Social media for authors: Facebook

I’ve been working with Elissa Cruz, our local SCBWI chapter Assistant Regional Advisor, looking ahead to a potluck social this summer. (It is Friday, July 18 at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City, by the way.) As it is a “social,” we were thinking social media and how it impacts writers would be the theme for the evening.

Publishers are more interested in taking on authors who have a strong social media platform with which to help promote their books. It stands to reason that establishing an online presence is something writers would want to do. But how does one go about that?

In the next few weeks, this very question will be examined. Being woefully deficient in this phenomenon, others better qualified to lead such a discussion will be referenced. Of course, your comments and suggestions on the matter are appreciated.

Various internet articles discuss the specific social media sites best to use and the general consensus seems to be Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, Google+, and Linkedin. Facebook is the granddaddy of them all and it would be prudent to ride along its coattails. I was surprised Goodreads came up on several sites as I subscribe to it just for the reading suggestions it makes. One site declares Goodreads and Facebook as mandatory in the writer’s social media inventory. 

Let’s start with Facebook. I’ve had an account for a while but rarely went there. Then people kept telling me my brother is a funny guy on FB. I started checking out his page and yes, he is. Who new? Now I’m lurking there more frequently, occasionally “liking” something or leaving a comment. 

So, what am I supposed to do now, start spouting writerly things on Facebook? Probably only my family would notice and they wouldn’t care. 

Nathan Bransford, whose blog I follow, has posted twice on the subject. He says it is possible to have multiple pages on FB so you can keep your personal connections separate from your author pages. One of his posts, Facebook for Authors - How to get Started was written in  2011, but is relevant today. Bransford suggests authors create two pages, one an author fan page to create now and a book page once you have a cover for it. Admittedly, the fan page is presumptuous if one isn’t a celebrity. But, he says, you should create a fan page now even if you aren’t yet a publish author.

Want to set up a fan page? You can follow his link and he gives directions on how to do that. I just created one and it was fairly simple. Scott Rhoades created one for this Utah Children’s Writes blog. You can access it here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1441614632721608/

I still have few things I’m not sure about. Bransford says  if you want to “promote your book stuff,” you should turn on subscriptions, thus allowing people to subscribe to your public posts. Do I want to do that? Not sure. I tried to edit settings and got stymied by the instructions. Nathan Bransford’s post also has more information on optimizing your page with Like Buttons, something I need to look into.

Nonetheless, I now have an online writing presence. My page is here: https://www.facebook.com/brucethewriter. If more of us create fan pages then share, we could “like” and help build each others’ platforms. 

Happy social media platform building.

And: WIFYR is still accepting writers wanting to improve their craft.

(This article also posted at http://utahchildrenswriters.blogspot.com)

SCBWI critique sessions

Elissa Cruz is the ARA for our local SCBWI chapter. Please don’t ask what an ARA is. Basically it means she’s the head honcho for Utah. Neysa Jensen is in charge of the Utah/Southern Idaho SCBWI and Elissa helps her with the Utah end of things.

Elissa is wonderful. She has tried scheduling monthly writing events, last year rotating the locations between Weber, Salt Lake, and Utah counties. This year she is pulling in the southern Utah writers. A while ago she asked for volunteers to head informal critique sessions. Silly me, I volunteered to do the Salt Lake one. My critique partner, Travis, conducts the Utah County session. We run them the fourth Wednesday and Thursday of the month. I must say it has been educational.

These informal critique sessions are unique. A  normal writer’s group has regular writers with a set format and established procedures and expectations. Anyone can show at these SCBWI ones.

Since we started in January, the Salt Lake people have included PB and short story writers, illustrators, and a poet. I’m an MG guy, now dabbling in YA, so I have critiqued PB before. I had never critiqued a poem until this year. Story telling from the illustrator’s perspective in a unique was to think about a tale. The commonality is precision of language. This is a must for the poet and the PB writer. Succinct language is a must for other genres as well.

At each session, there have been people new to writing, new to the writing community. They’ve come out of curiosity, perhaps with a piece to share. It has been a pleasure to watch them observe what I’ve experienced since I became a writer. There is a genuine concern for the effort of other writers in a critique session. Like-minded people gather for the sole purpose of helping each other become better writers. 

Critique is the way our writing blossoms and grows.

This and That:

With April just around the corner, look forward to something different from this blog. The annual 30 Day, 30 Stories will feature a different story every day from a host of writers. There may be days still available. If you have an interest in contributing, leave a comment.

I’ve been made aware of two other writing events since I posted last week. Follow this link for a full list of events, minus these two:

SCBWI Northern Utah Monthly Event Series: Sara Zarr – time and location TBA - https://utahsouthidaho.scbwi.org/events/northern-utah-monthly-event-series-sara-zarr/ - Fri. 4/11

Tell Me A Story: Annual Regional Conference – Boise State University, Boise, ID - https://utahsouthidaho.scbwi.org/events/tell-me-a-story-annual-boise-childrens-literature-conference/ - April 25-26

WIFYR registration is now open. Carol Lynch Williams’ amazing conference is a must. More info can be found here.

(This article also posted at http://utahchildrenswriters.blogspot.com)

Community

Several writers and illustrators met last evening in Salt Lake’s Liberty Park. It is a pleasure being a part of the local writing community.

Local is a relative term. The Utah portion of the SCBWI regional chapter planned the thing. Some came from Utah County, others Davis or Salt Lake. Two of us came down from Cache. I live near the park so it was a short drive for me. I could have walked.

A lot of illustrators were there last night. A PB person came up to me hoping there were others like her; there were. We had YA and MG and people writing blogs, magazine articles, or for adults. Some faces were familiar and I met new people.

It was refreshing to socialize with other like-minded people. Writing is a solo business (though we had some partner writers in attendance, too). It is self-absorbed thing we participate in. There are always other obligations and sometimes it is hard to steal away. But when we do escape, we leave real people behind and hang with imaginary ones. When you pull out, family and life are still there and wants your time. It’s hard to find more time, but spending an evening with fellow writers and illustrators is a nice thing to do.

Kudos to Elissa Cruz, the local SCBWI official, for organizing the potluck dinner. Elissa heads up things for Utah writers while Neysa Jensen holds up the Southern Idaho end of our region. Elissa is trying to plan something bi-monthly. She plans them to be in Utah and Salt Lake counties and the Ogden area as well, making the various functions close to all sometime throughout the year. We miss the southern Utah folks, but in such a large geographic area, that is understandable.

The topic for the evening was social networking and how to get your name out there. Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter came up. There were ideas for blogging and some shared the printing of business cards or postcards to have something physical to share.

All children’s book writers and illustrators should jump in and join one of these sessions periodically. We are a community.

(This article double-posted at http://writetimeluck.blogspot.com and http://utahchildrenswriters.blogspot.com)