Do Authors Need Social Media?
- By: BookEnds | Date: Feb 22 2022
There is so much pressure these days on authors to get social media. With some authors (erroneously IMHO) being told that without a strong social media presence they have no chance of getting a book deal. Something James and I love to rant about on YouTube.
I don’t think I’m really in the minority when I say that I don’t think authors need social media. Hold on to your hats, even nonfiction authors who NEED big platforms to sell, don’t necessarily need social media to make that happen. There are a LOT of ways to build a platform.
Personally, I think we give too much power to what we think social media can do. Does it really sell books? Probably not many. I know in the 13 years I’ve been on Twitter I have never bought a book based on the author’s Twitter promo. I tend to buy books through recommendations or larger media sources like reviews.
If you find social media stressful or anxiety-inducing it is probably not for you. There are plenty of other ways to build an audience. If you enjoy it, or certain aspects of it, run with it. Get out there and connect with authors and readers and use it to sell your book.
Thank you. Many agents in their submission requirements ask potential business partners what their “social media platform” are, which seems (to me) unfair to ask of writers.
Thank you for this post, Jessica. I’m not comfortable putting myself out there on social media. I’m chose to be active on only one. But I’ve been told that I need to consider others as well to promote my books. I’m so glad you and James do not feel it’s a must for authors to share our books.
I cannot tell you the relief! Thank you.
Thanks so very much for this post. As a non-user of social media but a hopeful writer, I am now much comforted.
Thank you for this. It is very encouraging for those of us who don’t have a social media prescence.
I felt a tad guilty not being active on Twitter, a SS I can’t manage to quite like (I’m comfortable with Facebook, who know why)– But I am grateful for your posts Jessica, and this one in particular. Before all else, Our job/mission is to write well. That is challenging. The rest shouldn’t be on the same plane.
Does an author’s minimal social media presence with regard to previously published books discourage a queried agent from requesting a look at a new manuscript?
Maybe some, but certainly not all or most.
The answer to that question remains a mystery to me. However, from where I sit having social media the end all and be all of marketing literature is leaving out a lot of good writing, and passing off a lot of mediocre work. But what do I know? I was TEXT-based educated. Meow!