by Barbara Linn Probst

I hate social media. It’s an addictive rabbit-hole.

I just don’t have time. Social media takes away from my precious writing time.

I’m no good at creating those visuals and posts.

I’ve heard many authors—myself included—express our frustration and dismay at the expectation that we will not only produce wonderful books, but also carry out what amounts to a second full-time job as our own marketing team. Most of us don’t mind holding events, whether live or virtual, where we get to engage with readers. Nor do we mind interviews, written or recorded, where we can talk about our books and our writing process. But what so many of us do hate is the seemingly bottomless pit of social media engagement.

Facebook, with all those reader and writer groups. Instagram. Twitter. Pinterest.

“Likes” and “follows.” Comments and messages and shares.

Wouldn’t it be great if someone else could do all this for us?

Someone else can—for a price, and with a few caveats. Whether they call themselves virtual assistants, social media consultants, or author assistants, there are people who will manage your social media for you.

What a social media assistant is (and isn't)

Unlike publicists, who seek media coverage on your behalf, or direct marketers, whom you pay to advertise your book on their sites, a virtual assistant takes over tasks that you could, if you wanted, do yourself or learn how to do yourself. They may do it more attractively, strategically, or frequently—but they have no special credentials like the high-level media connections of a good publicist or special access to important gatekeepers. What you’re buying, in effect, is time—and the freedom to use that time in other ways.

The questions are: How much is that time worth to you, and are there other benefits, besides freeing up your time, that a virtual assistant can offer?

My initial research on this topic

I decided to investigate these questions when I thought about how I wanted to launch my second book, coming in April. My debut (April 2020) had a great launch despite the onset of the pandemic, but I wanted to expand my thinking to consider what I did not do—or didn’t do very well.

The obvious gap, for me, was in the realm of social media. Like many others in my cohort, I didn’t grow up with social media and secretly wished I didn’t have to use it. Being both naïve and overly-aggressive (a bad combination), I made some mistakes the first time around that I still regret. For example, having misunderstood the absolute meaning of “no self-promotion,” I am now banned forever from two of the biggest reader groups on Facebook.

I’ve learned a few things since Queen of the Owls made its way into the world. I now understand that social media is a long game, not a quick grab. It’s about the slow, steady development of connection and engagement. Like all relationships, it takes time and commitment. You have to show up every day, not just on birthdays and anniversaries. And that means a serious investment of energy.

Not everyone wants to do that. After all, there’s no end to what we, as authors, might do to reach out to readers! Another thing I’ve learned is that no one can, or should, do everything. I advise those who ask me: “Just do the stuff that’s fun for you, and outsource—or forget—the rest of it.”

And there’s the heart of the matter: what should we do ourselves, what should we jettison, and what should we outsource?

Hiring Some Help

Sometimes the answer is clear. If you want to pitch to the book review editor at The New York Times, you need a professional publicist to do so on your behalf—and even then, there’s no guarantee. Many authors I know are unhappy at what they now consider to be a poor “return on investment” after hiring a publicist at a cost of anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000. They’re wondering if there isn’t a middle ground between spending that kind of money, which most don’t have, and doing it all yourself.

A virtual assistant—someone who can manage author promotion on social media—can seem like an attractive option.  At a cost far below that of a publicist, with a direct appeal to readers that can actually be tracked, social media assistance is a rapidly-growing alternative.

And for those of us, like me, who do have a publicist, a social media assistant can—maybe—take over an important piece of the book promotion that publicists don’t do and that many of us authors don’t do very well.

More research through my network

I decided to look into it. I asked—on social media, of course!—if fellow authors had anyone they recommended. Their responses, including some who recommended themselves, led me on various paths, and I ended up speaking with seven people who offer social media assistance. Some focused specifically on authors; some did not. Most, though not all, required a three-month commitment; prices ranged from $300/month to $1300/month.

I also spoke with two people who offer “social media coaching”—with far higher price tags—but am not including them here because that service is quite different; nor am I including the many webinars and workshops that are available, for free or at minimal cost, to teach authors how to enhance their own social media skills. I didn’t want someone to coach me on fishing techniques; I wanted to hire a fisherman.

I encountered a number of models—different ways of working, with different price tags and different strengths and drawbacks.  I ended up selecting someone who seemed to be the best fit for my needs and style. While she hadn’t worked with authors, specifically, she was creative and flexible, which were two priorities for me.  I didn’t want someone with an expensive prix fixe package who required a three-month minimum commitment, as many did. I wanted to be able to explore and ramp up slowly, which this VA allows me to do.

