Why You Need a Social Media Audience

By Becky Muth

When I gave up a paltry retail job to begin a career in freelance writing, I had no idea it would lead to authoring a book. One thing led to another, and the next thing I knew I was registered for 2013 National Novel Writing Month. I met a wonderful group of local writers and plan to release the book, a collection of 13 short stories, this fall.

This spring I released one of the stories in digital format. It did not occur to me until after the fact that I needed an audience that was not only interested in the book, but that would follow its progress beyond its release date – especially if I planned to write additional books. After all, books don’t sell themselves.

Three Tips to Build a More Authentic Audience

Having an audience is a big step on the ladder to success. You don’t need thousands of social media followers, just the most dedicated ones who are sincerely interested in your work. These people are more likely to tell others about your work – up to ten other people per follower.

Naturally building an audience can be a slow process, but here are some of the ways you can attract genuine followers on social media, regardless of the network:

1.     Post Fresh Content Frequently – Your followers love fresh content. It keeps them interested. Google loves it, too and uses this to authenticate your internet footprint. That means when people use Google to search for you, you are more likely to show up at the top of the results.

2.     Respond to Reader Messages – When you respond to reader comments and questions, you send an underlying message that says, “I respect the time you spent to contact me.” A thoughtful reply can mean the difference between a fan for a moment, or for a lifetime.

3.     Keep Calm and Carry On – Avoid confrontation at all cost. Your job as a writer is to share the written word with your followers. If someone has an opinion about your work that you disagree with, then agree to respectfully disagree.

The Difference between Opinions and Trolls

While letting someone have a different opinion than yours is courteous, it is not an invitation for harassment or any other kind of online abuse. Wikipedia describes an internet troll as “a person who sows discord on the internet by starting arguments or upsetting people.” If you feel you’re being trolled, report it to the network administrator or block the person from following you.

Whether you’re tied to a publisher or are an indie author, it’s up to you to build your audience. Set aside 30 minutes a day to spend on the business side of your social media accounts. Success won’t happen overnight. Stay true to those who follow you on social media networks, and you’ll hold their attention. More importantly, they will be more likely to stay true to you.

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Becky Muth never planned to write full time, but in January 2012 that is exactly what happened. Between freelance gigs for clients on four continents, she works to finish her debut novel, HAUNTED WOMEN OF THE APPALACHIANS, due out in the autumn of 2014. Becky lives with her husband (a retired career firefighter) and their two (home schooled) teenage sons, as well as their adopted pets, three mixed-breed dogs and a turtle named Speedy. During her free time she enjoys traveling with her family, reading, and knitting. Have you liked the page for my new book? Get updates about release dates and upcoming contests here: https://www.facebook.com/hauntedwomenoftheappalachians

Twitter: @beckythemom

Are Your Characters Haunted?

By Lisa M. Logan

If you don’t engage the reader within the first five pages with strong characters, conflict and obstacles, that reader will ditch your book.  I find that creating a main character who is haunted makes for an enticing read.  The reason is that we all ruminate about as to why other people do what they do.  Readers want to find out what makes a character tick emotionally.  It’s human nature and it intrigues readers. 

Think about what haunts you.  If you could change a decision you made in life, what would it be?  As we age, we collect more regrets and mistakes that haunt us throughout life.  Write those down.  I keep a journal of instances that are poignant to me and how I felt at the moment.

The main character of my novel in House of Mirrors is literally haunted by the ghost of her daughter as well as other ghosts she’s ushered in through mirror gazing and conjuring.  However, Eleanor is also haunted by her guilt for leaving the child in the bathtub alone for a split second to answer the phone.  The guilt gnaws at her throughout the story.  This same type of gnawing guilt haunts Jack Torrance in Stephen King’s The Shining.  Jack is haunted by something bad he did in the past to his son.  He can’t stop thinking about it throughout the story.  It haunts him and we wonder and worry if he will hurt the boy again.  This haunting of Jack’s conscience gives him more depth as a character.  We get to know him and empathize with his guilt.  We see that he’s not all bad.  He’s a concerned father who did a very bad thing in the past which he regrets.  This back story is crucial throughout the story and may be the seed that’s planted at the beginning only to grow into its ugliest form later in the story’s climax. 

Hauntings don’t always involve ghosts.  A character can be haunted by an emotion like guilt or jealousy.  This emotion can be the driving force in a story and it’s revealed through the character’s back story.  But you don’t want to beat the reader over the head with exposition.  Reveal the character’s back story through subtle cues, slips of the tongue, or going silent at the mention of something that triggers their haunt.

Backstory creates a character’s emotional core and that’s the driving force behind the character’s actions and reactions to situations in the story.  We as readers empathize with the emotions of betrayal, grief, jealousy, and so on.  When a writer presses those emotional triggers in the reader, he’s guiding that reader deeper into the hypnotic dreamland of his story.  Try not to broadcast the character’s emotions through telling, but rather by showing the emotion through their actions and cues. Instead of using words such as “frightened,” “scared,” “puzzled”; use actions, body language, and thoughts to indicate what lies behind these feelings and actions.  For instance, show fear in a character by having his hands tremble as he loads bullets into the chamber of a gun and winces when some bullets tumble out of his hand. Don’t just say “He was overcome with fear as he loaded the gun.”

So if you want to show a character’s back story or personal “haunt” in a novel, gradually drop hints; don’t overpower the reader with “telling” details about the character’s past.  In other words, don’t show all your cards on the poker table; keep them guessing and gradually reveal your hand.

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Lisa M. Logan is a screenwriter, novelist, and journalist from North Carolina. Her novel "House of Mirrors" is available on Amazon's kindle store as well as her short story collection "Of the People." Lisa Logan started out writing articles for Our State magazine and profile articles for the N.C. Literary Review, interviewing various North Carolina authors of fiction. Her own creative works were published in several issues of the Raleigh News and Observer's short fiction section Sunday Reader. Lisa's passion for screenwriting led to freelancing for a national screenwriter's magazine Creative Screenwriting in which she wrote features, interviewing Hollywood screenwriters, high-level film producers, directors, and actors.Blog located at http://www.lisa-logan.com