Not so very long ago, my husband joined the wide world of Twitter. He follows a total of ten people and basically just tweets about Streak for the Cash. A few weeks ago we were talking and he said, “Most people just retweet other people. I like when people tweet funny things about their life.”
“Do you read any of my tweets?” I asked.
“They’re usually about your book.”
Uh-oh…
Then the next day, I read Jody Hedlund’s blog post titled Social Media Pet Peeves (I highly recommend).
Social media pet peeve #7 was using social media only for the purpose of promotion.
Social media pet peeve # 10 was making social media all about ourselves.
It felt like a double uh-oh.
I was paranoid.
In fact, before my husband said what he said and before Jody posted what she posted, I was already paranoid.
Because my debut novel had just released.
And let me tell you, I have amazing, amazing, amazing, supportive, supportive, supportive online friends. Many were either interviewing me on their blogs, inviting me to write a guest post, reviewing my book, or hosting a giveaway. All to help me spread the word and create a buzz.
I wanted the people who so graciously hosted me on their blog to be rewarded with some extra traffic.
Which meant I was sending out a lot of tweets and Facebook updates about my books or my interviews.
I wanted to promote these posts as a way to show my appreciation to those who were supporting me.
But I also didn’t want to clog people’s Twitter/Facebook streams with me, me, me.
It felt like a big fat catch-22.
I even said so in the comment section on Jody’s blog.
And she quickly replied in her very wise, encouraging, Jody-like way, assuring me that I wasn’t alone. That this is a common struggle.
She concluded by saying, “You’ve been on your SM’s chatting, building relationships, and giving to others long before the release of your book. So now that your book is here, we’re all excited for you and want to support you….around the release of a book, we WILL be sharing more about our books. It just can’t be all we do.”
And there we have it.
Two really BIG takeaways.
Relationship is Key
And relationships take time. If we jump onto Twitter a couple weeks before our book releases and start tweeting interviews and blog posts and reviews, we’ll most likely elicit a bunch of eye rolls.
Not so if we jump into the pools of social media early-on with the goal of connecting and building relationships (instead of promotion).
I’ve met a lot of really awesome people through Twitter and Facebook. People who have been beyond supportive and encouraging during a time that I’ve needed the support and encouragement. These friends understand that I don’t usually tweet so much about my book. And they understand this is a unique season in my life.
Mix it Up
It’s so easy, in the whirlwind that surrounds a book’s release, to turn into a social media-bot. Conversation and connection get lost in our attempt to stay on top of everything. Especially since we know the people we’ve built relationships will understand.
But what about our new followers? Like my husband.
Even though I’ve been on Twitter and Facebook for a long time and am not generally so self-focused, my new followers won’t know that.
My husband’s innocent comment was a big reminder that while sharing about our books is good and expected, it can’t be ALL we do.
Otherwise, as Jill Kemerer says in a blog post titled Fewer Gimmicks, Please! we’ll come across as….well….gimmicky.
Let’s Talk: What tips do you have for authors who aren’t sure how much is “too much” when it comes to promotion?
Hop on over to Jeanette Levellie’s blog and say hi! She’s giving away a copy of my debut, Wildflowers from Winter!
Really enjoyed reading all your comments, ladies! Thanks so much for the encouraging words!
So true. I tried to vary my posts on FB so that every “writing me” post is surrounded by other posts about family, thoughts, chocolate…*grin*
You’re not alone! And I haven’t noticed you being too self-focused, so no worries. 🙂
Well, there is much to think about when entering the social media fray. I’m not on Twitter much but when I go there I’m looking mostly for hook-ups to writing blogs. And I like to read the funny stuff. Not having anything to promote, I Tweet to encourage, to share someone else’s blog or book, and to share a few of life’s “Huh? Really?” moments. (For me, my best guess is that Social Media will always be about Relationships.)
You seem to have a very good balance going, Katie. Enjoy Living Your Dream!!!
Katie:
You are such an encourager — and you are so honest about what all writers face as we walk the writing road: how to do this stuff and do it well.
And don’t you just love Jody Hedlund? She’s so wise — and so willing to help and encourage other writers!
