@Foodimentary, My Dear Hopkins

LUCY BURDETTE: A couple of weeks ago, I got the most interesting Twitter message from a man who said he was a huge fan of my books, in fact he wanted to be in one. Intriguing right? Then I looked at his Twitter profile—800k+ followers—on a site best known for tweeting his rendition of food holidays. (Think National Key Lime pie day, of which there isn’t one presently…) I researched further and decided you’d like to meet John-Bryan Hopkins too. Welcome John-Bryan!

So first question, how in the world did you get started with food holidays? Have you always been a food person? Do you cook or are you mostly an eater?

JOHN-BRYAN HOPKINS: Thank you so much for having me on your blog. I’m a founder of a food related website Foodimentary. To say I was an 'early adopter' of social media would be an understatement. On Twitter @Foodimentary was one of the very first ‘food’ related Twitter accounts EVER. Within 2 months of being on Twitter I became one of the top 100 Twitter accounts in the world and was rewarded many awards/articles by many major news organizations.  I’m known for Tweeting food related things that are universal, like National Food Holidays.

I started researching food holidays when I joined Twitter. From the very beginning people really responded to Food Holidays. They are a universal way to talk about food.  In a medium when there is sometimes not a lot to talk about, food holidays are a great go to retweet. No cooking, sharing of food advice or recipes necessary.

Cooking is something I do almost every day, I have a passion to eat 'in season' but otherwise it’s not a huge passion.  When you write about food every day…cooking can sometimes feel like work when you really want to just eat.
I’m a food trivia nut! My passion with Foodimentary is to create an ‘ah-ha’ moment in food. Like: Did you know that Grapefruits got their name? Spanish explorers saw them hanging of the trees: ‘Like clusters of  grapes’ This translated into ‘Grapefruits'

LUCY: How does a food get chosen for the calendar? (I know you mentioned that Key Lime pie doesn't have it's own day, and we need to fix that!) And what if there's already something on the calendar that day? And what if someone with another calendar disagrees with your choice?

John-Bryan:  Well, there are many sites who have 'food holidays' lists. Most lists are the same. I think that since Google adopted my Icalender of holidays last year. That pretty much solidified my list as the rule.
When I started working with food holidays, the calendar was far from full. I created about 120 food holidays so far. Celebrating foods that people crave and enjoy. There are many food holidays over the years that were about foods out of season( National Strawberry Day was once in February) or foods we no longer eat.

Now a-day, I take foods off my list and adjust the calendar every year to keep it current and relevant. If noone retweets or shares my post, then I need to find a more relevant food.

LUCY: Your bio says you are a social media consultant. With 866,000 Twitter followers, I think we could safely say you're an expert! Can you share some tips for writers who are struggling to make an impact with their social media activity?

John-Bryan: Do not be afraid to tweet to an author or famous person. Sometime if it’s the right question or subject manner, you might get a response.

Too many tweets means lots of people unfollowing you and there goes your audience…

Find a network of fellow writers, publishers and talk to one another. Make your tweets to read as a conversation that the reader is privileged to.

Hashtags and trending topics will make your posts more visible. Put those at the ends. Photos make for great tweets too.

LUCY: You are a big fan of Key West as I am. What are your favorite haunts on the island?

John-Bryan: I love Key West, Especially in the winter. It’s my 3rd home as far as I am concerned, 2nd being my lake house. My husband and I always stay at The Gardens Hotel. We always stay in the main house with a balcony overlooking the central gardens. They play jazz there in the back yard and serve drinks. The locals come out in droves. This helps me feel as if I lived there than and not just a tourist…that feeling is addictive.

Lucy: Thanks so much for visiting! Ladies and gents, he’ll stop by to answer your questions. What is your favorite food holiday? (And yes he is going to be a character…He asked at exactly the right time. He is running for Fantasy Fest King in KILLER TAKEOUT.)

Social Media Round-Up

LUCY BURDETTE: Don't you sometimes feel like you're in a whirling dervish of social media snippets, with no idea about how it really works or why? I sure do. I have a fan Facebook page and a personal page and a Twitter account and now I've arrived on the Pinterest scene.

