Writers in the Storm

Lisa Hall-Wilson

Facebook is my happy place. I hang out there a lot – I get paid to hang out on Facebook. One of the questions I’m asked the most is how much of your own content and how much content from others do you post?

There’s not really a one-size fits all answer because different audiences like to see and engage with different combinations of content.

Posting only your own content can make you appear narcissistic or one-dimensional (aka boring). Only posting content from others means your fans never see your writing skills. However, leaving gaps where you don’t post anything for days means Facebook won’t show your content to anyone. You need balance.

Profile vs Page

If you’re using a Profile (where you’re asked to Friend someone), be very careful asking people to buy things directly, posting picture after picture of your book cover, repeatedly posting about whatever boxed set you’re a part of. Facebook users have little tolerance for seeing the same content and they will report you for spamming.

Then you’ll be shut down without appeal (and I’m hearing about this a lot). You’ve been warned.

On a Page (where you’re asked to Like or Follow), you can post a lot more promotional content without penalty from Facebook, but your reach will be throttled if you’re directly asking people to: like, share, comment, buy, click here, etc. Be creative.

When Posting Links To Your Own Content

Make sure you craft a really great hook that will convince people to click through to your blog. With every link to your own content, ask yourself: what value is this content offering and would I click through on this hook? The image that appears with the link is super important, as is the post title. Edit accordingly.

Sharing Content From Others

Remember that each piece of content needs to have a purpose; know what you want it to do for you. You’re not posting this content to get clicks to a blog you don’t own, right? You’re adding value for fans or friends, so use it to get a conversation going.

Let people know why you’re sharing this content. Did it make you mad? Encourage you? Make you laugh? Ask a question to get a conversation going. Remember your brand. Unless you write about cats, or you’re posting a picture of YOUR cat, maybe don’t share cat pics.

Curating Content

Where do you find great content to share? I have two main ways I curate content. I create Interest Lists on Facebook so I can scroll through posts when I need something to share. I have the same strategy on Twitter and G+.

I try to set aside a chunk of time to curate links for the Pages I administrate and schedule them to appear throughout the week. I just find that’s a better use of my time. I always give credit and tag the original poster when I can. They would probably prefer I share it directly from their post, and when it’s timely I will, but I’m not breaking Facebook etiquette doing it the other way either.

How much of your own content do you share? How much of the content you post on Facebook is created by someone else? What ratio of your own content vs curated content works for your Facebook audience?

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About Lisa

Lisa Hall-Wilson is a freelance journalist and writer, and columnist. She writes dark fantasy fiction, and helps writers learn to enjoy Facebook as much as she does.

Lisa is teaching a live webinar called Using A Facebook Profile to Build Platform on June 10 from 7-8:30 US Eastern Time. WITS readers can use the code Lisa20 for 20% off the regular price.

Find Lisa on Facebook at

Christopher Lentz

If you’re reading this, you’re probably a storyteller. That’s part “story” and part “teller.” So what do your book covers tell potential readers?

First confession: I may be new to the self-publishing world, but I’m not a newcomer to the universe of design and marketing. Since the launch of my novel, Blossom, I continue to be amazed by how many people are attracted to and comment about the book’s cover.

Though trends in romance cover designs come and go, timeless and tested truisms of marketing contributed to Blossom’s cover design. Here are five things I applied while designing what’s proving to be an impactful, engaging cover.

Second confession: If you’re looking for a guaranteed how-to list of tips for designing covers that will propel you to the heights of The New York Times bestsellers list, this isn’t it. If you find one, let me know! What you’ll find here are some useful concepts to consider for your upcoming releases.

This is a hands-on blog discussion. You’ll need to have a book cover in front of you (printed or on a screen). Now sit back and ponder the following five points.

1. Sprinkling breadcrumbs in a backward “6” trail

Marketing studies show that the human eye scans things in a backward “6” pattern. That’s how we glance at a magazine cover in a grocery-store checkout line or the front page of newspaper on a Sunday morning (yes, some people still get ink smudges on their fingertips from reading a paper).

Take a moment and test it out. Look at your book cover. Scan it. If you’re like most people (I know, I know, you’re special), you’ll start in the upper left corner, slide down the right edge, cruise along the bottom moving to the left and end moving to the right. It’s like a backward numeral “6.”

Does the cover you’re looking at deliver something of interest at the “Start Here” spot in the upper left section and pay off the journey in the right part of the lower third of the cover?

