Author presence is how you represent yourself to the world. Who are you? What do you do? Having an author presence is important, because it gives you an opportunity to stand out from the millions of other indie authors trying to sell books.
First, if your main goal is to make money, you’re off to a bad start. Let’s talk real: You need to be humble and realize that while you think your book is worthy of being enjoyed by strangers, you have to prove it. You have to show them why it’s worth their time and money, and this is where your author presence comes into play. Creating your author presence should be the most important thing on your to-do list aside from actually writing your book.
Question to consider: How do you want to represent yourself and your work?
Sadly, most people wait much too late to begin building their author presence. Building up an audience takes a long time, and it requires patience and consistency. There is no quick way to build your author presence. I repeat, there is no quick way to build your author presence.
Don’t let this discourage you! Think of growing a garden. You must do a lot of preparation before you can even drop seeds in the soil, AND THEN you have to do some love and maintenance before you see results. But, it’s a glorious moment when your hard work pays off. And it will, if you start off on the right foot.
Don’t let this discourage you! Think of growing a garden. You must do a lot of preparation before you can even drop seeds in the soil, AND THEN you have to do some love and maintenance before you see results. But, it’s a glorious moment when your hard work pays off. And it will, if you start off on the right foot.
What online platforms will you use?
There are many to choose from: website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram,
Tumblr ...
Don’t attempt to be active on all of these platforms. Unless you plan on hiring someone to run your social media and networking for you, it’s impossible. While building your author presence is important, you need to stay realistic. We all have other things going on in our lives that need our time and attention: work, families, self-care, writing, etc. And so you need to decide how much time you can realistically set aside daily to devote to building your author presence. I recommend 30 minutes each day. If you set a plan of attack, you can easily work on your social media in a productive manner for 30 minutes.
Let’s talk about your home base. This is what I call the central location where people can learn more about you and support your work. Normally, your home base is a website or blog, or both. I recommend starting off with something you can maintain yourself. If you have a spouse to help out, that is great, but I wouldn’t rely on friends to maintain things for you. Why? Well, your website is your priority, but it’s not going to be anyone else’s unless you are paying them. And there are better ways you can spend your money. Plus, it’s good to learn the basics of how to create a small website or blog. You don’t have to have anything elaborate with the bells and whistles. As long as it’s clean, active, and informative, you are good to go!
Let’s talk about your home base. This is what I call the central location where people can learn more about you and support your work. Normally, your home base is a website or blog, or both. I recommend starting off with something you can maintain yourself. If you have a spouse to help out, that is great, but I wouldn’t rely on friends to maintain things for you. Why? Well, your website is your priority, but it’s not going to be anyone else’s unless you are paying them. And there are better ways you can spend your money. Plus, it’s good to learn the basics of how to create a small website or blog. You don’t have to have anything elaborate with the bells and whistles. As long as it’s clean, active, and informative, you are good to go!
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Think about your branding. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a logo, but it does have to be consistent, which can be accomplished with colors and or text. Your home base needs to clearly have your branding represented on there.
I have three different brands: one for my author work, one for my blog tour company, and another for my small press. It’s something that I can duplicate on promo materials like business cards, event flyers, and swag, plus other places, such as my email signature.
You want people to see your brand and associate it with you and your project. For example, “Oh, that’s Sage. She wrote the book about the teen witch!” or “That’s the tattooed lady who helps authors sell their books.”
Depending on your budget:
Now you are on your way!
I have three different brands: one for my author work, one for my blog tour company, and another for my small press. It’s something that I can duplicate on promo materials like business cards, event flyers, and swag, plus other places, such as my email signature.
You want people to see your brand and associate it with you and your project. For example, “Oh, that’s Sage. She wrote the book about the teen witch!” or “That’s the tattooed lady who helps authors sell their books.”
Depending on your budget:
- create your own brand
- hire a designer or barter with a friend who does design work
- super tight budget? Check out Fiverr.com
Now you are on your way!
Example: Here is the brand I use for my work as an author and coach. I keep the colors consistent with my website and I use it on all of the newsletters that I send out to my mailing list.
Be you. Don’t be anyone else. The whole point of building your author presence is to share who you are. While it’s great to be inspired by others, stay true to you. You're enough.
What should your website contain?
Must have:
Bonus:
Your website should have clear photos, nothing fuzzy from a webcam or anything that looks like it came from your home photo album. If you aren't in a position to have professional photos taken, have a friend take a few photos of you in a comfortable setting and choose the one you feel represents your personality the best. Smart phones have great cameras!
Remember: LESS IS MORE!
