No, this isn’t Fifty Shades of WG2E… sorry!
Recently, when I asked what the biggest challenge was in self-publishing, many of you answered finding the time to do marketing and promotion. It’s something I struggle with myself, so I thought I’d share some tips and tricks I’ve found helpful, as well as asking you to share yours.
I’m in the fortunate position of having writing as my day job, but it can still be a battle to find the time to hit up all the social networks. I’m conscious of the fact that if I don’t write, there won’t be any book to promote, so I always make sure to reach my word target before really diving into the highly absorbing world of the Internet.
If I have a really busy day, I make a schedule with ten- to twenty-minutes slots for each social media network, ticking them off as I go along: Twitter, Facebook, blogging, Wattpad, and Pinterest. For me, the most important thing is maintaining a consistent presence, even if it is only in short blocks of time throughout the day. I always try my utmost to respond to tweets and comments, as I believe the key is interaction — not in posting scheduled tweet after scheduled tweet with endless numbers of hash-tags. (I’m dubious as to their efficacy, to be honest. Often, when I click on the Amazon link out of interest, the ranking indicates the avalanche of promotion hasn’t worked very well.) A targeted, personalised approach can save time and be much more effective.
A typical day for me goes something like this:
6:30 a.m. – Coffee and browsing Facebook, reading blogs, Tweeting
7 a.m. – At desk, writing
9 a.m. – Quick duck into Twitter and toast break (highlight of my day – no joke!)
9:30 a.m. – Back to the desk, writing
12 p.m. – Lunch break
1 p.m. – Finishing writing target for the day, blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, responding to emails, and visiting forums.
4 p.m. – Wine o’clock! (What can I say, I like my wine pre-dinner).
How do you balance writing with social media and promotion? Any tips and tricks to share?
If I have time in the morning, like today, then I will pop over to FB, Twitter and maybe post something about what I am up to, usually FB. In the afternoon, I usually write from 12.45 – 1.30pm. Then I will go on the net, check emails, pop into FB and Twitter again and post something and retweet a few tweets. I usually blog once a week. Now and then I will pop over to PInterest. Repin something of mine or like something, esp if it is related to a book I have published. Again, if I have time later after dinner (after 6pm) then I will pop in again for a few minutes and check for any new emails.
Sorry for the delay in responding to comments, everyone! Struggling with internet connection, GRR!
Julie, sounds like you have a very organised schedule. And congrats on the launch of your new book!
Thanks, Talli. Hope all is well with you.
Talli- finding time for writing and promoting are very challenging- mostly in the summer with four children (and all of their friends) at the house. I am now playing catch up and feel overwhelmed at times. Yesterday the last of four children started school, so this week is the first time in 4 months there has not been a child home during the day:) So now I need to write double time:) Great post.
Lois, I can only imagine how difficult that must be. Hopefully now that everyone is back to school, you’ll be able to catch up!
Because I am one of those poor goomers who must still put up with a day job – and because my day job hours are rarely predictable – (I really think they use a dart board to write up our monthly work schedules) – I find it hard to set anything that even resembles a work schedule.
In fact, when I Google “work schedule”, Wikipedia says “That ain’t you.”
However, I’m fortunate enough to be an early riser. I had three paper routes when I was a kid and I had to be up at about five am to get breakfast into me – (I’m big on eating) – and get those papers sorted and delivered before going to school. As a result I am programmed to wake up before the crows have even started scratching themselves.
First off, I’ve got to make my way to the bathroom, where I sit for a while – (it’s safer than trying to aim in the dark) – and pet our black cat Kismet, who usually wants to know why the hell I haven’t fed her yet. I don’t know what her problem is – I fed her all yesterday – but she’s just funny that way.
I just looked up “patient and reasonable” on the Google and it told me “That ain’t cats”.
Then I sit down at the computer. I like to futz around on the internet for an hour or so before I begin dawdling which sometimes leads to a bout of full-out procrastination. I mean, why wait to put off what needs putting off to? I’m ambitious and I like to plunge boldly into my pre-writing procrastination.
I was going to look up “organized” on Google but I couldn’t find the to-do list that I’d wrote that down on to remind myself with.
You see, I like to start with checking my e-mail – which is what lead me to this blog entry here on THE WRITER’S TO E-PUBLISHING – before I begin. I’m pretty certain that one of these mornings I’m going to find myself something important in all that spam.
If possible, I like to warm up with something that requires some fast and creative free-range writing – such as this comment – (which I have already decided that I am going to steal on myself after I get commenting and use it in my own blog) – and to rattle some sort of a blog reply or a blog entry or to answer somebody’s question on the two or three message board forums I like to poke it.
