Dear Extra Squeeze Team How Do I Balance Social Media and Writing?
December 31, 2018 by The Extra Squeeze in category The Extra Squeeze by The Extra Squeeze Team
Dear Extra Squeeze Team: Social Media—I hate it. It used to be that all I had to worry about was if I needed to order bookmarks. Now, I’m spending so much time tweeting and Facebooking and Instagraming that I barely have time to work on my WIP and my deadline is looming. How do you balance actual writing with all the stuff you have to do around it? OMG do I still need to order bookmarks?
Developmental editor who has worked for twenty plus years with new and established authors of both fiction and non-fiction, traditional and indie.
Asking me how to achieve a balance between constant updates and creative output is like asking a Kardashian for advice on the natural look. I too, hate the treadmill of social media – so much in fact, that I haven’t touched mine in seven years! That gets you sympathy, which isn’t very useful but as this is a problem that plagues all writers, I’ve had a lot of discussion about it with my clients. I’ll share what I we’ve come up with. Every author needs to stay as much in the public eye as possible and every author needs to keep on authoring. It’s a balancing act. Whether you are a full-time writer or must carve writing time out of a busy life, you need to compartmentalize the social media vortex. Decide how much time to give it and stick to that. Your writing is the point.
Focus your efforts. Authors get stretched too thin trying to keep a presence on multiple outlets and since new ones pop up monthly it’s an impossible task. Narrow your social media efforts to fit what you want to achieve; announcements of a new release, updates on a work in progress, what you had for lunch (should your readers be interested), etc. If you feel you can achieve that with three outlets, say FB, Twitter and Instagram, then focus exclusively on those.
Schedule a block of time to devote to social media. This can be 15 minutes a day, 2 hours a week or one day a month. Whatever works for the frequency you feel is important. As an insatiable reader who is always on the hunt for good books, I welcome a post on progress, a new release, or comments on the process of writing, as long as the content is about the work. I’m not much concerned in what they had for lunch. A particular author isn’t always top of mind, but I never forget the ones whose work I love so an informative missive is great, regardless of how infrequent, and brings them quickly to top of mind.
Use this time to create and schedule a month or more of posts.
Automate with Social media management tools like Buffer, HootSuite, Hubspot, TweetDeck. If you have posts in a queue that automates the process and frees your working time to write, edit, write and re-write.
Content is as important to these publicity snippets as it is to your published work. No matter the frequency of your posts or the range of outlets you post on, if the content is empty and uninteresting or poorly written, the response will match it. Give your followers a reason to follow.
USA Today Bestselling author of 35 books, including the Witness series and the new Finn O’Brien series.
No, don’t order bookmarks. Thumb drives with your title on it will do these days. Social media is the bane of every business person’s existence, not just authors. Embrace it. Love it. I pay most attention to what I enjoy and that is Twitter and Instagram. I share what amuses me, inspires me, makes me think and then I throw in some information about my books. I also use Buffer which allows me to queue up three weeks’ worth of tweets, Facebook, linked in or whatever other media I need. Buffer releases my tweets on the schedule I set. I will be on the couch watching TV with my husband and loading up Buffer. By the time lights are out I got a few weeks’ worth. Just remember, there is no rule about how often we need to be seen on any of these platforms.
Cover designer and author of the fantasy series, The Fireblade Array
Give me some advice because I am terrible at updating my social media!!
PR/Business Development coach for writers and artists; CEO, Creative Center of America; member, Forbes Coaches Council.
Robin was out of the loop this month but hopes to be back in January.
If you have a topic or question for the Extra Squeeze Team, contact Extra Squeeze online producer Marianne Donley by clicking the link below to send us your questions.
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Dear Extra Squeeze Team: Do I REALLY Need an Agent?
November 30, 2018 by The Extra Squeeze in category The Extra Squeeze by The Extra Squeeze Team tagged as Agents, Extra Squeeze, Newbie Questions
Dear Extra Squeeze Team, Do I REALLY need an agent? What can they do for me that I can’t do myself? Are they worth the money?
Rebecca Forster
USA Today Bestselling author of 35 books, including the Witness series and the new Finn O’Brien series.