I feel like I'm always a step behind on Facebook and Twitter, though I gamely march on. But Pinterest-I love it! I was a little worried about signing on because other writers warned about how addictive it can be. And it does take a little work to set up your boards, but after that, it's just fun for me. Here's a helpful link from Janet Boyer about how to think about marketing through Pinterest. But honestly it seems like it could be great for brainstorming, or sharing recipes, or remembering and organizing events and ideas that might otherwise get lost.

So I'd love to get your thoughts about what kind of social media you love (or hate) and why. And I've asked a few of our other writing pals to comment too.

KRISTA DAVIS: I'm enjoying Pinterest because it's one-step communication. There are no messages to return. I don't have to check to see what everyone pinned that day. If I skip it for a week, nothing bad happens. It's not like I missed anything. Yet, I can convey messages with simple images. I'm having fun adding the covers of my books as well as my friends' books. I've even started a file for photos that correspond to a book that's coming out soon. Wendy Watson had the brilliant idea of adding a Pinterest button to Mystery Lovers' Kitchen. Such a great idea. Now people can pin photos of our covers and recipes without worrying about copyright issues.

RHYS BOWEN: Oh, Lucy and Krista--I don't think I could find another moment to start any new form of social media. Already in my in=box is a long line of people wanting to connect with me on Linked-in. I have yet to find the value for me of Linked-in. Or of Goodreads. Or of Red Room. But they all communicate with me, demanding time and attention.

I'm a big Facebook fan. I love the instant connection with fans and friends. When I broke my wrist a year ago I got 300 messages of sympathy within a few minutes, advice on how to scratch within the cast and ten different people offered to type my manuscript for me.

I do tweet although I've yet to see the correlation between tweets and selling more books. I write my personal blog about twice a week and of course good old Jungle Red. Oh, and when I find the time, I write two books a year as well!

LUCY: so Krista, now you're the princess of Pinterest, but you're also the Twitter queen. How's that going? Any late-breaking tips or warnings?

KRISTA: LOL! No warnings, but I'm seeing a lot of agents, editors, and publishers using Twitter these days. Authors should look up their publishers and be sure to include them with an @ on important tweets about releases and reviews. The same goes for agents and editors. They have some impressive follower numbers.

SHEILA CONNOLLY: Actually I'm finding Pinterest kind of fun, too, because you can do whatever you want with it. Although my in-depth survey indicates that the most popular items are...cat pictures. Hey, that's easy--I've got plenty of cute cat pictures, and more coming all the time.

As a battle-scarred veteran of the Media Wars, I have seen all too many
social media variations surge to the fore, with hordes of adoring fans
stampeding to jump on them, only to watch them fall by the wayside when the Next Big Thing comes along in a week or a month. It's hard to get too excited about any one of them.

Just go with the cat pictures--works every time.

HALLIE EPHRON: I know I'm in trouble when cat pictures are required. I still don't tweet, and now here's something else that I don't do. I will, I will... or so I keep telling myself. Still love Facebook.

LUCY: So tell us, how do you think about posting to facebook Hallie?

HALLIE: I think of it as the beast that needs to be fed. Honestly? It's a guilty pleasure. I post in there just about daily. The friend page AND the fan page. And catch up with what friends are up to. It's one more way that people can find me, which is not a bad thing.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I love Facebook. I post on my public page almost every day, often just about things I think are interesting, rather than all about my books. I love getting comments and feedback, and I love keeping up with what other people are doing as well.

I am tweeting, but have to admit I don't like it as much. It seems overwhelming, and impersonal. But I keep trying, because it does seem to be the big promotional thing these days. (Although someone told me recently at a book event that their publicist said Facebook was much more important. And a fellow author at my publisher said they were told not to tweet, while I've been encouraged to do so... Hmmm.) I signed up for Pinterest, but forgot my password. I haven't looked at Linked-In for months and months, even though it seems like I get invitations to link every day. And I'm dreadful about posting regularly on my own blog.

It's all just too much, and I think you have to choose what works best for you. AND I'd really like to WRITE MY DAMNED BOOK.

