Writer Kate Pullinger, Editor of The Writing Platform, is also a professor at Bath Spa University, co-sponsors of The Writing Platform. At Bath Spa, Pullinger runs a series of lunchtime talks, aimed at all the postgraduate writing students who study at the Corsham Court Campus. These talks, Digital Corsham, are given by writers, academics, publishers, and pundits, all of whom are interested in writing and publishing in the digital age. The talks are filmed for The Writing Platform.

This second short film in the Digital Corsham series features Philip Hensher, a novelist, critic and journalist. Here Philip talks about the positive and negative impacts of digital on writing.

Further viewing: Naomi Alderman and Charlotte Abbott Digital Corsham talks.

If you’re a writer interested in finding out more about immersive entertainment – discovering how your audiences can be immersed and play an active part in your story – then we have a great series of specialist immersive writing guides made available to The Writing Platform by Portal Entertainment and the Immersive Writing Lab team.

The guides, created by Mike Jones, Portal Entertainment’s Head of Story, will help writers who want to write ‘immersive entertainment’: writers who want their audiences to be immersed and play an active part in their story. This second guide explains how to create characters.

Characters – Goals, Obstacles, Communities and Points-of-View

It is somewhat stating the obvious to suggest that character is crucial to storytelling. Yet the idea of character is more complex than it might appear. And in the case of writing immersive interactive and multi-platform storyworlds, the notion of how to construct characters is extended with new considerations.

A story may be described in terms of its plot (this happens, then that happens then this happens…. etc) but it’s characters that provide us with point-of-view, empathy, metaphor, subtext and drama within that plot chain of events. More specifically, it is characters that give us a reason to care about the plot and make the plot events meaningful.

Writing a storyworld, as opposed to a singular narrative, requires some broader ideas about characters, what they represent, how they work and how they relate to each other in ongoing ways. We’ll break this down into 4 useful elements as a tool kit for thinking about the characters in your storyworld.

– Goals and Obstacles

– Role-Play

– Communities

– Points of view

Goals and Obstacles

In the previous guide we looked at the dramatic pressures of your storyworld, asking what forces in opposition pressurise and make dramatic (or comedic) your world? This is to say, what macro-level problems effect every character in your world? This is the central energy source that will both generate and motivate your characters who will not only struggle against or with these problems, but who will also be a product of them. Characters born in a particular world are a direct result of the world; their attitudes, behaviours, personality and – in particular – their goals and objectives, are a response to the problems of the world.

In the TV series Breaking Bad for example, the storyworld is one where there are two big problems; the first is a broken and dysfunctional health system that doesn’t cover peoples medical bills and the second is a huge demand for the drug crystal meth. These two big problems – health care and drugs – are the forces that beset every character in the Storyworld and which every character is responding to in some way. Characters are then made interesting, dramatic and compelling when they have specific goals and obstacles that are in opposition to the problem. Hence the storyworld of Breaking Bad naturally generates the character of an under-insured school teacher who has the goal of selling crystal meth to make enough money for his family before he dies and the obstacle of avoiding both the police and the other drug dealers. The problems of health care and drugs are so big they are unsolvable and so the dramatic pressure is sustainable over a very long-form narrative.

These same principles of a character’s goals and obstacles being a direct result of the problems of the storyworld are as applicable in an interactive multi-platform experience as they are in a TV series. The question is how do those storyworld pressures and problems manifest characters with clear goals and obstacles across different platforms and also how the audience can be compelled to respond interactively to the same goals and obstacles. What is crucial for the writing of your storyworld bible is to ensure that the very specific, personal, individual goals and obstacles of your characters are intrinsically linked to the problems of the world. In this way any character dropped into your world should be immediately pressurised and compelled to respond or act.

Role-Play

The idea of a motivated character with clear goals and defined obstacles is as applicable to interactive storytelling as it is with film, TV and books. In traditional narrative media we call such a motivated character an active protagonist with the idea that watching a character actively doing things is better than watching a passive character having things happen to them. In an interactive narrative experience the audience or user is most often asked to be the active protagonist – to play the role of a character with goals and obstacles.

Sometimes the audience will be asked to play the role of a pre-defined character, where the story tells the user who they are and the type of character they represent. In other cases the audience ‘plays themselves’, a tabula rasa onto which the audience are free to assign their own behaviours. In either case creating an active role-playing experience requires an extended idea of a character’s goals and obstacles.