If you want to play with the big boys then, yes, you need an agent. They will negotiate for you, they will field opportunities you may not have the expertise to deal with (case in point I had a contract with an Italian publisher I did myself and found I needed my agent’s guidance for tax purposes. Wish I had let them handle it). An agent can manage tricky creative questions with your editor. An agent will be the first to hear of new publishing opportunities – new lines coming out, changes being made that might affect yours. Having an agent also gives you street creds. If you are going to publish as an indie you don’t need one, of course.
Robin Blakely
PR/Business Development coach for writers and artists; CEO, Creative Center of America; member, Forbes Coaches Council.
Anything an agent can do, you can do better—as long as you have enough knowledge, connections, and experience. An agent is worth the money if you need help navigating the industry. An agent is worth the money if you do not already have an indomitable entrepreneurial spirit working to build your career in the face of a highly competitive industry. The choice of working with an agent or going solo is entirely up to you. You certainly do not need an agent if you plan to go indie. You most likely cannot go it alone to the highest levels if you plan to go traditional.
H.O. Charles
Cover designer and author of the fantasy series, The Fireblade Array
I was speaking to a couple of friends in the non-fiction world who wouldn’t have been able to get the lucrative deals they had without an agent. They had nothing but praise for their agents, especially when it came to sorting out problems with the publisher (international rights). That said, there are agents and agents. Some are fabulous and will work their socks off to help you. Others are terrible and will never do anything for you. If you self-publish, you don’t need any of that, but you will have to put in a little more work yourself for the same gains.
Jenny Jensen
Developmental editor who has worked for twenty plus years with new and established authors of both fiction and non-fiction, traditional and indie.
The answer depends on what it is you want.
You’ve written a book so now it’s time to take it to the next level. If having a traditional publisher is the one thing that will satisfy you, then you will need an agent. They say hen’s teeth are rare, but not as rare as a legitimate publishing house taking an unsolicited manuscript. An agent’s job is to champion your work to publishing houses. If she is successful, l then you have a publisher- at a cost. The agent will receive a percentage of any contract she sets up and a publisher will take a further percentage of sales.
I’m not demeaning those percentages; after all both agent and publisher have earned it but chances are, you’ll have to be the Champion of your work anyway. By champion I mean you will have to make the effort to market and publicize your work so that it will stand out to potential readers – stand out from the thousands of books posted daily on Amazon, Smashwords etc., or the hundreds of printed books on the shelf. Unless you’ve created a ground-breaking runaway akin to Hunger Games it’s unlikely that the publisher will do more than simply produce and distribute your physical book. For that service the publishing house takes its percentage of sales.
If you’re willing to take the time required to try to find a good agent – query letters, samples, response time – there is no reason not to at least give it a try. Unless Amazon et al change tactics you always have the option of Indie publishing should no agent work out for you – no agent required. In that case know that you have a marketing road ahead for you to personally strategize and implement in order to generate sales and the – all important – reviews.
Indie publishing is an ever-evolving critter and it’s a full-time job just to keep abreast of new developments nearly every day. (I’m amazed my clients have the time to write.) Amazon’s ever-changing algorithms give me a headache; I don’t pretend to understand them all, but that has created a need. That need has given rise to a new indie publishing niche – the Virtual assistant or VA. These are people who you pay a fee to deal with your social media. There are also agents who specialize in Indie authors and look for review options, seek foreign markets, manage rights, etc. Of course, there is a fee and many of them earn it righteously. The decision to take on an author will be based on sales history by volume and price.
The success of a book has costs – either in the author’s time and effort to market or in a share of sales dollars. Whether you have an agent or not, success ultimately depends on content. Be sure your work is the best you can make it.
Dear Extra Squeeze Team: I Want to Be an Author, BUT . . .
October 31, 2018 by The Extra Squeeze in category The Extra Squeeze by The Extra Squeeze Team
Dear Extra Squeeze Team,
I’m in college, and I’d like to be a published author. Everyone it’s trying to talk me out of it. I’ve had a few short stories published with very small publishers. But how do I go about proving to my family and friends and professors that this is what I want to do?
Rebecca Forster
USA Today Bestselling author of 35 books, including the Witness series and the new Finn O’Brien series.
First, congratulations on being published. That is an awesome accomplishment at your age.
