How can readers help authors? Reviews and Social Media!

I love when a reader emails or Tweets "I loved this book! How can I help spread the word about your work?" You know you've made a connection in some way and that feels good. No, not good. Amazing!

So if you're a reader and you want to help an author, what do you do?

1. Write a review--Places like Amazon and Goodreads are great places to leave reviews for authors. This helps spread the word about a book you especially enjoyed and can help you connect with the other readers with like minded interests. Will the author read your review? Depends on who they are, but personally, I like to read mine. Even the bad ones. How else will I be a life long learner if I don't hear it all? Some authors may not like to admit it, but reviews--good and bad--are important. They are what get others interested in the story.

By the way, it's always great to leave a text review, but even a quick review where you just star the work is fine, too. It all helps!

2. Social Media--Did you just love that book? Did you relate to every character? Feel like you were living their lives? Then don't keep that inside. Hurry to your Twitter account and post your emotion right now! Or update your Facebook status asap. Snap that Instagram pic of the book cover and share it with the world.

Authors are always told to use social media as a way to connect with their readers, but it's also a way for a reader to express how they felt about they read. If you want to help out your favorite author, tag them on social media as you talk about their book. If you see that author's name in a Tweet, retweet it. This is spreading the word just like leaving a review. Share the author's post on Facebook. Like their photos.

You'd be surprised how these simple acts can help an author out!

5 Tools to Help the Challenged Writer with Social Media

SOCIAL MEDIA. I can't think of that phrase without it being in all caps, shouting off the page like it's some over sized gorilla determined to climb the Empire State Building of Writing. If you've been following our friendly little blog here at All Things Writing, you are aware that we've done several blog posts about various forms of social media. It's one of those things that writers are supposed to get savvy about if they expect to build a platform, get an agent, find a publisher, and sell a book. And if you're thinking to yourself, "Ah, I'm self publishing. She's not talking to me..." Ha! I'm especially talking to you. My hairy finger (yes, it's kind of Hobbit-like)  is pointing directly in your direction, and I'm shaking my golden locks, (they're actually kind of dish watery) dismayed by your naivety.

Yep. Social media is a band wagon you need to jump on, my friend. I know, I know. There's so much to choose from. How will you find the time? Or keep up with it all? We've heard about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and all the other. So here's 5 new tips to think about.

1. Social Oomph--This handy, dandy website will help you out if you feel like you don't have time to Tweet on Twitter. It allows you to schedule your tweets in advance, thus giving the illusion you are on-line. This can be a great tool for scheduling little announcements at various points through out the day. Just hop on in the morning, schedule your bright, witty comments about things that haven't happened yet, and go on about your business. Some people say this defeats the point of Twitter. Tough. Some of us have lives. To view Social Oomph, click here: http://dld.bz/ahZaR

2. Blog Topics--Blogging is a pretty big thing for writers since it helps create your platform and introduces your voice to readers. Don't know what to write about for your adoring fans this week? No problem. Look at your previous posts. Create a little graphic organizer and brainstorm ideas that relate to what you've written about in the past. Pretty soon, you'll have a nice list of new ideas. Keep them by your computer so when you're stuck on what to write about, the list is right there to refer to.

3.  Stat Counter--Want to know if your blogs are being read or which topics score the most hits? Many blog sites have built in stat counters, but you can also install a stat counter on your website to help you keep track, too. For details, click here. http://statcounter.com/

4. Animoto--Some of us are visual learners. If you want to create a movie to help promote your book, get more attention to your blog, or just because you've got a need to be the next Robert Rodriguez, then go to Animoto. This site is so easy to use and allows you to create some fun videos in under thirty seconds. Even my ninety year old grandma could do it! I've used this to drive traffic to my blog or promote things for functions at work. Above is an example video that I made using Animoto.

5. Goodreads--I know I just did a blog post about the fabulousness of Goodreads, but it has to be said again: they are a great social media tool. With all the chat sites on Goodreads, you are sure to find kindred readers. This is a good way to get feed back on your short stories, manuscripts, ideas, and encourage people to read your blog.

I hope these simple social media hints will help inspire you. Have some other quick suggestions or new ideas? Leave a comment!

Let Your Facebook Page Breathe

You're an author or aspiring to be one and I'm sure by now everyone has told you that you need to get an Internet presence. So you dutifully went out and got a Facebook account. And the good people at Facebook offered to make your page private so that only your friends and family can view it.

Don’t! Don’t make your Facebook page so private that your fans can’t find you. It defeats the whole purpose.

I know the Internet is a big scary place. And I know that there are lots of people out there just waiting to give your computer a virus, or steal your identity, or any number of other horrible things, but sometimes you just have to loosen up.

I recently went to an author’s page on Facebook to “friend” them, but the page was so private, I couldn’t tell if it was the author I was looking for or not. The profile picture was an avatar and there was nothing that told me that she was an author. It wasn’t until I looked at her photos – which I was shocked to find weren’t private – and discovered pictures of her book covers.

And she wasn’t the only one. There have been others too, others that didn’t have pictures of book covers. So if you’re going to get an Internet presence to help build up your fan base, don’t shoot yourself in the foot by making it so private no one knows who you are. Let it breathe!

~Doug McIntire
http://www.dougmcintire.com/