“When I’m reading your
newsletter, I’m not reading your book. When I’m visiting your blog, I’m not
reading your book. When I’m on your Facebook page, I’m not reading your
book. Collectively hoards of authors are
cannibalizing the very limited time readers have available to read their books
by talking about themselves.”
Vince Mooney
That's pretty insightful.
ReplyDeleteHi Nancy:
ReplyDeleteThere has been a dramatic increase in published authors and existing authors’ backlists. Everyone is told to get on social media. Build a platform. Talk, talk, talk. Yet no one has increased the hours in the day to read. Each day there is more competition for reading time from non reading activities. The emphasis needs to be on improving the product so it sells itself and not on talking to a few hundred people on social media.
Thanks for your comment. I enjoy hearing from you.
Vince
Agreed. I have had to become lazer like with my time and found that I want to do my part to have presence but write a book so phenominal that other people who have no idea who I am will have to share it with their friends. Because their friend told them about it.Content is still king and at least for me right now, that's where the majority of my time is going. Reading lots and lots of books and honing my craft and bettering and writing new manuscripts.
DeleteAnd it's always a pleasure to fire synapses with you, Vince. =)
Hi Nancy:
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. It is also a numbers game. With social media you are dealing with maybe selling tens or hundreds of books. A book with legs, with an ending that makes people want to buy your next book and tell others about your current book, can grow with geometrical progression. In this way you can be dealing with thousands and tens of thousands of sales as the sales build like compound interest.
Time spent making that book have legs can pay far more talking to people who like to talk to authors
Now once you have books like that: books with legs, then social media makes more sense because your little streams of interest have the potential of becoming rivers!
Vince