Do Writers Need Social Media?

Yes, writers need social media.

There's been quite a few posts and articles on the web abut social media and the publishing industry. Here's a good one from the NY Observer.

While it sounds grand in the vast scheme of things, how does it work in the real world? Meaning yours.

I discovered Diaryland early 2002 and used it as an online diary. "Hey, here's what's going on with me." I was writing, but not yet published.

Then came Xanga through the youth at church. I joined to keep up with them and to journal. By then the term "blog" was becoming vogue.

I moved to MySpace when the kids abandoned Xanga for a new cyber hangout. My first book release with Thomas Nelson was about to hit the stores and I thought, "What if I use MySpace to get the word out?"

I spent free time making friends, even bought a program to add friends.

Little by little, other authors were joining MySpace.

Meanwhile, I'd put up a web site and blogged there because I enjoy blogging. And one of the things I love about reading is discovering the life behind the author. I don't want to know their favorite breakfast jam, but I discovering how they wrote the book and why fascinated me. Still does.

We live in a voyeuristic society. People are used to looking behind the "camera" to discover more about the people they enjoy.

Plus, I was a new author swimming in a really big ocean of authors. How could I appeal to readers who have a lot of great books to choose from?

As I discovered more social media sites, I joined. Shoutlife. MyCCM, Facebook, Tumblr, BeenUp2, and my all time fav, Twitter.

As a member of a writer's community, I've been in several discussions about "to blog or not to blog," or "to Twitter or not to Twitter."

Between the thoughts of Thomas Nelson CEO, Michael Hyatt, and other editors and publishing marketers, the real answer is simple: Do it.

One of the questions asked is, "Isn't my time spent better writing a great book?" Yes, please, write a great book. But in today's cyber climate where 19-year-old fantasy writers are blowing away the publishing world, the competition is stiff.

You're going to have to dig deep, find the part of yourself you can share with the cyber world and join this social and media phenomenon. There'll be a day when we can't remember NOT being on the web.

I've gained readers due to my efforts with Twittering and Facebook.

So, here's some practical advice to building a social media network.

1. Start slow. If you do too much at once, you'll get overwhelmed. One of my Weight Watcher's instructors says she lost ninety lbs five lbs at a time. To this day if someone says, "How much weight did you lose, she says, "Five pounds."

The idea of losing ninty seemed impossible. So she worked with smaller, more managable goals. Use the same approach for social meida.

2. Decide what you can do first. Choose the most effective tools. But start with a web site and blog.

Brainstorm with your family, editor, agent, writing buddies on how to blog. What is the part of you that fits well for others to discover? I personally love to share insights from the Lord or my day-to-day life. My blog is eclectic. It works for me. Do what works for you.

3. Join Twitter and have your updates write to Facebook. There are tools like Tweetdeck and Tweetlater that allows you to set up tweets in advance and to follow favorite friends so you don't feel overwhelmed.

Spend a few minutes every day adding friends. If you have teens... ;) Hear what I'm whispering on that one.

4. As you have time, add other sites like MySpace and Shoutlife. I do highly recommend Shoutlife for the CBA author.

5. Choose a day a month or so to look for new social media outlets. Update your sites -- add and change information.

Your publisher has limited $$ to spend on promotion and marketing. And they have to spread that over many authors. The more you do to help spread the word about you and your work, the more you'll succeed.

On Twitter for example, a "friend" will post to me, "@rachelhauck, Loved your book. I'm a fan!" Now my friends as well as theirs see this endorsement. Wouldn't you be curious about an author who inticed your friend? I would.

Remember the shampoo commericial from the '70s? "They'll tell two friends and they'll tell two friends, and so on and so on."

That's the core concept of social media. Look, we can all hope for a spot on Oprah, but really, do we want to give so much power to one woman? I hope not.

So dip your toe in the social media pool. The water is just fine!

Angela Hunt's "The Face"

Please welcome friend and fab author Angela Hunt! She has another very exciting release. I so admire her work and intellect!

The Face by Angela Hunt.
from Mira

Compelling characterization is the driving force behind this enthralling story of hope . . . Hunt (The Elevator) fuels the completely engrossing story with dual present-tense narration by the two women. Readers are drawn into their lives, sharing their joy and fear as they approach a fulfilling and surprising climax. A touch of suspense adds to the powerful themes of second chances and new beginnings. (Nov.) --Publishers Weekly

Publisher's Weekly Interview with Angela Hunt about THE FACE:

--Sarah Sims, the main character is a victim of Treacher-Collins syndrome, a rare disease that causes severe facial defects. Sarah literally has no discernible face. Her disease is a vehicle for plot development. Did you have any personal connection with this disease or specific reasons for highlighting it in your novel?

Last year I watched a special on the Discovery Channel about a real little girl born with Treacher-Collins. She's still preschool age, but I was so touched by her plight and all she has had to go through to have a functioning face. A novelist naturally asks, "What if?" and so I found myself wondering what might happen if someone like this young girl had the same condition . . . and the story bloomed in my head. I'm also fascinated by the power of beauty, so the story gave me an opportunity to juxtapose the two conditions--beauty and facelessness.

--Like your last novel, The Elevator, The Face is also written in alternating perspectives and in the present tense. Most novels use third person or an omniscient narrator, and this choice is definitely unconventional. How do you feel that adds to the story and/or the reader’s enjoyment of the book?

I like present tense because it adds an immediacy to the story--plus, unlike a past tense narrator who obviously survived to tell the tale, you're never quite sure if the present tense narrator is going to make it through. I struggled a long time with the question of protagonist--was it Sarah's story or Renee's? And then I realized the story belongs to both of them.

--The title, The Face, represents more than just what the main character lacks. Faces are revealed and discovered through the course of the story. Why the significance on faces?

Studies have shown that not only do our facial expressions reveal our emotions, but our emotions can be ignited by our facial expressions. In order to be fully human, Sarah not only had to learn how to communicate through a face, but to feel the emotions her face could convey. On a deeper level, her new face represents an emotional and spiritual rebirth. Because she receives a new face, she receives a new future and a new life.

--Because she has been isolated on an island all her life, and her contact with people has been extremely limited, Sarah has turned to old movies for her understanding of situations and emotions of the real world. Her idea of reality is based on things she has seen on the screen. Why movies and not books, or music?

I like movies, old or new. I knew Sarah would want to know about the world outside her cloistered life, and movies were the most direct way for her to visualize things she could never see. By watching films, Sarah thinks she knows the world. She doesn't realize that movies are only an imitation of life.

--There is a fair amount of research that went into this novel, from CIA protocol to extreme medical procedures, all of which seem a bit fantastic but are ultimately true. How important is it to blend fact into your fiction and what does that do for the overall quality of the story? Is research fun for you?

I cut my teeth writing nonfiction and I suffer from rabid curiosity so yes, research is fun for me. Why make something up if it really exists? So I do as much research as I can and travel whenever possible. I spent a week in the Amazon jungle to research one novel, and I visited the Spanish coast for The Face. When I saw an old monastery on an island off the coast of Spain, I knew I'd found the location for Sarah's fortress.

--What comes first for you, building the characters or building the story?
I work with four elements to build a story: plot concept, character, setting, and theme. The plot concept usually shows up first, then the other pieces either fall into line . . . . or I give them a shove.

Thanks Angie for stopping by! I pray great success for you and this book!