WRITING TIPS - Social Media and Marketing for Introverts (as a lot of indie authors are)

It's Thursday, so it's TL blog day.
I've got a list of topics yet to be covered. Feel free to offer up suggestions btw.

But today I feel like just having fun. It's all got a bit serious on here lately, and I'm starting to sound like a writing manual.

But this post could get really random and ecclectic if I don't try to focus a little.
That's just my way.

Over the years, those lovely 'Investor in People' employers I've worked for send their staff on courses so they get to keep their shiny award. And the staff are forced to stay awake with free coffee and biscuits. Thanks to many redundancies, I've sat a fair few of those, and I'm fairly sure I'm the 'green' personality. The one that is easily distracted and introverted. The "ooh butterfly" one.

Have you ever done one of these?

I'm also a trained counsellor, and have sat many 'navel gazing' exercises (looking deep within yourself). 

Plus, my holistic training has helped me look at people differently too. 

It may be surprising to some, to hear I'm an introvert. In social situations I tend to overcompensate. I get overly chatty, and loud if alcohol's involved. It's difficult to shut me up. I'm sure there's some people who think I'm full of myself. Nothing could be further from the truth, in fact. You just need to see past my facade. 

I have a point! I'm getting there. Honest. 

Anyway, so whilst mingling with many authors online (love ya), I've noticed some commonalities. Now, I'm not saying EVERYONE. Don't start moaning. But generally, authors seem to be:

• introverts
• pet owners (usually cats)

No harm in that. And as we spend prolonged periods hiding in our writing dens, creating wonderful tomes, perhaps our work intrinsically attracts introverts. 

We love introverts; quiet, studious types. 

Gotta feel the love for extroverts too btw. They help drag us out into the 'outside' and befriend us.

Social situations tend to drain introverts. Doesn't mean we can't go out and have fun. But we need time to recover after. 

Add to this, the fact that I'm an empath. I feel the emotions of others around me deeply. 

Hmm...why did working in an office of 85 intensely intellectual mostly men make me really ill?? 

Back to the point...nothing wrong with introverts. We don't need to be 'fixed'. We are what we are. 

But...it is a bit of a nuisance when it comes to promotion, huh? 

As an author (whether indie or trad, as previously discussed) we need to publicise our work, so lovely readers get to know about it. 

Huh! 

Mercifully, the majority of this can be done online these days.
Your computer becomes your shield.
There's so many things.
Social media is huge. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.
But eek, these mean you have to write stuff. Put information out there! 😨
It's OK. You don't have to divulge your best kept secrets.
But readers do like to know a bit about authors. What are you interests? What do you do?
This is perhaps why we have cats; shove them in front of the camera, and not ourselves 😉

There's some great groups around, who are friendly and supportive, offering quiet corners.
This very blog has a 'hug depository' for when times get tough.
And my own Indie Coffee Lounge fb group is super lovely.
And more is out there.

But there's other ways too.
Blogging is really quite personal a lot of the time, but it doesn't have to be. I'm used to including gumph about me now. I've got used to it over the years. I even enjoy my online interactions.
And to an extent, you should share. But you can focus on your writing/tips as opposed to you.

Giveaways are faceless. Amazon and Goodreads are possibly the biggest ones for this. But don't expect many reviews in return.
(*UPDATE* these are expensive and not generally considered worth it now)

There's also services such as, but not restricted to, BookFunnel and InstaFreebie - great for building your newsletter following and for distributing ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies).

Have we all discovered how to set up an Author Page on Amazon btw?
Under your book title, your author name appears, and it takes readers to your profile.
This, really annoyingly isn't done in KDP (*smacks head*)
You will need to set it up separately for each site.
So, the US has authorcentral.amazon.com
And the UK has authorcentral.amazon.co.uk
This will also show you handy charts on 'Author Rank' and 'Sales Rank', as well as eventually showing you reviews (takes days for it to catch up with latest ones).

There's promotion sites such as Bookbub, ENT (Ereader News Today), Red Feather Romance, Bargain Booksy who will send out messages including details on your book sale, in exchange for a fee.
BookBub is considered the holy grail of book advertising, and even trad publishers use it. However, it has taken me x30 applications to finally get an ad accepted - persistence is key there. And your book (cover, blurb, reviews have to be spot on).

Amazon Advertising (you'll see this referred to as AMS ads on social media), is one of the most effective regular avenues for me.
It is a bit complicated. I recommend taking a FREE COURSE such as the one by The Kindlepreneur or Bryan Cohen runs AMS Ad School courses periodically.

At the end of the day, you need to find what you're comfortable with. Just try stuff out.

I'm not writing to be famous. I write because I love it.
Yes, I really want many readers to buy my books and love them.
But them, not me. I am not my books.

btw there's a reason you never have to go too long on my Instagram before finding Pusskin 😉

Pusskin overseeing my work

For examples of my own social media, feel free to visit:

Goodreads

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Amazon

OK, that's your lot for today. Sorry, it ended up a bit serious after all. Hey ho.

Feel free to offer gentle opinions/thoughts below.

Always in love and light,

TL