same thing. My wife runs a high-volume restaurant and has a "dedicated child" to run their website, check for twitter trends, run contests and promote events etc. My favorite line on the matter which I wish I could attribute:

Social media is extremely important for promoting your brand, esp for new businesses-- just ask anyone who does social media for a living.

For what it's worth:

Twatter has allowed me to connect with other writers and also to harangue future LAD guests but to me it always feels like an annoying cloud of flies. I haven't really tried to whip up a storm of followers and am really impressed by Jason's success. There are tools for this, I'm told and one day plan to back the dedicated child into a corner, feed him cocktails and ply him for advice, watch this space. But like Paul said, it's a time killer. Aren't I supposed to be writing? Agent Pete has grown disillusioned with the platform, says it used to be a conversation and now is basically an advertising hoarding. His advice to writers is to create and promote a separate, personal platform that separates them from the yodeling herd. Litopia has 40,000 followers but you never hear him very excited about it. Or maybe that's an English thing?

About a month ago I put together a website but didn't want it to be an endless series of plugs, so mainly use it to provide fun content-- previous articles, praise for people I admire, nature photography, this pointless instagram thing I'm doing photographing local street art and writing stupid captions etc. AND I layer it with book plugs and promos for LAD-- the classic s*** sandwich with the fun stuff being the bread and the important stuff being... Mainly I want the site to be something I enjoy doing, something people enjoy reading and also be a place to to direct people interested in my work. Feedback has been good so far and I love getting contacted through the site way more than a twatter notification!

Faceberk I've realized (belatedly, I'm slow) is not the place to invest any type of promotional effort (except for the Litopia After Dark page which is used for promoting shows and the work of previous guests) I plan to be more active on that in future, once we start putting up more shows. But my personal account is just that: "We have a brilliant show on LAD, OMG dude interviewed Bin Laden!" 6 likes. "Here is the dog catching a ball!" 30 likes, three shares. Thus when I promote things on faceberk I do so solely to nurture my misanthropy. And big up the dog. Obvs.

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Not seen you about Litopia in AGES @Octopus Messiah I did miss you and you're wee pup so I did
Goes without saying though, I always love to see you on Facebook two

I think it really boils down to who you know, if all you know are other people screaming about their book, or people not interested in books and reading at all, then social media is pretty much not going to be helpful. But it stands to reason that over time we will gain a reader base and what do they want to hear about? Your book or your life so they gain a better understanding of the writer behind the words? Nuf said. Social media is for being social. Sure promote your stuff every so often but more often than not, just talking does a better job

 

[Carol Rose]

The trick with social media is *not* to use it for promo only. It's "social" media. I post all kinds of things on Facebook and Twitter, not just promo. I hear from readers all the time how much they love getting to know their favorite authors as people in addition to keeping up with their works. I've also seen plenty of readers stop supporting authors who do nothing but blast people with promo. I've seen countless new authors slam everyone from sunup to sundown with promo, posting nothing else, and outright spamming people with invites to this and that - all book related. What ends up happening is they piss off other authors because they're so damn obnoxious and spammy, and they don't build a fan base at all. Building relationships with readers and bloggers, as well as with other authors, is not a quick process, and it's not a one-way street. It baffles me why people don't realize that cultivating relationships online takes just as much thought, time, and effort as it does in real life.

 

[Llewellyn]

I have just joined this community today. I am a new unpublished author and while trying to find agents and publishers I keep getting told that a face book presence is vital and a lot of tweeting is a must. With all that I find That I do not know one person who actually reads books that also goes on facebook. Almost every one I know seems to think facebook is a place for Kids and people with nothing better to do.
Is there some one here who would sum up and help make a conclusion from all written above. The only benefit I have seen from face book so far is being AWARE of the latest activities and progress of my grandson, but the price is having people I don't like very much pushing advertising for something under my nose and worse still pushing the latest Christian message at me on an almost daily basis. With that in mind advice from writer sites all over the place suggesting that face book and twitter are a must if I want to succeed at writing, fills me with dread, it would be a hell of a price to have to pay for success.

 

[Bernard Stacey]

Welcome to Litopia, Llewellyn. Do also start a thread telling everyone a bit about yourself, your journey.
As regards FaceBerk and Twitter, there are (of course) different views. I don't for a moment think that a new author has to have a presence on both, though some publishers see it as a huge plus - possibly not because it will sell more books but as evidence that you can connect with people and perhaps help market a book. They'd still have to do some work though as for even a keen unpublished author with, say, 2000 followers - even if every single one bought their book and retweeted the good news (unlikely) - that still wouldn't be enough for a print run.
For myself, I'm concentrating on the actual writing. If something is good enough it will eventually find a place. If not, it's still fun writing.
As for FB: when the polar ice caps melt and the world sinks into its apocalyptic abyss and there are only a handful of people left, I will still be the last one without an account. Well, you and me maybe.

 

[Carol Rose]

I have just joined this community today. I am a new unpublished author and while trying to find agents and publishers I keep getting told that a face book presence is vital and a lot of tweeting is a must. With all that I find That I do not know one person who actually reads books that also goes on facebook. Almost every one I know seems to think facebook is a place for Kids and people with nothing better to do.

Welcome to Litopia!

It's a genre thing. Romance readers are ALL on Facebook and Twitter. It's where they find us, learn about our new releases, and talk to us. Can't speak to other genres and social media, but there are plenty on here who can.

