Recently, I announced the release of two books on the same day. One is a novel, written under my pen name. The other, a children’s book, written under my actual name. I anticipated some challenges, but several things caught me off guard. For instance, the sheer amount of time I would devote to social media.
Now, I’m NOT a novice when it comes to social media. In addition to freelance writing, I also do a fair bit of social media marketing for my clients, across several different platforms, using all the handy social media scheduling tools and best practices I’ve learned from hours of research. Great. However, it’s a totally different ball game when you’re self promoting.
When I tweet or post something for a client, I usually toss it into the interwebs and see what sticks. I sometimes reply to others’ comments or questions, but mostly leave that duty in the capable hands of my clients (we want some authentic interaction, right?). However, when I began promoting my own stuff this past week, I felt obligated to reply to (or at least “Like”) every comment someone left about my books. Not only that, I was so overwhelmed with the giddy joy that people were coming out of the woodwork to support my accomplishment, that I spent hours checking my Facebook page, seeing if I had any new Likes or comments. I couldn’t help it. My post reached the levels of “I just had a baby” status and I swelled with pride.
But, I was distracted. I wasted time checking on the progress of one particular post, when I should have been updating my GoodReads profile, scheduling tweets, and working on book launch party preparations. So yes, it was fun to be the star of my social media network for a while, but I wallowed a little too much in my own success. Time to move on, Kate! You’ve got shit to do.
Of course, social media marketing is essential for the modern writer to reach any kind of audience outside of his/her friends and family. With that in mind, my main piece of advice is this: remember your audience. Think about them before you think about yourself. There are only so many times you can say, “Hey, my novel is done!” before it gets as stale as the cereal that falls between the bag and the box (for some reason I always think it’s a good idea to try those trapped cereal flakes when the box is empty. Maybe that’s the whole lesson, isn’t it? Ignore the stale flakes and focus on the fresh stuff!)
In short, it’s been a challenge for me to:
A) Keep up with social media demands (I currently use 7 platforms…just typing that makes me feel exhausted)
B) Remember my social media best practices (I’m dwelling too much on certain posts and completely neglecting other platforms)
C) Simultaneously promote two books at the same time
The next challenge? Updating 3 websites and the various profiles I have on GoodReads, Amazon Author Central, etc. In my next post, I’ll include a checklist to help you update your website and profiles when a major change (like a newly published book) occurs.
Author: KateBitters
Kate Bitters is a Minneapolis-based author and freelance writer. She is the author of Elmer Left, Ten Thousand Lines, and He Found Me. One of her proudest/nerdiest moments was when Neil Gaiman read one of her short stories on stage at the Fitzgerald Theater.
In addition to freelance writing, I also do a fair bit of social media marketing for my clients, across several different platforms, using all the handy social media scheduling tools and best practices I've learned from hours of research. buy mixcloud plays
The other, a children's book, written under my actual name. I anticipated some challenges, but several things caught me off guard. For instance, the sheer amount of time I would devote to social media.
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