Gray background with a Venn diagram that has three circles overlapping. The logos for each app (Goodreads, Storygraph and TBR - Bookshelf) are in one circle of the Venn diagram. The name that corresponds to its logo is below it.

Two Alternatives to Goodreads

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Bookworms unite! Keeping track of your to be read (TBR) pile has never been easier. It all comes down to picking the right app(s) for you and your reading needs. It has never been easier to access apps that allow you to do all those things and much more.

A very popular go-to option for book tracking is Goodreads. Goodreads is popular for a lot of readers because they can sync their Kindle e-readers or account to the app and keep track of books being completed as well as access to any Kindle notes and highlights. Other enjoyable features include: reading challenges, personalized recommendations, want to read lists, reviewing books with star ratings, and tracking progress while reading. Goodreads is available on IOS and Android.

While Goodreads is still a fan favorite amongst the reading community, there are other options that have similar features plus extras. The first alternative is Storygraph, which was created and is owned by a black woman. Storygraph offers users the ability to import their Goodreads data to avoid having to manually upload all books, reviews, and ratings. Storygraph also offers features such as: mood based reading statistics, a yearly reading and page goal, ability to update information on books (the ISBN, the format, upload a cover, etc.), various graphs based on reading habits, option to mark a book as did not finish (DNF), buddy reading without spoilers, and reviewing books with star ratings (including half stars). The creator of Storygraph is constantly making updates to make the app as user-friendly as possible. Storygraph is available on IOS and Android.

The other alternative is TBR – Bookshelf, which was designed to allow the user to create their own book collection within the app. While this app is more individually focused, users can still set yearly reading goals, have reading statistics with charts, and import their Goodreads data. Unique to this app, users have the capability to annotate their books with notes, which is a popular feature for many readers that annotate their physical copies. Also, specific to this app, users can create knowledge quizzes to help with remembering the content of the book they had read. TBR – Bookshelf is available on IOS.

While these three apps have a wide variety of pros, there are also some cons to consider when selecting one that best suits your needs. Goodreads can be difficult to navigate when getting started and it does not offer personalized data in the form of infographics. Storygraph is a newer app so it has yet to gain enough popularity to compete with other book tracking apps that have been around longer. Storygraph’s community connection is limited; users can see the people they are friends with and following but finding others outside of that requires a little extra effort. TBR – Bookshelf lacks community connection as well, since it is more focused on the user curating their own libraries (though users may wish to share their libraries with others).

No matter what you may be searching for in a book tracking app, there is something for everyone. Whether you want an app that is simple with high community presence, user-friendly with graphs for all of your reading moods, or helps you fulfill your librarian dreams, keeping track of your never-ending TBR pile is easy with so many options.

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How Do We Utilize Blurbs at Ooligan Press?

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So, you received an email from us asking you to read the manuscript for an upcoming Ooligan Press title and provide a “blurb,” what does that mean?

A blurb is a short message or quote–about one to three sentences long–about how much you enjoyed a particular book. A blurb will briefly summarize what the book is about and why someone should read it or why it stands out from other books on a shelf. For readers, a blurb gives a second opinion about the book and highlights some of the key selling points. Sometimes, a reader will choose to read or purchase a book because of a blurb that stands out to them or they trust the recommendation of a certain author or expert. If a person has read every book from a certain author and that author recommends our book, their blurb will indicate to a reader that they might enjoy our book as well. Similarly, if a person sees the name of a leader or activist that they trust and respect next to their blurb for our book, it will communicate that our book will also offer valuable information or a trustworthy perspective.

When seeking out individuals to provide blurbs, we will often ask authors who have written books in the same genre or with similar content or themes. For nonfiction books, we might ask experts in the particular field of study or prominent members of a related community. As a part of this process, we will ask our authors about their connections or to identify other authors, experts, and professionals in their field of study that they admire.

Some blurbs that we receive will end up on the front or back cover of our book. However, this will depend on many factors, including but not limited to the length of the blurb, the length of the other front or back cover copy, how much space the book cover design allocates for a blurb, how many blurbs we receive, and the print deadline.

