Tag Archives: social media

Pinterest: A Tool for Writers?

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What do writers need to know about Pinterest?

Pinterest is the fastest growing social media site ever.

Over 65% of users are women (i.e. potential book buyers).

Pinterest users spend more time on the site than Facebook and Twitter combined.

The most common age demographic is 25-34 (25%).

So how can you make Pinterest work for you as a writer?

You don’t have to be on the site. Yes, it’s just another social media tool, but it’s a highly visual one, one that’s growing fast, and one that’s keeping women glued to their computers and driving traffic to purchase items they see. It shouldn’t be seen as merely a promotional tool, because if you approach it that way you’ll be disappointed. It’s for sharing. It’s visual. It’s for you as much as it’s for other people. It’s about like-minded communities.

What do writers ‘pin’ on the page?

Setting: Use the visual opportunities that Pinterest gives you to bring your story to life. (i.e. maps, landscape, buildings)

Characters: Do you have someone in mind that you would ideally cast in the film version of your book?

Videos: You can pin book trailers or author interviews. Continue reading →

Q: Should I have a blog or website or both?

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Should I have a blog or website or both?

Blogs are wonderful tools to engage with your readership, however they can get a bit cluttered when it comes time for book promotion and online marketing. If you are going to keep a blog but no website make sure your headers are easy to spot and access and give it a website feel.

If you can do a website and blog I would highly recommend keeping the aesthetic style similar to show continuity and connection. Also, make sure they link to one another so readers can bounce between the two. Or make one the micro site of other.

No matter what you choose, make sure your pages clearly link to your social media sites and you social media sites send people back to your webpage or blog.  Continue reading →

Did you know you’re already an author brand?

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Are you an author brand?

The minute you publish to Twitter, write your first blog post, or call yourself a writer on Facebook–you’ve started to establish your author brand. As soon as you layer your online identity with posts, pictures and anecdotes they craft a persona in the minds of readers and visitors that you can never fully shake. Your brand should be fluid across your social media sites, website and author bio showing your writing style, genre choice, and personal flair. However, the most difficult thing in marketing is not building a brand (though it’s a close second) but changing people’s opinions about a brand identity that they already know. And repositioning a brand can only come from a place of authenticity.

So how is brand positioning important to writers?

Once you’ve finished your manuscript and decided what your brand is–i.e. what makes you unique–you start to think about how your author brand would position itself with a partner: an agent. This agent already has a brand–the type of authors they represent, their representation style, their reputation with the deals they’ve done–and your best chance at success is pairing yourself with an agent whose brand umbrella you fit under.

Just like a publisher has a brand and their imprints fit snuggly, but uniquely, within it, agents manage their authors based on the brand of their agency and what fits within the areas of what they represent. An agent only takes authors on that they a) want to work with for a career and b) think they can sell, two things that are defined by their existing brand and for which information is available. Continue reading →

Ask the Agent: Your Questions Answered! Part I

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Question from Marc:
There is a lot of contradiction online about the best way to start a query letter. Some say start with an introduction about yourself, others say start with your hook and move bio and reasons for selecting that particular agent to the last paragraph.  What are your thoughts?

Personally, I don’t like the author introduction at the beginning. I prefer it at the end. I firstly want to know about your book (the hook), then a brief synopsis (one paragraph), followed lastly by the author bio. I feel that often writers get so tied up with placing themselves in the work (telling agents their age, their occupation etc.) that it takes away from the primary goal of the query: to get an agent to request more material.

Most importantly: follow agency submission instructions. If you are submitting a query to P.S. Literary please follow our query guidelines.

Question from Jennifer: Continue reading →

Digital strategy, do you have one?

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An agent’s job is changing as rapidly as the publishing industry itself. We’re carving out new territory for our authors and ourselves. The support we give our authors is more complex in recent times and if you didn’t think you needed an agent before you certainly need one now to help you with your online presence, digital strategy for ebooks and otherwise, negotiate tumultuous and evolving contracts, and all the traditional publishing problem solving.

