Okay, so. This past weekend was all about Dragon Con. I love to see the proud geeks and dorks (myself, included), who have waited a whole year to be able to be at the biggest comic convention in the southeast, going gaga over whatever floats their little geek boat, dressed in costumes that range from amazing to startling to slightly disturbing. But it's not all about the pageantry, for me. You may not be aware of this, but there are a whole slew of "tracks" that are available, in the form of panels that you can attend. They range from comics panels, to actor/actress, to martial arts and skeptics panels.
I attended panels on the writer's track (yep, it's a thing). Writers like Kevin J. Anderson, Sherilyn Kenyon, David B. Coe, Janny Wurtz, and other writers you may recognize, speak about their experiences, give advice, and answer questions from us nobodies, who want to be somebodies (cue Marilyn Manson).
Most of the panels I attended were on marketing/PR (there is a blurry but definable difference: Marketing is designed to get people/companies interested in buying your product, and typically involves buying ads, materials, designing attractive book covers, etc., while Public Relations is generally about communication designed to promote your brand. That's interviews, managing a website/blog, networking, getting beta readers to review your book, stuff like that. This is overly-simplistic - it's all about getting people to buy what you're selling - and as I said, the line blurs on the two. But I think you get the picture), and I learned a few things. Here are a few things you might find useful.
First thing: If you don't have a website, get one. This falls under the heading of "Don't expect your publisher (if you have one) to do much (or any) of the marketing for you. In fact, they typically expect you to have a sales "platform" which includes a website for you to sell yourself, and your product on. Don't make that site the product (i.e., your book). Because, unless you plan on being a one-hit wonder, you're going to write more books, and then you're faced with either completely overhauling your current website, or creating a new one. (Can you imagine if Stephen King or James Patterson had a different website for every book they'd written???) On that website, you want to have, in addition to your longer bio, a short one that, say, Barnes & Noble, or your local cafe, or a podcast, can lift and share, if you do an interview or a book signing. For that same reason, you want to have a picture of yourself, and of your book(s), and the links to all of your social media. Look around my site. You'll see I've included that stuff on my home page.
Your website/blog should not be a constant hammering about your book(s) either. In this age of social media, where people post the most intimate details of their lives on a daily basis, people want to be invested in you, not just your product. If you get them to care about you, they will be more likely to have a vested interested in your success. Yes, as writers, we tend to be introverted, and grit our teeth at the time taken away from writing to actually talk to people. But think about it. What are YOU more likely to respond to: people who spam you with "Buy my book, buy my book!" or someone who's got the same interests and personality as you, whose posts you look forward to reading, because they make you think, or laugh, or whatever, who then says, "Hey, by the way, my book is coming out. It's about (whatever). You should give it a try?
The last thing I'll share, is about managing social media. First off: you do NOT have to have a presence on every freaking platform that exists. But you should have a presence on at least one. Pick the one that you like the most. The panel members I heard speaking all seemed to agree on Instagram and Twitter (in that order) as their favorites. They also happen to be mine. But they also emphasized that whatever your favorite is, is what you should use. If you feel like the platform you're using is painful, it will come off that way. At the very least, it will seem insincere, and more "spammy." And you can use social media manager apps like hootsuite to help you keep from going crazy.
Also, use lots of hashtags on those platforms. It's how people who may have no idea who you are, may be able to find your work. Let's say there are groups of flying saucer enthusiasts, or sci-fi writers, or whatever, who all post pictures and other interesting things to the hashtag #flyingsaucers. And let's further say that you write a book about flying saucers, and write a post about that book that includes #flyingsaucers? Well, guess what? Your post - and the posts of ALL the people who have used that hashtag, will appear together. You're now linked to them. And all of those people will now be able to see your post about your book about a subject that they are passionate about. And anyone not of those groups, who happens to come across one post, then clicks on the hashtag, will suddenly be able to see all of those posts, including yours. See the possibilities? I tested it today: I posted something about my novel on Instagram to #bookstagram, and various horror hashtags. And no longer than 5 minutes passed after I hit post, that someone from France, England, and at least one book group, had liked my post, and/or followed me. Those are people who never would have otherwise known the first thing about me, who will now get my posts, and, if I peak their interest enough, may decide to buy my book.
