Online Etiquette for Authors

While social media and online marketing isn’t such a new concept anymore, it does help to sometimes refresh the ole writerly brain on how best to interact over the intertubes. Below are my quick tips to get it right:

Double check what you’ve written before pressing the send/publish button. Those typos can make you look unprofessional and the grammar errors can make you want to go hide in the closet for a few days—and we all know a closet is not the most inspirational place to write.  

Don’t do online what you wouldn’t do in person. Heck, don’t do some things you would do in person too! Use commonsense and courtesy, and avoid those flame wars by avoiding inflammatory language.

Don’t say anything online while you’re angry, drunk or on pain medication. Come to think of it, maybe at times like those, the closet isn’t such a bad place after all.

Be the real thing. If you try to be someone you’re not, then it will show and you’ll come across as disingenuous. No one wants to be accused of being fake, not even this closet-dwelling recluse on a chocolate binge.

Use your author name. As much as ‘AngelsRock’ sounds cool for an online name, even if your stories are about angels, it’s yourself you want to promote. People will connect to a real name over a gamer tag, or even no name at all.

Be available. The whole point of social media is the social aspect. You want people to find you, even contact you. So that means, along with your author name, you’ll need to provide an email address or some other way to connect with you. You'll need to be present on those sites too, rather than relying heavily on automated or prescheduled posts.

Avoid the hard sell. It doesn’t work and it turns people away. Go go double jeopardy.

Talk about other things than your books. Yes, there are a gazillion other things to talk about than the awesomeness of your book.

Cross promote, but don’t only cross promote. If all you post is promotional stuff, whether it’s for your book or someone else’s, people will grow tired of it.

Be generous. Listen to what others have to say and look for opportunities to help.

Thank the people who have helped you. This might sound obvious, but you'd be surprised by how many authors forget to do this. So I’ll say again, if someone has gone out of their way to help you, even if it’s a little thing, then don’t forget to thank them … or into the closet for you!

Can you think of other etiquette do's and don'ts for writers? What's been your standout experience of writers who get it right or wrong?

Photo: A pic I took at IKEA. Think closets. Okay, so it's a thin connection, but I amused myself.

10 Tips to Get Blog Tours and Guest Posts Right

Before the Make Believe Tour, I hadn’t experienced the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes of blog tours. There's a lot of juggling behind the fanfare. As a consequence, I learnt many important tips I thought I'd share here:

1. Always, always write down the dates you have scheduled for the tour and/or guest post. If you think you’ll remember them, you’re wrong. If you wait until the date is confirmed, you’ll forget. Just write them down. Use a pencil if you must.

2. Blog tours are often organised months in advance. It’s important to send out reminders of your visit a week before you’re due to be featured.

3. Try to have all interview questions in a week before the tour begins because once the tour has started you’ll be too busy to chase up questions, let alone answer them as well. The less panic you can cause yourself, the better.

4. In all your correspondence with your hosts, include the date you’ve agreed to feature on their blogs. This doesn’t guarantee no mistakes, but it sure will help to avoid them.

5. Always double check your posts and make sure they have no errors, and the content is good.

6. Read your emails regularly and make yourself available in case of any last minute changes.

7. Agree to a time of post. This is especially helpful when you live in a different timezone to your host. It’s a mistake to link to a host who doesn’t have anything there yet. It’s also a mistake not to link at all, which brings me to my next point:

8. Always link back to your host’s blog. Share the link on your blog and on other network sites, such as Twitter and Facebook.

9. Respond to comments on your host’s blog. And keep returning to respond to comments even when you’ve moved on in the tour.

10. Always thank the person who has generously given you their time and their blog space.

Carol Kilgore said it perfectly in an email: The best guest bloggers are those who will bring new people, interact with everyone, and have something interesting to say.

And that brings me to the final stop on the Make Believe Tour. The Secret Writer is hosting an ebook giveaway.

What do you think of Blog Tours? As a writer, do you think they are an effective promotional tool? As a reader, what’s your reaction to them?

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M.L.Swift has started up a Progressive Book Club.

They post on the third Wednesday of every month.

He describes it as, "A unique blog hop that's an online book club!" So please check it out!

Guest Post: Madeleine Sara

Please welcome guest poster, Madeleine Sara:

I‘ve always enjoyed writing as a means of expressing myself. I made books and stories from the moment I could write, but then I stopped for many years, As writing is in my blood I couldn’t stay away from it forever.