With the limitless abilities to upload content and provide your readers with entertainment I caution against thoughtlessly self publishing. Even while you are pursing a traditional publishing deal and think that will be your main market your self published works reflect on your author brand more than you know.

It is all too easy, and unintentional, to confuse readers and the marketplace with a website that is ineffective as a platform, and self published work that doesn’t support your growing brand. Things like consistent visual identifiers between your blog, social media, website and cover images are the easiest way to create a brand. This being colour, logos, cover images, tag lines and more.

Think of your website as a hub for the spokes of your brand. Continue reading →

Social media style, it says a lot about you

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Are you an observer or a networker? A curator of content or a tastemaker?

Who you are online is part of your brand. The tweets you send out. The Facebook updates you post. All of these attract followers and sometimes your brand is built around you without you knowing.

Think about it: you’re just being you online, but the people that follow your thoughts are attaching themselves to you and these are the people you are projecting your message to when it comes time to promote your book. On Twitter the people you follow aren’t necessarily the people that follow you–so when you’re trying to grow online remember to think about your following and those that are interested in your message. These are the people that are going to buy your book if you market it correctly to them.

The more information you know about your Twitter followers and Facebook friends (i.e. by engaging with them!) the better you can pitch your message and make it successful (i.e. at book promotion time). People want authentic engagement, so bring your followers the relationship building experience and the product they can care about (and buy!).

Continue reading →

How Writers Build Successful Online Communities

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A recurring conversation I have with editors and clients is about the importance of building online communities that engage with fellow writers and readers. I bring this up again and again because writers in the earliest stages of their querying and publication process need to know how to navigate this unchartered territory.

Here are 12 reasons why you need to be captain of your digital ship in a big way:
Manage your own brand

First impressions make the difference between someone clicking the ‘buy’ button and someone navigating away from your site. Websites and blogs need to be: cleanly designed; clearly communicate your name, book, the hook, and sales links; have an up to date author photo; link to social media platforms; and be updated frequently. Do not make the mistake of putting something up just to save your domain name. Make it count. Get a fantastic graphic or website designer and never let them go. Be objective: is this an author site you would buy a book from and/or be inclined to find out more?

Increase discoverability of your work (and thus sales)

With smooth linking between Facebook, Twitter and your website/blog you can seamlessly guide readers from one experience to the other and lead them to buy your book. Clunky navigation and unclear purpose leave visitors confused. Some visitors may overlap between your platforms, but some visitors might be unique to each platform. What information do they each need to know? How will each type of visitor be able to find your book? These are the answers:

  1. Good hook
  2. Great cover photo (when it’s available)
  3. Links to e-commerce sites
  4. Links between your platforms to increase engagement
Meaningful relationships

Unique visitors is one way of measuring online success, however editors and marketers are increasingly interested in the community you’ve build in recurring and engaging visitors. How do you keep your readers coming back? Consistent and frequent posting? Are you known for your writing tips? Find out what is making your visitors come back and grow in that space. In time they’ll feel like they’ve grown with you and this leads to communities that promote via word of mouth and feel like they are championing one of their own.

Fan loyalty

Once you’ve secured your visitors and build that community how to you keep them loyal?

  1. Exclusive content
  2. Cover reveals
  3. Pushing information out yourself rather than have your publisher feed the information to you

Again, this makes readers feel like they are on the inside instead of the outside. Everyone wants to be the first to discover a cool new band, right? Think of how new readers are going to discover and promote you in an indie way.

Virtuous circles of engagement

When you learn to engage your fans, deliver what they want, make them feel included and cross promote in the community this brings in new fans. Reward them with exclusivity, bonus content, and contests.

Understand opportunities

Social media is not for broadcasting, it’s about individuals interacting around content that is meaningful to them.  Never forget that. That should be the biggest take away from this post. Take the opportunities to do guest posts and be open to new platforms because you’ll never know which will take off and which will lead to new opportunities and connections.

Continue reading →