(and I know that last sentence has most likely peeved the heck out of my Strunk and White’s Elements of Style – but me and Strunk/White haven’t been talking in years)
You see – I find that writing a blog entry or a thread reply like this – before I begin my actual work on whatever manuscript I am working on – is a really great warm-up. It’s a little like stretching yourself before a session at the gym – or shadow-boxing before you step into a boxing ring.
Usually sometime around a half an hour into that hour long warm-up I’ll make my way downstairs and butter a couple of slices of toast. I used to peanut butter and honey them but my wife says that has something to do with my belt shrinking on me so I just smear a little butter and then scoop out a bowl of cottage cheese. I pepper the cottage cheese – even though I’d much rather dump a couple of dollops of maple syrup onto the cottage cheese – but again, apparently that has something to do with my belt shrinking.
I’ll Twitter a bit and run through my e-mail and get all of my ducks lined up.
Then, I sip my coffee and get to work.
So, I guess that I have established three undeniable facts with this comment.
Number one – I like to take a poke at the social media side of things before I get to work on what really needs doing.
Number two – I really need an internal editor when commenting on other people’s blog entries.
Number three – If I worked for myself all day I’d most likely fire myself, sooner or later.
Steve! You have cracked me up! I think you need to go do some writing of your own now after all of that.
I start my day off reading blogs, too, but I try not to comment until I’m done my work. Thank you for the very comprehensive (and funny!) response.
I think he just did his writing for the day. The cat does need to be fed, you know.
(Great reply, Steve!)
Thanks, Tallli and Stacey. I have finished my 1000 words for this morning – brings me to the 25000 word mark on a YA manuscript that I figure will wind up being about 50000 words. I had woken up with a real idea of what came next but no idea how to get to it. After writing this little comment all the pieces fell into place and I wrote my quota and have a lead on tomorrow’s work already. I think it was Doctorow – (no, not Dr. Who) – that once said that writing a novel is a little like driving across country in the dark. You only see as far as your headlights show you – but you make that whole trip just the same.
I should also mention that I did go on to write that blog entry based on the thread comment and threw a big old link-back and a plug for WG2E!
Now, I smell bacon – which is WAY more important than all of this writing foolishness.
Glad to hear the comment inspired some writing, Steve! And thanks for the shout-out.
I’m with Steve — bacon trumps everything! In fact, I’ve often said that if I were on death row, bacon would be my last meal. Not that I plan on ever visiting death row (even with the tempting idea of a last meal plate piled high with nothing but bacon!).
I only go on Twitter & Facebook during my coffee breaks. I don’t visit forums and I don’t have a blog. Would definitely recommend writing over social networking. As you have said, Talli, those constant automated tweets don’t sell books and just irritate people. It is important to have an online presence though, so your readers know where to find you and when your next book is coming out. Everything in moderation, as my dear mum would say!
Louise, I couldn’t agree more! I enjoy blogging and social media, but I’m very conscious writing must come first.
I’m with Lois: it’s tough to get things done with school-aged children in the house. I’ve tried to keep up since June, but my office is in the kitchen–the centre of activity in the Canadian Maritimes–but I haven’t done as well as I’d hoped. My break begins September 6th when all my kids start school.
I get up early–like today–before the kids and answer important email, read new posts from blogs I follow–like this one–and then get an hour or so writing in before I make breakfast for the stragglers. Sometimes I sneak in the house in the middle of the day (while the kids are out playing) and write or edit my current novel or write a blog post.
In the evening, when things settle down, I get another two hours to write. My social networking suffers during school vacations, but I prefer that to my actual writing suffering or missing out on time with my kids. It’s certainly a balancing act. I keep telling myself it’s not forever. Things change, kids graduate and get jobs, they move out, winter comes and gives us wonderful long evenings that can be spent writing.
It is indeed a a balancing act! I think everything slows down in the summer, including social media. I’ve noticed many bloggers take a blogcation, and I think that’s healthy. If we don’t live in the real world, it’ll be awfully hard to write books.
I play around on the internet probably too much, lol! At least lately. I’m trying to get back on schedule but have over extended myself with releases this year and volunteering. Lesson learned I will not be doing any volunteering next year. I also had way too many releases this year to promote. Another lesson is that I know my limits now. 2 releases a year is more than enough for me to manage with full time job and 4 kids.
LM, like you, I’m trying to slow down a little bit after a crazy year! I think I said yes a few times too often, and while I want to help people, it’s hard to do everything. Two releases is about right for me, too.
Thanks for the post! Finding a balance is something I struggle with, too. Especially when my wrestling with a scene and the internet browsing button is just so close…
Oh, I hear you, Tamara! It’s so tempting.