Second, don’t prove to your family and friends that you want to be a writer, become one. No one is born a writer and no one pays a new writer enough to live on so you will have to work. You will write in the morning before work and in the evening after work. You will write on the weekends and you will submit and create your career if you are serious about it.
I have a B.A. and an MBA. I worked in a corporate career for years, wrote and published when I could and eventually I had a solid track record and could write full-time.
My son is a gifted writer. He has worked as a teacher, a barista, and any other job he could get as he builds his career.
Work hard no matter what you do. You also may find after a while that your idea of a writing career has changed. You may enjoy writing for others as a freelancer, or getting a job in a communications department of a corporation. Perhaps novels aren’t in your future but another kind of writing is. Keep an open mind. S
hare your successes with your family. They will see that you understand the business of writing and they will also see your love for the craft.
Jenny Jensen
Developmental editor who has worked for twenty plus years with new and established authors of both fiction and non-fiction, traditional and indie.
I’m not sure why you need to prove to anyone that writing is what you want to do. Just write. When the results are good enough to publish that would certainly be proof. “… a few short stories published with very small publishers” is proof of your passion, and at the least, is a positive nod to your abilities. So, continue what you’ve clearly begun. Just write.
It isn’t clear if you intend to drop from college to pursue writing, which could certainly account for friends and family trying to dissuade you from that course of action. College is the perfect place to study and practice the craft of writing, to nurture the passion to write while surrounded by like-minded people. If you’re not already enrolled in English and writing courses, then perhaps you should do so. I can see where it might be distracting to pursue a writing career while studying quantum mechanics.
I can also understand where family and friends might view the pursuit of writing as a shaky foundation for your economic future. Writers, like actors, have always had to take a ‘day’ job. I say a good writer has marketable skills from advertising copy to zoological funding grants. The writer just has to be flexible with those skills. Besides, you can always minor in quantum mechanics.
If it’s your passion…just write.
Robin Blakely
PR/Business Development coach for writers and artists; CEO, Creative Center of America; member, Forbes Coaches Council.
Here is exactly what you need to do . . . Stop trying to prove to others that this is what you want to do—this is your life, not theirs—so create the life you want and live it. Be a writer. Jump in with both feet. But know this: a writer’s life is not easy. And, here’s something else . . . it is likely very important at this major turning point to note one thing with eyes wide open: if everyone you encounter is telling you that you don’t have a chance, the reality could be that you aren’t very good at your craft—yet. Getting better at your craft will require you to surround yourself with better mentors. Surrounding yourself with better mentors will mean less time for the naysayers. Buckle down and get to work. Or, quit. You decide.
Sorry to say it won’t be easy! Realistically, you will almost certainly need another ‘normal’ job and will have to use your spare time to write your best-selling novel. Some jobs require very little thinking time and you can write (cheekily) when you have a spare moment. I once worked in an office where there was very little for me to do. I had a computer and hours of unmonitored time. Looking back, it would have been the perfect place to write a novel and get some pay for it! Honing your writing skills will take time, so you will need to prove to your family/friends etc. that you are serious over a number of years. Not days! If it’s non-fiction, the route is slightly different (or you could start off in non-fic). Then you can get work as a journalist on your given topic, and research your future books/get to know people in the publishing world that way.
Do I REALLY Need a Pen Name?
September 30, 2018 by The Extra Squeeze in category The Extra Squeeze by The Extra Squeeze Team tagged as Newbie Publishing Questions, Pen Names, The Extra Squeeze
Dear Extra Squeeze Team, I want to write some cozy mysteries, and I’ve already published a few romances under my own name. Do I REALLY need a pen name for the cozy mysteries?
Rebecca Forster
USA Today Bestselling author of 35 books, including the Witness series and the new Finn O’Brien series.
I think cozy mystery and romance go very well together. Your existing romance base will embrace your cozies and when the cozies catch on those readers will appreciate your romances. Because my thrillers are a bit hard-edged, I found my readers weren’t really open to reading my romances. The genres and styles were just too far apart. In your case, build your name and your brand on these sister genres (unless, of course, your romance is erotica).
Robin Blakely
PR/Business Development coach for writers and artists; CEO, Creative Center of America; member, Forbes Coaches Council.
