Which social media site do you use most frequently for doing the following:
Discovering new books and authors
Networking as a writer
8 thoughts on “Reader Friday: Your Most-used Social Media?”
For new books; I write down titles from author, editor, and agent blogs that I follow.
To sell my own; not really sure what works. I use Facebook and my own website but according to MailChimp my newsletter seems to be working.
For books I read: The biggest part of my to-be-read list is from favorite authors or ones whom I’ve read before and enjoyed. I’ll seek them out on Twitter or FB.
I discover new authors usually long after launch day via recommendations from personal friends or from those I truly have a trusted connection with on FB, Twitter, or G+. I do pay attention to the flurry of posts and tweets, but tend to let the dust settle from all the promo sites.
Also, G+ has a few reading communities (no author spamming), where people recommend books (not theirs). I find FB groups clunkier to find genres and books.
If it’s a newly recommended author, the cover and blurb are enough to get me to download the sample before buying.
For selling my own books: I use my blog, Twitter, FB, G+ and try to connect with friends and readers. I do urge my social media friends, fellow authors, and followers to recommend ANY book or author they like to others via word of mouth or through social media.
Recommending a book you love is like leaving a waiter/waitress/barista a tip. After all, food and coffee take how long to make and serve? Books take months, if not years for some authors. The least we can do as readers is to spend a minute or two to recommend something we’ve enjoyed.
Despite being an early-adopter in most technologies, this is an area I lag. I’m not sold that most of the social networking sites are worth a darn to an author selling books and because I maintain pretty tightly constrained ‘friends’ circles, the number of recommendations that come my way are low. I do find books occasionally on blogs, especially those that participate in conversations. The Killzone Blog is a case in point and I’ve purchased several books from the commenters here.
I used to be a huge fan and user of Twitter. Years ago it was the most convivial site and I made many friends and a lot of contacts. In fact, Twitter and my blog were keys to getting my first cookbook deal. Nowadays, I think social media is kind of stagnant–too many people are using it to sell things, hence people are tuning out.
I am now gearing up for the release of my second cookbook. This time, Facebook and Instagram seem to be the places where I get more actual responses to my posts. Facebook attracts the older generation while Instagram attracts younger folks.
Of course, my blog and my steady readers are always my main sources of eyes.
As far as what I use to find books: everything. I don’t rely on any one place to find new books and authors. That said, I do a lot of my reading on my Kindle and the “Recommended for you” lists are helpful for me to find new books to read).
For discovering new books: Amazon, or recommendations by friends or pages I like in Facebook. And also various books featured in Publishers Weekly.
For my books: my blog and webpage, plus my author’s Facebook site.
I find many new authors on my Facebook page and on my blog. I write a review blog for debut authors, and many contacted me requesting reviews. I use Twitter too, but I don’t go there as much as I do Facebook. I do tend to go on and on sometimes, so it’s very hard for me to talk in only 140 characters. 🙂 I also go on Amazon a lot and sometimes I check their recommended books there as well.
For me it’s Goodreads. Facebook has become really annoying with the whole limiting visibility of your post unless you pay up thing. Plus, as of late, they’ve started dropping “likes. Anyone who’s doesn’t interact with your posts, Facebook automatically removes them. So I hardly go on there anymore.
Twitter is a little too much for me to keep up with. Seems like everyone there is yelling at you to buy something. You gotta be tweeting round the clock for any kind of success there.
I like TSU.
But where I spend most of my time, where I discover new authors and books and just love hanging out overall, is Goodreads.
I know, I know, most authors HATE Goodreads and try to stay away from it because of the “trolling” and lack of respect for author’s works there. But I have learned to develop a thick skin because I absolutely LOVE Goodreads, and I can’t allow mean reviewers to chase me off a site that is the BEST place for learning of new books and authors.
Since I am just learning marketing strategies, this has been another great post. I am trying to figure out how to make Twitter work for me. I have set up a separate Facebook page, but I have found a lot of new contacts through LinkedIn. Good discussions and more than a few books to add to my reading list. It is all a bit overwhelming.