We greatly appreciate every blurb we receive and recognize the time it took for someone to read through our book and write a thoughtful, engaging blurb. However, we are not able to fit every blurb we receive on the cover of the book. Sometimes, blurbs will be included in the first few pages of a book. Every blurb we receive is included on the various web pages where you can purchase one of our books. Additionally, blurbs are included in other promotional materials for a book such as the social media posts about the project or the press kit. The press kit is the information that we share with the media to let them know about our upcoming book release. Regardless of where a blurb ends up, we greatly appreciate the time and energy that it took for someone to read and blurb our book.

When we reach out to ask an author, writer, or other professional for a blurb, we typically give them over a month to read the book and respond with a few sentences to recommend the book. If you are interested in providing a blurb but are not able to meet the set deadline—let us know! As I mentioned above, we utilize blurbs in many ways and can still use blurbs in our promotional materials after the print deadline has passed.

If you have any further questions about how blurbs are utilized at Ooligan Press, please feel free to reach out to the marketing manager via email at marketing@ooliganpress.pdx.edu.

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Alternatives to Audible

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Over the last few years my appreciation for audiobooks has increased exponentially, but I noticed that I only use one source to get my audiobooks and that source is Audible. Audible offers a monthly subscription, between $7.95 and $22.95, along with a credit system for purchasing certain titles. The lower fee allows for access to the Plus catalog only and the higher fees include an allotment of credits. The Plus catalog is a selection of titles that do not require a credit to listen. Any title outside of the Plus catalog is one credit. If you run out of credits there’s no need to panic, you can always buy three more in the app for $28.68 or $35.88 depending on your membership status.

While I’ve enjoyed Audible, I can’t help but feel I’ve fallen into the trap of a familiar app. There must be more out there. So, I decided to look into other audiobook sources to expand my library, and potentially, save some money.

Audiobooks.com is a monthly subscription, $14.95, with a credit system. Each book is worth one credit and you can purchase more credits if you run out. They also have an option to join a “book club” for a credit per month. The book club is a curated list of titles that you can listen to unlimitedly for thirty days. Members enjoy the VIP catalog, a monthly selection of titles that you select one free audiobook from. Audiobooks.com offers sales on audiobooks that are available to members and non members alike.

Downpour is a monthly subscription, $12.99, with a credit system. Each book is worth one credit and additional credits are also $12.99. Downpour only offers one membership plan in an effort to cut down on confusion and make using them easier.

Libro.fm is a monthly subscription, $14.99, with a credit system. Like the others it is one credit per book and you can purchase more credits if needed. Unlike the others, libro.fm does credit bundles starting at two for $30 and ending at twenty-four for $360. You can also get thirty percent off “à la carte” purchases of audiobooks. When you set up your account, you choose a local bookstore to support and a portion of the proceeds will go to them!

Chirp is not a monthly subscription and they don’t mess around with credits. Chirp offers discounted audiobooks that you can download to your device or stream on their app. You only pay for the audiobook and you only sign up for the emails to let you know the deals.

Librivox is not a monthly subscription. Librivox only has public domain audiobooks and the narrators are volunteers. Which means all the audiobooks are free! Their catalog is not as robust as the others and does not offer contemporary titles but it is worth looking into.

Libby lets you check out audiobooks from your local library (if they use OverDrive). It is free to use but, like a library book, you are only borrowing your audiobook and have a limited time to listen.

You can also purchase audiobooks directly to your device at the Apple Store or Google Play.

This is a small list of audiobook sources outside of Audible but it does show that they are out there and are worth looking into!

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How Authors Can Help Market Their Book

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The process of getting your book published with Ooligan Press can feel both exciting and nerve wracking in equal measures. To demystify some of the process and help our authors understand what the process will look like, let’s talk about what happens after you’ve received the great news that Ooligan Press has acquired your project. So what’s next?

