I often hear newer writers (of varying ages) say they want their writing to speak for itself. They’re filled with disdain for publishers who look for an online presence, and utterly scornful of writers who actively and efficiently use social media to their advantage. What I generally say to such writers (after I stop laughing) is that their highfalutin’ sentiments are delightful, however, if no one can find their writing/book/them then whatever it says is unlikely to be heard.

Your online presence can be a blessing or a curse, but it’s what you make it. Just as fire is an excellent servant, it’s a terrible master. You need to control your own social media persona. I understand the reluctance and the fear, I really do. The internet is a chaotic mess of noise, opinions, cat pictures and porn. So much porn. I didn’t have  website until I met Jeff VanderMeer in 2009, and he yelled at me until I caved. Five minutes and one WordPress site later… What he said made sense: you’ve been publishing for three years, readers and editors and publishers are paying attention. They’re looking for you; be easier to find.

There are a lot of online options for the writer, so many that I’m only going to touch on websites, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and Amazon’s Author Central. Also because I have a word limit and you have lives to get on with.

Your website

You might simply want a fairly static page containing your bio, bibliography, an author photo (make sure it’s recent and not a glamour shot from the Eighties as no one will recognise you at festivals or cons), and a contact page. That’s perfectly fine, just keep it current. Few things are more frustrating to a reader who’s just discovered your work than finding a site that’s not been updated since 2001. One of the most important decisions you’ll make is about your time commitment: how often are you going to be online in a professional capacity (i.e. not looking at cat pictures)?

Whatever time investment you decide on, stick to it. Be consistent; if a reader knows there will be new content every Wednesday, they’ll be there.

The appearance of your site is critical: keep it clean, sparse and tidy. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, so your website is your interview suit, not your old jeans and t-shirt with last night’s curry on it. I love sequins and shiny, flashy things as much as the next person, but not on a website. Your pages should not offend the eye nor strobe in such a manner as to cause a fit. WordPress is an easy program to use yourself, but if you’ve got the budget (or a partner with excellent web skills) then have someone else build a site for you. Keep in mind it’s something you ultimately want to be able to update yourself; you don’t want to have to pay someone else over and over. Make sure you buy your domain name and keep it registered − unscrupulous companies have been known to buy unregistered domains, then try to sell it on.

Make things easy to find on your site, and don’t make people click too many links − the time- and attention-poor will quickly leave.

If you include a blog − essentially a diary − remember this: it is not your private journal. There’s a reason that old-fashioned diaries have locks on them: to keep your thoughts, opinions, biases, judgments, and crushes secret. Confidential. Ill-considered over-sharing can lead to places you do not wish to go (unless, of course, you’re Belle de Jour, in which case it can lead to a lot of money). Don’t whinge about the publisher you’ve submitted your novel to taking sooooo long to get back to you. If they’ve read the manuscript and liked it, they’ll look for your web presence; imagine their surprise. So, before you blog, have a really good think about what you want to put out there.

Work out a schedule of topics you want to talk about; take a day a week to draft them. They don’t need to be long, a few paragraphs will suffice. If you want to post excerpts from a work-in-progress, great, but remember: this counts as ‘published’. Don’t post your entire novel or short story. Blog about your passions because the fastest way to become bored and boring is to writing about something you have no interest or expertise in: a medievalist will probably be far more engaging on, say, monsters from the Middle Ages than String Theory.

Be very wary of reviewing books on your site − indeed, be wary of doing it anywhere − because later in your career a scathing review may come back to bite you in the proverbial. Even if you delete a post, it’s still out there somewhere in an archive or a screen shot, like a time bomb. Waiting.

What other content will interest a reader? If you write science fiction repost something from io9. Discuss your craft, your new project. Deploy the occasional lolcat. Interview other writers and promote their books. That’s an opportunity for cross-promotion and increasing both your audiences. This is networking, which isn’t about being a sucking blackhole of need, but about creating mutually beneficial relationships.

You might also add things like press kits, which are useful for anyone who wants to interview you. It gives them some basic information and, hopefully, means they’ll ask more interesting questions rather than the ones already answered in said kit!

