Social Media is a huge part of promoting! Yeah – whatever! #amwriting

You
must get involved in Social media!!

I know most of you have been told this so often
that you’re stomach churns every time someone tries to stick it down your
throat. Things like: learn to tweet. Join Facebook. Goodreads is important.
LinkedIn is growing. Pinterest is now #3 in the continually changing Social
Media list. Instagram, Tsu, Triberr, and on and on…

If you’re a person who is writing, or who has written a book and
been a part of this industry for any amount of time, then I am absolutely certain that you’ve heard this ad
nauseam.

And if you’ve ignored the rhetoric–stop
fooling yourself.

You’re not ever going to be successful as a writer.

Now, I didn’t say you couldn’t be an author. Let’s
face it, any person who writes a book can call themselves an author. But… if
you want monetary success (and understand one thing – this is a business), then
you have to play by today’s rules.

Even traditional publishers nowadays will want to
know what you’ve been doing to brand yourself. What kind of a website you run
and if you have a blog following. They’ve accepted that e-books are a huge part
of sales and the only way for e-books to be seen is by those who are out there
shoving them in front of the people who buy online. Those publishers might be
willing to take a chance on an unknown who has a good book, if… they already have a
powerful social presence and a good selling platform.

And…in case you don’t “get” it, if used correctly, social
media can and will help you to sell your product. But, there’s a problem.
Online, everyone is competing against each other for attention. It’s all about
“Yah-hoo!! Look at me! See MY book!
Buy me!” And many buyers are sick of it. In lots of cases, they’ve stopped
paying attention. So what does one do?

I’ll tell you what I think (correction – it’s what I
know). And this might be the best advice I have ever shared with you. Our readers
have become more and more interested in the person who wrote the story. I’m not
saying every single buyer wants to know all about the writer, but a lot the
people who will support you through thick and thin, the ones who wait anxiously
for your next book, they’re the people you can constantly rely on. And they do
care. About you. They’re the ones who still sell your books in the
old-fashioned method that has always worked – through word of mouth.

The only way I know of touching these people is not
in groups, it’s person to person, one or two at a time. And this can take
years. As you publish each new book, your audience will grow. Think of stones
being thrown into a pool. The first is a tiny pebble and makes a small impact.
But with each one you release, they become bigger and heavier until they’re large
rocks that make a huge splash. Could take ten books, maybe twenty but as your
readership grows, the impact does also.

Now you might say to yourself…where do I find these
new friends?   

Aha! I know!!
I know!!  

You got it!! On Social Media….

My second bit of advice is – do not wait until the book is finished. Until the time is perfect,
you have a free month, you join a new group, your hair is longer….whatever?!
Truthfully, the smarter newbies today have a huge platform of friends and
followers all waiting anxiously for that first book. Those wonderful supporters
will be much gentler than the masses and will stick with you as you grow
stronger and become a better writer. So… find these people—now!

NOW!