The use of Facebook can seriously harm the modern writer’s career – seriously! You spend way too much time reading other people’s updates and links. You only realise fifteen minutes in, that you’re going through family albums of people you’ve never even met. And why do you spend hours searching for the same old school friends? If you haven’t found them yet, they obviously want to remain lost – or they might even be dead (it's possible). Besides, you were never that great friends anyway.
Poof, goes the time you could’ve spent finishing another chapter!
That said, Facebook isn’t all rubbish. It’s one of the best places in which a writer can take a serious foothold. Every company I know or have ever heard about has a Facebook page, and why not. Facebook has made it so easy for us to show the other 500 million active users what/who we like, during the 700 billion minutes we all spend on the site each month. After all, there are over 70 world translations on the site, so language is no longer a barrier. Step in writer, and use Facebook to its full advantage.
Keep an eye on agents/publishers/websites
Do a search for potential agents/publishers/websites you’re have a keen interest in. If you join or 'like' their pages, it gives you a foot-in to respond intelligently to their daily/weekly updates. Don’t be tempted to share your links unless you’re absolutely sure it won’t be taken as spam. If in the slightest doubt, don’t.
Every update of every page you’ve been added to, should show up on the left hand side of your Facebook home page. Click on the ones of interest every time you log in to see what’s new. Let them get to know you and accept you as someone who’s genuinely interested in their work. This also gives you a chance to see what they’re commissioning in real-time so you can target your work better. If they’re promoting a new release, buy it if you’re interested and leave feedback on their page. In a few months you will have softened them up enough to pitch your own work personally.
Get listy
It’s a great idea to organise your Facebook friends in lists. For example, your relatives should be saved in a different list from your writer friends and associates. This is useful because when you’re sharing your articles, book links and book releases, you can choose to hide these from your relatives and school friends and only ‘show’ them to the writers added to your networking list.
Not only can authors share all their new creations on their own Facebook pages, they can also share them on other pages they’ve been added to. Of course, use the latter with care. Don’t spam.
Article comments
1 - Travis@TradeTechSports
Boo Facebook. Im not happy that I signed up with Facebook just a little while ago, but that's what happens when your long distance friends won't stop nagging you so you keep in touch better.
2 - Anne Lyken-Garner
Yes. We all say that, but then we keep in contact for a month or so, before we realise we're grown up now and no longer have nothing in common. :-)
3 - Icy BC
I see very little visit from friends on Facebook, so it's to me useless as a tool to promote. You can click "like" on Facebook without having to visit the site, and also it's now becoming too commercialized..
4 - Anne Lyken-Garner
You are right. Businesses have cottoned on and are rampant on Facebook. Everyone's got a page or two.
I still think that it's a good place to advertise, though. It's probably one of the best places.
5 - Catherine
Is isn't smart to bet too much on Facebook because you don't have any control over site changes since it is a free service. So even though they tout that they are for the user, they have to build a profit model for investors.
The recent changes are crap. people hate them but Facebook refuses to allow the users to have other options. It's their way or the highway and I think people will grow tired of it -- just like they did on AOL which was the last exclusive sign-in Internet portal.
When you have a blog or a website -- you control what happens to your publishing and you control the changes. If your readers don't like it, you can quickly change something back. Wordpress blog software is great for this.
For the most part I find Facebook boring because it is too walled off. If I want to meet and chat with a stranger in Ireland -- it's impossible to do on Facebook.
Mark Z also brags that sharing what you like socially influences your friends and brands should buy into it. Maybe in your early 20s you listen to your friends recommendations, but as you grow older you become more adventurous and want to try new things that your friends have not tried and interact with new people -- not the same people in your circle. How often have your friends recommended a restaurant and you go there and hate it?
I can see where reviews on review sites can give a more round picture over something a friend might share on Facebook.
I predict the world will eventually grow tired of Facebook and move on to the next big thing. Time will only tell.
But so far, I am not impressed.
C
6 - Anne Lyken-Garner
I see what you mean, even though I've never seen it expressed quite like this before. At the moment everyone is gasping for FB friends and networking. All the writers I know are into promoting on FB. Personally, it hasn't brought me much traffic to my sites. I suppose, like every phase, it will have its day - one day. I don't think this day is very soon, though.