Social Media Stuff

Facebook is the place where you connect with family and friends, and say anything, right? No, sorry. Readers will send friend requests. You may accept them because you think “It’s my fans! My readers! My peeps!” Here’s the rub: you don’t know them. ‘Tis a sad fact of modern life that they may well be nutbags and/or stalkers. My advice: make an Author Page on Facebook, which reflects the contents of your website. If you get friend requests from someone you don’t know, then direct them to that profile, saying you’re sure they’ll understand that you keep your personal page for family and friends. If they argue, do not engage. Block them. End of story.

To note: do not send another writer a friend request, then, if they accept it, ask them to Like your page. It’s rude and annoying, and besides, authors are not your market. Your online presence is for readers, the book-buying public.

Similarly, Twitter may seem innocuous − how could you offend anyone in 140 characters? Quite easily, recent history teaches. Use tweets to draw attention to competitions or giveaways, appearances, articles of interest, lolcats (I myself am partial to otter pics). Do not start a Twitter war as a challenge. In all things, be professional, even if someone else is being a douche.

A useful little app is Hootsuite, which connects to about thirty-five social networks and allows you to have any blog posts made on your site automatically reposted to Facebook, Twitter, etc. It saves time.

Both Goodreads and Amazon’s Author Central allow you to set up professional profiles. They’ll connect to your site, although only GR will display the posts. Both offer means to tap into existing communities of readers. GR also lets you do giveaways of your books, which can be very handy, and a great way of showing a potential reader what you do, and growing your audience.

A word on self-promotion

One thing which hurts my brain is new writers who spend all of their time self-promoting, devoting their online presence to talking themselves up. But when asked “What have you written/published?” invariably the reply is “Oh. It’s not finished yet.” Then get off the internet and write something. Writing is the key. Without the writing there is no product. Without the product, what is the point?

Keep it secret, keep it safe

Don’t give too many personal details on social media. Don’t give out addresses or phone numbers, don’t mention your kids’ school, or where you work. Don’t discuss deeply personal matters. Not to be alarmist, but you don’t know who is reading. Mwahahaha. Sorry.

And finally

Your online presence is a signal. You control the signal by controlling yourself. Don’t answer bad reviews. Don’t engage in flame wars. Don’t feed trolls. Don’t endlessly self-promote or whine. Keep controversial opinions to yourself unless you wish to paint a target on your chest. Be respectful. Be smart. Be funny. Be kind. Be humble. Think of yourself as an artist who is running a business, not as an artiste who would prefer to starve in a garret in Paris before they create an online presence. Tell people about what you’re doing, but do not crow and caper. Again: YOU control the signal.

Further reading

For straightforward, no-nonsense, extremely useful advice on this topic, I’d recommend Jeff Vandermeer’s Book Life  and Cat Rambo’s Creating an Online Presence. Both are very good.

Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites globally, with a little over a billion users worldwide (as of September 2012). If used properly, Facebook can be an invaluable marketing tool for authors.

What kind of Facebook Account do I need?

There are two main types of Facebook presence:

1) Personal Profiles
A Facebook “Profile” is a personal profile and is usually used as a means to connecting with family and friends. At it’s core, Facebook is a network of individuals’ “profile pages”, where photos and personal information are uploaded and displayed. Individuals then add other people as “friends” and can provide status updates, send messages and write on friends’ “walls”. Once you have a profile, you can choose whether information and activity is displayed publicly, to friends only, or to specific people. Most people keep their profile pages private which means that only your Facebook friends can see the content of your profile, and therefore it is not indexed by search engines.

2) Facebook Page
A Facebook “Page” is different to a “Profile”. Facebook pages help businesses, organisations and brands share their stories and connect with people. Pages contain information that is public and open to anyone and therefore Facebook pages are indexed by search engines. This is one reason why we recommend that authors use this option – a Facebook page – for promotion. It is commonly understood that Facebook pages represent companies, concepts or professionals, and not a private person’s life so this is the most appropriate way to present your book or yourself as an author.

Once your page is set up, users then choose to “like” your page and they will then be notified of any new changes or status updates from you. You can update your page with news, upload photos and videos, send messages to your followers and set up events. Tip: You may already have a website or blog and if you are having trouble keeping up with all the updates consider using a Facebook page as your blogging platform and put all of your updates and articles there.

Note: As of March 2012, profiles and pages are also referred to as “timelines”, to reflect the new Facebook layout based on a chronological timeline.