 

[Jennifer Stone]

Welcome @Llewellyn glad to have you with us

 

[Paul Whybrow]

Welcome to Litopia, Llewellyn. Do also start a thread telling everyone a bit about yourself, your journey.
As regards FaceBerk and Twitter, there are (of course) different views. I don't for a moment think that a new author has to have a presence on both, though some publishers see it as a huge plus - possibly not because it will sell more books but as evidence that you can connect with people and perhaps help market a book. They'd still have to do some work though as for even a keen unpublished author with, say, 2000 followers - even if every single one bought their book and retweeted the good news (unlikely) - that still wouldn't be enough for a print run.
For myself, I'm concentrating on the actual writing. If something is good enough it will eventually find a place. If not, it's still fun writing.
As for FB: when the polar ice caps melt and the world sinks into its apocalyptic abyss and there are only a handful of people left, I will still be the last one without an account. Well, you and me maybe.

Welcome to The Colony Llewellyn. As Bernard says, any social media presence is an indication to an agent that you know something about how to engage with your readers. The days are long gone when an author could completely hide away from the world, sending out manuscripts that were immediately accepted for publication - the books providing you with an income, while you wrote a new story. Nowadays, one is expected to be a part of the rigmarole of promoting yourself as part of the brand that your books represent.

This is initially done via your own blog, a Facebook page or Twitter. Sure, those venues may well be more used by youngsters, but you can still get an idea of what's popular these days by joining in, as well as pick up tips to market yourself. Should you succeed in having your books traditionally published, then you'll be expected to promote them with book tours, personal appearances and attending literary festivals. Such exertion (and expense), makes a few clicks of the mouse to make a post on your own writer's blog look very attractive indeed.

Although I've been writing and self-publishing for a couple of years, I'm still a relative beginner when it comes to learning how to use the social media sites. My Facebook friends are few, and are mainly people that I've known in real life, rather than met online. All the same, one shouldn't discount word-of-mouth, for I've made some useful contacts via my FB friends. Technology moves at a bewildering pace these days. I don't know anyone who owns a Kindle or similar e-reading device, even though I've published 44 ebooks. I haven't even seen a blooming Kindle, and use Amazon's free Kindle reader download to check what my books look like. It could even be that Kindles are being supplanted by smartphones, as it seems that more people are now reading books in this way. The best that one can do these days is try to keep up in some way - even if it's more as a spectator than a participant.

 

[K.J. Simmill]

Welcome to Litopia @Llewellyn from me as well.

Truth be told, regarding Facebook, I don't go on there a lot, but I do read a lot. I use my FB author page to write updates about my books and post book reviews (via my blog) thus on my official page you will find only book related items. On my own page, I tend to share other people books as well as things that make me smile. But like I said, I'm not on their a lot, plus Facebook limit the reach, for example, I have a post on my FB page, I have 615 page likes, this this is my potential reach when I post something, however, more often than not the actual reach, i.e. the people who see this on their timeline, can be between 7 and 47 (based on actual figures.)

When I was looking for an agent, a number of sources, including one of the books I brought from an agent's website on how to find an agent, advised that a strong social media presence was a must. Personally, I cant see them checking every submission that has potential against the likes and followers on social media, I would like to believe if the product is good enough that's all that matters, as your fan base would build as your product gets exposure.

On the flip side, if you are self publishing I think it is vital. I ran an advert in the August edition of 'Literary Review', (for people outside the UK this is "Britain's best loved literary magazine") to bring awareness to my book and the raffle (with all raffle proceeds and 10% author royalties to charity). At this point I can say that it seems its impact was next to nothing, if not nothing. Aside from the fact I brought an extra copy. I think getting product awareness as a self-published author is far more difficult, and we have to lean on things such as social media. To be honest, I saved for a long time ready to push with the advertising, and in the end this one advert was all I could afford, and I would say I have reached more people through Twitter, than through a rather costly advert. So in my experience, (which is still very very limited) for the moment at least I would say social media is a requirement, especially when you are doing it alone.

On another note, my raffle closes tonight, and thanks to twitter and some friends, I am only £5.00 my £100 target. Cross your fingers for me that I can raise another £5 before midnight tonight.

 

[Nicole Wilson]

I have just joined this community today. I am a new unpublished author and while trying to find agents and publishers I keep getting told that a face book presence is vital and a lot of tweeting is a must. With all that I find That I do not know one person who actually reads books that also goes on facebook. Almost every one I know seems to think facebook is a place for Kids and people with nothing better to do.
Is there some one here who would sum up and help make a conclusion from all written above. The only benefit I have seen from face book so far is being AWARE of the latest activities and progress of my grandson, but the price is having people I don't like very much pushing advertising for something under my nose and worse still pushing the latest Christian message at me on an almost daily basis. With that in mind advice from writer sites all over the place suggesting that face book and twitter are a must if I want to succeed at writing, fills me with dread, it would be a hell of a price to have to pay for success.

Llewellyn (welcome!), ditto to what most of the above are saying. It's not mandatory, but recommended. All of the big authors that I read are on facebook and Twitter, and I prefer it that way. It allows me a chance to connect with that author outside of their one book a year. I get to see what they're working on, what intrigues them.

As for your comment about no book readers being on social media, maybe it's a generational thing, but almost everyone that I know--readers included-- is on social media of some kind. It's a very large part of how our society interacts these days.

 

[Karen Gray]

Welcome to the colony @Llewellyn

I think the others have pretty much covered anything I would have said. Really it's more of a tool that can help you connect to readers rather than anything else. It takes a good long time to build a following. Don't stress too much about it, just talk to folk and you'll soon find your friends grow in number xx

 

[Alistair Roberts]

Ditto Llewellyn and welcome

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Welcome Llewellyn!

 

[Meerkat]

Welcome Llewellyn!