When I was first published, the Internet didn’t exist. At least not for ordinary citizens. Maybe for geeks in a lab somewhere.
Back then, whatever marketing and publicity was done for a book was created by the publisher. The author’s job was to stay at her typewriter or computer and try to write the next great novel. And when that one was done, she needed to try to write an even greater novel. And so on and so on.
Those days are long gone. Whether an author is published by a traditional publishing house or goes her own way in indie publishing, at least some of the marketing falls upon her shoulders. At the very least, the publisher expects to see her using social media.
That’s an easy one for me. I’m an extreme extravert. I love how social media has allowed me to interact with my readers. It makes me feel less alone in the writing process. Facebook and blogging have brought me many new friends. Pinterest is just plain fun. Twitter introduces me to articles I would have missed otherwise.
My Facebook Author Page has been my favorite social media site. It’s where I’ve enjoyed hanging out with readers daily. But over the past year, I’ve seen the number of people my updates and photos reach fall from about 16% to 20% of those who have Liked my page to about 4% of my Likes. And according to this Time report, business and fan Pages can expect the reach to fall to 1% to 2%.
How frustrating! My Page isn’t about selling a product, like Sears or Applebee’s. It’s social. I’m an author who is sharing with the readers of my books, friend to friend. If Facebook is going to stop 99% of my Likes from seeing my Page updates, then they should lift the 5,000 friend limit from a personal Profile. Because I don’t want to miss interacting with these people who I’ve come to think of as friends, even if we’ve never met.
Facebook, are you listening?
~robin
