By
Elizabeth Sumner Wafler
A week
after holding my first baby, In Robin's Nest in my arms--delivered not by stork, but by UPS--I realized that if
others were going to know that the book actually existed, I would have to
engage in DIY marketing.
A month later
I had invested in a WordPress domain and begun tacking away at my own website.
I opened a facebook fan page. And then someone asked me if I was on twitter, in a way that sounded as
though if I wasn't on twitter, I must be on crack. "Twitter is the real way to build followers," said
she. I twitter searched a celebrated author. She had 100K followers. I had
four.
I spent the next six months toiling over pithy,
yet 140 character tweets, in which I alternated between tooting my own (book) horn
in clever ways, i.e., photographing my dog "holding" my book, and fretting
over whether one person out of the 320 million twitter users might read my
tweets. I dreaded even pulling up Twitter.
And then
I read that for every four tweets, only one
should be self-promoting. You must engage,
the experts said. Writing is a lovely, yet lonely occupation, and the thought
of engaging with others in the trenches was appealing. I began to spend less
time composing, and more time reading, and in the process, I discovered hashtag
games.
Unlike
reindeer games, in which the Rudolphs may be excluded, anyone can play. There
are hashtag games (sponsored by cool writers) for each day of the week, i.e., #lovelines
on Mondays and #onelinewed on Wednesdays, in which you can share a favorite
line from your work in progress, and even for each day of the month, i.e., #authorconfession
where the sponsor posts a monthly calendar of questions.
Now
this, I could do.
Answering
questions like "What is your weirdest writing habit?" is fun, quick
and easy. And considering queries like "What is your MC's greatest fear?"
has made me think more critically about my characters, their desires and motivations--all
the "whys." I am honing my craft.
I now
have 1,200+ followers, a million fewer than John Grisham, a couple more than
your teenager. But I actually know a
number of my followers. I've developed connections with them: writers with whom
I share common struggles, small victories, and great triumphs, a band of
cheerleaders who share my belief that a rising tide lifts all the boats.
Don't be
afraid to traverse the waters of Twitter. Poke a toe in, then plunge in--up to your waist. Like a June pool, the water warms up
quickly. It can change your perspective and maybe even your career.
______________________________________________
On the heels of a twenty-year teaching
career, Elizabeth Sumner Wafler’s passion for a story told with heart led her
to write her own fiction. Her first novel, In Robin’s Nest, is one of love, loss and reunion; secrecy and truth; and
ultimately redemption. The author is currently seeking representation for her
second manuscript, A Faculty Daughter, the coming-of-age
story of a girl reared on the campus of a boys' prep school. Wafler lives in
the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with her husband and Cairn terrier,
Mirabelle. She can often be found at a local farmer’s market in search of the
perfect tomato or bouquet of flowers, or at one of the area’s beautiful vineyards
enjoying a glass of Virginia wine.
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