JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Don't be alarmed by the title; I'm not checking out of hotels or my day to day activities. I used the phrase because I love me some alliteration, and the writing I've been doing lately is all of a sort - reaching out to readers.
I have to admit, when I was pouring over issues of WRITERS DIGEST and reading mystery novels to learn the craft, I never expected the life of the author to involve so much, well, communication. Ironically, many of us are well suited as writers because we love to sit in a small room by ourselves and not have to talk to anyone. We're not misanthropes - a visit to any mystery conference will disabuse you of that idea - but we all like spending a lot of interior time. I suppose if we didn't turn to the written word, a lot of us would do well as contemplative monks (although Jenn and Hank and Rhys would be HIGHLY energetic ascetics.)
But I began my career at the dawn of the social media
age. The first change was the author website, which
enabled readers, for the first time, to connect to their favorite
writers without showing up at a bookstore or library. As more and more
people got online, we switched from physical newsletters (yes! I had one,
done by a lovely local printing business!) to email newsletters.
Then came the social media sites that are now part of our day-to-day lives. I can't recall if anyone was using MySpace professionally (anyone remember how big MySpace was for about five minutes?) but once Facebook stopped being just for college students, the whole world joined up, and authors came in droves as well. Then, for a while, the novelty of YouTube meant Book Trailers - a whole business popped up around producing them! Facebook stayed, and grew, but YouTube was quickly colonized by content producers putting out stuff that was, let's face it, much more entertaining than book trailers, so authors migrated to the cool new world of Instagram.
You also had to be on Goodreads, and LibraryThing, and
everyone became bloggers, and it was about then when you'd start to hear
writers huddled together at conferences asking each other how much
social media was the right amount, and how did everyone manage to get
any actual, you know, writing done while also posting and
mailing and Tweeting and commenting.
Don't even get me started on Tik Tok. No. Not gonna go there.
Most of us have settled down to a few, reliable ways
to connect with our readers, in part because EVERYONE has gotten a bit
tired and jaded with the social media world. Quality, not quantity, has become
the new standard. Which leads me to my catching up - on FB comments and
writers' emails, and checking out - other authors' newsletters, because I'm
restarting my own NEWS FROM THE KILL and I want to make sure it's up to date;
ie, giving readers what they want and nothing they don't.
So, dear readers, tell me: what sites online do you find gives
you the best value when interacting with writers? And, if you subscribe to any,
what do you like to see in author newsletters?
To me, author newsletters are like an unexpected gift . . . I tend to be happy with whatever has been included . . . . and compared to Jungle Red Writers, no other site even comes close for being valuable for interacting with writers. If I had to pick a social media site, I guess Facebook would be my choice for best value . . . .
ReplyDeleteJoan, I suspect FB works for so many people because we've all been on it for something like 20 years, and so it's comfortable to navigate.
DeleteI use Facebook and a monthly newsletter, and am minimally on Instagram. I love an author newsletter that is chatty and includes book news AND personal news, plus photos. I try to make mine the same!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Edith, that's very helpful!
DeleteBack in the day, late 1980's, CompuServe had a massive writing forum, and some authors got their start there. Diana Gabaldon was one of them; she would share research, upload passages she was working on, and network with readers. She still does this, only now on Facebook, and she answers questions more than any author I've known of. I learned a lot about marketing from my desk from her.
ReplyDeleteMy kids had AOL accounts, and LiveJournal, which was very slanted towards writing. My youngest, who was a Harry Potter fanatic, was writing fan fiction through a LiveJournal community when she was about 14, in the early 2000's.
The Internet has clearly made a difference for authors who choose to use it (see Reds, Jungle), but it does take so much time. How do you strike a balance? The Reds have a sweet deal here, along with a couple other blogs like Mystery Lovers Kitchen, where you share with a group of other writers, but that is just one prong of the potential social media outreach. Did you struggle to get to a sweet spot of not too much?
Yes, the answer is yes Karen, we struggle to find a balance! I do remember Myspace and those dial up Internet lines:). I love your stories about the early days with Diana Gabaldan and fan fiction. I've been writing a lot this week, but that means getting NOTHING ELSE DONE!
DeleteKaren, I forgot about LiveSpace, and its red-headed stepchild Tumblr. My oldest was VERY involved in their fanfic and fan communities.
DeletePersonal news (short story pubications), local non-political news, a feature piece on an important location in one of your books, seasonal photos, garden update, and best of all, one of Celia's recipes. Dogs, cats, and grand-dogs.
ReplyDeleteFrom Celia: thank you so Much Margaret. What a treat to be included on your FB
DeletePage. I love your garden photos and the dogs are adorable. I'll talk with Julia, there are plenty of food thoughts to share
What a great idea, Margaret! Everyone loves Celia's food writing!
DeleteI love author newsletters and I get a lot of them. I read most of them, enjoying the book news and the personal stories, too. Some authors are automatic pre-orders for me, I consider myself very lucky to be able to do that. But I have drawn a hard line at paying for author newsletters.
