Today I have the talented writer Alison Morton as guest on my blog. I asked for her view on social media as I know you seem to prefer this sort of post to just straight promotion. If you haven't read her first three books then you have missed a terrific read.
Over to you Alison:
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| Alison - looking rather scary. |
Is social media any use?
Without the firm
social media base built up over several years, I could not have launched my
fourth book, AURELIA, last month. It’s that simple.
Dial back five
years when I started mixing with book people – writers, editors, agents,
publishers, literary consultants and commentators. I was still writing the first
draft of my first book, INCEPTIO and quickly realised it would be a slog to
make it known to readers. A website was obvious – I’d written and used them
during my business career, but what else was there?
Although I had
no published book to promote, I decided on World Book Day in 2010 to blog about
my newbie journey as a writer. Shortly after, I plunged into Twitter then
Facebook, both a little unwillingly.
But something
unexpected happened - I fell in love with social media. Yes, it’s publicised my Roma Nova thriller series but more
than that, I now enjoy talking to warm, witty, insightful and generous
people on every continent. And many of these virtual friends and acquaintances
have not only bought my books, but actively help me promote them to others.
What benefits do blogging, tweeting and
posting bring?
Writing blog posts
hones short-form writing skills like nothing else. Now, I have five years’
worth of posts on alternative history, writing life and craft and Roman life
which readers can discover and hopefully enjoy; my post on the Antonine plague
in the late second century is even used as a student resource! ;-)
Worth
remembering: your blog belongs to you,
you control what goes on it and how information is presented.
Tweeting widens your reach, gives you the opportunity to connect instantly and
discover useful articles that can help your career, find new books or just
entertain you. Sophisticated tools like Tweetdeck allow you to reach people in
other time zones with scheduled tweets. I like Twitter for building
relationships and following trends and news as well as retweeting useful
articles from other people and, very importantly, from my own blog. Other
tweeters will retweet yours if you reciprocate; your book is then in front of
their followers’ eyes.
Facebook allows you to contact people in specific
interest groups and, in my case, to talk to my readers as well as to other
authors and experts. Using an author page allows you to be more commercial and
concentrate on your books and writing life without driving your non-author
friends on your personal profile insane with book talk!
Amazon author sites are essential and simple to use;
readers can find what other books their favourite author has written, watch
trailers and check author events.
Goodreads,
sometimes called ‘Facebook for readers’ runs an author programme where authors
can promote their books. Most popular is the giveaways where authors can put
their books before hundreds of readers and readers have the chance to win free
signed paperbacks!
A few tips
Not a numbers game – Don’t count
‘scalps’ or pure numbers – all social media is a gradual business which
accumulates and you should look for quality of your contacts, not quantity.
Paid likes or followers aren’t worth it – they’re usually 14-year-olds in a
bedroom doing it for pocket money.
Interact - You
don’t have to follow everyone back, especially if you have no shared connection
and they’ve popped up out of the blue. Have conversations as well as promoting
your books; readers and authors are people first!
Have fun but be
prudent – Once you’ve put something on social media, it’s in
the public domain and can’t be withdrawn.
Facebook – If you
receive a friend request from somebody you don’t know personally, check the
subject matter on their page, their other friends, any mutual friends, the
groups they belong to and their interests before accepting the connection. Just
because your friends have accepted the request doesn’t mean the requester is abona fide person…
Content - Keep all
posts specific, on message, entertaining and informative. Restrict promotional
tweets to about 15% of your total tweets.
Bad master, good tool
– Decide how much time you will spend on social media, and when, in the day and
do not exceed it. It’s very
alluring… I check each morning for posts in other time zones and to say good
morning to fellow early risers, then allocate more time in the evening, which
is when most of my contacts are about.
Blogging – How
often you blog is up to you, but once a week keeps readers’ attention. Posts of
600-800 words are best plus at least one picture. Regular blogging also gives
you an opportunity to discuss research, host guests and highlight how your work
is going – all interesting to readers.
Other social media are available, as they say – Pinterest,
Google+, Tumblr, Instagram – but I’d start with the ones I’ve mentioned.
In brief, what do
social media deliver?
For me, it’s been, and is, support, insider knowledge, interaction with
readers, reviews, sales, endorsements, strategic and personal friendships. And my
ability to write succinct prose quickly and to deadlines has improved no end!
Alison Morton bio (AURELIA)
Even before she
pulled on her first set of combats, Alison Morton was fascinated by the idea of
women soldiers. Brought up by a feminist mother and an ex-military father, it
never occurred to her that women couldn’t serve their country in the armed
forces. Everybody in her family had done time in uniform and in theatre –
regular and reserve Army, RAF, WRNS, WRAF – all over the globe.
So busy in her
day job, Alison joined the Territorial Army in a special communications
regiment and left as a captain, having done all sorts of interesting and
exciting things no civilian would ever know or see. Or that she can talk about,
even now…
But something
else fuels her writing… Fascinated by the mosaics at Ampurias (Spain), at their
creation by the complex, power and value-driven Roman civilisation started her
wondering what a modern Roman society would be like if run by strong women…
Now, she lives in
France and writes Roman-themed alternate history thrillers with tough heroines.
INCEPTIO, the
first in the Roma Nova series
– shortlisted for
the 2013 International Rubery Book Award
– B.R.A.G.
Medallion
– finalist in
2014 Writing Magazine Self-Published Book of the Year
– B.R.A.G.
Medallion
– finalist in
2014 Writing Magazine Self-Published Book of the Year
– Historical
Novel Society’s indie Editor’s Choice for Autumn 2014
– B.R.A.G.
Medallion
– Editor’s
choice, The Bookseller’s inaugural Indie Preview, December 2014
Fact file:
Education: BA French, German & Economics, MA
History
Memberships: International Thriller Writers, Historical
Novel Society, Alliance of Independent Authors, Society of Authors
Represented by Annette Crossland of A for Authors Literary
Agency for subsidiary and foreign rights.
Links (Please adapt to your preferred
format!)
Buying link
(multiple retailers/formats):
Amazon UK 