How to set up a Facebook personal profile
The most common way to set up a Facebook page is to first create a personal profile, and then create a page from there. This does not mean that people who “like” your page can see your personal information, it simply helps Facebook to create a connection between you and your page. You can then maintain your professional appearance while still staying connected with family and friends and you can also use your network of friends to build “likes” on your Facebook page.

Create a Personal Profile
Go to www.facebook.com.
On the homepage, you’ll see a form which you’ll need to fill in to sign up. Facebook will then take you through the process of setting up your personal profile step by step. Be sure to go through each area of the privacy settings and carefully select the level of privacy you want. This is an important step, to ensure your personal information is not visible to the public (unless you want it to be).
Once you have your personal profile set up, follow the steps below to set up your page.

Facebook page

1. Go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/browser.php and log in.
2. Click the green ‘Create a Page’ button on the top right.
3. You will see various categories:
   • If your page is for you as an author, select Artists, Band or Public Figure, then select ‘Author’ from the drop down menu.
   • If your page is for your book, select Entertainment, then select ‘Book’ from the drop down menu.
4. Give your page a name, eg. Book Title or Your Name, then check the terms and conditions box and press ‘Get Started’.
5. You will be guided through three steps to set up your page (you can skip some of these steps if you want to return to them later):
   • Add a profile image. This should be 180 x 180 pixels (square). See the ‘How to resize image for the web’ article. [HYPERLINK]
   • Add ‘About’ text. This is either your bio or the blurb or marketing copy for your book. Make sure it’s interesting and enticing and that it includes your Twitter handle and web address.
   • Add a URL or web address for your Facebook page, for example www.facebook.com/titleofyourbook or www.facebook.com/yourpenname.
6. That’s it! You’re up and running. You will now be on your new Facebook page so you an add a background image, invite your friends to like your page, start posting updates and begin to build your audience.

Top Tips for Using Pages

• Keep your pages regularly updated. If you don’t have any new news, try commenting on something topical, post up a video, song or image that has inspired you or even recycle older news (if it’s still relevant!).
• “Like” related pages, such as those by other authors or publishing houses. Consider sharing their news on your page. This can help encourage others to “like” your page and share your news in return.
• Use visuals. You can post a variety of multimedia to a Facebook page – e.g. pictures, audio and video. Using visual content like this is a great way to get people’s attention and engage your audiences.
• As a general rule, keep your tone personal and informal to engage users and create a sense of community – if this is appropriate for your brand/identity.
• Make sure you respond to your fans’ queries and comments.
• Try posting status updates as questions to prompt responses. Interaction is key.
• Try to link to your website and other online profiles as much as possible in your status updates. This helps with search engine optimization and ensures that people can easily find our more about you.

If you need a helping hand with your Facebook page come to one of our one-to-one web and social media sessions run regularly throughout the year. Contact kristen(at)thecurvedhouse(dot)com for more info.

You may also be interested in:

A Glossary Of Key Terms

A Writer’s Guide To Online Discussion Forums

Website Or Social Media: The Modern Writer’s Conundrum

Simon Appleby, director of digital agency Bookswarm, highlights ten websites that do their authors justice on the web.

Hopefully there’s not a writer alive who doesn’t believe they need a website – there are so many good reasons for having one that even if you don’t agree with all of them, you ought to agree with one or two. Whether you’re raising your profile, interacting directly with readers or providing a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process, you really do need a decent home on the web.
Of course, some author websites are better than others. Here are ten that we think really do their authors proud.

John le Carré

Why we like it:
The design is really appropriate for the subject matter of the books: espionage, subterfuge and murky dealings. The way that Twitter is presented (tweets from le Carré’s feed are ‘transmitted’ and tweets from others are ‘intercepted’) is very clever and in keeping with the genre too. Beyond the home page there’s loads of content, and the site recognises both the global nature of the publishing, and the interest in films based on the author’s books.

Black marks:
The author photo in the bottom corner of the home page is squashed and distorted – a basic error that needlessly lets down a lovely looking site.

www.johnlecarre.com

E.L. James

Why we like it:
The woman who made BDSM a socially-acceptable topic of conversation has a slick website that nicely defines her work as ‘provocative romance’. The Gallery section contains wine lists and play lists that collate all the gastronomic and cultural references of the books, which is a neat touch for fans who really want to immerse themselves in the author’s world, and the Fan Sites section offers a lovely acknowledgement of fan sites from around the world. Few big name authors would be so generous.

