What Authors Must Do in 2018 (Besides Writing)

In a 2016 blog post, I wrote : “I’m not totally sure, but I think Ernest Hemingway would consider himself fortunate for dying before it became a requirement for every author to have a website, and to blog, and to post regularly on social media sites like Facebook.

Returning to fiction writing (after twenty years away) has been quite an eye-opener. You must have a website, they said. An agent won’t even glance at your manuscript if you don’t have a website. Oh, and way before anyone accepts your book for publication, you’ll need to build an audience by blogging on the website, and posting on social media.“

What Authors Must Do

The blog was titled I. Need. To. Do. What?  Today, I have an update on how it’s all working out for me. Selected snippets from the original blog are below in italics. The original blog in December 2016 started with the thrill over a new iphone after I finally ditched my well-worn flip-top phone (does anyone even remember what those looked like?)

First, A Smartphone

2016 Blog: I took my first photos with my new phone after cajoling hubby to take a walk with me. I discovered I could immediately send them out as emails or messages. So, I sent one to our son, Dan, with a text: “Got new iphone. Taking your father for a walk.” He texted right back:

“On the leash? Off the leash? What’s the law in Florida?”

2018 Update: The ability to take my own photos on my cell phone is invaluable. Not that I take the greatest photos in the world, but my own photos provide the images for most of my blogs. Rather than using generics, I’ve been able to illustrate events I’ve attended like the Palm Beach Book Festival and Writers Group lunches.

I also use my iphone when I go on trips to research locations for my new thriller, Book 3. I did it last summer on a boat ride around Peconic Bay, and later in the year when I started working on edits and revisions for Book3.

Next, A Website

2016 Blog : I enlisted the help of a very smart, tech-savvy friend who procured a domain name (mine); and had the site up and running in no time. All I had to do was choose a theme, choose an image for my Welcome page, write a Welcome page, create a posts page, write the headers… Help!

No problem. Google and WordPress between them have the answers to any question a newbie might have: How do I move my widgets? What are widgets?  How do I get photos from my iphone onto my website? What’s SEO? What shall I blog about?

2018 Update: Suffice it to say, I mastered the basics a long time ago. Nor is it difficult for me to write a blog once a week. And, by blogging just once a week, I have achieved my original objective which is Google recognition by Google’s “spiders.”

In other words, any agent or editor who googles my name to find out more about me (and apparently that is what agents and editors do) will find out immediately that I have been writing all my life (see photo of my Google page.) They will instantly know that I’ve written two traditionally published novels; that I write a blog; they will be able to read the first three lines of my latest blog; they can click onto my Twitter account, and look at blogs which I have written for Medium.

I am also building a small (but, hopefully, “engaged”) following — which is a lovely bonus. It is said by experts on blogging that it takes several years to build numbers of subscribers, and that only 1-2% of your readers will engage on your blog either by commenting, clicking on the “Like” button, or subscribing. By my reckoning, I’m doing okay.

Tackling Social Media

2016 Blog: I was hesitant about jumping into social media. Specifically, I was wary  of opening an account on Facebook. I had read too many articles about it. None of them had anything much good to say about the site at the time. But Goodreads, the Amazon-owned website for book lovers, readers and authors seemed like a sensible place to start.

The website had already established an author page for me years before because of my two published thrillers. All I had to do was claim it as mine to start joining groups, posting book reviews, engaging with readers, making “friends” and picking up “followers.” Last I looked, I had 35 “friends” and 12 followers — most of them indie authors who are looking to build audiences of their own for their own writings!

2018 Update: I am happier than ever, given all the recent bad news about Facebook, that I never opened an account with that social media giant.  I enjoy Goodreads because most everyone with a GR account is a book lover. I have gotten my best information about new books in my favorite genres from this site, and have enjoyed contributing reviews and comments which are shared on the site.

Today, my friends number 53, and I have 25 followers. It’s a small enough number that I feel I know most of them and their book preferences quite well. I’m also pretty sure I could add to both categories if I contributed more frequently to the site, but it’s difficult to keep all the balls in the air when you’re still working on your WIP.

Yikes! I’m On Twitter

2016 Blog : And, then suddenly I got thrown into the deep end. My son, visiting for Thanksgiving, told me opening a Twitter account was easy. “Here, I’ll show you Mom,” he said, and suddenly there I was with a “handle”: @authorjoannaelm and my photo — actually a photo of a drawing of myself from 20 years back when I still smoked, but looked cool doing it.  (Didn’t I??) 

 

2018 Update: I like Twitter. Even with doubling the original characters limit to 280 characters a tweet, nobody gets too wordy. I also like the retweeting feature that allows you to retweet an article or tweet adding a comment of your own.

I have about 220 followers on Twitter at the moment. Numbers tend to drop off when those who follow you discover you’re not following them back (especially if they are bots!) I also find Twitter very useful for authors since links in one’s Twitter feed often access great articles on the craft of writing and publishing, and making connections on Twitter sometimes leads to more exposure.

After retweeting and regularly commenting on one of my favorite websites, writingandwellness.com, Colleen M. Story, invited me to be a featured writer on the website. As of today, my featured writer interview on Colleen’s website has been viewed 783 times — which, to be honest, is more pageviews than my blog gets in a month.

But that’s okay. It’s been a steep learning curve. Coming to grips with websites and blogs and social media, and learning what works and what doesn’t is all part of the brave new world of publishing. And, it’s all a far cry from the days when John Steinbeck was able to tell his publisher: “I’ll write it, you sell it.”

 

If you liked this post, please either click on the Like button (and prove me wrong about the 1-2% engagement stats,) or share it through email, or on your Twitter account.