Understanding Web Presence

Publishing is about marketing. You make sales when people know about your books. I know, this is a pretty obvious statement, but it is so true. If you think about your buying trends, the odds are, if and when you go into a book store, you will likely gravitate to your favorite authors. And, these people became your favorite authors because you like kept seeing their name over and over again. This is name recognition.

Because we are moving to such a digital view of the world, the more you can do to get your name out there will drive those sales. But, it is important to remember that people are not proactive when it comes to using the web. They only do things when someone on the other end reminds them to do so. Let me explain. When you open up your browser, or you open up a social media platform, you likely only click on the things that show up in front of you. The odds are, you don't go out of your way to go and look for things.

Consider sellers like Amazon. When you log into their site, and you look for a book, you might also follow the links at the bottom when they say, "People who looked at this also got this." You don't likely go out and aggressively look for those other authors. You wait until someone tells you that you should look.

So, what does web presence look like? This will vary for all of you, depending on who you are, what your writing style is, and who your readers are. The key, however, is a constant reminder to your readers to check out what you are doing, to read the latest book and so forth.

I admit, lately, I have fallen down on this here on the blog, and yes, I have taken note from those of you who have reminded me. For the longest time, I had a post coming out daily. That constant reminder allows readers to expect something coming from me. Reading the blog becomes a habit. That is what you want your readers to do.

Now, with all of this said, I do want to stress that for authors who are still waiting to make that first sale, I would not worry so much about that web presence. Be ready when the time comes, but for now, focus on the writing.

Have a great weekend. 

Unpublished? Do You Need An Online Platform?

We often hear editors and agents talking about platforms and having an online presence. One question that I am frequently asked is whether or not an unpublished author needs to build one even before being published. I am personally someone who says you do not need one (unless you are a non-fiction author and that is a different story).

The idea behind having that platform and presence out there is to draw readers to your books and writing. It is a marketing tool that, in this day, is crucial with so much material being digital. But, here is the thing. Again, I said it is a marketing tool. You are selling your product to the public, and the key here is that you have something to sell. If you are unpublished and still on the quest for that elusive contract, then you don't have a product.

I know that a lot of people have this belief that you need to have that following and if you can find those followers you will be more appealing to editors and agents. They seem to think that people will want to watch you write this book and follow you on this journey toward publication. The odds are, they will not be interested in a work in progress. They want to know what your next project is AFTER they have gotten excited about your latest book.

I will also say that the belief that editors and agents are out there, spending time reading your blogs and looking at your websites is not true. They are not out there trolling for new clients. They may go and visit your website if they are loving your current submission, but even then, many just don't have the time.

Personally, you need to spend the time working on your craft. Create a great story and get that contract first. Yes, you will need to get a website going AFTER the contract is in, but even then, you are looking at 6 months to a full year before that book is out and you have readers interested in what you are doing.

Now,  I did say that non-fiction is different. In this case, showing that you are an expert is a key element of your submission package. You do have to show you are the best person for the job, and having that following is important. Essentially, that web presence IS the groundwork for your book.

So, if you are someone heading to a conference this summer and you hear people screaming about websites, or they are trying to get you to buy their services to build you that site, hold off on it. Focus on your writing. You will be much happier and certainly be able to keep that money to buy yourself a couple cups of coffee.

When To Start Your Web Presence

This is always an interesting question I hear authors ask. At what point should they start establishing a web presence? Do they need a website? Facebook? Twitter? Etc.???

There are a lot of differing opinions on this idea so let me say that my approach may be different from others out there, and, like everything in publishing, choose the approach that fits your situation the best.

First of all, let me say that exposure in this competitive market is crucial! You cannot hope to succeed unless authors can find you or your books. This is especially important with the number of people in the self-publishing market. As a reminder, I have mentioned this in the past here, but the number of authors "giving away books" on Amazon make finding a new author almost impossible.

But, as a new author, I am of the opinion that I would rather see you spending the time learning your craft, learning the business and getting to that editor or agent to pay attention to you. Even better, I want you to the point that you can get that first contract. If you are spending all of your time creating websites, blogging about who knows what, and maintaining that Twitter account, you are losing out on quality writing time. I promise you, when that contract does finally happen, you will wish you had that writing time back.

I know there are some authors out there who have been able to use their websites as marketing tools before they have a book to sell. I also know there have been some authors who have been "discovered" by editors or agents who "stumbled" across their websites, but those situations are rare. Editors and agents simply don't have the time in the day to "surf the net" looking for the next best thing. I would also add that we are interested in you coming to us, because YOU want to work with us. Editors and agents are not ambulance chasers.

Now, with that said, it is important that you keep that research going and think about what you want that web presence to look like, once you have a product to market to the readers. Look for those places where you can create a website. Take notes as you look at other professional writers and what they are doing. Have those notes in place, so when the time comes,  you are ready and not caught off guard.

Telling us you have a website and a web presence in the query letter is fine, but I will tell you, it is not going to make us like you any more. We are still looking at that first book and seeing if you and the book are the right match.

What Is Your Web Presence?

A frequent question writers pose to editors and agents deals with the amount of web presence a writer should have. This also extends to questions as to when a writer should think about that web presence. Should it happen before or after they are published? Unfortunately, like all things with publishing, there really isn't one right or wrong answer. Along the same lines, the recommendations I might make may be completely different than those of another agent or editor. Still, let's take the time today to examine web presences.

First of all, we have to ask what the purpose is for having that web presence? There are actually two answers for this and both lead to greater success in publishing. The first, which I would recommend to all beginning authors is to use his or her web presence to network and gain information to further advance their careers. In this case, sites such as Twitter are fantastic. Editors and agents are frequently tossing out little nuggets of information. Seeing these comments might lead you to asking some questions that you hadn't thought about before. This, in turn, may add to networking.

Now, with this said, remember that networking is only as good as you make it. Just because you connect with someone on Twitter, Facebook or other social platform does not give you an automatic buy in. But, it might open that door when things do come up along the way.

For both published and non-published authors, this is a chance to really make some headway with yoru career. If I blog about something and someone likes what I have to say, my message gets forwarded to other writers. In some cases, there have been writers that have found out about Greyhaus simply by word of mouth. This is really networking.

Now the second issue for that web presence is more of marketing. In this case, I do have to say that this aspect really is for all of those published authors. We do know that authors tend to be picked up by new authors through word of mouth. You read a great book and you tell a friend about it. Having this type of web presence is crucial for all of those first time authors, and, IMHO for those authors that are venturing into the self-pub and e-pub markets. There are simply so many authors out there, you have to find a way to get your name above all of the noise of those other authors.

So, what type of web presence is best? Again, this all has to do with the type of book you are promoting, who you are and certainly the platforms you are comfortable with. In many cases, simply letting people know on your blogs and your contests you have that there is a new book out will do a lot for your books sales. You can also find that hanging out on loops and every now and then mentioning your book in conversations is a great way to keep your name on the radar.

But, with all of this said, you have to stop and think about what image you are putting out there. What do you want to be known for. If all you do is hype up your books on the social media and don't contribute to the discussions of the business and so forth in a positive way, you will go no where. Also, remember that many of the discussion groups are monitored and do watch for this. Just simply remember what image you want to send.