Hello and welcome everyone,
As the title states, I am an author. I am also a writing tutor, poet, writer, editor, and proofreader. My ultimate goal from long before college was to get to the point in my writing that I could support myself with it and be free to do whatever I like! So far, I have been semi-successful in that journey and am excited that I am starting to see results!
This article will go through what I have done so far and what has worked or started to work.
Research
Research is an unsung hero in many aspects. Several writers, myself included, want to jump in there and rely on the skills they think they have to get them to where they want to go. They know exactly what they want to do and, since it’s different than what others are doing, they will be sure to stand out!
Unfortunately, this is not the case. Research is your number one best friend. With me, it was more an issue of not knowing WHAT to research and instead of confronting the big, black void of the internet I wanted to do my own thing. This will give you no results and you will be spinning a, albeit smaller, black void all your own with no support or understanding from others because you have refused to connect with anyone.
WHAT TO RESEARCH:
- Social media marketing: Search specifications for your chosen platforms
- WHEN to post on social media – best time of day
- Trending hashtags (trust me, it works)
- How many hashtags per post?
- How many posts per day?
- FOLLOW AND INTERACT with others who are posting things like you. Trust me, they’re just people on the other end of the screen just like you. They like the interaction!
- Publishing (traditional)
- Literary agents – What is a literary agent? How do you find one? How to apply? What is a query letter? How do you format a query letter?
- Companies – How to apply? Do you need a literary agent to apply? What are they looking for at this time? How to format your submission if they do not require a literary agent?
- Manuscript – What is my manuscript (novella, novel, short story, etc.)? How do I format a manuscript? How many pages of my manuscript to turn in? Should I write a synopsis of my manuscript?
- Publishing (self)
- What is the best platform to self-publish on?
- How do I make it to the top 10 chart in self-publishing?
- How do I format my book?
- Should I go electronic or print or both?
- How to write a compelling book synopsis?
These are a few questions to get you started. Hopefully, you haven’t thought of some of these. Never stop asking questions. Once you find the answer, it should open up five more questions to research. We are in the information age. Use it!!
What I Do
So, what do I do that I have found to be successful? Well, my current project is an educational book series called “Tire Tales” wherein four main characters, who are tires, are attached to a motorhome traveling the USA on academic adventures! In order to help promote the book series, I have created profiles and presence on the following social media platforms:
- Pinterest (less focus)
SCHEDULE: Every single week, on Sunday, I schedule posts for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I write out the posts and schedule them to post for a specific day/time of the week. All together it takes me anywhere from 3-7 hours every Sunday. I find this preferable to spending 1-2 hours every day setting up posts or posting on the social media platform.
I started with Twitter. It is recommended that you post anywhere from 15 – 24 times a day. Yes. You read that correctly. Once per hour. This is due to the short shelf life of tweets. For Facebook and Instagram it is recommended to only post 1-2 times per day.
Through much trial and error I now post the same amount across all three platforms and schedule 7 posts a day, spaced out as evenly as possible (every 2-4 hours). The posts are as follows:
- 1 fun fact a day from Shelly, Speedy, and Amelia (3 posts) (8 am, 8 pm, 11 pm)
- 1 word of the day from Whiz (1 post) (2 pm)
- 1 picture with a quote about reading or teaching children (1 post) (2 am)
- 1 promotional post advertising the books, tshirts, or asking to like the page (1 post) (11-12 pm)
- 1 general information post about Tire Tales (1 post) (10 am)
- Total posts: 7 (specific post times vary from week to week)
I also will add an extra post here and there when I think of something and make sure to actually send it between the hours I have scheduled for the previous posts.
Every single day I spend anywhere from 30 minutes – 1 hour, throughout the day (added up), interacting with other people who I follow from those social media accounts. Reading what they’re up to, liking their posts, creating genuine connections. I am happy to say I have started to make some very cool friends.
PROGRESS SO FAR/ RESULTS
I have started seeing some results, finally, after just shy of 2 months of consistent post scheduling and by results, I mean anywhere from 2-5 interactions and 1-2 follows per week just the last two weeks. It is SLOW. But it is happening and I could not be more excited!
Think of it this way, it takes time to grow in the hearts and minds of strangers.
Would I say it has been worth the effort? YES! Do I wish it was going faster? ALSO YES! But it is totally worth it and I am getting closer and closer to my goals of supporting myself completely through my writing every day!
FINAL NOTES
Thank you for reading and good luck in your own business and don’t forget to follow me on social media, interact with my posts, and check out my books on Amazon!
Comment your favorite tips that you read here and what has worked for you!
HOW TO SUPPORT FOR $0?
You can easily support your favorite authors, artists, and entrepreneurs for $0 by:
- Sharing their posts
- Liking their posts and pages
- Interacting with their posts by commenting and tagging others
- Recommend their product or service to your friends and family.
A single interaction makes my whole day!
Until next time!!
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E. Lexi Abbott 