Writers and Social Media
Cultivating an online presence
My children would roll around laughing if they knew I was writing a blog post about using social media. When I first learnt to text, I often used to hit the ‘z’ key instead of the ‘x’ by mistake, frequently giving the impression I’d dropped off to sleep, instead of the string of kisses I’d meant to convey. And I was convinced my son was being unusually affectionate when he put LOL on a text, not realising it meant ‘Laugh out loud’ and not ‘lots of love.’ Clearly, I had a lot to learn.
Before I was first published, my editor recommended I set up a twitter account in order to boost my online presence. I was horrified! Luckily, my tech-savvy husband sorted it out for me, and I gradually learned how it worked. I now have 1500 followers. (Not a lot by some people’s standards but not bad for a luddite!)
To my delight, I’ve discovered that the Twitter community (and Facebook which I also post on as an author) are generally supportive, funny, humble and friendly. It’s been a revelation. I’ve also learned a few ‘rules’ which I will pass on in case they’re useful. The first is, nobody likes a show off! Although it’s fine to post the odd ‘humblebrag’ (‘Pleased and surprised to have won X competition. Good luck to all the other shortlistees’ or similar), people soon tire of those who are constantly referencing their awards/ writing success/ model family etc. Funny, self-deprecating posts work much better. For example, I found a rather strange three star review of my second novel on a site the other day. It read ‘I was expecting a tree story and not a novel.’ Pardon? Luckily the reviewer was anonymous so I feel licensed to quote their comment here. Above a picture of my novel, with the ‘review,’ I wrote ‘That will teach me not to go looking for reviews.’ The post unleashed a whole stream of comments (mainly tree puns) and seemed to keep people amused for quite a while. It was lovely to feel part of a warm community of people, all sharing the joke with me. Much better than boasting about the book (although I did get a sneaky picture in)!
Another rule is to be as supportive of others as you would want them to be of you. In fact, if you are generous and pleasant (without being sycophantic!) and show a polite interest in others, whilst being modest yourself, you can’t go far wrong. I tend to follow those who follow me (as long as they seem genuine). My ‘friends’ are largely from the writing and teaching community, reflecting my two passions.
As I say, I’m no expert but my ‘advice’ comes from observation and experience. If you choose to follow it, you’ll have the added bonus of a lot of new friends – and you might even sell a few books too!