Deep sigh. This is such a dilemma! I’m new to it all, so at the moment, probably doing too much SM and not enough writing. I guess though, you do have to build relationships, because people are your helpline. You are extremely disciplined, Talli, and I admire the way you DO respond to other writers. I think it should be 30% SM 70% writing. Mine isn’t.
Carol, I put a lot of time in at the beginning to get going, too. My writing/ promo balance was way out! But I think as time goes on, it evens out a more and you don’t need to put as much effort in. You’re doing great!
Marketing? What marketing? I really don’t bother that much. A book will sell moderately on its own merit: or not, as is the case with some of mine lagging on Amazon. I stick with a little pre-promotion on my “serious writer blog” and the usual networking sites, and rely on an occasional back-up post at Twitter, Facebook etc., but other than that zilch marketing. I’m happy to have my books ticking along rather than appear to have a highly ranked based on freebie issues and numerous reviews, when in reality sales are often way lower than imagined by those looking on.
I think too many authors expect high returns for writing a novel and self-publishing it. As it is, a few of my self-pubbed novels are way ahead (rank wise at Amazon) than the book I have out with a US publisher. I managed top ranking with one of my historical novels but I kept quiet about it because I knew darn well some malicious-minded person would go and post a vile review. It happened in any case, but it seems as though some people watch out for successes and do their damn best to wreck Indie author’s triumphs.
That’s a great example, Francine, of books that hold their own and tick over with steady sales despite little promo. On the flip side, all the promo in the world won’t help a poorly written novel with an obscure topic. I do think marketing is important for long-tail sales – building up your brand as an author and connecting with your readers. However, I agree that expecting too much from a novel and promoting the heck out of it can do more harm than good.
Talli.
It’s like you were reading my mind.
The second before I opened this blog I was thinking: “There’s a reason why it takes me longer these days to finish my morning online chores.”
The reason is I got married (we’re both retired) and his writing desk is near mine and sometimes he asks my advice about something. I just sent him downstairs to finish writing out the household bills. Now I’ll get somewhere so I can begin writing…and the wash.
When things change in our lives we have to rearrange our schedules and sometimes that’s difficult. I’m a creature of habit and I like getting up early and getting “to it.” My DH, not so much. But I love him.
Mitzi
I’m like you, Mitzi! I like to get up and dig in straight away. My husband works from home two days a week, but thankfully he’s the same (phew!). Still, even him being there throws me off a little bit.
They’re lucky we love them so much!
I have similar schedule, but it extends past dinner most of the time. A lot of fantasy fans are only around in the evening and I love talking to them and answering questions. So I check in between whatever I’m doing. If I don’t get enough words down I write in the evening too, after everyone else is in bed. In bed about 11:30 up about 6:30. Lots of breaks to do regular things I need to do keeps me from burning out. Everyone is so different and no one thing is right for everyone.
What I love about all this is being able to set my own schedule. But not only finding time for promoting, it’s also about finding what works for you and limiting the things that aren’t.
Thanks for the great post!
I love being able to set my own schedule, too! It’s one of the best things about working for myself, I must admit. Sometimes my day extends into the evening, too, although I do try to give myself some ‘breathing space’ away from social media.
I start with Twitter and and a quick check on emails and FB, then write, a quick look late morning/early afternoon, lunch. Then I review my to-do list especially for the next 24 hours – very important – then more writing if I can. Sometimes other stuff intervenes…
If I’m working on a client project, then all that goes out of the window and I have to write in the evenings. But I make sure I write something each day.
Best to all,
Alison
I’m a big fan of to-do list, too! They help keep me on track for sure. I think it’s great that no matter what happens, you write something every day.
Like you Talli, I am lucky enough to be able to write full time at home and my schedule is almost a mirror image of yours, except in between all this there is taking care of my mother, running her to doc appointments or getting her blood tested. I get to do this writing/taking care of mom schedule for 4 weeks on, then my husband comes home for 2 weeks, so not sure how much writing I will get during his 2 weeks off from work in North Dakota. But I know I definitely spend way too much time online and I am starting to cut that back. Believe it or not I am starting to get bored with Facebook (anyone else feeling this way?) so get it on just to see what is happening and pop off after say a half hour during the entire day.
Thanks for chiming in with your schedule, Jacqueline! I’m starting to cut back, too — and focus my energies on really getting my writing sorted. I think it’s important to have a presence online, but as Louise said above . . . all in moderation.
My day looks very much like yours, Talli! Including Wine o’Clock!
I use my “breaks” from writing to do my social networking, and I also begin and end each day with social networking.