With 16 non-fiction articles published in National/ International magazines; my own magazine Cloth Figure Quarterly and a How-to Book ‘Fiddly Little Fingers and Tricky Little Toes’ under my belt, I started a nine month Creative Writing Course. That was an almighty shock to realise that, in fiction writing terms, this was only just the beginning! So I read more books & writing magazines and learned that these days having a blog is important for an aspiring writer.

In August 2010, I started my writing blog, Scribble and Edit blog and loved it.
I love the creative design elements in presenting the blog posts and the look / content of the blog. I love the writing challenges that inspire and test my writing skill and I love the supportive, blogging community who have helped make my writing mature exponentially. Two other great supports have been 1: Write1Sub1 monthly, which has shown me that the more you write and send out the more experience and success you achieve. So thank you Milo, Simon and Stephen you have been a fantastic boost to my oftentimes wavering morale. 2: Romantic Friday Writers my thanks to Denise, Donna and Francine for the great challenges, feedback and awards that have allowed me to flex my writing muscles.

I have been delighted to have other short pieces of flash fiction, stories and haiku accepted by magazines, eZines and charity compilations, which has bolstered by confidence.

I happened upon the idea for Ultimate Sacrifice in a magazine I was reading at the hairdressers. Usually the stories in those magazines seem quite depressing and tawdry, so you can imagine this one left quite an impression. From one relatively incidental element in the account I had a light bulb moment that got me thinking in that What If? way that writing craft books encourage. Without providing spoilers, I can only say that I realised that I could create my own characters, who suffer a similar tragedy for a novella/ short story and explore this element as the twist in my tale. It’s therefore not quite romance, more realistic fiction with romantic elements. This story was a great vehicle for exploring what happens when the going gets tough. The subject is also very topical and full of that all-important conflict, which modern stories demand.

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Overcoming Insecurities to Build a Brand

My biggest insecurity in my writing career is sharing the real me. During my two years of blogging I've offered writing and social media tips. For the majority of that time I hid behind a cute blog title, W.I.P. It, and a flower avatar.

This didn't help my brand. Why? Because it didn't spread the word about who Lynda R. Young is.

While I'd be happiest wearing my cow slippers and living out my days writing in my comfy cave, I can't, or at least, I shouldn't. If I want to get serious about my career then I have to step out. I need to make myself accessible to my readers. I need to show my personality and—gulp—vulnerability. This is where my little self wants to run screaming.

This requirement is something I've known for some time and fought against for even longer. I value my privacy. But building a brand doesn't mean I need to share every intimate detail about my life, my cat's life, or the lives of all my loved ones. I just need to share a little more of who I am, my struggles, my achievements, and my dreams.

Slowly I’m overcoming this insecurity. I now display my name on my blog for all to see and misspell. I also display my official author photo on all my social media: Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads. The biggest hurdle I’m now facing is inserting more of me into my posts. I hope I won’t scare anyone away because of it.

What have been your biggest hurdles you’ve had to face to achieve a dream? How are you working to overcome them?

This post was written for the Insecure Writers’ Support Group, the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Thank you to Sabrina A. Fish for the Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you too to Christine Rains for the Booker Award. You are both awesome! Please visit the blogs of these lovely ladies and say hi from me.

Note: I took the sunset photo on board the cruise ship as it was leaving Sydney. 

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The Best Kind of Promotion

The best kind of promotion we can do for ourselves is to promote the work of other authors. This might sound counter productive, but when an author promotes their own work and nothing else, then interest often fades. To avoid the urge to spam the internet with news of our books, we should promote each other. Those we promote will often return the favour. Apart from that, praise for a book has far more authority when it's not coming from the author. 

While there are many ways to promote a book, what do you think are the best ways?

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Contest: The writers at Scribbler's Cove are running a contest to promote two up and coming book releases:

Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn, release date November 1st



 




Darkspell by Elizabeth Mueller, release date October 31st






Be sure to check out their websites and the contest is found here.
   

A-Z Challenge 2012
The amazing Arlee Bird is doing it again. For updates pop on over to this dedicated A-Z website every Tuesday.



Awards:
A huge thank you to Miss Cole of  Miss Cole Seeks Publisher for the One Lovely Blog Award.