The first is to clearly define the role for the audience in active terms; does an interactive narrative in your storyworld ask the user to be the fighter, finder, solver, rescuer, detective, strategist, organiser, chaser, escapee, etc…. What active roles does your storyworld naturally embody? By understanding the active verbs that describe what the user will ‘do’ in your storyworld you can define the three core things that make for a satisfying interactive experience: motivation, action and reward.

It’s a mistake to expect or assume your audience will or even want to interact. It’s your job – the job of your storyworld – to motivate them to do so. Ask yourself ‘what compels my audience to interact’? What is at stake? What is at risk? What will be lost or gained by their actions?

Once motivated the audience will then have specific actions and tasks to perform. What are those actions? Be specific not abstract. What are you asking them to do and how will they do it? These actions come directly out of the role you have asked them to play and the actions should be a direct consequence of the storyworld’s pressures. The audience’s actions should be specific to achieving a clear goal and be made dramatic by the obstacles that prevent them from achieving those goals.

The last crucial element for engaging interactive story experiences is reward. If you’re going to ask your audience to take part in your storyworld, to role play and take action, then you will need to reward them for doing so and thus motivate them to continue to interact and role play. How are your audience rewarded? is the story advanced? New knowledge unlocked? New spaces opened to explore? New mysteries revealed or questions answered? Of course reward systems can also involve traditional ‘game’ ideas of points, leveling-up, or any combination of the above.

Communities

The dominant mistake writers often make when developing and submitting their storyworld project is to focus on a single character with a single goal and subsequently a singular plot. But we’re not looking for ‘a’ story, we’re looking for a whole world of stories. In terms of character this often means shifting the emphasis away from an individual character and onto communities of characters.

Any storyworld – whether it’s real-world, intimate and contained, or other-worldly, fantastical and huge – will be home to groups of character that share common goals and obstacles; in other words communities.

Communities of characters can often be described and articulated in much the same terms we might use to describe an individual. What are the goals of that group of characters? What are the obstacles they face together? Communities will even share a personality, an attitude and a perspective. The group will collectively believe certain things and be in opposition to others.

This goes the same for antagonists as much as for protagonists in your world. Storyworld antagonists are often institutions, collective entities or forces that may comprise numerous individual characters but who all reflect a consistent set of traits. Take the much loved ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ – a project spanning TV, video games, comic books and more. The Buffy storyworld is rich and full of near countless demons, ghosts, monsters and vampires. Yet the antagonist is a singular entity – the Hell Mouth that spawns an ongoing ‘community’ of antagonistic characters for Buffy and her own ‘community’ of friends, family and comrades to face, fight and overcome. The Hell Mouth has collective goals, obstacles and perspective that is opposition the collective goals, obstacles and perspectives of the Slayers.

Within such communities of characters there are of course tensions, disputes and a mix of character archetypes. But identifying the collected traits of the different groups that exist in your storyworld is a crucial step in being able to define a world with the potential for numerous, varying and ongoing storylines and characters that can be experienced across platforms and technologies.

Points of View

The last element of points-of-view is about the different perspectives that exist for the characters and the audience in your world. Where a feature film generally offers just one point-of-view, the vibrancy of a storyworld can often be measured by the range of possible points-of-view that may be experienced. This speaks to the different platforms the world may be presented on, the different paths audiences may take through the world, the ability for the storyworld to generate multiple points of entry and audience revisitation.

Compelling points-of-view stem from compelling characters and this should prompt you to ask questions of your storyworld – What different points of view exist in your storyworld? Are they balanced and equally compelling? Does each POV effect the experience of the world and change audiences perceptions of it? Do different POV’s challenge, contradict or confound each other? Do certain points of view lend themselves more to one platform or another? Are certain points of view more conducive to being experienced interactively?

Summary

A storyworld may be full of great conceptual ideas, intrigues and fascinations, it may be visually beautiful, terrible or sublime, but it will often fail to be compelling for an audience until it is richly populated characters; characters we can care about, empathise with, cheer for or be in fear of.

Doing this of course aint easy! But the ideas here should help guide you towards the particular demands of characters in a storyworld as opposed to a character in a plot.

Goals & Obstacles

Audience Role-Play

Motivation Action and Reward

Communities

Points of View

—

For further reading please see Mike’s Immersive Writing Guides to:

#1 How To Create A Storyworld here
#3 How to Create Plot, here.
#4 Audience – User Journeys. Paths of how an audience could enter your world – highly involved and reluectant users
#5 Memories, Rituals and Emotional States – what memories will the audience take away from the storyworld and how will it make them feel?

