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Is Social Media a Waste for Time for Authors?

2/16/2013

15 Comments

 
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Mary W. Walters published an interesting post on her website (The Militant Writer) entitled: Promoting your Book on Facebook and Twitter is a Total Waste of Time. In a nutshell she states that Twitter and Facebook are not effective insofar as selling books is concerned, and that writers are better off employing their time writing or engaging in other promotional activities. In the comment section to the post and in the comments on other blogs that made a reference to this post, several people agreed with the premise, stating they had found exactly the same thing. However, some stated that they were selling books through Twitter and Facebook just fine, and if a writer is not selling books successfully using social media then they are doing something wrong. To this others replied that every time social media doesn’t work the apologists blame the user instead of accepting the truth that social media is a bust.

I am no stranger to feeling that social media doesn’t work. The sales of my book The Sun Zebra are lousy despite the fact that it is a highly rated book and that my social media reach and performance has been growing. Should I accept this reality and quit Twitter, Facebook and other sites that take substantial time away from my writing, or am I doing something wrong? As it turns out I think the latter is true. I believe that most writers like me are indeed doing something wrong.

What are the majority of my blog posts about? Writing! Who are the majority of my subscribers in Facebook and Twitter? Writers! And the thing is that this is normal. Writers are fascinated by the process of writing and publishing and we are interested in helping our fellow authors and exchanging information and ideas. But here is the issue: the vast majority of readers don’t care for that. Readers are interested in reading and they use social media not to look for new books to read but to be social.

Some argue that writers are also readers, but the flaw in this argument is that you cannot achieve high sales figures based on other writers buying your books. For one, most writers expect you to reciprocate the favor. To sell 10,000 copies of your book you cannot buy and read 10,000 books. Also most writers, beside a day job and family responsibilities, are very busy, well, writing. Joe Konrath has remarked that it is readers not writers, who buy his books. To this some may raise the counterargument of synergism. If you have 30 writer friends who write blogs, having your book featured in their blog is an asset. But this depends. If those 30 blogs are also about writing and thus only read by other writers, then the impact is minimal.

So I think in the future I will make an effort to diversify away from writing about writing and to befriend more readers in my social media accounts. Also when push comes to shove the best promotional tool a writer can have is many books, so maybe we should all heed the Joe Konrath’s advice “stop reading blogs and get back to work,” which of course includes this one.

But just in case you wish to linger a little, just for today, I am going to ask for your opinion.

What do you think?

                                     ***
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15 Comments
A. E. Poynor link
2/18/2013 03:25:18 am

I think you hit the nail on the head in stating most writers on Twitter are followed, and follow, other writers. As much as I would like to read every book promoted by those I follow, the fact is I don't have the time and money. I also believe social media is a tremendous time consumer, but I found your blog through it as well as others that contain useful information. (BTW I hope you don't move entirely away from blogging about writing.) I'm still too new to the Twitter thing to tell if it's going to be worth the lost production time, but FB has helped my sales, in my opinion; not necessarily from my own posts, but through shares by friends.

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Rolando link
2/18/2013 10:46:53 am

Thanks for your comment. It's a matter of experimenting. I will still write post about writing, but I need to diversify more into to other stuff with broader appeal. Just what, I don't know. But that is what being eclectic is about!

Reply
Jeri link
2/18/2013 12:21:17 pm

Another issue that's been on my mind, well since, the very beginning of my blog. I've done posts here and there about writing or how to build a platform using various bits of social media, but there are SO MANY blog posts that already do just that! I'm aiming to be more reader friendly, which my book reviews and author interviews help, but it's not enough. Then I wonder if I started to incorporate tid-bits (not necessarily reviews) on poems and essays that I like, if people would think me mad, or maybe it would be a bit outside the norm and a little interesting. Time will tell.

One thing I really want to try are video tutorials, which would draw on my teaching background. Then I think about how incredibly time consuming that would be, and I go back to square one. I'm definitely making more of an effort to utilize me GoodReads account.

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Rolando link
2/19/2013 07:19:37 am

Thanks for your comment Jeri. Using Goodreads is a great idea, but to truly use it well you may have to devote a lot of time to it. For me that may mean down pedaling on Facebook and Twitter time. The one unfortunate thing about Goodreads is that they don't allow you to do giveaways of e-books and that's really bad as a book giveaway on Goodreads has worked well for many authors. One good feature is that you can befriend those that review/rate your book and then send them a message when your next book is out.