And another huge thank you to the lovely Madeleine at Scribble and Edit for the Friendly Blogger Award. Although they are all special, this is one I've not received before.

The Give and Take of Social Media

Social media is an important tool in a writer’s utility belt. It’s not just about building a personal platform from which to launch ourselves and our careers. It’s also a great way of staying connected with the writing community. It will link us to a broad base of knowledge, invaluable tips and tricks, and the much needed encouragement all writers crave.

It’s not just about the number of followers we have. It’s also about the number of people we follow in turn.

It’s not just about the number of comments we get. It’s also about the number of comments we make.

It’s not just about what we can gain. It’s also about what we can give.

In other words, it’s about true interaction within a community. More often than not the amount we gain from social media is proportional to the amount we give. So how do we make sure the balance it there?

Be genuinely interested in others. If you have a choice to spend time with two people, which would you choose? The one who is thoughtful, kind and interested in you, or the one who only talks about themselves? Which one would you be more likely to help?

Offer interesting or helpful blog content. If your blog is only about the cuteness your children, or the greatness of your latest book, then people will stop coming back. Give them a reason to return by offering them something of interest.

Run competitions. People love blogfests and competitions. They are a great way to promote yourself without promoting yourself. Prizes don’t have to be huge, but people remember the generosity and the fun.

Promote other people’s work. I’ve had a few people show their support in small but generous ways. I remember these people and I want to offer them the same in return. I’ve had the most success in twitter when I retweet other people’s great blog posts or tweets. Plus it makes me feel good ;)

Ultimately social media is about the relationships we find and nurture. These relationships are precious and need to be treated as such. The rewards are countless.

Can you think of other ways to keep the balance of promotion and interaction in social media? What are your strong points? What are some things which might hold you back?

Protect Your Rep

For those of us who blog, twitter, or spend any time on any form of social media, we must always be mindful of the reputation we are building – and we build it whether we are purposefully attempting to promote ourselves or not. It is a precious thing. And it is fragile. In the words of Warren Buffett: It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. Think about that, you’ll do things differently.

So, how do we safeguard our reputation?

Always be positive. Positivity is attractive. Who wants to hang out with a complainer all the time? You will gain respect and followers when you are positive.

Be helpful. We tend to remember those who make themselves available in a helpful and encouraging way. And we often want to respond in like.

Avoid controversies. Some might think that even bad press is good press, but this is a dangerous game to play. More often than not it will backfire in your face and you may never be able to recover.

Don’t do the burn. Remember what our mums used to say to us: If you can’t say anything nice about a person, don’t say anything at all. I recently read a blog post which listed a whole string of a successful author’s failed sentences. As amusing as some might find this, it opened up a world of trouble for the writer of the blog. Because she burned someone, the readers felt it was then okay to burn her. It wasn’t pretty.

Grow a thick skin. Sometimes no matter how careful you are or how respectful you try to be towards others, someone will find something negative to say about you. If this happens I think it is crucial not to react back in a similar way. There is no justification for being unkind and you’ll end up looking worse than your attacker.

What are some things you do to protect your reputation? Do you even feel it needs protecting?

Twetiquette: Twitter Etiquette

All writers who want to get published should work on building a platform from which they can promote themselves and their work. One way of doing this is using Twitter.

Twitter is about promoting yourself and your work, but it’s also about community. At first it can seem daunting. Your tweets can seem to get lost like the chirps of a single bird in a flock of other chirping birds. How then can you get noticed? How can you get it right?

Some basic rules of etiquette need to be followed:

It’s not only about you. If you only post about yourself, your work, and what you are doing, then you will be noticed, but not in a good way. With any kind of community involvement, it takes time and interaction to build your place within it.

Seek moderation. Be a shooting star, but don’t storm the twitter sky with your tweets. If you post a tweet every five seconds, you will lose followers. No one wants to be bombarded.

Be creative. Regurgitating endless quotes from famous people doesn’t help to promote who you are and it doesn’t help anyone else either. Make your tweets interesting to read. Make them positive. And mix them up.

Be polite. Never ever, ever burn anyone in a public forum. Ever. It’s easy to gain a bad reputation and so much harder to build a good one from there.

Be helpful. The thing about any community is that you are best loved when you share. Retweet other people’s tweets. Be generous. Link helpful sites - not just your own.

Can you think of other helpful twitter etiquette rules? Do you even like twitter?

picture taken from here