Some honest thoughts on social media for authors
I came across the following post on Instagram this week and it brought out a very wry smile in me.
Now it’s SUPER sweary, so if you’re sensitive to that kind of thing - please look away now.
If not - enjoy…
Anyway, it inspired me to revisit something that I get asked about a lot.
Social media.
Many of my website clients ask me for advice on social media. They are often debut authors, and often overwhelmed by the whole ‘I must market my book!’ pressure, and they see that I show up fairly regularly on Instagram stories (I do post on there most days) and assume I must know what the hell I’m doing.
However, despite having used social media for years and years both personally and professionally, I don’t feel qualified to give advice on it because the truth is, I have no clue how to make the most of it as an author (Booktok remains an endless mystery to me) and I also feel extremely ambivalent about it.
My own social media
I was talking to my partner recently about Instagram and I worked out that it had taken me nearly 8 years to build up a ‘following’ (ick, such a cult-like term!) of 2500 people.
I have never done ads, never paid for any promos. I rarely seek out new people to follow but I do follow back fellow authors. I used to post every day on my feed but now I probably only post a couple of times a month, although I do ‘stories’ most days.
My ‘growth’ has been entirely organic, I have never used any strategy or particular planning. It’s been slow and steady and completely haphazard.
In short, I have NOT been strategic about growing my Instagram, and if I’m honest, as a rather Type A person, it’s a bit of a pebble in my shoe. I believe that if I had been more business-minded about it, I would have been much more successful at it. I would have a much bigger following.
However, the reason I have not been strategic about growing my Instagram is the same reason that I don’t offer social media services or advice.
And that’s because honestly (whisper it!) it just doesn’t interest me very much.
It just doesn’t. And I can’t muster up the energy to make it A Thing on my to-do list.
I don’t know why. I don’t find it boring, exactly. I like following people and I like consuming content - although I prefer the more silly, amusing stuff to anything deep and meaningful.
I like posting my own random thoughts / doings on stories too. It feels like a little diary of my life I can look back on, and I appreciate the archive so much.
But the idea of having to strategise it all somehow gives me the ick. It feels inauthentic. Calculated. Like advertising under false pretences.
I am really bad at being inauthentic (hence my oversharing blog posts!).
And I know that the whole point of social media if you are a ‘business’ (and I firmly believe that you should treat your author career exactly the same as running a small business) is to promote your goods or services on the platform.
But there’s something about mixing the business with the social thing that I just don’t like. The blurring of boundaries niggles me.
And because I don’t like it, I’m not good at it.
Having said that, there are many authors out there who are good at it. I don’t know if they like doing it or not. But somehow, like wizards, they have managed to strike the right balance between promotion and sales and entertainment and authenticity.
It’s a skill I really admire. And it is a REAL skill, and I think it’s something that should be respected as such - hence my admiration for people who offer social media services for a living.
The point of this post is to say that if you also don’t enjoy social media, if the idea of using it to promote your books gives you the ick then… well for one, it will probably show. See John Niven above, again - although the irony is also not lost on me that his post probably did exactly what his publishers wanted him to do 🙃
But for another: IT’S OK.
You don’t have to do it. When it comes to marketing your books, you don’t have to DO EVERYTHING.
You can’t DO EVERYTHING anyway, not without an assistant of some kind helping you.
Not if you want to write more books. Not if you want to write good books.
And really, isn’t that the main point of it all?
Finding your ‘thing’
However… when it comes to marketing, you do have to DO SOMETHING.
I really enjoyed this recent Substack post from Phoebe Morgan about What Authors Can Do For Themselves →
And I do believe it’s important to show willing in some way. It’s a little naive to think that your relationship with your book begins and ends with the typing of it.
So: pick something you do like (Blogging? Email marketing? Events?) and focus on that instead.
It’s a bit like exercise, I think.
Pick something you enjoy doing and you’re far more likely to succeed.
Social media is not the only author marketing tool
And while I think social media is amazing for raising awareness generally, I am yet to be convinced of exactly HOW many books it shifts. Or the direct correlation between your awkward Instagram posts and your sales figures.
So if - like me - you don’t find social media that interesting… if you actively hate it… if you find yourself sighing at the thought of it… then I’m here to tell you to let yourself off the hook.
You don’t have to do it. Forcing yourself to create social media posts when your heart isn’t in it is so depressing. And I really believe it shows.
We’ve all watched the desperately dull unboxing videos by desperately awkward authors who would clearly rather be doing anything else than filming themselves and feigning surprise that inside their box (of books) is a load of copies of the book that they wrote.
So don’t do it. Unhook thyself!
And if you’re looking for help with your social media, then consult an expert.
(Don’t ask your web designer 😆)
I have recently discovered Nicola Washington and I love love love the way she talks about using social media as an author.
She’s all about quality over quantity and I love her philosophy about using what drove you to write the book in the first place to help you shape the content you put out on social media.
I highly recommend taking a look at her Substack because there’s so much great info there, but also: not beating yourself up about the social media thing.
As always: concentrate on your writing!
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