ROSEMARY HARRIS: I need a tutorial on facebook public versus facebook profile. I'm dangerously close to advertising on craigslist for an expert. I like fb more than twitter. I love retweeting other people's fun tweets but don't see myself sitting aroiund creating soundbites so that people will retweet mine - and apparently that's the way to get people to follow.

And I love Sharing when other people have good news - it's such a positive thing to do!

LUCY BURDETTE: But Ro, you've got over 7000 fans--you must be doing something right! How about you all? What's your take on social media?

The ABCs of Social Media - a guest post by Dana Kaye, Kaye Publicity

Book writing often seems to appeal to non-technical, introverted, one-foot-in-the-19th-century types. But book publishing (and marketing and selling) calls for high-tech, extroverted, 21st century thinkers. Bridging the gap? Publicists like Dana Kaye.

In addition to having published several short stories and articles herself, Dana is young, hip, and carries a heavyweight roster of clients like Marcus Sakey, Gregg Hurwitz, Michael Harvey, publisher Tyrus Books and on-line readers' community Book Country. Her list just got a little shinier: her client Steve Ulfelder is an Edgar Award nominee for Best First Novel and her client Tracy Kiely has been nominated for the prestigious Mary Higgins Clark Award (along with our own Hallie Ephron!)

Like all good publicists, Dana works with traditional media and speaking outlets, but she really stands out in the sometimes-puzzling, always-evolving world of digital social media. Today, she shares some of her expertise with us.

Social Media Basics

By Dana Kaye

The most common questions authors ask me pertain to social media. From the basics (What exactly is twitter? What’s the difference between a Facebook page and a Facebook profile?) to more advance questions (What’s the best way to translate your following into readers? How do you build a following through content?).

Today, I’d like to address the most commonly asked questions pertaining to Twitter and Facebook, from the basic to the complicated:

Should I make a Facebook Profile or Facebook Page? What’s the difference?

When Facebook first went public, authors were encouraged to have a Facebook profile. They became “friends” with their readers, posted book updates, and uploaded photos for their new friends to see. Most authors who got into the Facebook game early, have hit the 5000 friend mark (the maximum number of friends allotted).

Now I encourage authors to create pages. There is no maximum number of “likes”, you can create custom tabs for events, new books, or contests, and it serves as a more interactive website.

There are pros and cons to both a profile and a page, but right now, pages are more effective for authors. If you haven’t signed up for Facebook yet, start with a fan page. If you have a small following on your Facebook profile, create a page and let all your friends know that you will now be posting on the new page. If you have a large following (800+ friends) talk to your publisher or a social media expert about how you can migrate your friends over to your new page.

What should I post?

Whatever you post on Twitter and Facebook should be a part of your brand. This doesn’t mean that every post should pertain to your life as a novelist or the types of books you write. It means that each of your post should fall fit in with your online persona.

Before you decide “who to be” online (and don’t kid yourself, we all have or should have online personas), you should decide the type of audience you want to reach. If you write romance novels and your target audience is women ages 40-70, I don’t think posting about football or politics is a good personal characteristic to include even if you feel strongly about them. As yourself the following questions:

• What do you write about? I don’t just mean the tagline of your latest novel. What are the themes, conflicts, and subjects explored in your books? Do you usually set your books in small towns or big cities? Are they high-concept or ordinary people trapped in extraordinary circumstances? Are your characters trying to fall in love, trying to kill each other, or trying to find themselves?

• What are you about? Look into your background, the things your passionate about, the characteristics that make you who you are, and pick the ones that tie in to your writing. Do you have a passion for travel and write international thrillers? Do you write historical novels and teach history at a local high school or university? Are you involved in a charity, sports team, or other organization whose members might also read your books?

I approach twitter and Facebook posts as I do dinner party conversation: avoid the topics of sex, religion, and politics (unless those are directly related to your books) and always present the best of yourself.