2. Delivering between the covers

No one appreciates a bait-and-switch trick. We all want to get what we think we’re paying for.

Are the elements of your book’s cover telegraphing the story’s key themes and messages in its images, colors and fonts? Does the cover instantly communicate an accurate and intriguing pitch?

3. Seeing it as a billboard and a postage stamp

The attributes of a well-executed billboard hold true to a book on a store’s shelf. As you speed down the highway (unless you live in Southern California where speeding is impossible), there are precious few seconds to grab someone’s attention and deliver a message. Does the cover you’re looking at do that?

And with online retailing, the thumbnail version of a book cover must communicate even more powerfully. In a space smaller than a postage stamp, the cover should attract attention and evoke an emotion … and it better do it a lightning speed.

4. Squinting at it

Your optometrist won’t like this, but do it anyway. Squint at your book cover. What pops forward? What fades back? Is there enough light and dark contrast? Is the book’s title the most prominent element? Is the author’s name the strongest element?

What pops should be a deliberate outcome of the key message and goal for the cover. You’ll make different choices if you’re an established author/brand or trying to set a visual context for your story. Your story and your standing in the marketplace should drive these decisions.

5. Tinkering and testing

We’ve all heard about Thomas Edison and the overwhelming number of failures he endured. But he had to tweak and test to get his inventions right. And so do you and your cover designer. Try different options and show them to people whose opinions you value. Be sure to include some published authors.

Below are four approaches that were considered for my recent book. It’s been described as “Titanic on land.” It’s a scandalous love triangle set against the devastating 1906 Great Quake in San Francisco. Which cover gives you the greatest sense of the story that sits behind that cover?

Which one creates an instant conflict of an exotic beauty with a beast of a disaster looming? Which one has tension? The winning choice was the one with the burning cityscape.

     

     

I hope these time-tested marketing principles will help you publish book covers that tell and sell. And the next time you look at a book cover, I dare you not to squint and scan it in a backward “6” pattern!

Do you agree that the cover with the burning cityscape is the best choice? Does it pass the backward “6”test? What other clues about the story do you think are part of the cover’s design? What about the girl’s eye? The fan?

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About Christopher

Christopher Lentz is a man who writes romances, a self-starter who self-publishes and a dreamer who thought growing old would take longer. He truly believes love changes everything. As a journalist, a corporate marketer and now a romance writer, his career has been all about storytelling. His first romance novel, Blossom, is now available and it is the first book of the Blossom Trilogy. For more information, visit christopherlentz.org and blossomtrilogy.com.

 

Summer is coming up fast and here at Writers in the Storm we're marking the occasion with a little "Pimp and Promote." Of course, this always costs us some money, because we have to go out and buy lots of books. But there will be awesome "beach read" sales in next few weeks, so let's go for it!

How does this work?

To quote the genie in Aladdin, “There are a few provisos, a couple of quid-pro-quos…"

• Pimp out somebody else’s work – this can be a favorite author, blogger, post or book you’ve read, a wonderful teacher or just someone who had profound influence on you as a writer or a person. Please limit your comments to one work.
  
  OR
• Promote one of your projects that you’re excited about – a hobby, a blog, a book, or a new direction your writing is taking you. You decide. Just tell us about it in the comments! (Please restrain your enthusiasm to just one of your WIPs.) The rest of us will jump in and “ooooh and ahh” at you, and likely promote your project even further because we’re just so darn excited today.

We'll start things off by doing some P&P with the gals here at WITS...

Fae Rowen has been a world traveler lately, so we'll hear from her in her next post. You can visit her updated website here. She's added a short story about her stint in a convent.

Jenny Hansen has been building a freelance career and doing a metric ton of articles, social media marketing and copywriting. Her site is here. Take a peek, she's looking for feedback.

Laura Drake has a new book coming out next month, Twice in a Blue Moon, available for only $3.99 on Amazon Kindle pre-order. (Wowza!)

Orly Konig-Lopez is the president of the Women's Fiction Writers Association and they're holding an amazing retreat in September. Registration opens today and seats are in demand. Details here.

See? Easy-peasy. Only one of us wrote this, but all of us are represented - that's the spirit of P&P.

Don't be shy -- tell your pals! 

We are open for as many entries as you want, and you're welcome to send anyone who reads great stuff our way. We want to hear about it! Be sure to peruse the comments. You might find a few things you like in the plethora of pimping that’s about to ensue.

Thanks again for making WITS one of the top writer’s blogs! We appreciate you.

~  Jenny, Laura, Orly, and Fae