After your manuscript has been accepted by Ooligan, following our democratic pitch process, your first point of contact is with the two Acquisitions managers. In the following weeks after the contract negotiations have completed with the publisher, you work with the Acquisitions managers in the first stages of editing your book. At this stage, you’ll also be filling out Ooligan’s author questionnaire, which will be an incredibly useful tool when it comes to implementing the marketing strategy for your book. Depending on the scope of your project, you may do two rounds of developmental revisions before sending your completed work back to the Acquisitions managers to review.

Once the hand-off from Acquisitions is made following your revisions, your first point of contact will primarily be with your project manager (PM). Your PM has a team at their disposal to assist from the beginning stages of the production cycle, all the way to until its publication. For example, your PM will track down potential contacts that may be willing to write a blurb or a review of your book. At this stage, it’s very helpful to share any ideas that you may have with regards to said contacts, such as other writer friends or people with a social media presence. Additionally, you’re free to share with your PM your ideas about the marketing strategy for your book. If that sounds scary, fear not, and read on!

So, how do you become your own book’s best advocate? While your PM and book team are here to help you, it definitely doesn’t hurt to be present in your book’s marketing strategy. And while it helps to have a platform established for you to utilize, it’s perfectly alright if you don’t. What if you aren’t comfortable with social media? Like anything else, flexing your social media skills takes practice, and it’s a skill that can help you in the long run. To get some ideas, do some light research on some of your favorite books and see what their marketing copy looks like. What about their authors? What do their social media profiles look like? Start small and work your way up to feeling comfortable posting. Aim to have a balance between posts related to your book and everything else.

As Ooligan gears up to prepare your book for publication, so should you be gearing up on social media to get the word out about your book. Make sure to engage your audience in any way you can, whether it’s by striking up a conversation or posting about interesting topics that relate to your book.

Another great tip is to look to your immediate community. You don’t want to just be shouting in an oversaturated market. Your local community is a great place to find people to support you. One way is to look into local writer groups or other community groups specific to your area. If you’ve got a book about great hiking spots around Portland, for example, you’d search out relevant groups that could represent your target audience. It’s good to brainstorm at this point, and if you get stuck, your PM is a good resource for coming up with some ideas of who to reach out to.

You can also shout out other authors. For instance, you can promote other authors, who in turn will show appreciation for your buzz by promoting your book right back. That way, you’re also building a network of other authors who can help you get connected to other bookish people, or people who would be interested in your book that might not otherwise hear about it.

Lastly, make sure you are genuine. Insincerity can be sniffed out from a mile away, and you know your book better than anyone. Don’t doubt your own expertise and get out there! Don’t forget to have fun along the way, too. Publishing a book is an exciting process, and you almost have your book in your hands!

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A Guide to Marketing at Ooligan for Prospective Authors (Part Two) 

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Welcome back current or prospective Ooligan authors! In my last blog post, I talked about the marketing plan and its components in order to give you a better understanding of the first steps in our marketing process. In this post, I am going to define a few terms that you might hear when we talk about the next steps in the marketing process. Hopefully this will give you a better understanding of what we are doing to promote your book and get it in the hands of readers. [Note: Book marketing is a complex process and one that is too extensive to cover in one blog post. If you have more questions specific to marketing at Ooligan, please email marketing@ooliganpress.pdx.edu.]

Branding Brief—The branding brief defines what we want the “brand” to be for your book. At Ooligan Press, each book we publish has a unique brand—meaning each book has a unique aesthetic which communicates its message and makes it different from other books. The branding brief document is where we summarize how we want to brand a certain book. This document informs the actions of the marketing, design, and social media departments moving forward to make sure our branding is consistent.

Tipsheet—A tipsheet is a two-page informational guide to your book that we will share with our sales representatives and on various book sites as a way to give a quick overview of the book and why someone would want to read it. The content on the tipsheet is taken entirely from the marketing plan—so you will have read and approved everything. This is an industry-facing document that will not be seen by the general public and readers.

