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In which I explain my personal approach to using social media and why I've taken this approach. This is not a rant about social media but an attempt to define what values I feel are important--as they relate to my craft--and what the ramifications of living by those values are. Jump to Essay
No one wants to buy a book without reader-reviews, but an author needs at least a few reviews in order to sell their book. Only about 5% of readers leave reviews. But how is the author going to sell a hundred books to get five reviews without any reviews already present in order to encourage readers to buy? The problem seems intractable and the author despairs. In this essay I make the case why your reviews are so important. Jump to Essay
My goal in life is to tell great stories. I want to learn everything I can about the craft of storytelling in the written form. I want to push myself to be a better writer, to do more with my chosen craft.
I'm willing to give up a lot to accomplish this. I'm willing to give up love, friendship, money, social esteem, security--almost everything. I'm willing to live a Spartan existence on the periphery of society. This is a spiritual calling akin to being a monk or nun--or a hermit.
What I just can't bring myself to do is to take time away from my calling to send tweets, to respond to comments, and to market myself. Everyone believes you have to do that now. Traditional publishers demand that authors have a "social media presence," an "author's platform." This so-called-platform is essential for marketing. So they think. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.
Nevertheless, social media exist and unless one adapts to this sorry reality they'll be left behind. Am I a Luddite because I don't care about social media? No, I'm a realist. What makes me a realist?
I believe that what the lovers of great storytelling want is--great storytelling. If that means the author isn't going to respond to their comment, or say thank you for liking something of theirs, or pretend to be a social media personality, than so be it.
I believe that what the lovers of great storytelling want the author to be doing is--telling great stories. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe after spending all that time and effort to master the craft of storytelling what the fans want is the author to be available 24/7 on social media. But I doubt it.
I've never had a social media account. No Facebook page, no My Space page when it existed. I don't even use a "smart" phone so I don't have any social media apps. I prefer it that way, as I'd rather be reading and writing. However, I am realistic. I know people use social media. I want them to be able to find my work. I have made a Facebook page for myself and for my publishing company. I have made a YouTube page and a TikTok (BookTok) account to share the audio books (short stories and excerpts) that I've recorded. The approach I am taking with social media is informational. I am putting the information out there.
But I am going to consciously commit a social media sin. I am not going to engage regularly with my social media followers. Why not? Am I a jerk? No. I love having readers and fans. They are important. But to tell great stories requires a lot of work with the subconscious mind. I won't go into it all here (See Storytelling, the Art and Craft of Great Fiction) but the subconscious focuses on what you focus on with your conscious mind. It acts as a helper.
If you focus on social media engagement your subconscious will help you. It will set aside everything else and focus its attention on social media engagement. That means your fiction won't be as good. If you consciously focus on writing great fiction--on telling great stories--your subconscious will set aside everything else and help you do that. The point is you succeed at what you focus on. I want to succeed at telling great stories, not mastering social media (which I don't even like). It has nothing to with being anti-social. It has to do with giving the readers what they want--great stories.
The question is, how will people find my writing unless I put it out there? I want the lovers of great storytelling to find my fiction so they can read it and judge it. Hopefully they'll like it and spread the word. That's the best I can do and, besides mastering my craft and creating new fiction, it's all I should do.
It's not my business to be a salesman or a marketer. I'll fail as a social media personality. I don't want to be influenced or to influence anyone else. It's my business to tell great stories, to make them available, and to humbly request you read them and, if you like them, to spread the word. I'm not going to build or shepherd a community. That's not my job. That's the fan's job and joy. They'll do it if they want to. They'll do it if they love my writing. My job is to write.
However, as a businessman I have to promote my products so customers can find them. That means marketing. Social media is only one avenue of marketing. It's a big one, maybe the biggest, but I don't know how effective it is at selling books. I think word-of-mouth is effective. That can happen over social media. But it doesn't come from the author. It comes from readers who love the story and want to share their enthusiasm. Really, that's the best kind of marketing there is. The only thing I can do to enable that is to tell great stories and ask you to share your enthusiasm. Please do.
