There's a bit of a "discussion" going on at one of the writer's loops I belong to at the moment. By all reports there's been some complaints made to the loop moderators about promotion.
And for me, this issue has spawned an interesting question:
What's your limit for author self-promotion? When do you consider that an author is promoting too much? When does it start to get right up your nostrils?
Well, okay, that was actually three questions, but you know what I'm getting at. I hope.
Those of us who Twitter, will doubtless have seen people insisting that they "unfollow" authors who do nothing but promote their books and their blogs and their contests. Then there's diehard fans who are more than happy to follow authors who use Twitter only for that very purpose.
Me? I follow plenty of authors. And although I respect every author's right to keep it "professional" I do love the ones who give me an insight into their daily lives. Whether it be what they're cooking tonight, what they're watching on TV, what movie they just say or the best line from their current wip that they wrote today. And if you comment on a tweet and they answer you back, that's freaking awesome--I love it!
That's how I like to use Twitter, too. And Facebook. And at this stage of my so-called career, it suits me to let some of the personal stuff flow over onto those public forums. (But if I ever get really really famous, that may well change... LOL. I wish!)
And also at this stage of my so-called career, it's important that I get my name "out there". To that end, I have a website which I post to every couple of weeks and every time I post, an automatic newsletter summarizing the day's posts is sent out to subscribers via Mail Chimp. My subscribers have a choice of receiving a daily summary of posts, or a weekly summary.
And I post here -- obviously! -- once a week, too. And because I whiz up a quick message on my website provide a link back here, my personal subscribers are also informed about my Writers Gone Wild posts in the hope they'll hop over and make a comment. And maybe read other posts and be so awed by my talented fellow Wild Women, that they'll become Writers Gone Wild followers.
I also use Twitter, Facebook and my writing loops to promote my regularly monthly personal website posts and my weekly Writers Gone Wild posts. I post a brief message giving info about the topic, and provide a direct link to the post. That way, if anyone's not interested, they can just exercise that delete key, or in the case of Twitter and Facebook, ignore it entirely and keep on scrolling down the page. But if anyone is interested, then hopefully they'll visit the blog or website and leave a comment.
And what I've noticed is that it does work. I do get fellow tweeters and facebookers and loopies occasionally leaving a comment. It's all about getting traffic to your site, or as I like to think of it, inviting people to pop in for a visit and a chat about what I've written.
But is this too much promotion? Is this truly more likely to piss people off?
If you got a Tweet about this post or a note about it on Facebook page, or an email on your writing loop, (or, if you're following me on Twitter, have friended me on Facebook and belong to one of the email loops I'm on, all of the above--yikes!) would you be really irritated?
Would you consign me to the shameless self-promoter basket?
Or would you shrug and think of me as merely a very new author who's doing what she has to do to build that all important "platform" the agents and editors all consider to be so very vital?
Would love to hear your comments because believe me, now I'm not entirely sure what to think about this issue.
:-)
M
16 comments:
If you didn't self-promote I think as an author, you'd be crazy! - unless you're repeating the same message on the same loop over and over again, that might be OTT =) But I think if twitter or facebook helps to expose the wonderful book we're writing, I'm all for it!
I agree with Mel that if you didn't promote, that would be insane. What you're doing as far as promotion sounds totally within the realm of what's normal and acceptable. I use twitter and facebook to 'announce' on my wall when I'm blogging, etc. but I also use those formats for other non-promo things and my non-promoing (is that word, lol) far outweighs the promo.
I think the problem with some authors over promoting takes place on yahoo loops and that's why I pretty much avoid them now. I don't mind when they promo on their personal spaces b/c I choose to be 'friends' or to 'follow' them so I'm seeking them out and want to know more about their lives. In fact, I expect them to share about their releases, etc. To answer another of your questions, I get annoyed when an author adds me to their mailing list without my permission. That's a guarantee I'll never buy that person.
Sounds like just the right amount of promotion, Maree. I do the same thing. What bothers me on some loops I'm on is that a few people will post only their promotions and then disappear. Not congratulate others on accomplishments or have any other interaction with the group.
You're definitely not overdoing it!!
I'm a fan of authors being interviewed on book blogs - I wouldn't have heard of you otherwise. :)
It doesn't really annoy me too much. If an author on Facebook posts only promo stuff and I'm not interested, I just scroll on by. It is nicer when it's not all about the promo - Susan Elizabeth Phillips often asks questions like what's our weather like right now or what we're having for dinner. Eloisa James posts info about her travels. When I blog, I try to include "non-writer" blogs that include personal stories. I have to mention though, I believe most "promo" is done by writers for other writers, and we're all just running around reading each other's stuff. That's OK too, but I'm not sure how many books that sells!
Great Question.
Like it or not, publishers demand it esp. if you publish in ebook world. Like everything else, an author has to manage his/her time and budget wisely and learn from mistakes.