Contact List—The contact list is a list of media contacts that we may reach out to for marketing and publicity purposes. The publicity department will add people that we may reach out to and ask to promote our book either with a review, a press release, or some other kind of promotion. This might include newspapers, magazines, blogs, Instagram influencers, BookTokers, local news channels, and many more. The marketing department oversees the section dedicated to finding authors to write blurbs for the book. While you don’t need to know the details of the contact list, rest assured that we are putting in the work to make sure that people know about and are talking about your book.

Blurb—A blurb is a short, typically about one to three sentences, message in praise of your book. The majority of books on your bookshelf will have blurbs on their front or back covers and they are often included on various web pages where you can purchase the book. Blurbs are often included in other promotional materials such as press releases or social media posts. We will seek out authors who have written books similar in content or style to your own or experts in fields of study related to the content of your book. When it comes to blurbs and the contact list, it is extremely helpful for us to know about your connections. Do you have friends or acquaintances who are authors that could contribute? Do you belong to any professional organizations that might be interested in promoting your book in some capacity? Do you volunteer with any organization that we could partner with? At Ooligan Press, we also want to get to know you and work closely with you in this process so that we are building a strategy that leverages your connections.

If the above information has been overwhelming to you, that’s okay! You don’t need to have a full understanding of any of the above terms or processes, but hopefully you can look back upon this article if you ever run across one of these terms and have questions. Either way, at Ooligan Press we are here for you and here to make sure every aspect of the marketing process runs smoothly.

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A Guide to Marketing at Ooligan for Prospective Authors (Part One)

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Welcome current or prospective Ooligan authors! Thank you for entrusting our press with your manuscript. I know that you have poured your heart into your book and now the marketing department at Ooligan is here to help get that book into the hands of readers. The following blog post is meant to outline some of the steps in the marketing process so you feel informed and in the loop. [Note: Book marketing is complex and too extensive to cover in one blog post. If you have more marketing-specific questions, please email marketing@ooliganpress.pdx.edu.]

In this post, I am going to talk about one important document that helps us shape the marketing process for your book: the marketing plan.

At Ooligan, the marketing plan for a book is a lengthy document that outlines the following, which I will define below.

  • Target Audience
  • Sales Hook
  • Book Description
  • Author Biography
  • Key Selling Points
  • Marketing and Publicity Highlights
  • SEO Keywords
  • Comparison Titles

    • The target audience for a book is who we think will buy, read, and enjoy our book. At Ooligan we do something we call a “persona exercise” in which we come up with a primary audience and secondary audience for the book based upon our ideas of who would enjoy the book. We often start by asking our team members to think of two friends to whom they would recommend the book. What are some of their friends’ other hobbies? Where do they spend their time? Are they single, married, etc.? We brainstorm and then consolidate this information in the persona exercise section as a way to help us get a better idea of who our readers are so that we can more effectively work to find and appeal to them.

    The sales hook, book description, and author biography can all typically be found on the back cover of a book. The sales hook is one to two sentences that will captivate the buyer and give them a taste of the book. The book description is the longer paragraph that tells the buyer what the book is about and the author biography is a short paragraph about the author in order to introduce them to readers. All three pieces are valuable tools used to entice readers and we often take several weeks to write, edit, and refine them. As the author, you will also have a chance to review and edit these sections.

    As it sounds, the key selling points for a book is a bulleted list of what we consider to be the main reasons why someone would be interested in the book and why it will stick out from other books on the market. We will eventually share this list with our sales representatives to help them pick out the highlights of your book. Speaking of highlights, the marketing and publicity highlights section is where we list ideas for how else to promote your book. This could include acquiring blurbs from other renowned authors or experts, attending book fairs, running a specifically themed social media campaign, and much more. We also ask you about ideas you have for ways in which you can promote the book and leverage your individual talents or connections.

    In the marketing plan, we list out about one hundred SEO keywords—or search engine optimization keywords—which are words that relate to the topic or content of your book so that anyone searching online will find it. For instance, for a book about local native plants I would include the words “botany” or “horticulture” or I might include a full list of the plants the book details. All of this will help make sure the book pops up for people searching the internet for a book on the subject.

