Which came first: the chicken or the egg writer or the audience?
by Alicia Tonne, Editorial Assistant at Henery Press
With the world adapting to social media, writers and publishers have to be flexible and shift to a global reader-market to create traction for their work. What does this mean?
It means network, network, network. For all the writers out there (published or not) you need to be building a fan-base. Now. No, really, like, now.
Where to start?
- Connect to other authors
- Connect to publishers looking for witty writers (i.e. YOU)
- Most importantly, connect to readers who are looking for what your selling (even if you’re not technically selling yet)
So you say you write YA mystery with various horror elements. Find fifty readers who love just that. Then entertain them with your daily musings and writing process. In this age, people are the product. If your audience likes what they see through your blog, Facebook, or twitter, chances are they’ll like your book once you publish.
If a publisher must choose between two equal manuscripts, one whose author has an established 1000+ social following and another whose author’s media presence cannot be found, well then, the publisher will choose the first.
You know what I do after I’ve read about three to five chapters of a new submission? I Google the author (praise Google). I look for anything I can find– and can I even find them? What have they accomplished in their writing career? What do they show on their home page? Do they have a home page at all? This quick peek lets me evaluate the whole package. You’re not just selling one manuscript, you’re selling you as an author.
Writing, revising, polishing your novel is top priority. But top does not mean only. Comma usage and character development are but two of the activities a writer must do before getting published. You also need to make yourself known. It takes effort and time; hard work in a community of millions where your voice must call out to garner attention. However, we promise the payoff is worth it.
This is a new world. Diligently building an audience can now come before your book is published. Turns out, it’s never too early (but may be too late) to start gathering affection from loyal followers. An audience that will quite literally follow you past the first page and all the way from a starting point of, “So, I started writing chapter one today…”
Alicia, this is fantastic. Gone are the days when writers can hunker down in seclusion with a jar of ink and some paper. Like it or not, today’s aspiring author must be active in social media, with a strong web presence. You’ve done a great job with bringing this issue to light. (and what, exactly, would we do without Google?)
Thanks, Anna! Yes, writers can no longer stick to their caves — they must come out and be social. (Even though it might be scary). More scary is imagining the world without Google…
This is a fantastic post, informative yet optimistic. Thanks!
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Great post! It’s true, there are so many (too many?) opportunities for social media networking these days. I think it’s important for authors to do what feels comfortable and not try to do everything. That makes it feel more like fun and less like a burden (but not too much fun, or said author will end up missing her deadlines!).
That is such a good point. We definitely have to find out what works for us! Trying to do too much might be just as unproductive as doing nothing. Writers should explore other social media avenues, but maybe only make use of one or two. It may not always be fun, but it’s part of a writer’s job to stay connected. (And yet also not take up too much time so you’re no longer actually writing, like you said.) Thanks, Diane!
Great post! Very true and as someone that enjoys her writing cave, interacting through social media allows you to network in yoga pants. You can meet people and not worry about spinach in your teeth.
Haha! Thanks, Larissa! Yes, this is a part of the job you can do in your yoga pants and not worry about the spinach in your teeth.
I agree with Larissa! Witness, I’ve been interviewed and promoted all over the Interwebz this morning, and I’m sitting here drinking coffee in my VS sweatpants and a tee-shirt.
Great post, Alicia!
*clicks back to Facebook*