Wise thoughts. Definitely ones that keeps me anxious about being on social media. I try to not send out a lot of tweets about my jewelry for fear of doing being pushy as well. I agree w/ Jody’s pet peeves on my end as well. But for someone who has been following someone like you for quite a while now, I can agree, I love seeing you all over the place!! So keep sending those tweets once in a while (I love the ones about B-Man. ;-)) and I’ll keep retweeting. 😀
Thanks for this honest post, Katie! I think it would be a struggle around a book release, but it seems like you have a good balance. As usual, I learn so much from your experience. Thanks for sharing!
I find one great thing about U Katie is when I have tweeted u, you respond back. Most people do not. It make someone feel Good when someone will reply to them or retweet. You seem to be a real, down to earth and a nice person. You are teaching this new- be a lot! 🙂
Love that we both posted about social media today. 🙂 Great minds and all… or we just have the same brain.
***I must state that I wrote this comment after driving to Maine and back after spending the night in a lousy bed at my friend’s house****
AND I have van-lag..
I find one of the best ways to promote one’s own work and up-up-up-way-up-super-long way from now-coming book is to send chocolate and books to people in countries that are directly south of mine. That’s right, all the great authors send food. And packages with snakes on them.
OH MY, I was tired when I wrote that!!
I KNOW that the struggle for me will be to balance humility and gratitude with the expectation of “putting it all out there”, as WPM said.
I am about as demure and humble as a neon sign in Las Vegas.
I have a feeling that God will hold back publication of any of my work until I approach things with sore knees from praying and a voice hoarse from giving Him the glory.
Actaully, I know this.
Katie, I started following you a couple months before your book release and I never once thought you were gimmicky or all me, me, me! On the contrary, I feel like I’ve gotten to know you in these past few months and I’ve been very aware of how busy you are promoting your book and planning your adoption. Even through all that, you’ve been kind and welcoming and I was blown away when you tweeted anout my Wildflowers from Winter blog post. You have so much going on right now and you’ve impressed me a great deal. Part of the journey to publication is watching other authors handle the stress and responsibilities of a new release and you’ve done it with grace and humility. Great job!
I would agree with what others have said, Katie…I think you DO have good balance. I think you’ve steadily built relationships and invested in others through social media. AND…dude, when a book comes out, especially your debut novel, I think people will totally get the excitement, the desire and need to promote, and they’ll enjoy the ride with you through Tweets/FB/etc.
Loved this, Katie. And like I’m Wendy, I’m trying to absorb what everyone is saying and pray when it’s my go-round, I’ll have some kind of handle on it. Doubt I will. LOL
I think it’s okay because your book just came out! It makes complete sense. I wouldn’t expect anything else from someone who has some big important news like that. Now if a year from now if someone is still tweeting about their year-old book debut, then that might seem a bit excessive, LoL.
Katie, I think you’ve done a great job of supporting OTHER authors as you guest post on their blogs. And you’re great to RT, etc. I’ve never, EVER perceived you as self-serving on twitter…the ones I do perceive that way are the ones who regularly post the EXACT SAME thing about their books. And nothing else. That gets boring fast. But new things about the same book, or personal thoughts on posts, those are interesting. Don’t worry about it. I’ve kind of twitter-ed out, but I know I have to stay somewhat active to maintain a twitter presence. I do like sharing links to interesting/thought-provoking blogposts, though, but I agree w/your hubby–I love the posts that are glimpses into people’s lives (“the lilacs are heavy today…”–that sort of stuff).
Love your honesty, as always, Katie. I can definitely see how this would be a struggle. Maybe if an author with a book releasing is conscious about mixing in tweets about life in general, or funny little things, it would help. But I still think people on Twitter can see a difference between the interview and giveaway retweets and those horrible tweets that a lot of authors (usually self-pubbed, since they have to market themselves without any other help) have where lots of the words are capped and it DOES appear…well…gimmicky. 😉
No tips. Just learning and taking it all in for when I have to put it all out. 😀
I can see how it becomes a struggle. I just pray I stay close to God when my time comes. That seems to help everything.
~ Wendy
I love your way with words, Wendy. You can say a great deal with a minimum amount of syllables.
Wanna edit my MS? 😉