How does a potential reader evaluate a book, especially a work of fiction? It's easier to take a chance on a book if the author is known. If an author has a good reputation and seems popular it offers an endorsement. How, thinks a potential reader, could the author be so loved if their book was bad? Reputations sell books. The endorsement comes from the "wisdom of the crowd."
What if a potential reader has never heard of the author or the author has no reputation? What factors play a role in how or why that potential reader decides to take a chance on an unknown author--or not to?
First is the cover. Does the cover tell the reader what genre the book belongs to? Is that genre one the reader enjoys? Does the cover communicate professionalism? (A poorly designed cover alerts a potential reader to the possibility of poor writing inside.) Does the cover promise excitement? Entertainment? Does it define a mood or setting? Does the cover depict the protagonist? If so, is the protagonist one that the reader could potentially identify with? Or does the cover depict the antagonist? Or the love interest? Does the cover art make the reader curious about these characters?
What's the book's title? What does the title communicate? Excitement? Entertainment? A mood or setting? Romance? Mystery?
If the cover and the title attract or intrigue the reader, they may look at the back copy. This is the blurb on the back of the book. The reader uses the information here to further evaluate the book. Does it promise a good story? Does it communicate emotion, setting, theme, mood, story world, and the central conflict? Does the back copy hook the reader's interest?
In most cases the author does not control any of the factors that a potential reader uses to evaluate a book. Most authors have no say in the cover. They may have come up with the title but the publisher may change it. An editor, ad copy writer, or a sales or marketing person may have written the back copy. This leaves the author little power to attract a potential reader. If the author is lucky the reader may read the first few paragraphs or pages. Here the author can finally have a say.
However, the process of evaluation is haphazard. People dont want to waste their time or money on an unknown. It's easier to say "no" to a potential book than to say "yes." Yet, an accumulation of positive or encouraging factors may overcome the reader's reluctance. If the cover is good, if the title is intriguing, if the back copy spurns on interest, and if there is something of a reputation to be evaluated, the potential reader may become an actual reader. They may find a new favorite author and an author may find a new reader.
I have done my best to write great stories, to design genre-specific covers that promise excitement or intrigue, and to write engaging back copy that--I hope--hooks the reader's attention and gets them interested in my stories. But there is one thing I cannot do. I cannot create my own reputation.
This is where your review comes into play. If you've read the story, you've formed an opinion about it. For most of us, our opinion remains in our heads or we may mention it to a friend or two. This is perfectly natural but it doesn't help the author. Of course, you aren't required to help the author--even if you loved their story. However, you do have an opportunity to help not only the author but also your fellow readers.
In fact, I feel it is to your fellow readers that your opinion is most valuable. I said I cannot build my own reputation. Nor should I attempt to. It is up to the readers to confer with one another, to pass along recommendations--or warnings. It is the community of well informed readers that create a writer's reputation.
There is a rare breed of reader who is willing to take a chance on an unknown author. These are the opinion-setters. These brave and enlightened souls are the discoverers of new talent. It is their opinions that encourage other readers to pick up the book and give the story and its author a chance. These are the 5% who leave reviews and who begin to build reputations.
To the author these risk-takers and opinion-setters are a lifeline. They provide the first dozen or so reviews that more reluctant readers require in order to take a risk. As I said, if you've read the story, you've formed an opinion. You may worry that your opinion may not be erudite enough to warrant a review, but it is--even if your review is as simple as, "I liked it." So long as your review is honest it will be valuable.
Even if you're not normally one to leave a review take a momen to think how valuable your opinion really is, to those reluctant readers who might pass up a great story if you remain mute, to the community itself, who build and rely on reputations, and to the humble author, who often labors alone with no fanfare and no knowledge of if anyone has read his or her book and how they might feel about it. A book review really is an important thing.