So far, it seems to be working well. I come up with the concepts and she executes them—a division of labor that’s letting me keep to a reasonable budget, since she charges by the hour. On the other hand, there are possibilities I’m electing to forgo, such as analytics, story reels, optimization strategies, and so on—on the premise that no one can do, or cover, everything. For now, I’m simply outsourcing the creative part, which requires skills that would take me too long to learn to do well. If you’re curious about what she’s done for me, you can see some of her animated and musical posts on my Instagram wall, which I often repost on Facebook as well.  (Note: I also post on my own sometimes, and only use her to create posts that I couldn’t do myself.)

Considerations for your decision

How you decide to approach this question will depend on your goals, budget, the demographic you want to reach, and your personal style. What’s best for me might not be best for you, so here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Do you want to turn over your entire social media presence to someone else, or do you want to be an active partner in developing the content of the posts? Are you looking to outsource entirely or to collaborate? Will you be adding personal posts, as well?
• Do you want to do your own captions and commenting, or do you want someone else to learn how to represent you and comment as if they were you? Are you looking for someone you can trust to be your voice?
• Which platforms, and how many platforms do you want to engage on? What is your target audience of readers, and where do they tend to hang out?
• What sort of frequency are you looking for in your posts? Do you want to include stories, links to video or audio, questions for discussion, follow trains?
• How important are ongoing analytics to you? Do you need to have quantified data on a regular basis? If so, how do you plan to use that data?
• What other marketing strategies do you have in place, and how central or important is social media in that overall plan?
• What time frame are you willing to commit to?
• How much money are you willing to spend?

Final Thoughts

In all cases, it’s important to remember what a virtual assistant cannot do. Since a VA has no access to your phone, she can’t post photos of you doing book-related things. Her posts will, of necessity, have a certain “artistic distance” to them.

Again, it’s a matter of knowing what you’re good at and have time for, determining a budget, and finding someone who suits your temperament and goals. You might even decide that what really makes sense is to manage your social media yourself, and that’s okay too.

And there can be unexpected benefits—for either or both of you. Since my forthcoming book—the one my VA is focused on promoting—is told through the eyes of a musician, a lot of the posts are music-related.  We’ve used piano music in the background, images of sheet music and pianos.

Here is what my VA wrote to me in a recent email:

“You should know that all of this work around pianos inspired me to start learning how to play. My dad is a musician and plays every instrument in the book, but I stopped piano lessons as a teenager. I have my grandma's beautiful antique piano sitting in my living room, so I downloaded the Simply Piano app and have been practicing every day! I'm loving it! It's something that I have wanted to do forever, and working with you gave me that push I needed to start.”

Is that cool, or what?

Over to you, now …

How do you feel about using social media for book promotion—whether you do that yourself, or see others doing that? Do you think it’s a great way of engaging that you enjoy, or simply a “necessary evil?”

About Barbara

BARBARA LINN PROBST is a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, living on a historic dirt road in New York’s Hudson Valley. Her debut novel QUEEN OF THE OWLS (April 2020) is the powerful story of a woman’s search for wholeness, framed around the art and life of iconic American painter Georgia O’Keeffe. QUEEN OF THE OWLS was selected as one of the twenty most anticipated books of the year by Working Mother, a debut novel “too good to ignore” by Bustle, was featured in places like Pop Sugar, Entertainment Weekly, Parade Magazine, and Ms. Magazine. It also won the bronze medal for popular fiction from the Independent Publishers Association, placed first runner-up in general fiction for the Eric Hoffer Award, and was short-listed for the $2500 Grand Prize. Barbara’s second book, THE SOUND BETWEEN THE NOTES, launches in April 2021.

Top Image by Thomas Ulrich from Pixabay

by Julie Glover

The last time I worked on my novel was…

I don’t know.

We don’t have time for me to tell you the whole story, but I turned up sick on October 9, 2020 and haven’t been back to my old self since. I’m better, but I have good days and bad days and too many doctor appointments as I work through what’s going on and how to treat my issues. (No, it’s not Covid.)

But whether it lasts days, months, or years, nearly every writer has had their plans interrupted by illness. How can you still make progress when you don’t feel well? Here are a few ways to keep moving forward.

Take Care of Yourself

Taking a break and caring for your health may seem like stagnation of your writing plans. However, it’s actually moving forward, because if you don’t care for yourself, you’ll get less done in the end.

At times, I’ve felt bad, tried to push through, and ended up spending three hours completing a task that would have taken an hour if I’d only waited until I felt better. I understand the frustration of wanting to get things done, but it’s vital to work smart when you don’t have full energy reserves.

Your best option may be to set your manuscript aside and spend time in the fresh air, grab a nap, or take an Epsom salt bath. Prioritize feeling better so that you’ll have the energy and focus to work on your book when you can.

Study Your Craft

If you can’t work on your book, read someone else’s. Or watch movies or TV series, noting story structure, great dialogue, and setting details. Take a Masterclass or a writing class online. Read blog posts about writing (WITS has a lot of great content!).