Photo © Christopher Hauke

Ah, tools. Such a seductive word, with that tactile, workmanlike ring. And such seductive implications. Accumulating tools feels like the very opposite of time wasting. Tools promise to transform us into humble, brine-browed word-carpenters, conscientiously whittling our masterpieces in brain-workshops full of sunshine and space, while topless, and grunting. In short, tools rule.

Of course, as a writer, any tools other than your mind, your fingers or voice, and a basic recording device, are entirely superfluous. Browsing the app store, watching little download circles rotate and fiddling with complicated settings are all byways, not highways, to becoming a laser-focused sentence-whore. In fact, reading articles about good online productivity tools for writers is one of the best ways to feel productive without achieving a damn thing. Close this tab! Go! Write!

Still here? Okay, I have to admit that from deep within the towering dung-heap of procrastination-friendly digital shiny things, I have managed to uncover a few gems that consistently make me write more, and very possibly better. Enjoy, argue, pass them on, and don’t be shy about suggesting a few of your own.

Scrivener

From the first day I tried Scrivener, “the first and only word processing program designed specifically for the messy, non-linear way writers really work”, I knew I could never go back to the plodding constraints of Word or even the sensual pleasures of paper and pen. Like many who grew up with screens, I write in a highly architectural way, and Scrivener brilliantly anticipates exactly what my chaotic brain needs.

An independent piece of software developed by an aspiring writer who couldn’t find a way to order his research and his notes, Scrivener has won numerous awards for its ingenious system of folders, corkboards, notes and composing windows, which allow you to keep all your references, drafts, notes and inspirations in one place and instantly navigate between them; tag, categorise and search for super-specific elements; track character arcs or themes; and eventually, download the whole manuscript in the auto-format of your choice, from Kindle eBook to screenplay. Normally a manual hater, I strongly recommend completing the on-screen walkthrough, which will help you understand all sorts of clever shortcuts, details and customisations to get the most from the software. In practice, I spend most of my time in the simple ‘blackout’ composing screen, which focuses your text in the middle of clean, distraction-free black page. But I would be lost without the ‘snapshot’ function, which allows you to capture and store the current version of your document at any time, and the synopsis panes, which force me to summarise each chapter succinctly as I go. A no-brainer. Download it now.

Evernote

Inspiration usually strikes in places where it is difficult to whip out a notebook – on the tube, on the toilet, in a work meeting, at the gym. I always loved the idea of carrying a beautiful personalised Moleskine and fountain pen wherever I went, but in practice I would forget, or spill coffee on it, or run out of ink, and when I returned to my scribblings they were not only illegible but impossible to organize into a coherent structure.

Evernote is the best digital note-taker I’ve come across. This free, simple app allows you to capture notes on your phone via text, audio, video and photo, then synchs them across all your devices, such as your laptop and tablet. You can search by tag, keyword or even text within an image, and easily transfer notes to another application such as Scrivener. Using your online Evernote account, you can also access them from anywhere in the world, safe in the knowledge that they are always floating in the cloud, and that you need never again lose that perfect opening sentence that you scribbled on a paper napkin with eyeliner. Oh, that sentence. You still mourn for that sentence, don’t you?

Shareist 

Fresh out of beta, Shareist is the quickest and easiest tool I’ve found for capturing and organising the research and inspiration I find on the web. An evolution of the old bookmarking platforms, Shareist provides you with a button for your browser which will capture any webpage, blog, video or image; allow you to title, tag and comment on it; and then turn it into an entry in a private ‘notebook’, which you can edit, format and even export as a book or a blog post.

The key feature here for me is the privacy. Online bookmarking has traditionally been seen as a social facilitator, whereby you display, share and discuss cool stuff you’ve found. Shareist, on the other hand, is geared towards helping you create and curate your own personal treasure trove. It allows you to move more quickly through the glittering mines of the web without getting distracted by individual nuggets; just chuck ‘em in your Shareist bucket, and return to them when you have more leisure for Gollum-like fingering. The free version only allows you to create one notebook, which can be a pain if you’re working with multiple projects or themes, but it’s definitely worth a try. 