Let’s touch on blogging. I think it’s important, and you can really create a buzz around you if you consistently (see how often I use that word?) post! Blogging once a week is a bare minimum. I suggest blogging 2-3 times a week. You might think you don’t have time for all that, but stay with me… Blog on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday. Sunday could be a sample of your work. Make it a series that you call Sample Sunday! Wednesday could be Wordless Wednesday, in which you post a photo that pertains to writing - something that inspires you, what you are currently writing, your desk, etc., and then on Friday you can blog about whatever you want, or keep it specific and stick to writing tips, etc.
Whatever you do, make sure you stay on a schedule. If you know you won’t commit to three days of blogging each week, then don’t. People like consistence; they don’t like to follow people who update their blog every few weeks or months, and they simply won’t follow you or show interest. Let them know they can count on you and that you are worth their time. Our time is precious and isn't given out freely.
The number one excuse I hear for not blogging is "I don't know what to write about!" Well, below is a download containing 82 Blog Ideas for Writers. I basically just handed you enough ideas to blog once a week for an entire year. No more excuses!
Must have:
- An about Me page
- A page specifically about your book (book cover, description, where it can be found)
- Contact page (I highly recommend listing an email address even if you have a contact form)
- Social Media links.
Bonus:
- A Pay Pal button for people to purchase the book directly from your site.
- Excerpt from your book or writing sample.
- Reviews of your book.
- Upcoming events or recent news.
Your website should have clear photos, nothing fuzzy from a webcam or anything that looks like it came from your home photo album. If you aren't in a position to have professional photos taken, have a friend take a few photos of you in a comfortable setting and choose the one you feel represents your personality the best. Smart phones have great cameras!
Remember: LESS IS MORE!
Let’s touch on blogging. I think it’s important, and you can really create a buzz around you if you consistently (see how often I use that word?) post! Blogging once a week is a bare minimum. I suggest blogging 2-3 times a week. You might think you don’t have time for all that, but stay with me… Blog on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday. Sunday could be a sample of your work. Make it a series that you call Sample Sunday! Wednesday could be Wordless Wednesday, in which you post a photo that pertains to writing - something that inspires you, what you are currently writing, your desk, etc., and then on Friday you can blog about whatever you want, or keep it specific and stick to writing tips, etc.
Whatever you do, make sure you stay on a schedule. If you know you won’t commit to three days of blogging each week, then don’t. People like consistence; they don’t like to follow people who update their blog every few weeks or months, and they simply won’t follow you or show interest. Let them know they can count on you and that you are worth their time. Our time is precious and isn't given out freely.
The number one excuse I hear for not blogging is "I don't know what to write about!" Well, below is a download containing 82 Blog Ideas for Writers. I basically just handed you enough ideas to blog once a week for an entire year. No more excuses!
| blog_post_ideas.pdf |
Earlier, I mentioned the various online platforms available. My recommendation is to choose two to start with. For me, that’s Facebook and Twitter. These have been the most successful platforms to build a readership and for my business, a clientele.
Take that same mentality of creating a set schedule, and apply it to your social media. I post on social media more than I blog. So my social media goal is to post 5 days a week.
An example week:
Monday - Share something about your book - Amazon link, new review, a link to a feature
Tuesday - #TeaserTuesday
Wednesday - Share a fellow author’s post (writing tips)
Thursday - Free day
Friday - Writing Meme
You want a fun mix, so that it’s not all about you. This may seem like silly advice because you are building your author presence, yet you don’t want to talk about yourself or your book for every post. If you do, you’ll just become like the other bazillion writers out there who annoy the crap out of their followers. Make it entertaining, interesting, and informative.
Again: no matter what you do, stay realistic of what you can do and stay consistent!
I’d recommend staying away from hot topics such as politics and religion. It’s obviously your choice, but staying on topic is crucial and recommended.
Remember that plan of attack I mentioned? Let me give you an example of how I do that. I get on Facebook, post a status update, answer any messages, respond to comments, add a new friend, and comment on someone’s else update. I move on to Twitter. I send out a Tweet, add a new follower, check out my new followers, and retweet something of interest.
Then slowly build up to adding three friends each time, and get to where everytime you log on, you follow or friend 5 people. Keep your interactions genuine - network!
1. Update your publishing plan with a social media schedule.
2. If you haven't already, set up two social media accounts where you can share your creative work and network.
Extra Credit? Purchase a domain name and start building your website!
2. If you haven't already, set up two social media accounts where you can share your creative work and network.
Extra Credit? Purchase a domain name and start building your website!