When my mind tuned out of my book, I tuned into Netflix, Amazon Prime, and audiobooks, sampling shows and books that made for wonderful entertainment and learning experiences.

While you’re having to take it easy, pick up some great lessons that you can later use to write or edit your novel.

Write Short

Divide your work periods into shorter segments. You may not be able to sit for hours and work on your book, but maybe you can do a scene a day or a set word count. Perhaps what you can accomplish is a blog post, a blurb, or an outline.

One of the lovely symptoms I’ve had is brain fog. I discovered early on that I couldn’t concentrate on a full novel, tracking the character arc, plot, and subplots across chapters and scenes. So, I penned a short story. That was the length I could handle, and my coauthor and I were able to release a fresh story in our supernatural suspense series.

Figure out what length of project you can work or for how long you can focus, and then do that. After all, if you can’t take big swallows, small bites still get the job done.

Do the Non-Writing Stuff

Most authors don’t get to shut themselves away, write their brilliant manuscript, emerge to hand it over to an editor, and move along to the next project. These days, authors also maintain a website, participate on social media, engage in marketing, track their sales, order or create book covers, and so on.

While not feeling 100%, you might still make progress on those tasks that require less effort than writing.

Me? I have a series of paranormal shorts I wrote some time ago that just need a little editing to be publication-ready. Since they will be cheap $.99 buys, I’m doing my own covers. (Not always a good idea. Check out this post, this post, and this post on book covers!) Working up these covers is right at my work capacity right now. It takes little effort to scroll through stock photo sites looking for ideas, download pics, upload pics, mess with text, etc. By the time I get to editing my shorts, I’ll have covers done or mostly done.

What small tasks can you accomplish? You might start by checking off some of these 30+ Ideas for Bite-Sized Book Marketing.

Stay Connected

While feeling unwell, you can also feel isolated. You can’t go places, do things, write stuff, interact like you usually do. Keep your spirits up by connecting with other writers.

My optimism gets a boost whenever I chat with fellow writers and learn what they’re doing. We discuss stories, characters, the writing life, etc., and it reminds me that I’m still an author—just on a brief hiatus.

Whether it’s checking in with other writers in a Facebook group, attending a writers’ event virtually, or calling up a friend, stay connected with the writing community. Your peeps can help you weather the short or long period of illness that knocked you back a little, and you’ll be back on your feet soon.

That’s what I’m planning. Soon, I’ll be back in my novel again, polishing it up to a shine so it’s ready for the world!

What other ideas do you have for making progress when you’re sick? What words of hope or encouragement can you offer others struggling with illness?

About Julie

Julie Glover is an award-winning author of mysteries and young adult fiction. She also writes supernatural suspense under the pen name Jules Lynn.

While not feeling quite herself lately, she still managed to release Gryla's Gift, a Christmas-themed story in the Muse Island series (co-authored with Kris Faryn and free in Kindle Unlimited), and Driving Emma, a young adult contemporary short story.

When not writing, she collects boots, practices rampant sarcasm, and advocates for good grammar and the addition of the interrobang as a much-needed punctuation mark.

Top image credit: silviarita from Pixabay

by Piper Bayard
of Bayard & Holmes

Everyone loves a good fight, and a good fight scene is arguably the lifeblood of every thriller. Since my writing partner, Jay Holmes, is a forty-five-year veteran of the military and intelligence communities, we are often asked what weapons we prefer for fights.

In truth, Holmes and I both advocate firearms training for the best self-defense, but shooting too many people in books tends to make for boring books. So we’re going to explore a bit more about how common objects can be used in a fight scene.

10 handy weapons in a bedroom.

1. Nightstand Lamp

A nightstand lamp can be one of your character’s most handy weapons. They can grab it by the pole and smash the base into someone’s face. Even better, if the lamp has a long enough cord, the character can jerk off the lampshade and shove the bulb straight into the attacker’s face.

The broken glass of the bulb will cause bleeding, and if it is still plugged in, your character gets the added bonus of delivering an electrical shock.

2. Glass Vase

Your character can grab it by the narrow end or, if it’s a pitcher, by the handle and smash the vase into the opponent’s face. If the vase breaks off, that’s okay. Then it will be like a broken bottle that can be used to slice the face or shove into the neck or groin.

3. Jewelry

Your character can throw jewelry in someone’s face to distract them for the next blow. Also, if a necklace is long and sturdy enough, your character can use it to choke their target.

Pendants can be especially useful in that they can be used to smuggle poison. Also, if your character is like Piper, they have a long, needle-like fashion metal pendant on a sturdy chain that can be worn to the office, on a plane, or into any building. That long, sharp needle can do some damage to the eyes, throat, groin, or ear. A nice cloak pin or an old-fashioned hat pin can serve the same purpose.