Black marks:
Dare we say it, we were expecting more handcuffs!

www.eljamesauthor.com

Joe Abercombie

Why we like it:
Joe is a writer with lots to say – not just about his books – and he uses his website to say it (he blogged seven times in January 2013). Judging by the level of interaction in the comments, his many fans appreciate this kind of access and the opportunity to interact that it presents. Not all writers will feel that they can sustain this level of interaction and still focus on their writing, but if you are someone who can, this is a good example of how to do it well.

Black marks:
The design is perhaps a little dated, but with content this good that’s a minor point indeed. Remember, content is king!

www.joeabercrombie.com

J.K. Rowling

Why we like it:
Admittedly few authors will ever have the resources to create and run a site that are available to the author of Harry Potter. It’s one thing to have those resources, though, and another to use them well – which this site does. The central timeline idea is a clever one – news stories are laid out horizontally and the user can scroll sideways to go back in time. News segues in to brief biographical posts about key events in the author’s life before she was published, going all the way back to 1965. There’s even a special mobile version.

Black marks:
The design is perhaps a little sterile for our taste – though you can see why they would steer clear of an overtly Potteresque look and feel.

www.jkrowling.co.uk

Anthony Horowitz

Why we like it:
Horowitz writes for young adults and grown-ups too – and striking a balance of tone and look for different audiences is often tricky. In this case, his YA series Alex Rider and The Power of Five have their own branded sections with a strong call to action, with plenty of downloadable goodies. The Messageboard shows that discussion forums can still be a valid idea, if you have enough engaged fans and the time to manage them.

Black marks:
At the screen size we were using, much of the text is too small, a definite accessibility black mark. We know that the youth have better eyesight, but still…

www.anthonyhorowitz.com

Bernard Cornwell

Why we like it:
When you’ve written as many books as Bernard Cornwell, you need to give your fans a hand to keep everything straight – and this organises all the titles by series, as well as giving a brief word from the author on each (many sites just repeat the book blurb that can be found on every book retailer’s site). The ‘Your Questions’ page is well-used and current, and the alternating masthead images lend an appropriate historical atmosphere to everything.

Black marks:
This is a very difficult site to fault – we wish we’d done it.

www.bernardcornwell.net

Anthony Beevor

Why we like it:
Non-fiction authors need websites too, and this is a good one. The site has a ‘skin’ that reflects the design of the author’s latest tome, but that will surely change when there is a new book to promote. The events feed is prominent (and nice and full) and the blog a good insight in to the writer’s activities. The bibliography from The Second World War will be appreciated by students and researchers.

Black marks:
A very minor quibble, but the line length of the body text is uncomfortably long – it pays to understand ways to make reading on the web as comfortable as possible.

www.antonybeevor.com

Will Self

Why we like it:
Because it proves, if any proof were needed, that if you have good content you don’t necessarily need fancy design. This site uses a very simple WordPress theme – but within seconds of arriving, you can be reading Self’s cutting restaurant reviews for the New Statesman or finding out more about his books.

Black marks:
The way information about the books is presented could confuse some users – the links on the left of the page and the links on the Books menu do two different things.

www.will-self.com

Gillian Flynn
Why we like it:
The site for the author of Gone Girl is just a lovely piece of design – it creates an atmosphere and a tone that’s in keeping with both the look and the subject matter of the books, through well-judged use of colour, texture, imagery and typography.

Black marks:
Hard to fault – a good example of uncluttered thinking and uncluttered design that works well for both the UK and US markets.

www.gillian-flynn.com

Marcel Theroux
Why we like it:
Well, partly because we made it! And because it proves that for a writer who does not want to flaunt themselves on the Internet, there are still ways you can put something of yourself in to your website. In this case, the hand-drawn illustrations that adorn the pages show views of Marcel’s study and objects in it that have meaning to him. They prevent a simple, direct site becoming sterile and impersonal.

Black marks:
We think this is small but perfectly formed (but we admit we’re biased!).

www.thisworldofdew.com

As the web continues to evolve, no doubt our ideas of ‘what good looks like’ will too – but remember, making a good author website is less about how it looks than it is about what you have to say, who you have to say it to and how often you expect to say it. Give that some serious thought, and the rest should fall in to place. Good luck!