I sooo enjoy hangin’ with my readers throughout the day, and truly miss them when they’re away from their normal routines.
Also, I do choose a couple of nights each month to vary my schedule…meaning for me, I stay up late so I can hang with my night owl peeps and more of my international peeps on different time zones too!
I begin and end each day with some social networking, too! I’ve met some great people online and it’s so much fun to interact with them. I usually do some tweets here and there in the evening, too.
Thanks for this great post! I have to come up with a writing schedule starting Sept. 4th (my new job as a full-time writer starts that day) so I don’t end up firing myself. Or worse yet, my hubby fires me.
I like how you’ve got those blocks scheduled for social media. My issue is that I’m an all at once gal, so I usually like to get the writing goal finished before taking a break. But because I want to start having my evenings more free for the kids, I hope to treat it like a regular job. I can always go back to computer stuff after they’ve gone to bed.
And if I try one schedule that’s not working, I’ll just talk to my boss about a new one. Sometimes she can be sorta reasonable.
Hi Stacey! How exciting that you’re starting as a full-time writer! Actually, the blocks aren’t so much for social media,although I fill them in that way. I’ve found that I work best in 90-minute blocks. If I try to push it without at least a 15-minute break, my quality of work suffers.
And it’s so nice to be able to set your own schedule! You’ll love it.
This is a timely post for me, Talli, because I’m trying to work out a schedule for myself now. My target date to self-publish my first book is November 30th, so I’ve been thinking about how to be more active in social media all year.
With that in mind, I started blogging once per week in January, making myself stick to a schedule. Sometimes it’s twice per week if I’ve recently finished a book I want to review. A few weeks, like this one, I missed posting to my blog because of other life distractions. This month I’ve set a goal of tweeting three times per week. I know no one cares what I had for breakfast or any of the other silly details of my life and I have a hard time coming up with something to say, but I know the only way I’ll get the hang of Twitter is to do it. I breathed a sigh of relief when I found a couple of things to re-tweet yesterday.
Last month I reduced my day job to three days per week, thanks to a transition to retirement program offered by my employer. Those two non-day job days are my primary writing days. Last month it was easy to know how to use them, since I had revisions to finish up. With the novel out to first readers this month and a number of tasks I need to accomplish to prepare for publishing it, my “schedule” has been very slipshod.
It’s very interesting to me to see how others work out their writing days.
I love hearing how other people organise their writing days, too. It sounds like you’ve found a system that works for you – and congrats on your upcoming launch in November! I think consistency and building relationships is really the key when it comes to social media. I’ve seen a lot of people go crazy with promo, and these days, I think it’s more of a turn-off than a help.
I write after supper since I still have the day job. Then I spend some time with email and Facebook. I am on Facebook more than anything. I cannot figure out Twitter. I know people talk about conversations and such, but I just can’t seem to grasp it. I do send out tweets and I read articles that others post, sometimes grab a book if it sounds interesting or put it on my wish list, but the whole conversation part I just don’t really get. I’m thinking of giving up Twitter and focusing on other things instead.
I spent Saturday writing during the morning, then I get my blog posts written and scheduled for the week. When all that is done I play on Pinterest or read blogs I’ve been meaning to get back to.
When at work (don’t tell!) if I can get to a blog to read I will. But I can’t get to some of them and my Gmail doesn’t work right with IE 6 (don’t get me started on why they haven’t upgraded yet) so I do what I can with downtime at work but get most of my stuff done in the evenings and Saturday.
And I’m still running my transcription business, although I’m slowing it down on purpose. But if a transcription job comes in, then that takes priority on my evening hours. I feel like I have three jobs sometimes.
I think you need to focus on what works for you, and if that’s FB, then go for it! You sound like a very busy woman — no wonder you feel like you have three jobs! I’m impressed with your organisation.
That sounds awesome, Talli! I’ve been off work for the past couple of days, and busy trying to type up my latest story. I know already that your schedule – with all those breaks – would never work for me. Because I’ve only got two days, I’ve been letting myself be flexible, but if writing was my full time job I’d definitely have to turn off the internet all morning or I’d never get anything done. Amazing that you can keep yourself to a proper schedule! Go Talli Go
Love the wine o’clock!
Talli~ you have described my perfect day! Unfortunately, right now mine is more like 4:00am coffee/facebook, 4:30am writing, 7:00am quick breakfast then off to the day job… I shall persevere until 4pm is my new happy hour!
Still doing the day job, but I write on my lunch hour and for an hour after work (on most days) before heading home to my busy household. Social networking is usually reserved for the evening when my brain is too fried to be all that creative and would much rather just hang out with friends.