    Finally, comparison titles are three to five books that are similar in content (genre, topic, etc.) and nature (year published, size of publisher, length, etc.) to your book. These titles help our sales representatives get a better idea of how to position your book in the market.

    All of these things—Target Audience, Sales Hook, Book Description, Author Biography, Key Selling Points, Marketing and Publicity Highlights, SEO Keywords, and Comparison Titles—make up the components of the marketing plan for your book. Thank you for taking the time to read this and hopefully it will help you better understand the marketing process!

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    Why Influencer Marketing is More Important Than You Think

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    Would you feel comfortable hiring an influencer for marketing purposes? A lot of startups, but also many traditional companies, swear by it. Others strictly stick to the classic marketing measures. What is it about influencer marketing that drives opinions so far apart? I have taken some of the most popular counter-arguments and contrasted them with my own view.

    Argument 1: Authenticity
    Influencers only promote products for the money and don’t care about their followers. To a certain extent, I agree. However, every form of paid advertising does the same thing. The difference is that influencers stand behind their advertising message with their own face and name, which should make them more careful in choosing what products they advocate for.

    As studies show, the media channel we trust most in is Word-of-Mouth. No medium can compete with a personal recommendation, especially if you are familiar with this person—and yes, this includes influencers, even though most of their followers don’t know them personally. Good influencers are in close and friendly contact with their community, and through that, they achieve the feeling of belonging to a group for people in that community. While you could imply influencers fake closeness to their communities to make money, I think that many underestimate the group dynamic of a community that follows the same interest and, of course, the feeling of being the center of such a community. Because even if no one likes to admit it, no one becomes an influencer without liking being the center of attention.

    Argument 2: Giving up control
    When I hire an influencer, I have no control over the content spread about my product. First of all, it is absolutely possible to remain in control by creating a detailed brief for the influencer beforehand. However, I would highly recommend giving up some of the control.

    When you book an influencer, you are not only booking an advertising channel, but also a whole personality that comes with it. They produce authentic content by often using the same way of speaking, imagery, et cetera. They are probably closer to the target group than you are. Furthermore, they have expertise or engage themselves in a certain topic, through which they achieve an opinion leadership in that area. That expertise can be in factual topics as well as in creative topics like dancing, makeup, and so on. Therefore, it is recommended to take advantage of their experience and involve the influencer in the creative process from day one.

    Argument 3: Social media equals bad
    As soon as I hire an influencer, I make myself dependent on the social media platform. As mentioned before, booking an influencer is more than just buying an ad space on a social media channel. Influencers are the rock stars of the digital age. Depending on their success and their target audience, they appear in TV, radio, newspapers, you name it. Some might even have a format of their own or have established a brand. Use this for content marketing in any media channel. By offering content instead of pushing ads in the audience’s face you will bypass ad fatigue, which occurs after people see a particular ad too often. Instead, you can place your product directly in the channel they choose to see.

    However, what should not be forgotten is that social media is the most sought-after medium among the younger target group. It also facilitates a direct dialogue with them. Dialogue marketing has long been used as a very effective method, as you can get direct feedback from the target group or even use crowdsourcing for creating new content.

    In the end, it is important to note that influencer marketing is nothing new in principle. Our buying decisions have always been influenced by friends, celebrities, fictional characters, and so on. Booking influencers on social media, on the other hand, is really new and combines a whole lot of very effective marketing methods among saving you a lot of work steps in the operative execution. However, it is important to remember that every influencer is also a human being who makes mistakes and can get into crises. Therefore, you should not see them only as a marketing tool, but you should always be in close contact with them and solve problems together. This way you not only ensure that your product doesn’t go down the drain together with the influencer, but also preserve your own authenticity.

