The Writer Online

Used to be, maybe about a decade ago, writers were an elusive breed.  You could pick up their book in the store, read everything they write, moon over their characters, and cross your fingers one day that author would stop in a town close to you for a booksigning.  If you wanted to make contact with the writer, you wrote them a letter (or ok, ten years ago emails were good, too).  But they weren't necessarily accessible.

Today, if you want to learn more about an author you simply hop online and Google their name.  Usually they will have a website with lists of all their books, upcoming books, works-in-progress, names of all their children, last meal consumed and pictures of their pets.  They might also have a chatty blog, heck, they may be on a group blog with a bunch of other authors.  You can find them on MySpace and FaceBook and actually get real-time responses to your questions (from some authors) and they're Tweeting and Texting and...well, they're everywhere!

I think it's a great thing.  It's sort of like being able to connect with a movie star, only the author probably doesn't have a boob job, veneers and an entourage (most of them, anyway).  But where do authors draw the invisible line between the reader and themselves?  Where do you think they should draw the line?

I'm constantly asking myself "What can I do to promote my books and myself?".  Online is the cheapest, fastest way to promote.  I've joined FaceBook and Twitter.  I have the website and blog(s).  I put myself out there.  I answer emails promptly.  If you want to know it about me, it's out there.  I do this to promote and network, not necessarily because I enjoy the extra work involved.  And it is work.  It's the 'business' part of the writing job.  (Don't worry, I DO enjoy answering emails.  Stuff like HTML coding and keeping track of when I blog at over 7 different blogs is the icky part.)

But I also worry about going too far.  We've all seen the authors who post on loops and message boards about their books.  ALL THE TIME.  And that's all they do is promote their books.  They don't join in on conversations about craft or other writers' stuff.  Their focus is singular.  To be honest, I do notice these authors, but not in the way they want to be noticed.  I mentally add their names to a list of 'do not buy'.  What about you?

Now, some authors are promotional geniuses.  Their product (book cover; brand) is out there, everywhere, but it's not as though they are shoving it in our faces.  They provide the info, and allow us, the readers, to make up our minds.  They Twitter about their latest releases, but they are also in there reTweeting for their friends, and passing along great info that isn't at all related to their work.  They are the authors I mentally add to my 'buy' list.

It's tough, knowing how much or how little to promote.  A lot of it is 'try this and see how it works'.  I think a website is essential.  FaceBook and Twitter are great networking tools that connect you with readers and bookstores, so I'm going to mark them as 'pretty darn essential'.  A blog, depending on how the author uses it, can be an excellent tool.  The author can keep it strictly promotion-oriented, or she/he can use it just to chat, let readers into her heart and mind, and allow them to learn a bit beneath the 'writer's hat'.  Group blogs are also excellent because it brings together a mix of authors who may then introduce their fans to each other, and most group blogs are not writing focused (as we are at Riding) so again, readers can get to know them a little better beyond 'the page'.

So as a writer what online promotional tools do you feel are essential?  Unnecessary?  Do you worry about going too far with your promotion?  


As a reader what kinds of promotion catch your interest online?  Do you like it when authors are easily accessible?  What, to you, is too much and will make you add that author to your 'don't buy' list?

Michele