Lulu 

You’ve finally finished your first draft. First, you need a drink or twenty; then, you need some perspective. After months spent nose to laptop, it’s hard to read your story with fresh eyes, so take a week off, sign up to Lulu.com and turn your draft into a proper book. I have heard more good word of mouth about Lulu than any other self-printing platform. It is clear, easy and quick to use, offers competitive pricing and allows you to order just one copy. A 300 page black and white paperback will set you back around eight quid, and will be shipped within 3-5 days from whichever global print operation is nearest your address, so with a good wind you could have your embryonic darling on your doormat within a week.

This is not an encouragement to consider your first slew of brain diarrhoea as a finished product – nor an excuse to spend hours mocking up cover art complete with ‘Booker Shortlist 2013’ sticker (don’t pretend you haven’t); but it will help to de-familiarise your work. Your Lulu book should be approached as a single working copy to scribble all over, not a mass order to share. Read it through once without making notes to experience the overall flow and only then pick up your red pen. You won’t want to print off a full new copy after every draft, but after the marathon of the first, it really helps.

Quit

We don’t need scientific research to know that the Internet is turning us into goldfish. When I finally, properly committed to writing my novel eighteen months ago, I found myself having to entirely rewire my behaviour. At first I could only manage a few sentences before I cast around for a link to click. I was sure that I could physically feel my brain fluttering like a moth trapped in a jar. With practice, it has calmed considerably, but a ‘quick email check’ still has the ability to turn me into the writer’s equivalent of Jennifer Connelly in Labyrinth, dashing breathlessly from Pinterest oubliette to Facebook bog while the great social media Bowie-god in the sky waves a hardback in front of me with a mockingly raised eyebrow.

I’m not a big believer in online ‘nanny tools’ such as Cold Turkey or Chrome Nanny, which forcibly shut down timewasting applications or restrict your web access.  I am, however, a big fan of the rewarding sensation of self-control. So acquaint yourself with that unfortunately Americanised little menu-option called Quit. Yes, turn shit off. Close your email application. Shut down your browser. Deactivate Skype and MSN. Don’t just put your phone face down on the desk, tuck it in your bag and do up the zip. Promise yourself a ‘check-in session’ every ninety minutes. I still sometimes find this really difficult; I recommend meditation as an effective accompaniment to keep your focus muscles lean and mean.

This glossary of key digital terms has been pulled together by The Curved House based on frequently asked questions from authors they’ve worked with in recent years. Our aim is to grow this glossary over the coming months and keep it updated following developments and changes. If you have a suggestion for a term you’d like to see added to this list please do email hello(at)thewritingplatform(dot)com. Our aim is to try and serve as wide a group of authors so any ideas welcome.

Access
The right or ability to log onto a computer system or use a computer programme.

Alt tag
A text description of an image that will display with or without the image. Important for web accessibility.

Audio conversion programme
A computer programme that converts audio files (see Audio file below) into different formats. A recorded talk does not need as much depth as a musical score, so compressing (see below) into low-capacity audio format is useful to maintain usability of your site.

Audio file
A sound recording that can be listened to on a computer or mobile device.

Blog
Short for weblog, a diary on the web. Usually populated by an individual with text and/or multimedia. Entries are generally displayed in reverse chronological order (most recent at the top).

Bookmark
To bookmark a website is to save its URL electronically into a registry in your browser for easy access. Usually done with favourite or useful sites.

Broadband
A signalling method capable of transferring large amounts of data at high speed. The preferable access type and speed for web use; current industry standard in industrialised countries.

Chat room
A facility for participants, generally on the Internet, to exchange typed comments or information in real time.

Compression
The reduction in size of a data file, usually desirable with multimedia files on the Internet in order for them to load and become visible/audible as quickly as possible.

CMS (Content Management System)
A web content management system is designed to simplify the publication of web content to websites, in particular, allowing content creators to submit content without requiring technical knowledge of HTML or the uploading of files (see FTP below). A CMS provides the user with an understandable user surface that has entry masks for different media, allowing ease of access and quick edits.

CSS (cascading style sheets)
A type of web language that determines the formatting, style and design of web pages through programming code. Normally a web developer expert would be needed to develop
CSS that is custom-made to your needs.

Dial-up
A slow, low data-rate form of access to the Internet using telephone lines. Current data amounts online have made dial-up an extremely time consuming method of access to the internet.

Discussion forum
An online discussion site, usually focusing on a particular topic or group of topics. Participants usually post content that is longer in form than chat conversations. Once posted, replies remain visible to all participants and retain their position on the discussion time-line. Forum archives can go back years.