You need a pen name for your new work if you need to separate the brand to offer clarity in the market place for your separate audiences of readers. If all of your books would be enjoyed by the same audience of readers, you don’t need to divide the brand. The more you can write for one community of readers, the more successful you can become. Make sure that you know what is most important to your readers about your brand and then do everything you can to define your brand with care and clarity. Feel confused? Try thinking of your brand as a popular ice cream chain. If your readers love Baskin Robbins because they expect to find buckets of ice cream inside, imagine how disappointed and shocked they would be to enter the store and discover buckets of gravy suddenly sold next to their favorite ice cream. No one goes to the ice cream parlor for gravy. Baskin Robbins is not a gravy store. Even if ice cream lovers like gravy, they won’t believe in the gravy at Baskin Robbins—it just isn’t right. But, ice cream lovers might be easily persuaded to buy an ice cream cake at the ice cream shop. They might buy some milkshakes or popsicles. If your work makes sense under the roof of the same author brand name, do it. If not, separate the products so audiences understand your brand with clarity.
Jenny Jensen
Developmental editor who has worked for twenty plus years with new and established authors of both fiction and non-fiction, traditional and indie.
Authors often use a pen name to avoid any confusion from crossing genres. It’s a tried and true strategy. If your Romances have done well then you have established a reader base that you can build on to sell more Romance. Those readers have already read your work and (presumably) know they like it and will know what to expect when they see a new book by you. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this fan base would reject you outright if they bought your next book expecting a Romance and got a Cozy instead. I would suggest that it could confuse future sales ‑ especially among hard-core Romance readers.
By using a pen name for your Cozy Mystery you’ll need to build a new reader base, but if the work is good then it certainly can be done. After all, you’ve done it before with your Romance books. And you can cross-market on your existing Romance platform for a kick-start and branch out to reach the Cozy enthusiasts. There’s no reason to be coy about it when marketing. The fact that you could honestly say on your author page: “Augusta B. Christie is the pen name for the cozy mysteries written by Babs Cartland, who’s Romances are loved by many”. This would show you as a writer with a body of work and a following.
So many successful writers use pen names for different genre, J.K. Rowling being an outstanding example. Wanting to set her modern PI series apart from the unique world of Harry Potter (and any reader expectations of) she published the Strike books as Robert Galbraith. Never was any secret about that and the different pen names helped to differentiate the books and establish reader expectations.
Jennifer Ashley, an awesome, versatile writer, uses three pen names to cover the different genres she writes: Jennifer Ashley for contemporary, paranormal and historical romance, urban fantasy and paranormal as Allyson James, and mysteries as Ashley Gardner. She unabashedly markets her books as Jennifer Ashley writing under the other pen names as well. Each of her books are different and wonderful just as each of Galbriath’s/Rowling’s are and the pen names clearly identify the genre to her market.
Of course the use of a pen name for your Cozies just to set them apart from your Romance market won’t be effective unless you build your marketing platform(s) to reach each type of reader. And your work must be strong enough to grab and grow a following; that means write, rewrite thoughtfully and use a skilled editor, regardless of your pen name. Just sayin’…
H.O. Charles
Cover designer and author of the fantasy series, The Fireblade Array
No, you don’t HAVE to have a separate pen name. It depends upon the brand you want to build If you want readers to come to you for romance and nothing else, then create another pen name. If you think your romance readers could be interested in your mystery work, then stick with the same name. It sometimes helps to have a small beginner audience for a new set of books to get reviews going, etc. So, depending on how large your existing audience is (i.e. if it’s already several tens of thousands), it might be worth sticking to the same name.
How do you balance meeting your reader’s expectations with also surprising them?
August 31, 2018 by The Extra Squeeze in category The Extra Squeeze by The Extra Squeeze Team tagged as expectations, readers, surprises, writers
Dear Extra Squeeze Team,
How do you balance meeting your reader’s expectations with also surprising them?
Rebecca Forster
USA Today Bestselling author of 35 books, including the Witness series and the new Finn O’Brien series.