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Adriene link
2/18/2013 09:21:21 pm

I agree with your premise, Rolando. The next question is, how do you tap into that pool of readers? Would it involve not targeting social media interaction to one group of people and connecting with everyone? The audience could be anyone.

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Rolando link
2/19/2013 07:26:25 am

One possibility is to write for a specific genre and then go to internet forums serving that genre and spend your time there building relationships with people and contributing to the forums. Once you are perceived to be a member of the community, they will allow you to talk about your books.

Another option is to promote your book through several mailing services out there that target readers. Some of them are expensive but I've heard it has worked for a few writers.

Reply
Adriene link
2/19/2013 11:02:46 am

Funny you should say so, Rolando. I am now working on writing articles about poetry in an attempt to attract those interested in the subject, and hopefully, who will be steered toward my poems.

A.K.Andrew link
2/21/2013 05:14:48 am

Really great post Rolando. I think your logic is right and yet some writers say they have success. I can't speak from direct experience but I do know that blogging takes away from writing time. That said, I do enjoy the sense of community amongst other bloggers so there is a level of enjoyment too. If you really don't feel you're getting anything out of blogging in & of itself then why bother? Life is too short. But then so is money ...Sorry no pearls to add.

Reply
Rolando link
2/21/2013 08:25:49 am

Blogging allows me to put my ideas down about some issues and to communicate with my readers. I hope to both inform and entertain plus I will let you know about the status of my next book when I get around to publishing it and promoting it. Thanks for your comment.

Reply
Michelle Booth link
2/23/2013 07:47:02 am

I agree too. I do think Facebook & Twitter have some value but not enough to merit spending much time in them. I've been researching and writing about Goodreads for the past couple of months so I'm full of their statistics! Their research shows that, of their users, only 14% claim to have discovered new books via Facebook and a paltry 7% via Twitter.
So it really doesn't seem us worth spending much time at all in Facebook and Twitter.
Regarding Goodreads giveaways, they are so impressive in terms of viral potential that it is worth eBook authors getting a couple of POD copies just to give away.
One book - Matched - started its path to bestseller status with a giveaway of just one copy!

Reply
Rolando link
2/23/2013 12:20:48 pm

Thanks for your comment Michelle. Goodreads seems to be great for giveaways, but unfortunately they only do print books. So for the moment that will not work for me. On the meantime I will really have to reexamine my use of Facebook and Twitter.

Reply
JccKeith link
2/23/2013 11:23:27 am

I have found social media to be rather useless promotion wise in that writers do tend to follow other writers and write about writing. Having said this, it is worth investing some time in as you do get the sense of community and you learn a lot about writing, blogging, publishing and all things concerning writing. It is basically a way to network. It never hurts to know people and learn from their experiences and connections. As far as promoting your work, you can do that through your blog or websites where you have the ability to attract people through your posts. Your posts don't always have to be about writing, they can be about anything important to you or relevant to you as these types of posts allow readers to get a feel for what kind of person and author you are. Once readers get to know you they will be interested in your works.

Reply
Rolando link
2/23/2013 12:24:17 pm

Thanks for your comment. The networking and keeping track of what is going on in the publishing world and obtaining new ideas is the reason I keep up with my social media. I just wish it were easier to translate to books sales!

Reply
Barbara Alfaro link
2/26/2013 02:07:11 am

Keeping up with Twitter, Facebook, Google + and Pinterest has begun to feel like a part-time job I'm not being paid for. Of these four social networks, Pinterest is the only one I find relaxing and fun. I also notice days that I'm active on Pinterest I sometimes sell one or two copies of my memoir Mirror Talk that same day. In my case, except for Pinterest, social networking provides a sense of community but NO sales. I don't buy that I'm doing "something wrong." I believe my time is better spent by working on the draft of my novel -- or reading Keats.

Reply
Rolando link
2/26/2013 07:39:49 am

I am amazed by the pictures I find on Pinterest. The site really speaks to me from an artistic point of view. However, I don't think I am using it effectively for what I want to do: sell books. Many authors have concluded they are not doing anything wrong, but rather that social media is worthless to sell books. However, other authors claim that is not the case. Maybe it works or not depending on the unique situation of the author or the nature of the book. I admit I don't know, but I am trying to find out.

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