Should Writers Maintain an Active Social Media Presence?
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It’s no secret that social media can be both an incredible tool and an incredible distraction.
Unfortunately, that distraction isn’t limited to the amount of time we spend mindlessly scrolling. Maintaining an active social media presence can also eat away at the limited amount of time most writers have to dedicate to their work. It’s no wonder I’m often asked how one can balance writing and social media marketing, or even whether writers must have a social presence in the first place. It’s the latter question I’d like to address in depth today.
For writers, social media undoubtedly has many benefits. In fact, writers can harness social media in three distinct ways:
To find community with fellow writers
To grow the reach of their author platform
To market their work
Understanding how writers accomplish each of these activities is key to determining whether maintaining an active social presence as a writer is worth your time and effort.
Let’s explore them together…
Activity #1: Finding Community With Fellow Writers
Though writing is often a solitary act, you don’t have to live your writing life alone. Thriving writing communities exist on nearly every social platform from Facebook to Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, Youtube, and beyond. Plugging into any of these communities is a great way to find support and encouragement in your craft, as well as to network with industry pros.
Activity #2: Growing an Author Platform
Publishing industry professional Jane Friedman defines an author platform as “an ability to sell books because of who you are or who you can reach.” That reach extends beyond your readership to include industry connections since networking can provide opportunities for growth in your publishing journey.
Unless you’re a celebrity or an expert in the field in which you write, it’s unlikely you’ll sell books because of who you are. Instead, to build a successful writing career, you must develop a platform that allows you to reach your ideal readers and forge connections with fellow industry pros.
Social media is far from the only way to accomplish this purpose. In fact, what helps a writer best expand their reach isn’t a Facebook post or a tweet; it’s their second book. Growing a backlist (e.g. a series of published books still in print) helps an author build their platform by establishing their credibility and helping them reach new readers.
However, an author’s backlist is only the foundation of their platform. Writers can also grow their reach via an effective author website, an active social media presence, an engaging newsletter, an author blog or vlog, speaking gigs, online and in-person interviews, podcast and media appearances, networking events such as writing conferences, and more.
Activity #3: Book Marketing
Effective book marketing efforts can help writers sell their books, reach new readers, and establish their publishing careers, making it an essential activity for any writer looking to publish for profit. However, not all book marketing efforts are created equal.
When an author pitches their book to a targeted set of readers, they’re participating in direct marketing. This type of marketing includes paid social media ads, Amazon or Bookbub ads, email marketing campaigns, and in-person pitches given on book tours or at speaking gigs.
Conversely, indirect marketing is any activity that helps writers build awareness for their work without asking readers to purchase. Writers commonly market in this way by discussing their books or writing process on social media, through their websites or newsletters, and in interviews and appearances.
Indirect marketing efforts can also include less common activities, such as studying reader demographics to gain a better understanding of one’s audience or tweaking SEO to improve website reach, as well as activities outside of an author’s control, such as word-of-mouth recommendations and reader reviews.
Is maintaining an active social media presence right for you?
The answer to this question is far from cut and dry. While social media can be a great tool for connecting with writers, building an author platform, and engaging in book marketing efforts, a social presence isn’t strictly necessary to accomplish any of these tasks.
Writers can find a sense of community through in-person groups or in reading fellow writer’s blogs or memoirs, while author platform growth and book marketing efforts can be achieved through many of the avenues I outlined above.
However, there’s no denying the power of social media and its pervasive nature in modern society. With billions of social media users worldwide, choosing not to engage can feel countercultural or even foolish. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that writers can build successful careers without engaging online. Just take novelist Zadie Smith or non-fiction author Cal Newport for example.
To determine whether maintaining an active social presence as a writer is worth your time and effort, ask yourself whether you genuinely enjoy using social media. If you don’t, or if you find such platforms draining, then it’s unlikely to be a sustainable practice for you. This is the reason I chose to retire from most social platforms in May 2020.
That said, engaging on social media as an author might not be the best activity for you even if it’s something you enjoy. It’s far from revelatory to say that social media can be highly time-consuming and distracting. Choosing to forgo this type of online engagement for the sake of having more time to write is a valid choice, especially considering that there are many other ways to connect with writers, grow your platform, and market your work.
If you do decide to maintain an active social media presence, then I encourage you to do so with intention. Choose just one or two platforms where your ideal readers hang out and focus on using those platforms to the best of your ability. Seek quality connections over likes and followers, and consider creating a posting schedule or content plan.
Most importantly, set boundaries around your social media usage to avoid distraction and maximize your writing time. Because a writer isn’t someone who tweets; a writer is someone who writes.
