Where do you meet authors? Where do you hear about their books? How do you discover your next read? And what actually makes you BUY a book versus just waiting around for that freebie? What is too high a cost for you? Do you even need to buy books anymore? You’re reading this, because, somehow, we’ve connected. What drew you to me? And how did you find me? Was it my erotic romances? My new adult fiction? Or my poetry? Or did you find me some other way and still not yet bought or read a book of mine? In a world that seems to create more and more technology that is supposed to make our lives easier, it becomes more and more difficult for an indie author to decide where to spend their time. Building a following is work. It’s another full-time job to not only our full-time day jobs but also our full-time writing jobs! When I first started, I was only on Twitter. I liked the quick banter. The immediate following. The ease with which to discover people with similar interests. And the people I met on Twitter are now some of my oldest friends in the Indie community to this date. And by oldest, I mean longest. 😊 Facebook had turned me off long before, when students of mine started to “friend request” me, and I didn’t have the heart to not accept. I saw my family in disputes over this cousin not liking this cousin’s post, and I just decided: This is a silly hassle. I don’t need social media to see my friends and family. Instagram was a novelty to me. And well, TikTok wasn’t even a thing!
But as time went on, I joined Facebook as RB, and well, I found myself really enjoying the medium of it. I liked that I could write as much as I wanted and wasn’t restricted to “character” constraints. I liked the groups. I liked the layout and the format. But Facebook has changed A LOT in just the few years I’ve been on it. It’s over saturated. They want you to pay for your posts or they don’t pop them into feeds. And groups seem to be a lot of the same. Silly memes. Mindless games. And places for people to be, well, social and flirty, often in the most inane and mundane ways. But is Facebook a place where people talk about books anymore? Or share their love of an author’s work? I find, more and more, people are looking to be entertained in ways that really have nothing to do with reading. And TikTok? Well, the jury is out on even how long it will last, given all the implications of privacy and the ownership in China. It’s also the biggest rabbit hole of dumb I’ve seen in a very long time. The more outrageous, the more it’s watched. It’s a strange thing, this societal shift of entertainment over truth or quality or depth. TikTok mentality is basically humankind mentality these days. But is an author making silly faces and putting on silly costumes really what it takes to sell books these days? Or does even that just lead to a laugh and an empty promise? And now Facebook is scrambling to keep up, begging people to post more reels, to compete with what exactly? More silly entertainment? Have I used the word silly yet? 😉 I don’t know these answers. I just know who I am and what I stand for. I know that I want to share my work with people, but I also don’t want to just give it all away to everyone for free, all the time. Actually publishing a book takes such work and energy, and every time I offer something FREE, I become a “best seller” (note the irony of the word seller there). I have often made it as an Amazon Best Seller with paid books too (who hasn’t really), but it’s usually only in the first month or two of a release or if I run a paid ad that even being an Amazon Best Seller doesn’t do more than help me break a little more than even. I guess the answer, if I were to offer one, is to simply do what brings us joy, share to social media places we enjoy being on. But then again, do we ever grow if we only stay in our comfort zones? If we don’t learn new things? Is selling books really just learning new tricks? If so, this young dog may already be too old for a new bag! 😊
16 Comments
Amanda Konzelman
11/10/2022 09:27:14
i find my nexyt authors from othr authors. I am on mailing lists and will get a free book then if i really like the book i end up buying a lot from the other author. if a blurb gets to me in an email and i liek the cover i biy then too . i also have discovered new authors from my fav authors fb pages
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R.B.
11/17/2022 09:22:12
I love reading this, because I wonder if FB does anything for anyone anymore. Thank you for the response!
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Glenn Northam
11/10/2022 09:29:42
I discover new authors by recommendation from authors I already read
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R.B.
11/17/2022 09:23:50
And where is that? Social media? Newsletters?
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Rene
11/10/2022 09:45:24
Mainly I've been getting a lot of ads for free books on Facebook lately. I don't take too many of them because they all want you to subscribe to their newsletters. I ended up with over 1,300 author emails that way. I ended up in a marathon session of going through Tham to unsubscribe and delete all others. I have to find the writing to be really good AND have the disposable income at the time to buy subsequent books. Also, I like series so I already know the characters
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R.B.
11/17/2022 09:25:08
I know. I worry about the newsletter overload!
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Nancy
11/10/2022 10:22:41
Often I buy a cheap omnibus and when I like a writer I go and buy, when I really like that, I buy more...
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R.B.
11/17/2022 09:26:20
Yup! It helped!
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Tambra Gifford
11/10/2022 10:48:27
I get recommendations from, book shark, book bub, facebook groups, and authors that I follow. I look over the recommendations on Amazon too.
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R.B.
11/17/2022 09:27:06
Ooooh.
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Jammie
11/10/2022 13:03:55
I find new authors through others and groups. I found you and was hooked because of the poetry. That's always been me writing poems.
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R.B.
11/17/2022 09:28:53
Oh no!
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Cynthia Turner
11/10/2022 18:32:58
I got a Facebook alert with a wonderful poem that I’ve let you know made me fall in love with poetry again. I’ve pulled out my old volumes of Shakespeare and Poe and have purchased all of your poetry books and many of your other. Love them all. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, emotions, etc……
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R.B.
11/17/2022 09:30:18
Awww! Reading this made my day.
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11/11/2022 07:02:22
I have favorite authors whom I've read in the past and I often fall back on them. I rely on Facebook mostly, for interaction. I'm slowly weening myself away from Twitter because of their restrictive word counts and the blatant sexual content that is shown (partly my own fault). I don't remember the time or circumstances that I discovered you but I remember your words of encouragement that kept me going and I'm ever grateful for it. You're the one that made me see the power and beauty of poetry, a medium I had never appreciated before now, and write not only poetry but song lyrics. Thanks to you and our mutual 'friends.'
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R.B.
11/17/2022 09:31:57
Awww, Don!
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I LOVE to write and read. I particularly enjoy reading erotic romance that has tons of emotion in it. I hope you will ask me questions and share your favorite authors and novels. I welcome all feedback.
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