Domain name
The name (words, phrases or characters) by which a website is known and which serves as its address – usually preceded by www. and ending in a suffix (see below).

DPI
Dots per inch, a measurement of image density. DPI describes how many image dots are used within an inch-long line to make up an image. The standard pixel (see below) resolution used on the web is 72 DPI, whereas the standard resolution for print is 300DPI.

E-newsletter
A regularly distributed publication about a particular topic of interest to its subscribers and sent electronically in an email. Usually includes links to websites for further information.

FTP
File Transfer Protocol, the means by which information is uploaded onto (published on) the web. FTPs can be accessed via management programmes, “FTP clients”.

GIF
An image file format, up to now, the most commonly used graphic file type on the web. It limits the number of colors in an image so the file can download faster. Particularly good for text, art, cartoons, and line drawings. Vastly popular as a means to loop short animations.

Hardware
Computers, printers, computer screens etc. The equipment and devices used in computing (rather than the programmes used on it – see Software below).

Homepage
The main page of a website, often used as a welcome and/or introduction. Sometimes indicated by a URL (see below) ending in /index.

Host/Hosting
Holding a website on a web server (see Server below) in such a way that it can be seen by other computers. Hosting providers are service providing companies who do this in exchange for payment and are also known as ISPs.

HTML
The coding language used to build websites.

ISPs
Internet Service Providers (see Hosting above)

JPEG/JPG
An image file format, generally used on the web for photos and complex full colour images.

Link
A piece of text on a webpage which, when clicked on, leads to another webpage on either the same or a different website. An internal link leads to a piece of information on the same page.

Mac
One of the two main computer platforms (types, the other is PC, see below), created by Apple. Traditionally popular with designers and web developers.

Mailing list
A list of names and email addresses held for sending the same piece of information in one go to all those included in it. Vital for e-newsletters.

Moderation
Reading the contributions to a discussion forum with the power and responsibility for responding/dealing with/commenting on contributions when necessary.

Mouse-click
The method by which a web user moves from one web page to another.

Multimedia
This includes images, video, audio and podcasts, used to provide an engaging content experience on a website.

Navigation
The process created to help a user move around a website. Well-designed websites have consistent main navigation, found in the same position on every page. This makes movement around the site as easy as possible for the user.

Open source
Usually used to describe software (see below) developed for sharing and without charging. Often developed over time through collaboration.

PC
Personal computer. The other main computer model apart from the Mac (see above).

PDF
Portable Document Format. A document format that is light on data and capable of maintaining a document’s design and layout on different computers, therefore used extensively on the web.

Pixel
An individual dot of light, the basic unit from which images on a computer or television screen are made. Used as a measurement of screen dimensions for the computer (eg 800 x 600, which means 800 pixels wide by 600 pixels high) and to measure the size of web content such as images. Important for image preparation for the web.

PNG
An image file format, developed as an open source (see above) alternative to GIF. Considered an improvement on GIF.

Podcast
A series of digital media (audio or video) files offered for download by web syndication.

Proprietary
Created by or owned by an individual or company and sold for money. For example, a proprietary CMS is a Content Management System (see above) sold for money. The alternative is open source (see above).

Registrar (Domain name registrar)
A company that will register a domain name on your behalf for a fee.

Resolution
The level of reproduction of detail offered by a computer screen or an image.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Carrying out the necessary work to ensure that a website ranks as highly as possible in search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo).

Server
A computer that stores application programmes and data files accessed by other computers. A web server is used to store the data accessed on a website.

Social network
Or social network service. Builds online communities of people who share interests and/or activities. Usually web based and provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as email, forums, and instant messaging. Has become a very popular method of communication in recent years, used by millions of people all over the world.

Software
A computer programme or application.

Spamming (spam)
Sending an unsolicited message or spam (email) over the Internet as a mass mailing to a large number of recipients.

Suffix
The final part of a domain name (see above) that indicates either the country where a website is based (e.g. .uk, .ca, .us) or the type of company or organisation that has created the site (e.g. .com for commercial companies, .org for non-profits, .edu or .ac.uk for higher education).

Unique visitor
One individual who visits a website and an important gauge of web activity. The number of unique visitors in a given period is used as a key measure of a site’s success.

URL
Uniform Resource Locator, another name for a web address (similar to a Domain name, see above). Generally starts http:// (or https:// for a secure site).