I believe there are four types of posts:

1. Professional post – links to articles, comment on trends, etc.

2. Promotional post – encouraging followers to buy your book or attend a signing

3. Personal post – a tidbit about your personal life that fits in with your online persona

4. Interaction – replying or engaging in conversation with another user

Most people post heavily in one category. They only post personal things, or they only promote their books, or they don’t post original content and simply re-tweet or respond to other people’s post. Do your best to rotate through the 4 types of posts each day. It’s not a strict rule, you can interact more on one day and post more professional items on another. Just be wary of posting too much in any one category, especially self-promotion.

Will social media really help increase sales?

Though I don’t believe social media directly translates into sales, I know that the fringe benefits of social media will boost sales and name recognition in the long term:

• Discoverability – potential readers are far more likely to stumble upon your Facebook page than your website. You have many more chances to “meet” people on Twitter than you do driving around the country doing book signings and networking events.

An active social media presence also increases your discoverability by the media. When Lynn Sheene began her “A Debut In Paris” promotion where she’d post photos of her book at famous Parisian landmarks, we began receiving emails from French publications, bloggers, even a hotel owner in Paris who wanted to throw a party for Lynn and the book. Her social media presence brought the opportunities to us, rather than us spending hours researching and sending inquiries to new media.

• Provides Re-enforcement - I believe that people need to see a name or a logo three times before it sticks in their brain. When someone purchases a book online or from their local bookstore, most of the time, they have already seen an ad, read a review, heard a radio interview, or received a recommendation from a friend. Now, Twitter and Facebook adds to the reinforcement. If I hear a radio interview with an author, I may think the book sounds good and I may want to read it. But I’ll quickly forget. Then if I see people talking about the book on Facebook and Twitter, it will remind me and I will be more likely to actually buy it.

• Making Connections – As was mentioned earlier, authors attend conferences, signings, and other events in order to build their network. But now, much of that networking can be done online. I treat Twitter like the bar of any conference: people are casually talking, debating, and meeting new people. It’s an online conversation.

Facebook does a similar thing. When I see people I haven’t seen in a long time, we can immediately skip all the small talk because we know what we’ve been up to based on our Facebook posts. We’ve maintained our relationship online so there is less need for reinforcement. If you have a book out every year, people will require less promotion before buying your latest release because you’ve maintained a relationship with them year round.

Dana Kaye is the founder of Kaye Publicity, a full service PR company specializing in publishing and entertainment. Visit Dana’s daily blog, 365 Days of Book Publicity, follow her on Twitter, and “like” her on Facebook.

Rhys Muses on Social Media

RHYS BOWEN: My friends all begin with A. That’s a slight exaggeration, but many of them do. Not because I have a fondness for Alexs and Annas but because when I first joined Facebook and Twitter I was told that the way to find friends was through other friends’ lists of friends. And those lists always started with the As.

So I’d click away merrily at all the Alans and Audreys and then run out of steam by the Cs. I have absolutely no friends called Zach or Zenobia.

And a tip for expectant parents: if you want your child to be popular call him Aaron and her Abby. They will never want for Facebook friends.

This got me thinking about the whole social media phenom and how strange it is. We get really close online to people we have never met and really don’t know. When I get a friend request I almost always accept it, unless the person is called “I Worship Satan”, Of course I’ve had to rapidly unfriend a few who seem to think that Facebook friendship actually means more than it is. One gentleman from Africa wanted to move into my house with me. Quick, where’s the unfriend button? Sometimes they’ll send a message that starts with “You are so beautiful and…” This convinces me that either they are shortsighted or looking for what I’m not offering. I point out that my profile says MARRIED and that the reason I am on Facebook is to keep in touch with my fellow writers, readers and industry professionals.

I usually follow back those who follow me on Twitter. Then I started reading their descriptions of themselves. Have you ever actually done that? Here are a few I’ve gleaned:
Murderess. Peacock. God’s Chosen One
Prisoner at the Eden Hotel
My Salon at Grand Hotel was a refuge for clever people
Leading authority on Verbal Abuse
Raging against the dying of the night

If you have a moment, read some. They are fascinating, and strange. And make you wonder if you really want them following you.

