Two Questions for Writers

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief, Southern Writers Magazine

Here is a question for a writer. Do you know that you are a business? Yes, you are the business; you create the stories that are published in the books to be sold to the readers.

Here is another question for you. Who owns this business? Yep, You. You are the sole owner of this business.

This can be scary for some people who like to work in a group. But if you are a writer, you know all too well writing is a one-person job unless you collaborate with another author. With that said, you are not alone though. There are people out there, just like you. When authors come together and share with each other it helps them keep from feeling isolated.

It’s important for writers to learn from each other especially what marketing avenues are working for each. For instance, Facebook–each author should have a Facebook page and interact with your ‘readers’. I know that is information everyone knows. But sometimes we forget how important those pages are and that they are a marketing tool for us as a business. This is a place we share information about what we are writing. It’s also a place for us to share information about our books we have already written. One of the best ways is to get feedback and interaction from the reader.

One of the ways to get readers interested is telling them how you came about writing a particular book. Maybe tell them about how you had to research it, give a little more info to get a little more attention. Think about things that you would like to know about a particular book written by someone. What questions would you like to ask them? Your readers will want to know the same type of things.

Now, another way to get them to interact is by posting contests and games, things that will encourage their feedback and participation. Use your imagination.

The important thing is for the reader to get to know you and be interested in what you are writing. 

They will be if you involve them in your process.

By the way, don’t just try this once. Create this into your weekly activity with Facebook. Use Facebook as a tool to increase your reader base.