Web stats
Web statistics, metrics used to gauge the success of a website.

Wizard
An automatic tool for guiding a user through a web programme or application.

You may also be interested in:

A Quick Guide To Facebook

A Writer’s Guide To Online Discussion Forums

Website Or Social Media: The Modern Writer’s Conundrum

What the hell happened with social media? We were told that the fierce publishing-industry lion wouldst lay down with the fragile disenfranchised-author lamb and share the cool bounty of the literary watering hole. They promised that we’d be able to get all warm and snuggly with readers across the world while just happening to shift millions of copies of our noir circus thriller on the side. We were assured that from now on, becoming a global writing success would be easier, quicker, cheaper, and much more amenable to the uninterrupted wearing of Marmite-stained pyjamas.

So how did our glorious peer-to-peer revolution turn into a riot of BDSM fan fiction trilogies, ‘15% OFF MY NEW SCIFI EBOOK @GREATDISMAL LOVES IT BUY NOW’ tweets, and £250 workshops from seven year olds offering to gift us the secrets of social self-promotion success?

The truth is, it’s our fault. Most writers persist in labouring under a series of illusions about what social media is and isn’t, can and can’t do; illusions that generate huge frustration and anxiety. Weeding out these pervasive myths can be painful at first, but the sooner you identify exactly if, and how, these channels fit with your skills and aims, the sooner you can get back to that draft. So let’s go.

1.     Social media is a great marketing tool

Social media is a rubbish marketing tool. This set of technologies was designed to help us build relationships and share passions, not become the delighted recipients of targeted messages from strangers trying to steal our attention and our money. Attempting to establish yourself online once you have completed your manuscript, for the sole purpose of flogging said manuscript, will feel like bashing your head against a brick wall. Wrong hammer, crooked nail.

Example: Frankie Sachs outs the book spammers in fabulous style.

2. It’s the perfect place to talk about you and your book

Ah yes! Just like how people love it when you corner them at a party and bend their ear about your brilliant opus, right? Wrong. If you focus on connecting with likeminded people on their own terms, garnering inspiration, reading others’ work and having interesting debates, your online community probably will develop curiosity about your own work and evolve into readers somewhere along the line. But you need to give in order to receive.

Example: @chuckpalahniuk and @neilhimself are generous, witty, eclectic and useful tweeters.

3. It’s quick

Getting someone who likes expressing themselves in 140 characters to commit to 80,000 words – let alone Vols II and III of your Downton/alien trilogy – requires a reader relationship more akin to a marriage than a one night stand. Building large-scale engagement in social media that really will drive sales takes serious man-hours, and requires a hefty emotional investment, too.

Example: Self-epublishing specialists Joanna Penn and Louise Voss both recommend spending 20% of your time writing and 80% of your time networking through social media to get results. That’s as quick as treacle.

4. It’s cheap

See above. Your time is money. It may well be better spent making your book really good. This is historically the reason why authors have preferred to pay agents and publishers to have ego-stroking lunches with influential people in Soho House, so you can have Marmite on toast and write, instead.

Example: Rob Eager writes eloquently on the hidden costs of social networking.

5. You can keep your personal and professional selves separate

Because we all love getting close and personal with Author: The Brand? You can’t treat social as a PR project.  You have to find what you love about this way of communicating, and bring an authentic sense of your own self to the playground. If you really hate that idea, if you think it’s all so much timewasting, you simply shouldn’t be there. We can tell.

Example: @lindasgrant is a self-confessed one-time sceptic who learned to love the Twitter beast – and Twitter loves her back.

6. You just need to be yourself

This doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t don a sexy and efficient business hat. Be strategic. Understand what you want to achieve. What proportion of your time will you spend talking about yourself, versus asking others questions or sharing their content? Figure out who your target audience is, where they are talking, and be as helpful, interesting and relevant as you can. Sure, look at shoes on Pinterest, but don’t pretend it’s work.

Example: Michael Hyatt used social media to get his book on the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal best-seller lists, but it took some serious tactical planning.

7. You need to be on every new platform

Whether it’s Path or Soci or MySpace (again), there will always be a box-fresh platform promising to be the next best thing, so you need to keep your head and choose the tools that most suit your personality and target audience. A witty satirist who loves peddling opinions about breaking news? Twitter’s your tool. A lengthy pontificator penning an epic historical drama? You may do better with a blog. Your protagonist is a photographer? May I suggest Instagram?