But the amazing thing about social media is that real connections are made. I love finding out what my real friends, like Hank and Deb, are doing on a daily basis. But I've also developed a true fondness for people I've never met in person. When I bought a leather purse in Morocco and when I got it home it smelled terrible, I posted this on Facebook. I got hundreds of suggestions about how to remove the smell—many of them really good and effective. Months later when I go around the country to speak someone will ask me, “What happened to the purse? Does it still smell?”

And when I broke my wrist I posted that on Facebook and was overwhelmed at the outpouring of sympathy, hints to make life easier and kind offers. Ten people even offered to type my manuscripts for me until I could work again. I was gobsmacked, as we say in England.


Now, of course, it has become an addiction. I can’t start the morning without seeing who has tweeted what and who has said what on Facebook. But I do wonder if the next generation will actually ever go out and make… uh… real friends in the flesh.

So how about you—social media-love it or hate it?

Twitter 101

ROBERTA: As promised, our two good pals Krista Davis and Julie Hennrikus are here today to help us master Twitter. Let's start with basics, ladies. What should we be saying in our tweets?

Krista: Tweeting is a terrific way to brand yourself. For me, it's often about food, which suits my domestic diva brand. I share recipes and tips that I see. Here's the great thing, especially for those of us who are lazy -- you can tweet other people's information, and, even better, they'll love you for it. If Roberta posts a recipe on a blog, I can tweet to share the blog site and her recipe. I'm helping my own domestic diva brand, and Roberta is getting more traffic on the blog. It's a win-win situation.

Julie: I agree that Twitter is a great way to brand yourself with a broad brush. Though I started to tweet to build a "following" in the hopes of publishing a book (or series) some day, I now tweet about much more than mysteries, or writing. Twitter is a great way to build your community around your brand, and around your interests.

You should tweet about all of your interests, and follow people with like interests. Are you a sports fan? Tweet about it. Did you see a play you liked? Send out a tweet and call out the company. Are you passionate about a subject? Use twitter as a platform.

A couple of rules of thumb I use--be positive in your tweets about other people. Don't say anything that you wouldn't say over a loud speaker. Also, pay it forward. Use 80% of your tweets to talk about other people, or their work. Don't just be a one note marketing tweeter--that is a sure way to get unfollowed very quickly.


Krista: Julie, your examples demonstrate so well that Twitter is for everyone. No matter what you write, or what your passions are, you'll find it on Twitter. I often recommend that beginners tweet about their favorite sports teams or their alma maters. It's a great way to get the hang of Twitter.

I agree about being positive, too. Unless you tweet a private direct message to someone, everything you tweet is 100% public. Be careful what you say!

It's okay to spread the word about your blog, or a new book, or a wonderful review, but tweeting about yourself all the time is a guaranteed way to bore people. Forget the hard sale because it's an instant turnoff. Give people something in your tweets like a link to a great blog or article.

ROBERTA: How about your best tips for getting people to follow?

Krista: I guess it's obvious that tweeting useful information is one way. There's good news, though, the more you tweet, the more you'll be followed. There's software that tracks this kind of thing and is used to recommend followers to other people.

Julie: RT (or retweet) often. Try to add a comment when you can. Send "congrats" tweets. Make sure to use people or company's handles in your tweet, because that increases the chances of your tweet getting read and the other person following you. Follow hashtags that interest you (one example from my day job is #2amT, which is a twitter hashtag for people discussing the ideas about theater that wake them up at 2am. Wonderful conversations.) Chime into conversations and use hashtags. Participate. You will get followers, and they do grow incrementally.

Krista: Don't be afraid to follow people. If you follow a few people each day, you'll be surprised how fast they add up.

ROBERTA: how do we keep track of all this?

Krista: Oh, I was so glad when I discovered TweetDeck. Up until then, I just didn't understand how anyone could read all the messages flashing by faster than a speeding bullet. With TweetDeck (and no, they don't pay me), I can choose what I want to see. I can follow discussions and people I like. It's also a dynamite way to find out if a certain word works well as a hashtag (#). If you type in a word and boring posts come up, you know it's a dud.


Julie: Krista is a TweetDeck fan. I love Hootsuite. It is the same thing in many ways, but I find that it works on all of my computers and my smartphone, which makes things very easy.