These are just a few things that you can be doing better to make yourself more visible to potential fans, and more likely to reel them in. Again, as writers, I know the first instinct is to shun anything that isn't about the actual process of writing. But if you want to do this for a living, then you'd better start treating this like the business that it is. Suck it up, and do it! Small steps like these can mean the difference between a successful career, and a failed one!
Peace,
Chris
I attended panels on the writer's track (yep, it's a thing). Writers like Kevin J. Anderson, Sherilyn Kenyon, David B. Coe, Janny Wurtz, and other writers you may recognize, speak about their experiences, give advice, and answer questions from us nobodies, who want to be somebodies (cue Marilyn Manson).
Most of the panels I attended were on marketing/PR (there is a blurry but definable difference: Marketing is designed to get people/companies interested in buying your product, and typically involves buying ads, materials, designing attractive book covers, etc., while Public Relations is generally about communication designed to promote your brand. That's interviews, managing a website/blog, networking, getting beta readers to review your book, stuff like that. This is overly-simplistic - it's all about getting people to buy what you're selling - and as I said, the line blurs on the two. But I think you get the picture), and I learned a few things. Here are a few things you might find useful.
First thing: If you don't have a website, get one. This falls under the heading of "Don't expect your publisher (if you have one) to do much (or any) of the marketing for you. In fact, they typically expect you to have a sales "platform" which includes a website for you to sell yourself, and your product on. Don't make that site the product (i.e., your book). Because, unless you plan on being a one-hit wonder, you're going to write more books, and then you're faced with either completely overhauling your current website, or creating a new one. (Can you imagine if Stephen King or James Patterson had a different website for every book they'd written???) On that website, you want to have, in addition to your longer bio, a short one that, say, Barnes & Noble, or your local cafe, or a podcast, can lift and share, if you do an interview or a book signing. For that same reason, you want to have a picture of yourself, and of your book(s), and the links to all of your social media. Look around my site. You'll see I've included that stuff on my home page.
Your website/blog should not be a constant hammering about your book(s) either. In this age of social media, where people post the most intimate details of their lives on a daily basis, people want to be invested in you, not just your product. If you get them to care about you, they will be more likely to have a vested interested in your success. Yes, as writers, we tend to be introverted, and grit our teeth at the time taken away from writing to actually talk to people. But think about it. What are YOU more likely to respond to: people who spam you with "Buy my book, buy my book!" or someone who's got the same interests and personality as you, whose posts you look forward to reading, because they make you think, or laugh, or whatever, who then says, "Hey, by the way, my book is coming out. It's about (whatever). You should give it a try?
The last thing I'll share, is about managing social media. First off: you do NOT have to have a presence on every freaking platform that exists. But you should have a presence on at least one. Pick the one that you like the most. The panel members I heard speaking all seemed to agree on Instagram and Twitter (in that order) as their favorites. They also happen to be mine. But they also emphasized that whatever your favorite is, is what you should use. If you feel like the platform you're using is painful, it will come off that way. At the very least, it will seem insincere, and more "spammy." And you can use social media manager apps like hootsuite to help you keep from going crazy.
Also, use lots of hashtags on those platforms. It's how people who may have no idea who you are, may be able to find your work. Let's say there are groups of flying saucer enthusiasts, or sci-fi writers, or whatever, who all post pictures and other interesting things to the hashtag #flyingsaucers. And let's further say that you write a book about flying saucers, and write a post about that book that includes #flyingsaucers? Well, guess what? Your post - and the posts of ALL the people who have used that hashtag, will appear together. You're now linked to them. And all of those people will now be able to see your post about your book about a subject that they are passionate about. And anyone not of those groups, who happens to come across one post, then clicks on the hashtag, will suddenly be able to see all of those posts, including yours. See the possibilities? I tested it today: I posted something about my novel on Instagram to #bookstagram, and various horror hashtags. And no longer than 5 minutes passed after I hit post, that someone from France, England, and at least one book group, had liked my post, and/or followed me. Those are people who never would have otherwise known the first thing about me, who will now get my posts, and, if I peak their interest enough, may decide to buy my book.
These are just a few things that you can be doing better to make yourself more visible to potential fans, and more likely to reel them in. Again, as writers, I know the first instinct is to shun anything that isn't about the actual process of writing. But if you want to do this for a living, then you'd better start treating this like the business that it is. Suck it up, and do it! Small steps like these can mean the difference between a successful career, and a failed one!
Peace,
Chris
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