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.

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.

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.

Your online presence is everything you say online: on your website if any, on your publisher’s website if any, on your blog if any, on Facebook or Twitter or any other social media site, and also – unfortunately – in your private emails, which can so easily be hacked and copied. It’s also everything anyone says about you: in newspaper or magazine reviews, if in digital form or accessible online; on blogs; on social media.

A word of warning: publishing online is publishing, and is subject to libel law. Book reviews are “fair comment,” but vicious attacks on other people’s personalities and behaviour are not.

But what about you, the writer? Publishers are always telling authors to get online, take up social media, run a blog, and so forth. Should you do it? Not if you don’t feel comfortable with it. Some writers feel that engaging online would be a distraction; others find it trivial and embarrassing, even demeaning. Yet others feel it’s another form of writing. Some genuinely want to hear from their readers. Each online platform is different. Twitter is truly social: it’s like a party. You meet strangers, some of whom will indeed be strange. You have short conversations about any subject at all. But if all you do is promote your own work, other people will think you’re vain and egotistical. They’ll be very happy to get recommendations from you about books by other writers, however. Twitter is a great way to pass along the news, including news about things you like and causes you support.

A blog is like a column in a newspaper: you can use it to write about things that interest you. Some of these may be your own work, but if that’s all you write about, your readers may lose interest. A website – which may host, for instance, a blog and a Twitter window – can be many things, but on a writer’s website visitors expect to find out about the books you’ve written, to read reviews, and even to be shown how they can buy your books online. Pictures of the covers are not out of place here, nor a biography.

A Goodreads author session allows readers to ask questions that writers then answer. It’s like a Q and A after a reading. Those attending it will be fans of your work. These sessions are generally pleasant.

Facebook is like a moving billboard on which items are posted, most of which concern the subject. Many authors have a Facebook page administered by the publisher. Some have Facebook “shrine” pages put up by fans.

Pinterest is for pictures; some of these can be covers of your books, should you so desire. Flickr and Instagram are also mainly visual. I suppose you could use Instagram to post pictures on your own website and Facebook. I haven’t tried it yet. Glossi allows you to create something that looks like a glossy magazine (you can turn the pages). It would be a good place for an illustrated excerpt, with perhaps a background piece about the book. Byliner fills the niche left by a dearth of magazine fiction and longform investigative journalism. It commissions paid-for pieces, shares royalties, allows authors to post “updates” to stories, and cross-promotes via (for instance) Twitter. It curates collections of authors work, and allows users to search by various categories. Your agent should be aware of it.

Wattpad is a site on which members generate the free content that other members can read and comment on. It exists in 25 languages; its members (both readers and writers) tend to be young, but increasingly publishers are looking at it both for potential writers and as a way to help launch a book. There are a great many book bloggers and library sites and book clubs, and some will advise you to leave “calling cards” on them. I have no opinion about this, not having tried it. Book Riot and Rumpus are two well-known book information sites, but there are many more.

And who knows what wonders may soon appear? Siren songs, all of them, you may feel, leading those who heed them to destruction: your real job is to finish your book. Or you may not feel that. It’s up to you. And there’s no rule that says you can’t try one of these out and then decide it’s not for you. On the Internet, one size does not fit all.

If you’re considering developing your web presence you are probably wondering whether it’s better to build a website, start a blog, or join Twitter, Facebook and the many other social media platforms available today. If you are lucky enough to have the golden trifecta: time, ability and money, then by all means, do it all! But if you’re like most people and have limited resources in at least one or two of those areas, you need to think about the kind of web presence that you can manage on an ongoing basis.

For many writers, social media is an awkward fit. It takes time and tenacity so a low-maintenance website can be a really good way to secure an online presence without the pressure of daily, weekly or even monthly updating. Before we go on, I want to emphasise that this article is not about scaring you off social media. There are counter arguments for everything listed below, and if you can utilise social media then by all means do. But if you can’t use it then – for authors especially – a website remains a very valid alternative. Here’s why:

Maintain your comfort Zone
A website allows you stay within your comfort zone. You decide what goes up there, approve it before it goes live to the public, and then update it as and when you need to. Engagement with social media is much more active and immediate and it can be difficult for a variety of reasons: lack of knowledge or ability, lack of time, or most crucially a general lack of interest. Many of us are not, by nature, sociable creatures so the idea of joining Twitter is akin to being forced to attend every networking event on the publishing calendar, completely alone, and to emerge surrounded by a bunch of new friends. Online activity may be cyber, but it’s still real life and you are perfectly within your rights to maintain the same comfort you would in the physical world. A simple website allows you to be present, while only attending the parties you want to attend.

Control the content
When you use social media you are engaging with a network of other users and this effects your own profile. You can’t always control how other people behave and interact with you on a social media site but you can control the content of a website. And it’s easier than ever to do that. Nowadays websites are much more accessible and affordable. Almost all developers will build your site using a CMS (Content Management System) and this allows you to quickly and easily edit your site yourself, at no cost. If you can use Microsoft Word then you will be able to use a CMS and you will therefore be able to maintain control over the content.

Keep it low maintenance
Not everyone is tech savvy, just like not everyone can cook, or garden, or fix things. Creating a low maintenance website let’s you have a web presence that you can maintain as often or as little as you like. The more you can update your site and be present online, the more search engines will favour you, but this favouritism isn’t always so necessary for authors. Having a website that functions as a simple calling card can be enough.

Consolidation
The most effective way to present a complete picture of yourself is on a website. Unlike social media sites, a website gives people a single portal into your online world, rather than them having to sift through your tweets, posts and mentions to build a picture for themselves. Your homepage should carry all the key information people might need (and a link to where they can buy your books) and also give the reader a sense, within a split second of seeing it, of who you are.

Validation
Anyone can create a Twitter account and invent a persona for themselves, but a website is a bigger investment and it therefore gives validity to yourself and your work. It shows that you have made a commitment to your writing and that you are serious. If you have a well-designed and well-presented website it will also demonstrate to agents, publishers and readers that you know what you’re doing when it comes to your online presence.

Copyright and Intellectual Property
Most social media sites are free but they need to monetize themselves somehow. Often they do this by assuming ownership of the content (data) that you upload to their sites and using any social media site comes with the implicit understanding that this is how things work. When you build a website you retain the copyright of the content (be sure to make sure your web designer agrees this in writing) while your web designer will keep the copyright of the design and code base (assuming they produced both). You can ask for a backup of the data at any time to ensure your content is safe.

Statistics
Finally, with a website you can track your web statistics and see, among other things, the number of visitors to your site, how long they stayed on the site, their geographic location and how they found your website. This can be invaluable data for understanding who your readership is and what you can do to engage them further. For example, if you find that 40% of visitors are coming from Germany it might be time to discuss a German language edition with your publisher!

It’s not nearly as costly or intimidating to get a website as it used to be and it can be a great way to start building your online self. Who knows, maybe you’ll get hooked and will want to join Twitter after all!

A Writer’s Guide to Online Discussion Forums

A Glossary Of Key Terms

A Quick Guide To Facebook

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