Once you decide to use either one of these programs you can set up a stream to follow lists (that you have set up in Twitter), #hashtags, key words or specific people. Also make sure you set up a search for yourself. That way you can respond when someone mentions you or retweets.

This is a really helpful way to make sure you have a continuous presence without spending hours on Twitter. Because I (as @JulieHennrikus) am fairly active people assume I spend hours a day. Instead I spend fifteen minutes twice a day.

Another great thing about these programs is that you can schedule tweets.

ROBERTA: What about these lists?

Krista: Lists are a terrific way to meet a lot of other people who are interested in the things that interest you. For instance, I have a list of writers. If you want to be friends with writers, have a look at the people on my list. I bet you know some of them already! (It's super easy to follow people from a list. All you have to do is click on FOLLOW.) You can also get more followers by having a great list. I've had people ask to be included on my food list. And, believe it or not, there are even people who track lists and rate them.

Julie: First of all, anyone new to Twitter should go to Krista's lists and subscribe to them. They are great for writers. I also have lists for my different areas of interest, though I will admit I am behind in keeping up with them. Lists are another great way to clear out some of the Twitter noise and focus. That said, just read your stream once in a while. You will always find something new.

ROBERTA: Any final thoughts on Twitter?

Julie: First, Twitter is an incredibly useful, FREE tool. Use it.
Second, Twitter is more than marketing, it is community building. Some of the conversations I have followed, or blogs I have been linked to, have been inspiring, informational or moving. So don't just use it to sell your book. Use it to engage with people.
Third, chose your Twitter handle carefully. After much thought a recent job change had me change my handle from @cozytwitt to @JulieHennrikus. I thought that the ED of a service organization should have a more serious name in case of retweeting.
Fourth, tweets last, so be careful about how you use those 140 (or 120 so that you can be retweeted) characters.
Fifth: Twitter can be fun. Follow a few pithy people (@SteveMartinToGo and @BadBanana both make me laugh) and see how it is done. Or use TweetChat during an event (#projectrunway was always a good time) and meet like minded folks.

Krista: 1. Twitter is probably the easiest, least time-consuming marketing tool available. All the more reason to use it.

2. Twitter will prevent you from adding more followers if your follower/followee ratio is skewed. (Don't worry, it doesn't start happening until you follow about 1,000 people.) It's good Twitter etiquette to follow people who follow you. If you don't follow other people, they will dump you. It's not an insult. It's how it works. Use Twitter Karma to get rid of people who don't follow you, so you can even out your ratio. http://dossy.org/twitter/karma/

3. If you use Twitter for marketing, or even to interact with agents, your Twitter name should be short (you don't want to waste characters!) and recognizable. You're tweeting to be seen.

4. The shorter your tweets are, the more likely they will be retweeted.

5. Some people consider it poor form to link your tweets to your Facebook page because you're likely to bombard some people by sending the message to them at both locations. Besides, you can say so much more at Facebook. Keep them separate.

ROBERTA: Thanks a million Julie and Krista! Now these mavens of tweetology are standing by for your questions...

J.A. (Julie) Hennrikus is the Executive Director of StageSource, an arts service organization for theater artists and organizations in the Boston area. Her short story "Tag, You're Dead" was published in Level Best Books anthology THIN ICE last fall. She tweets under @JulieHennrikus

Krista Davis is the National Bestselling Author of The Domestic Diva Mysteries published by Berkley Prime Crime. Her first mystery, THE DIVA RUNS OUT OF THYME, was nominated for an Agatha award. The fifth book in the series, THE DIVA HAUNTS THE HOUSE, will be in stores on September 6th and is now available for pre-order. Krista is proud to have a short story, DEAD EYE GRAVY, in the Guppy Anthology FISH TALES. Visit Krista at her website and her blog where mystery writers cook up crime . . . and recipes! If you follow Krista (@KristaDavis), she promises to follow you back.

and please follow your Jungle Reds on twitter too: @lucyburdette, @hank_phillippi, @jspencerfleming, @rhysbowen, @deborahcrombie, @janbrogan, @rosemaryharris1, and someday, maybe, Hallie....