Note that if your character shoves a needle-like pendant or anything else into an ear, they have to go more than a couple inches in to do serious damage or even kill. It is not a move for the uncommitted.

4. A Desk

Small desk drawers that come out quickly can be thrown at an opponent to distract them and give your character a chance to run or use follow-up blows.

A wide drawer can be used as a shield. If a character is very strong and a desk rather light, they might be able to flip the desk over in a sudden move to startle someone. It’s not a first-choice move in real life, but it could be fun in a book.

What a desk is not especially good for, though, is a hiding place. Not only is it entirely too obvious, but if your character is hiding under a desk, they are as good as painted into a corner when their stalker finds them.

It’s difficult to fight effectively when squatting on the ground, surrounded on all sides. If one of our characters is hiding under a desk, we’re going to make sure they have a loaded firearm at the ready.

5. Wall Picture

Your character can grab a sturdy picture off the wall and drive the frame into their target’s face to stun them for follow up blows to the groin or instep.

Something commonly seen in fiction that is a bad idea is breaking the glass over the target’s head. It’s not likely to disable them, and it is just as likely to cut your character.

6. Candle

Your character can grab a candlestick and shove it in their target’s face. If the candle is in a jar and has been burning a while, your character can flick the hot melted wax into the face of the opponent and follow up by smashing the glass candle into their face or temple.

Be sure to follow up with some debilitating blows, though. If the opponent already wanted to kill your character, they will certainly want to kill them even more after they get wax to the face.

A lit candle can also be used to start a fire, but keep in mind that, unlike in Hollywood, most real-life fires take a few moments to actually catch and be helpful.

7. Curtains

We don’t recommend that your character hide behind curtains if there are other viable alternatives for the same reason we don’t recommend them hiding underneath a desk. It’s too obvious, and it leaves your character pinned down when they are found.

However, if they have time, your character can tie curtains to something solid and use them to escape out of a window. Also, if your character knows someone is coming into a room, they can light the curtains on fire and hide behind a door. When the person comes into the room, they will be immediately riveted to the fire, giving the character the opportunity to smash the stalker with the door and follow up with blows as the target enters the room.

If your character is attacking, they can twist the curtains into a cord to use to choke their target.

8. Curtain Rod

A good, heavy curtain rod can be wielded like a staff to poke, jab, smash, or block. Some curtain rods have fashion points at the end for stabbing at the face, groin, or ribs. If your character stabs into the ribs and hits a bone, don’t worry. The weapon will usually slide off the bone and into the body.

9. Blanket

Your character can throw a blanket over an opponent like a net and then either run or follow up with blows.

There is also always the tried-and-true method of lighting a blanket on fire while someone is sleeping in the bed. It generally takes the sleeper a few moments to realize what is happening, giving your character either time to escape or time to follow up.

Like all arson methods, we recommend that your character does not do this in their own home.

10. Cell Phone

Holmes’s favorite method of using a cell phone in a fight is to call in an air strike. However, if your character does not have an Air Force in their bedroom, they can use the light on their phone to flash in someone’s eyes. They can also use the phone to emit a distracting noise, or they can throw it at the opponent’s face.

If they have time, the character can use the phone to call 911, but that is not especially effective in an active fight. As the saying goes, “When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.”

A bed can also be used as a weapon, but we’ll leave that one to the romance writers.

On a general note, notice the frequent suggestions of targeting the face. Face wounds tend to stun and slow people. If someone is stabbed in the eye or through the cheek, they will have to mentally reset. Also, face wounds bleed. A lot. That and the fact that it’s lots of blood coming from a wound they can’t see tends to freak people out.

This gives your character time to follow up with a knee in the groin, a good stomp on the instep, or another stab or jab. Also, the target might feel compelled to put one hand over the wound, especially if it is an eye, leaving them to fight one-handed.

Always remember that with any fight, the greatest weapon your character has is their mind. Your character must be in a mindset to do what it takes to survive, or all the weapons in the world won’t help them.

What bedroom objects would your characters choose to incorporate into a fight? What questions do you have for us?

About Bayard and Holmes

Piper Bayard and Jay Holmes of Bayard & Holmes are the authors of espionage fiction and nonfiction. Please visit Piper and Jay at their site, BayardandHolmes.com. For notices of their upcoming releases, subscribe to the Bayard & Holmes Covert Briefing. You can also contact Bayard & Holmes at their Contact page, on Twitter at @piperbayard, or at their email, BayardandHolmes(at)protonmail.com.

SPYCRAFT: Essentials takes the fiction out of spy fiction, covering the functions and jurisdictions of the main US intelligence organizations, the espionage personality and character, recruitment, tradecraft techniques, surveillance, firearms, the most common foibles of spy fiction, and much more. Available in digital format and print. See Bayard & Holmes Nonfiction for links to your preferred bookseller.

Top Image by Pexels from Pixabay.