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     Books That are Relephant

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    Happy Book Birthday to Elephant Speak: A Devoted Keeper’s Life Among the Herd! Today, we are learning about, celebrating, and loving elephants. There are several ways you can celebrate elephants—going to the zoo, donating, and reading a book featuring elephants are some examples. Below are a few books that feature elephants in a way that acknowledges how thoughtful, sweet, and loyal elephants are.

    In 2020, Ooligan Press published Elephant Speak: A Devoted Keeper’s Life Among the Herd by Melissa Crandall. The reader follows Roger Henneous through his career as an elephant keeper at the Oregon Zoo. Roger befriends the elephants—Belle, Packy, Me-Tu, Rosy, and the others—by learning their language and speaking up for them when his coworkers would not. This biography highlights the friendships that can be formed between humans and elephants, as well as the intelligence and loyalty of elephants.

    Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen was published in 2006 by Algonquin Books. This novel follows Jacob Jankowski, a veterinary student in the Great Depression, and his career as a circus menagerie veterinarian. While working for the circus, Jacob meets Marlena, the equestrian star, and her husband August, the brutal animal trainer. Jacob also meets Rosie, the untrainable elephant that was meant to save the circus. During his time with the circus Jacob befriends Rosie, but he also finds the circus to be a treacherous place. Jacob and Rosie’s friendship is built on his kindness toward her and his understanding that she is an intelligent and kind animal that is being mistreated. While Rosie is not the main character in this novel, the story would not be the same without her.

    Square Fish published An Elephant in the Garden: Inspired by a True Story by Michael Morpurgo in 2010. This novel is about Lizzie and her family’s experience in World War II. Lizzie’s mother worked at a zoo and formed an attachment with Marlene, an orphaned elephant that she brought home in an effort to protect from the bombings. Lizzie, Karl (her little brother), their mother, and Marlene must flee for safety after their home is destroyed. They have to make their own path to safety due to Marlene’s presence, but it quickly becomes evident that without Marlene they would not have survived. Morpurgo manages to show the bond between an elephant and humans, as well as the love and respect that develops between them.

    The books listed above are only a few of many, many books that explore the relationships between humans and elephants. Elephants appear across genres from children’s books to nonfiction to historical fiction. There is an elephant book for everyone to read and enjoy!.

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    Queer Book Labels: Are They Helping or Hurting Sales?

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    While cultural movements abound trying to increase queer inclusion and understanding, it’s no wonder that there has been a rise in queer books being published and, according to NPD Bookscan, a rise in queer book sales as well. It seems that being an LGBTQ+ book is a good thing right now, at least for sales. But what if, in some ways, those same labels are losing sales as well?

    Consider, for instance, the pros and cons of these queer books ending up on various published “banned books” lists. When a queer book ends up on a banned books list, there is a possibility of the book gaining an audience, rather than being repressed, especially an audience that wants to fight back against this oppression and will go out to buy the books in support. This leads to increased sales of certain books.

    Unfortunately, of course, not all books benefit from “banned books” lists in this way. This article argues that many books will just fall by the wayside and be forgotten. This is a tragedy, especially for all those potential readers from wherever they have been banned.

    For now, however, many publishers still feel that queer books need queer labels to be discoverable. There are other aspects of the books that can be marketed as well, but according to sources in this article, a large percentage of the audience still finds queer books because they are looking for queer books. And that audience isn’t just queer people, either. This article is from 2020, so it’s a bit outdated, you could say, considering how quickly some things change, but the current trends in LGBTQ+ books being sold suggests this may still be the case.

    But, even with this seeming success for the books that are making it, we publishers need to ask ourselves, is this actually what we want? Are these people just buying books because they are labeled “queer” or are they actually going to go home and read the book, process the book, and hopefully even love the book and want more like it? Is this trend actually a sign of cultural change or just a phase that will blow over like so many others have?

    There are other things to think about as well, in a less philosophical vein. Are such explicit queer labels on our books actually helping reach our intended audience? For instance, this librarian warns that making queer labels too blatant can scare off some of the very people we are trying to reach because they aren’t ready or feel safe enough to walk around with an obviously queer book.