Think of it this way:
Instead of writing a book, you’re making a movie. You put a lot of hard work into it and you think it’s pretty good so you’re kind of proud of the film. It turns out that all the people who see the movie think it’s SPECTACULAR and they want more. So you make more movies and you work hard to make each one a little better, more creative, more surprising. But people think that each movie is A LOT better. They LOVE your movies.
They can’t get enough of your movies.
You’re nominated for an academy award!
You’re going to walk the red carpet. But what to wear? You don’t want to disappoint anyone. Do you pick a neon pink, crystal-covered number because you are a star? Do you go for a classic cut gown because you want your audience knows you’re in it for the craft? Or, as the big night approaches, are you paralyzed by indecision and opt for the black, wide legged pants and a white blouse that you’ve worn to every wedding you attended in the last ten years? The latter choice, while sincerely attractive, will bore your audience to tears.
Just now I am trying to decide ‘what to wear; as I write book eight of The Witness Series. I had no intention of writing another Witness Series book until fans started asking why I left one beloved character out in the (literal) wilderness and I am paralyzed. One thing I know for sure is that my readers want me to answer the question of what happened to Billy but they want me to answer it in a way that pleases them. The problem is that I don’t know what I think. Should I give them a real crystal covered ending? A sober, long dress ending or do I play it safe in those palazzo pants and shirt and be done with it all.
I am driving myself crazy with what ifs and indecision. The last thing I want is to disappoint. But when this question was asked of the Extra Squeeze team, I realized there was one thing I hadn’t considered. It could be that my readers are telling me that what they really want is a natural end to the journey they have been on with me. Maybe they are gently pushing me to the neon pink dress shimmering with crystals because these characters deserve a conclusion that is spectacular and satisfying and true to the people they have become. Not characters, people who have a their own reality to live.
I guess there is nothing I can do but write. In the end, when this book is reviewed I will know if I was true to everyone: myself, my readers and these wonderful characters.
Jenny Jensen
Developmental editor who has worked for twenty plus years with new and established authors of both fiction and non-fiction, traditional and indie.
Writers always want to satisfy their fan base, gain new readers and at the same time, not lose sight of their own creative core. It’s a balancing act but I don’t think it’s always necessary. “Reader expectations” vary from writer to writer and from reader to reader but I think those expectations generally concern character; motivations, future plotting, desired outcomes. Successful series characters become dear friends — I’d have Miss Marple or Kinsey Millhone over to dinner anytime! The reader becomes invested.
I have clients who take reader input very seriously and I respect that. When reader’s express expectations that are at odds with what the author has in mind my response is to remind her that she is the one writing the story. Unless the fan suggestion is far better than what the writer had in mind — and that has happened, more than once! — I suggest that the writer bear the fan concerns in mind but not stray from her creative stream. Again, she is the creator of this work. It isn’t a collaborative effort.
If your work has garnered fans so engaged with your characters that they have developed their own expectations (or wishful ideas for story direction) then it is a blazing sign that your work is successful. A huge part of that success is the authenticity and originality of your voice. You write what your creative brain directs and the quality and truth of that is what appeals to readers. To consider fan input and to find you can accommodate some if not all of that input makes sense, but if it does not fit, gently reject it. There is nothing more jarring than a story that takes a discordant trajectory. You, as the author, know and feel when the story hits an off note — or you should!
Surprising readers is your job and you must be doing it right if your fan base is developing expectations. Inherent in that ‘surprise’ is often a trajectory that goes against reader expectations. That’s why it’s a surprise. Scarlett doesn’t wind up with Rhett. And that famous ending rings true to the original, authentic voice of the proceeding 960 pages. It’s still surprising readers 82 years later.
The best genre writing follows a formula of sorts and that formula contains some reader expectations; romance will have a successful love match, crime novels will vanquish the bad guy etc. Within that genre formula is a lot of room to play with character development and plot surprise. How each writer uniquely handles that is what keeps us genre readers coming back. Accommodate reader expectations if they work; write a gentle personal note when they don’t.
Robin Blakely
PR/Business Development coach for writers and artists; CEO, Creative Center of America; member, Forbes Coaches Council.
Robin is again, out of the loop. We have a suspicion she’s somewhere having a lot of fun without us.
H.O. Charles
Cover designer and author of the fantasy series, The Fireblade Array
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