ReplyDeleteI like the contact with authors and readers on Facebook and engage with others there, but try to limit my time on it. This blog is unique however and my first choice for social media with authors.
I feel the same way about FB, Judy. It can be hard to get off once you've gotten on!
DeleteWhat online sites give best contact with writers (and other readers)? There is but one…Jungle Reds! Happy weekend all. Elisabeth.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the vote, Elisabeth!
DeleteI have to say, I love this blog--I never imagined that I would be able to connect with authors and other readers on a daily basis. It's delightful.
ReplyDeleteMy email inbox is so full that I don't know about subscribing to more newsletters. I don't read all the ones I get already.
I used to really enjoy Facebook, but now I'm pretty frustrated. It seems to be all ads and posts from people and groups I've never heard of . So many posts that are viral are just not true. For instance there was a story this week that at least 4 of my friends shared. It had a picture of a man, and the story was that he had been arrested because he broke into a bookstore to finish reading a book. The version I saw most often said this Portland bookstore was famous and was on Burnside St (duh, Powell's). I actually wanted to know what the book was that this guy couldn't put down, so I googled the story. As far as I could determine, the story only existed on Facebook (probably Instagram too, but I'm not on Insta), and one version said it was a Barnes and Noble store. So, a good story, but not true. Then I'm the wet blanket fact checking my friends' posts.
Gillian, Facebook has this tendency to do what I think of as abuse creep. It is possible to temporarily stop the random posts in your feed, and to close ads, if you make liberal use of the "X" on the upper right of each post. Once you close a whole bunch of them it settles down for a while. They don't make money unless we open ads and/or buy from the advertisers, so they aren't going to quit, but at least we can stem the tide a bit.
DeleteThat's kinda funny Gillian. What's more newsworthy that a man breaking into Powell's is that people would believe it to be true. Why would he break into Powell's? Powell's is open to the public for free - just walk in the front door. And he could have gone to any of the libraries around Portland.
DeleteAnon, the story was that he had sat there reading all day, but had 47 pages left, so when they closed, he propped an emergency exit open and snuck back in. He was sitting reading when he was apprehended.
DeleteOh that makes sense, thanks Gillian.
DeleteGillian, I manage FB by ignoring my feed entirely and going straight to the profiles of people I want to catch up on. For instance, if I want to see what's up with my brother's family, I go to my sister-in-law's profile. I see everything I'm interested in and nothing that I don't care about!
DeleteJulia, sign me up for NEWS FROM THE KILL! I love author’s newsletters. Whatever they want to tell me about their w.i.p. and their travels, life happenings, etc. I do check author’s websites from time to time. My only regular social media is Facebook and I follow authors (such as the Jungle Reds) and associated authors there.
ReplyDeleteSuzette, author websites are pretty static; they need to be there so anyone can take a look at published books, find out a bit about the author and check out their upcoming events. I think that's why newsletters have become so popular - it's all the newsy, month-to-month stuff you don't see in a website.
DeleteI enjoy author newsletters (Edith, you're one of my faves!), but I also worry that readers, and perhaps publishers, are putting too much pressure on authors. Be here, go there, write this blog, write this newsletter, do these revisions, where is the new proposal, etc. Writers and any one in the arts who needs creativity time and basic down time deserve to put themselves and their health, family and emotional needs first. It never hurts to remind us that you have a life outside of entertaining us and a newsletter serves that purpose quite well. -- Victoria
ReplyDeleteThere is a LOT of pressure from publishers, especially for newer writers, Victoria. I agree, it's important to pick a few things that work for you and then pass on the rest.
DeleteI'm here at Malice and interestingly, one of the panels I attended was about just that--how do you connect with your reader. It was given by agents/editors/book owners (all also writers). Their suggestions on how to connect made me want to run scurrying to my little room with my laptop just to get away from it all. It's a full time job. Sigh (oh wait, I'm told not to use sighs when I write). Ugh, all the social media, the newsletters, the blogs. I love this morning connection with readers and writers, but (oh no another bad word-but) it all eats at the time I have for writing. That said, I'm going to try to follow the advice of those with much more experienced than myself. I'm going to dip my toe into newsletter writing! I too have a lot in my inbox all the time, however, I do enjoy the personal side of people's lives. (Yes, Julia, sign me up also). This blog is refreshing. Fast am read, feeling connected and often boosted to dust off for another marketing day!!!
ReplyDeleteGlad you're feeling energized, Gerri! And yes, people who don't actually, you know, create fiction for a living have a LOT of opinions as yo what we writers ought to be doing...
DeleteJungle Reds is the one blog I read automatically every morning. Love subscribing to newsletters from favorite authors. Don't use Facebook at all. It depresses me for some reason. Went on it recently, just to check it out, and hated all the ads, pop-ups etc. Glad I deleted it again.
ReplyDeleteI feel that way about Instagram, Anon. I love seeing pics from people I know and follow, but that's only every third or forth post on my feed. Everything else is an ad or a "suggested for you," the latter of which is usually something I'm not at all interested in.