Which social media site do you use most frequently for doing the following:
For new books; I write down titles from author, editor, and agent blogs that I follow.
To sell my own; not really sure what works. I use Facebook and my own website but according to MailChimp my newsletter seems to be working.
For books I read: The biggest part of my to-be-read list is from favorite authors or ones whom I’ve read before and enjoyed. I’ll seek them out on Twitter or FB.
I discover new authors usually long after launch day via recommendations from personal friends or from those I truly have a trusted connection with on FB, Twitter, or G+. I do pay attention to the flurry of posts and tweets, but tend to let the dust settle from all the promo sites.
Also, G+ has a few reading communities (no author spamming), where people recommend books (not theirs). I find FB groups clunkier to find genres and books.
If it’s a newly recommended author, the cover and blurb are enough to get me to download the sample before buying.
For selling my own books: I use my blog, Twitter, FB, G+ and try to connect with friends and readers. I do urge my social media friends, fellow authors, and followers to recommend ANY book or author they like to others via word of mouth or through social media.
Recommending a book you love is like leaving a waiter/waitress/barista a tip. After all, food and coffee take how long to make and serve? Books take months, if not years for some authors. The least we can do as readers is to spend a minute or two to recommend something we’ve enjoyed.
Despite being an early-adopter in most technologies, this is an area I lag. I’m not sold that most of the social networking sites are worth a darn to an author selling books and because I maintain pretty tightly constrained ‘friends’ circles, the number of recommendations that come my way are low. I do find books occasionally on blogs, especially those that participate in conversations. The Killzone Blog is a case in point and I’ve purchased several books from the commenters here.
I used to be a huge fan and user of Twitter. Years ago it was the most convivial site and I made many friends and a lot of contacts. In fact, Twitter and my blog were keys to getting my first cookbook deal. Nowadays, I think social media is kind of stagnant–too many people are using it to sell things, hence people are tuning out.
I am now gearing up for the release of my second cookbook. This time, Facebook and Instagram seem to be the places where I get more actual responses to my posts. Facebook attracts the older generation while Instagram attracts younger folks.
Of course, my blog and my steady readers are always my main sources of eyes.
As far as what I use to find books: everything. I don’t rely on any one place to find new books and authors. That said, I do a lot of my reading on my Kindle and the “Recommended for you” lists are helpful for me to find new books to read).
For discovering new books: Amazon, or recommendations by friends or pages I like in Facebook. And also various books featured in Publishers Weekly.
For my books: my blog and webpage, plus my author’s Facebook site.
I find many new authors on my Facebook page and on my blog. I write a review blog for debut authors, and many contacted me requesting reviews. I use Twitter too, but I don’t go there as much as I do Facebook. I do tend to go on and on sometimes, so it’s very hard for me to talk in only 140 characters. 🙂 I also go on Amazon a lot and sometimes I check their recommended books there as well.
For me it’s Goodreads. Facebook has become really annoying with the whole limiting visibility of your post unless you pay up thing. Plus, as of late, they’ve started dropping “likes. Anyone who’s doesn’t interact with your posts, Facebook automatically removes them. So I hardly go on there anymore.
Twitter is a little too much for me to keep up with. Seems like everyone there is yelling at you to buy something. You gotta be tweeting round the clock for any kind of success there.
I like TSU.
But where I spend most of my time, where I discover new authors and books and just love hanging out overall, is Goodreads.
I know, I know, most authors HATE Goodreads and try to stay away from it because of the “trolling” and lack of respect for author’s works there. But I have learned to develop a thick skin because I absolutely LOVE Goodreads, and I can’t allow mean reviewers to chase me off a site that is the BEST place for learning of new books and authors.
Since I am just learning marketing strategies, this has been another great post. I am trying to figure out how to make Twitter work for me. I have set up a separate Facebook page, but I have found a lot of new contacts through LinkedIn. Good discussions and more than a few books to add to my reading list. It is all a bit overwhelming.