Why Writers Should be on Social Media and Tips to Grow a Following
The Ugly Truth about Social Media for Writers
I’ll cut to the chase; if you want to get published, you must have a social media following*. This is true whether you’re seeking the traditional path to publication, or you plan to self-publish. (Sure, you can self-publish without an online presence, but you won’t sell many books.)
Why?
The book-selling business is a tough business. Publishing companies make the bulk of their revenue from big name authors who will draw in ready buyers.
Working with a small or debut author who has little to no social media following (aka no ready buyers) is a financial risk for the publisher, a risk they are less and less willing to take.
It used to be, agents and publishing house editors would say they don’t take social media numbers into consideration when thinking about signing an author. But now, almost all the ones I’m hearing from lately say if they’re interested in a manuscript they’ve received, before they make contact with the writer, they check their online presence. If there is no social media following for that person, they pass on the manuscript.
The sad truth is the art of writing is coupled with the business of writing. Even if an agent and publishing house editor LOVE your story, they have to get approval for taking it on from the publishing house sales team.
Your manuscript full of beautiful words sits in a meeting and is turned into a pile of numbers, which will hopefully balance in your favor. Your social media following can help tip the scales for you.
Let’s say, you make it past the barrier and get signed with a Big 5 company. Woohoo, congrats! You’ve passed the first hurdle. But now there is extra pressure on you to perform. If your book doesn’t earn enough to pay back the advance you received when you signed your contract, that same sales team uses those numbers against you when your next book is up for debate. The scales will tip against you.
But won’t the publishing company market my book so it sells?
Kind of.
The amount of money publishing companies allocate for marketing small and debut authors is very minimal. It costs thousands of dollars for them just to place your book on an endcap or center table of a bookstore. The bulk of their marketing budget goes to the celebrity authors. It’s really up to you to get the word out about your book and how awesome it is in order to build buzz around it and sell copies.
So what are we non-influencers to do?
You have a couple of options.
Remember when I said at the beginning that you must have a social media following? The point is that you can reach lots of people quickly with the news of your awesome book being for sale and build pre-launch excitement for it. If you have a way to do this in person, then your social media numbers are not as important. Most of us don’t have a way to reach thousands of people through an in-person network, so we’re stuck with option two.
Start, or revive, a social media channel.
But I don’t want to dance on Tik-Tok.
You don’t have to.
You can create a following in an authentic enjoyable way.
NB: I am not an expert on social media. But I have been talking to publicists and professional social media managers lately, and here’s what I’ve learned.
Tips to help grow your social media following.
1. Make a realistic plan that you will stick to. This means pick one platform to grow a following on and make it a platform you already understand and enjoy spending time on.
2. Keep it simple. Don’t create an intense posting schedule for yourself that you don’t have the time or energy to maintain.
3. Find your people and make it about them, not you. We get on social media to be entertained, inspired, or informed, and to find connection with like-minded people. Who are your readers? What do they enjoy? A reader who enjoys high fantasy will be engaging with different content than a reader who wants biographies and memoirs. Make your social media channel match the book you’re working on by creating content that matches the vibe of your book.
4. Post things that you enjoy seeing. Maybe that’s book reviews of other books in your genre or “day in the life” pics and videos (videos perform better) of authors you admire.
5. Don’t exhaust yourself trying to go viral. You’ll likely get disappointed and burn out quickly. Besides, followers from a viral video aren’t always your actual target readers, so they might follow you, but if your content doesn’t match what they’re looking for, they won’t engage with your account. In turn, your low-engagement account will be suppressed by the algorithm, making it harder for you to find more followers. Slow and steady growth gaining followers who actually are interested in (and engage with) your content will serve you much better.
6. Connect with the community. Follow and engage with other writers and readers of your genre. Make meaningful comments on their posts that you find interesting. Share their content in a spirit of generosity, not competition. Pay attention to what others are posting that grabs your attention and use that for inspiration for your own posts.
7. Be yourself. You can protect your privacy while still being open with your followers. People love to see that other people are human and have flaws and struggles just like them. Open your world up a little bit and share your journey as a writer.
8. Use your pets to your advantage. People love animals. If you have a pet (or you’re a birder) take pictures of them to share once in a while.
Keep in mind, social media is just one piece of the puzzle. Getting followers to become email subscribers is the ultimate goal. (So you don’t run the risk of losing connection to your target readers if something happens with that social media platform.) But that is another topic for another blog post.
I’m trying to take my own advice with my new Instagram (my favorite platform) page to connect with target readers of my WIP. If you’re a fan of YA fairytale retellings come connect with me @grimmandgothictales. And if that’s not your genre of choice, you can also connect with me on my general bookish page @tiffinysbookshelf.