DeleteI am not on social media - not Facebook, Instagram ... nada.
ReplyDeleteI check out Jungle Red everyday though and enjoy the ability to hear from not just our JRW's but so many other wonderful authors.
Anon, you probably have the best mental health of any of us!
DeleteEvery morning I enjoy coming here to read JRW, even though I don't often comment. But I would love a newsletter. One that I subscribe to comes every two weeks or so and sometimes the author is talking about her WIP, other times it's about her daily life. It feels exactly like what I want from a newsletter. Other newsletter I get are more or less about the same, with the authors aiming for monthly. They aren't necessarily very long, which is good with so much in formation overload from "everywhere."
ReplyDeleteThen there are the paid things on Substack. I'm not sure if they are considered newsletters. Maybe? Often with the paid ones we can read and comment; if we subscribe without paying we can read but not comment and there may be other "perks." Personally, I'm not a fan of paid subscriptions and have canceled a few. I will gladly buy your books, or at least get them from the library, but I don't see the point, nor have the money, to read about what you have been up to lately. but this might be the way the world is going, so I can go along or not.
For what it's worth, I spend less and less time on Facebook and I still haven't figured out exactly how to use Instagram. Those are the only ones I look at at all.
Hope this helps because I am really looking forward to reading News from the Kill. Oh, and did you hear about the baby bear that was found in the road? It was crying and the only way it would stop was if the trooper picked it up and held it. This was in Oneida county. I could imagine that being in one of your books.
Judi, I hadn't heard the story, but I love it! That would, indeed, be a sweet way to add in a bear.
DeleteI'm setting up on Substack, but not doing the paid vs unpaid subscription. I understand why journalists keep some things behind a paywall - for many of them, it's a significant part of how they make their living. But BOOKS are my business, so anything else is going to be free!
I'm off all social media except for substack. I don't pay to subscribe to any newsletters and only a few authors seem to use it (in my experience). I enjoy getting newsletters in my email on a monthly basis, particularly if new books are coming out. So yes to newsletters, no to any Meta tool. They don't need my engagement and more folks that delete, more advertisers leave and the world gets a little more sanity.
ReplyDeleteJoyce, I hear you. I suspect we ALL feel like that at least occasionally.
DeleteFrom Celia: Julia has craftedly given us a double challenge this morning - what do we want from our authors stories , and what can be added to the mix? Currently Substack seems to be a sure income spot. But I don't think that our Reds are looking that way as here is Blogger.
ReplyDeleteI love THE one question which is usually the hook each day. I also love the consistency of how the Blog sets out.
What might be added to this? What would add the spice? Is spice needed? Should that be via visitors or other.
Would it be interesting to go back toJulia's start and include an Audible clip from her from her first book? I'm easing into Audible. As i listened quietly I realized that as I had gobbled up my original reading I had missed delightful H & G details of the Dutch characteristics which make up Millers Kills unique, and why we keep wanting to be a part of this world.
An audio clip is a fascinating idea, Celia - I'll have to research how to make that happen!
DeleteThere is so much pressure to be on social media that I don't know when authors have time to write their books. I enjoy their newsletters with a mix of books and personal news. Recipes, jokes, anything entertaining and nonrobotic. No AI, please. I follow a few blogs. I limit my social snooping to Facebook, although that becomes a huge sink hole everytime. Rodeo, anyone?
ReplyDeleteNever any AI, Pat! You can always tell when something has been written by AI - it has a curiously tasteless flavor, like chewing on a piece of pizza made from cardboard.
DeleteMany of my favorite sci-fi writers are on Bluesky, since they like writing words, not making videos. I have a feed that is just authors, so that’s a good way to see a lot without having to go different places or sign up for newsletters. The mystery community is pretty thin there, so this blog is the majority of my interaction in that genre.
ReplyDeleteI'm on Bluesky, Lisa, but it's mostly for pointed political comments that I never make here or in FB. I do put some professional news on there, but it's mostly for fun (and communicating with The Maine Millennial, who is quite active there!)
DeleteWelcome back to newsletters, Julia! How crazy this "information" age has been. I do subscribe to newsletters - a select few - and I just want information. If it's an author, I want release dates and then a quick what are you up to update or an interesting/amusing story. If it's a travel one, give me tips and tricks. If it's food, hit me with a recipe. You get the idea. The only social media I use is Instagram and it automatically posts to FB. I'm never on FB. I do look at Insta on the daily but I set a one hour time limit so I don't get lost in the weeds. It happens especially when I'm avoiding a deadline. LOL.
ReplyDeleteJulia, I think authors can wear out all their creativity in social media. I still write a bi-monthly newsletter and post on my Facebook group. My assistant reposts on Instagram although I query the value of it. I don’t do anything with Goodreads although I should as I have a big following there. Enough is enough! However when I new book is due out I do all the podcasts, interviews I can.
ReplyDelete