Best
Nan Arnold
www.nandarnold.com
The only thing that annoys me about authors promoting their works is when they send me messages on MYSPACE that are promo only. Not a personal message. Just a generic, "I have a book out about thus and so on sale now. Check it out." It's spam. I blog about promo stuff and other stuff on my Myspace blog. Readers read it or they don't. But they make a choice to check it out or not. Whereas this other comes directly to a "personal" account. And what's worse is that some authors do this constantly. I see the name, I delete automatically. If they ever send a personal message, which I'm sure they wouldn't, I'll never know because they're just a click away from a spam deletion. :)
Maree, when you find the ideal balance, let me in on the secret! :) Terry, I hear you about authors who constantly spam facebook with promo only messages. One author, I swear, I get a special announcement from her every freakin' day. Drives me nuts, and I don't care what she writes, just the sight of her name annoys me now. :( I know she probably means well, but having our names associated with auto-delete can never be a good thing!
I like to run contests, particularly for my mailing list. That way my actual readers get something back for being so supportive. I have learned, though, to try and make the prizes ones I can email immediately, like gift certificates, critiques, or ebooks, because sometimes the snail mail prizes...well,let's just say life gets insane and...I....forget. :(
Phew! Good to know how you feel - thanks, ladies!
Yep, I think it's all about balance. I have a heap of non-writing friends on Facebook and I'd never presume to blitz them with promo only. How boring would that be? Unfriend unfriend... yeah, I can see it now!
Same with my writing loops. Yeah, I do advise about upcoming stuff, but I'm alwasys in there with comments and ongrats and an "Ooooh oooh!" if there's a discussion going on.
It's like business networking at functions. If all they are there to do is hand you their business card and move on to the next victim, then that's a big fat "Fail!". And guess where that card ends up? File 13 (AKA the rubbish bin)
Finding that right balance is definitely a challenge. I think some authors don't know how to do gentle promotion as opposed to blatant, in-your-face promotion. That's the irritating kind.
It doesn't sound like you're overdoing it to me, Maree. I can tell you one of the things that has helped me the most is John Kremer's tips on promoting using Twitter. I apply those tips to blogging and my Facebook page as well.
Let's face it. If we don't promote our books, they probably wouldn't sell as well. But I don't want to get a constant stream of self-promotion without different news or tidbits of information thrown in, i.e., when I use Twitter, not only do I promote, but I also offer promotional tips, resources, and just general topics for other authors.
One more thing I think is especially important is to congratulate people on their successes (on Twitter and Facebook) so it doesn't seem like you're trying to hog the spotlight. I just try to interact with authors and readers as much as possible. That does keep my name out there without becoming irritating!
When someone gets irritating with their promos I hit delete or just ignore them. After that, it has to be something really special to catch my eye.
Having said that, my debut romance novel, Past Imperfect just went on sale last week at Amazon in print and will soon be on sale on Fictionwise, Barnes & Noble and Amazon as an e-book. Yes, it's a promo, but I also had something to say. Is that kosher? ;0)
JM: LOL! Of course it's kosher *VBG*
Dawn, thanks for your input. Even if I'm waaaay the heck busy, I still make a point of congratulation people on their success - whether it be a contest final, signing with an agent (I can only wish!) or releasing a new title. Not to mention their child just winning a race or getting into the speech finals at school!
As you say, it's all about "interaction" and no-one want's to be subjected to a monologue.
I feel like I'm achieving the right balance. I hope so. Feel free to give me a slap on the wrist if I cross that line!
This is an interesting and timely topic. We all fret about how much to promote, where to promote and does it really work.
Interestingly I attended a workshop at the RWA National Conference that was held by an agent and one of his authors. The topic was on author promotion and what works. The result was direct: write ... write and write more.
The agent discussed some research done that suggest there is no quantitative result that will indicate what book makes the NYT Best Seller List,or if any promotions truly work. It can be argued it is random. This was a lengthy workshop so I'm distilling it down.
The implication was not to do anything, but the basic message is that if your not writing and submitting your not getting published. Which reduces the your chance of success.
Blogging came up in the Q & A, and the agent stated all but one of his authors have reduced their blogging to occasional. The author in attendance said all she does on her blog now is hold contest to build her mailing list and will blog once in awhile.
They did not say you shouldn't promote. The reality is publishers require it, but they were clear find one or two methodologies that work and use them. Throughout the conference, the message was very clear by agents, publishers, editors: WRITE
If you are interested in more details from that particular workshop mail me at lisette.kristensen@yahoo.com
Thanks for stopping by, Lisette. And what you've said is very interesting indeed! I've emailed you privately.
Cheers,
Maree
I wish I could blog without the stress of doing promo. I love to talk about books, themes, characters, whatever. And I certainly don't mind talking about my own books! But it gets weird when I feel like I'm pushing myself on people or interrupting a conversation. I might tweet about my latest release, but I don't send out emails. And I try not to drop the name of my book into every random blog comment, LOL.
Jill, I soooo know what you mean. I have 3 signature lines to choose from for my emails, because I just shudder at the thought of using the one with my title and release date for every single email I send. The same with twitter - I had my book cover as my avatar for a couple of months, but now it's just little old me. I figured people would just get sick of seeing it all the time. Must be that whole Tall Poppy syndrome we suffer from in New Zealand, LOL!
Post a Comment