    And what about people who would love these books, but aren’t actively looking for “queer” books? Some people are willing to read books with queer characters, but aren’t looking specifically for queer books. Not to mention, there is more to a book than just being queer. For some books, yes, the main point is being queer, with queer characters, and addressing various aspects of queer life, but for other books, it is the genre, the adventure, the plot, etc. that are more central, with the queer characters/stories being a bonus on the side. Are we doing these books an injustice by labeling them as queer, rather than letting them shine for their more central themes?

    For now, yes, it still seems like queer book labels are not only helping sales, but one of the leading causes of their sales, despite whatever backlash might come from that designation.

    But, hopefully, someday LGBTQ+ characters will be such a normal, accepted part of culture it will be an expected possibility in the books we read. Someday, we’ll be able to go out, look in any category, and find plenty of queer books right alongside their counterparts because it will be accepted that any book, anywhere, may reflect real life with real characters.

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    3 Insights Into Social Media for Authors

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    Many debut authors feel overwhelmed and confused by social media. Everyone, including your publisher, tells you that you should be doing it, but social media feels like an unnecessary distraction from the real work of writing. However, social media can be creatively adapted to suit the unique work you do as an author. Used thoughtfully, social media can be a powerful tool to strengthen your writing, readership, and career.

    With modern digital marketing tools like social media, it is possible for authors with even a modest marketing budget to expand their reach and connect with enthusiastic readers effectively and in a more targeted manner than ever before. Social media can help authors connect authentically with readers and fans, organically expanding an author’s reach and increasing the visibility of their books.

    How does an author use social media to market their books organically? These three ways are based on an approach to social media that book marketing expert Jane Friedman recommends:

    1) Use social media as a natural extension of the work that you’re already doing

    Social media doesn’t have to be an awkward thing that you do because you have to. It can be a natural outpouring of the creative writing work that you’re already doing day in and day out. For instance, you can actually use social media to share some of your writing work. Enthusiastic fans can help promote your work among their network through organic sharing, expanding your reach as an author.

    Author Cassandra Clare recently ran a Twitter poll asking her followers which character “snippet,” or brief excerpt, they wanted to see from her upcoming book, Chain of Thorns. Clare regularly shares snippets of her upcoming books on social media, generating interest and enthusiasm among her fanbase so that they are more likely to purchase her upcoming releases.

    Clare also shares art of the characters in her storyverse created by devoted fans. Sharing fan art is a smart way to engage your fan base as fans adore seeing beautiful art pieces of the characters they love while the sharing of fan-created art requires minimal effort on your part.

    2) Use social media as a testing ground for your future books

    Friedman explains that social media is a form of content and can be thought of as a micro-publishing platform. Often, these tiny pieces of work that you share publicly on social media can be the seeds for a larger work in the future. For instance, illustrators may post quick sketches on Instagram that later become a full-length print comic book.

    Yung Pueblo posted brief reflections on love and relationships on Instagram as an unknown writer. Gradually, he gained a following and eventually published two books, one of which hit the NYT Best Sellers list.

    You can also use social media to gauge how readers respond to your work. Paying attention to which posts garner more likes and comments will provide valuable insight into what content resonates most with your fans. This incredible intel can inform your work positively, helping to shape it into something people will be interested and excited to read.

    3) Use social media as a way to connect with readers directly and authentically

    One of the main premises of social media is that it is a tool to communicate with others. For authors, social media is a way to directly communicate with readers in a two-way conversation. Some ways authors can engage with followers include asking questions, expressing gratitude, sharing experiences, and even expressing frustration.

    When authors respond to Twitter questions from followers or thank readers for praise of their books, they come across as more authentic to anyone who happens upon the exchange online. They appear less like a distant figure and more like a human being which leaves a more positive impression on followers.

    For the author, it can be gratifying to see evidence of readers benefiting from and enjoying your book that you worked so hard on for years. Social media is a way for authors to discover small moments of joyful connection with enthusiastic readers, which can help fuel your excitement for the work that you’re doing today.