Example: Dennis Cass used video to brilliant effect with his ‘Book Launch 2.0’.

8. Facebook is the holy grail

It is very difficult to gain any kind of meaningful professional traction on Facebook. Liking a page or post involves minimal effort, but also minimal passion. Facebook a good place to spread the word amongst your family and friends, but they’re probably in your corner already; and self-promotional messages grate in the midst of the intimate chat and photos. Sure, use Facebook, but don’t depend on it.

Example: Some sobering examples of the meaninglessness of Facebook Likes.

9. You can always pay someone else to do it for you

It might seem easier, but this is a big fat waste of time. The whole joy of social media is that it cuts out the middle man between you and your readers. Why on earth would you put the middle man back in? Again, if you really hate this stuff, don’t do it. There are more than one way to skin a cat. If this blade doesn’t fit your hand snugly, go back to the drawer.

Example: If the thought of this doesn’t make you die a little inside, you’re already a corpse.

10. It’s the best place to generate word of mouth

No, it’s the best place to easily see word of mouth. US researchers Keller Fay consistently report that 90% of WOM still occurs face to face. So if you’re only thinking about how to be conversational online, you’re ignoring the iceberg beneath the tip. Team up with local bookshops, cafes and reading groups. Seed some copies on trains and planes with personalised notes. Focus less on the venues for where the conversation will happen; focus more on creating the sparks that will ignite it.

Example: Keller Fay’s The Face To Face Book is mandatory further reading.

Discussion forums or “chat rooms” are online websites where people engage in conversations around particular topics in the form of a question and answer style thread. A chat room is similar, except the conversation happens in real time. The principles are broadly the same for both forums and chatrooms so this article should give you a general overview for both. For the sake of economy we will refer to them as forums here.

Many people associate online forums with advice as the most common type are those that allow people to seek help relating to a particular issue. For example, health forums are very popular (and a little scary!) for advice about symptoms and health worries, techie forums are invaluable for answering questions about web development or any kind of technical need, and of course websites like Mumsnet offer forums for parents to discuss the highs and lows of family life. The personal nature of forums is very appealing to people and if you can find the right one it can be a great opportunity for you to connect with your readers, or other like-minded writers, and maybe even make some new friends.

Top tips for using online forums:

• Follow the rules. Forums generally have ‘rules’ that set the tone for how people engage with each other. When you first visit the forum be sure to look for the topic called ‘Forum rules’ (or something similar) to get a sense of what you can and can’t post.
• Use forums to ask for information and advice from others but also offer your expertise in return, and answer requests for information. The more you give, the more you get back.
• Proactively engage with discussions and build relationships with members.
• If you can, add photos and information to your personal profile, including links to your website, twitter profile or any other work online. However, some forums don’t allow members to link to other websites, so make sure you are aware of the rules and respect them.
• Some forums arrange real-life meet-ups. Don’t be afraid to leave the safety of your computer to attend but remember to stay safe and make sure you attend group meetings in public places only. Trust your instincts.
• Don’t engage in online arguments or slanging matches (the online term for such escalations is “flame wars”)! It’s good to take part in discussions and present your views, but remember this is about building a positive reputation. A good rule of thumb is to not type something you wouldn’t say outright in a personal conversation.
• It is OK to occasionally mention your work as long as the way you do it is sensitive and respectful to the community. People don’t like to be sold to so sometimes just being seen as a thoughtful, positive and friendly person is enough to sell a few copies of your book.
• View online spaces just like real life settings – because they are.
• Have fun!

Hosting a forum
If you are hosting a discussion forum, be aware that you have a responsibility to monitor the discussion and to take action should there be problems. You could, for example, be held responsible for defamatory remarks made against someone if you don’t remove them promptly.
These days it is easiest not to host a public discussion forum: social networks cover this ground really well. However, you may want to create a members’ password-protected discussion area where supporters can exchange ideas, or as a one-off event. You will still need to monitor this but the responsibility may be easier.
Many web content management systems (such as WordPress) come with a password-protected discussion forum option, so it is easy to set one up from a website created in this way.

Get started by visiting some of these popular forums for writers: 

figment.com
www.publishedauthors.org
www.writingforums.com
www.writersbeat.com
www.kuforum.co.uk/kindleusersforum/forum-35.html
www.mywriterscircle.com
www.youngwritersonline.net
www.makeliterature.com/forums

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A Quick Guide To Facebook

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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.

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