writting lessons

One could easily write a book (or a series of books) on the subject of social media for authors. Let’ see how much meat I can put in one blog post. Here are some takeaways from my interview last night with Leili McKinley, who has helped many award winning authors hit a home run with their social media.

Below are my insights and a link to the audio recording of the call (over an hour chock full of examples of bestselling authors’ secrets, specific steps you can take and answers to listeners burning questions). We didn’t get to everyone’s questions, so please list your questions as comments and Leili has offered to answer them below!

Three reasons you need social media more than ever as an author or aspiring author:

1. Publishers expect it: For a book deal, you need to show you’re adept.

2. Social media creates viral word of mouth fans: The kind who buy more than one book and give them as gifts and who tell everyone about your book (often, through social media!)

3. You want the momentum of people who want your book before it ever comes out. If your book is in bookstores, you’ll need those pre-sales and immediate sales to stay on the shelves.

How to brand your business and book online:

1. Know your target market: NY Times Bestselling author Tim Ferris, author of the Four Hour Work Week, knew that his target market were self employed, small business owners who wanted to grow empires and have their freedom, too.

2. Make your key messages align with what your target market believes: Tim’s message was, “You can build an empire by outsourcing most of the work.”

3. Deliver those messages everywhere your readers hang out online: The experts use more than one kind of social media, because people usually need to hear the message more than once to buy. Tim blogged to build a loyal following and also connected with his audience on YouTube, Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, Plaxo, Flikr and Friendfeed. You may want to be a bit more targeted if you can’t do all of these–find out where you folks hang out.

On the call, Leili also shared details about how to position your brand to get results, including a client of hers who was relatively unknown in the US. Her publisher is recording record pre-sales of her book due to niche branding.

Leili also gave details about how one of her most successful clients used social media to connect with journalists, radio hosts, TV producers and other PR contacts before his book game out. He was on the Today Show, Good Morning America and Tyra Banks. I encourage you to LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE.

In addition, if you’re serious about creating a following for your book before it comes out (or if it’s out already), you’ll want to look at Leili’s social media for authors course. I won’t list all the benefits and features here, but you can go to this page for all the information you need to make a decision.

I don’t participate in many affiliate programs. However, I knew my clients, students and readers desperately need how to make social media work for them. I’ve searched around for a program that I know has the power to help you. I’ve taken three different courses, two from some of the leaders in the industry and found them difficult to use (too much information, too many assignments, no assignments, etc.).

Leili’s course addressed all my concerns and is targeted for authors. For this reason, I am proud to be a paid affiliate of her program. Leili’s program offers:

1. Assignments that are truly relevant for authors and aspiring authors.

2. Ability to do the classwork (watch the 20 minute videos and do assignments) when it’s convenient for you.

3. Weekly coaching calls to get your questions answered personally.

I know many of you still have questions for Leili…ask away. And good luck with developing your brand and setting yourself up to make your book a big success.

I’d love to share some photos from day 1 of the Ocean State Summer Writing Conference with you: There’s the one of Cate Tucker (from my book writing class), Peter Covino (director of the conference), me and bestselling author Robert Leuci‘s thumb. Not his fault. My phone has a highly non-intuitive camera. Not that a phone can possess intuition, but even those with ESP would have a hard time figuring it out, not that Robert Leuci has ESP.

Anyway, can’t share the photos because I don’t know how to e-mail them from my phone.

The first lesson of the day, then: if you blog, bring an extra battery for your real camera. Or, if I were to generalize: be prepared.

Second lesson: Enjoy writing; be playful. I’d been putting so much pressure on myself to write the next blockbuster middle grade novel/screenplay/Broadway musical that I felt completely overwhelmed.

Meeting with novelist Crystal Wilkinson for a one on one, I realized that all the things I see as possibly insurmountable problems in my novel clearly are just that: possibly insurmountable. And, still, I’m attracted to the story.

Crystal gave me some exciting ways to play with the book: write pages of “What if’s” about the characters, their actions, the world I’m creating. Some images came to mind that made me laugh out loud as we toyed with what if’s and my muse came out to play.

I’ve given myself permission to make this fun–it’s a children’s novel, after all–and I finally realized that, in my previous state of seriosity (yes, new word), there was no way I could ever write the book. In my new found state of openness and chill, there’s potential, possibility, spark.

Lesson Three: Do your homework; put the writing first. Peter invited conference presenters to Jamestown for a light dinner after the reception and readings. And then he invited the whole gang. But we had homework!

I almost went. It’s a wonderful thing to meet writers, connect, find company in the sometimes-lonely world of writing.

But I knew that if I went to dinner, I would never get my homework done. Or I’d do a slipshod job and go to bed too late and wake up tired. I tell my book writing students all the time to get enough sleep and write when you”re fresh. I tell them to cut down on the socializing for the short time they’re writing their books. They can use socializing as a reward after completing some writing commitment. But don’t give up writing time to go out.

For the record, I took my own advice. And it felt great. I rewrote my “scene.” I read the three well-crafted stories we received in class. I’m going to bed by 10 and I may even have time to take a bath before bed. And I can socialize at dinner tomorrow as my reward. ‘Night.

More this weekend from the conference.

Social Media for Authors

URI Summer Writing Conference: 3 Big Lessons on Day 1

Write a Book

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