There's
a very fine line between Spamming and Promoting, in the Indie world.
Why? Because everyone and their mother
can self-publish and there are more authors on Facebook and
other social media sites than ever.
It's
great. Don't get me wrong. I love that we live in a world where
anyone, of any age, can put a book out there and live
their dreams. I grew up believing that writing was a no-pay,
dream-world career and that there was no money or reward in it.
That's been proven wrong. But...again, that fine line.
Recently,
in the M/M world - gay romance, to those not in the know - this has
become a really sticky issue. Authors
have been reported to Facebook, on release day or just before
it, for promoting their books in Facebook groups or pages and having
those posts considered spamming.
Is
it?
That's
where the fine line comes in. For one, let me point out that they're
promoting in LGBT friendly groups, so they're not being reported for
posting gay romance in groups that don't want to see it/read it or
acknowledge it. That's not the problem.
The
problem is that, as authors, some of us have street teams. Street
teams that don't communicate with each other. Street teams that post
a teaser/buy links/promo post, without asking each other if someone
else has already hit that group/page with the same info. How do I
know? Because I've seen it first hand.
As a
part of the M/M world on Facebook, I can see the author's side and
the readers. As an author, promoting yourself in the build up and
during the first few weeks of a release are critical. Especially if
you're still relatively unknown and don't have a set fan base already
gagging for your next book. The authors who have been reported, that
I've seen, are not in this category and that's what's getting them in
trouble.
Personally,
I hate putting myself out there, in promo. I'd rather people found my
book the usual way - by accident, by a rec or by word of mouth -
because it's something they're interested in, rather than from me
pushing it down their throat. And sometimes, promo can feel that way.
But I also know that it's really difficult to get word of mouth or
recs without first advertising yourself. It's a nasty Catch
22 that I hate.
These
authors are so popular and have such a great fan base, that being
reported and blocked from Facebook has got their fans up in arms.
That's great. That means they're loved and their fans can see an
injustice. But, these fans are taking it upon themselves to promote
the new releases in various groups. Sometimes 3-4 times a day.
Sometimes with nasty comments about the people who reported the
author.
Why
do I sound disapproving? Because I am. Just because you don't agree
with what someone else has done, doesn't mean you get to sit back and
judge them or call them names. And this is what's happening. Someone,
somewhere on Facebook, decided to report these authors. Probably for
what they considered over-promoting - or spamming - a group or page,
with their new release. That's fair. If you run a group and have
dozens of authors that regularly participate, only for one or two
authors who are NOT active in the group trying to take over with
their new release, that's hardly fair on the others, who post
respectfully and in line with the rules.
Now,
if you were fed up of seeing 6 different posts by the same people, in
all of your groups, on the same day, numerous times, for the same
book, wouldn't you get a little frustrated? Maybe you wouldn't report
them, but a group admin might. After all, they're responsible for how
the group functions and they have every right to remove members who
are abusing the rules.
Does
that give anyone the right to call them names? No. They're doing
their job, as a group admin, and creating a place where people can
talk and interact about books. Books that don't just belong to one
author on their release day. That person is just that - a person,
with feelings and a life of their own. You don't know what they're
dealing with, so be respectful
and don't start name-bashing, if you find out one of your favourite
authors has been reported. Ask
yourself, did they deserve to be reported? In most cases, I
can say no and believe that I'm right. Especially when it comes to
being reported over a photo or teaser poster.
As a
reader, however, I hate spamming. It's like a takeover event where
there shouldn't be one. I can see that it's mostly by street teams,
who sometimes don't communicate with each other, about where they're
posting or how. Or by authors on release day, who maybe didn't notice
they posted to the same group twice. When you share direct from your
page, that can happen. There's no warning box to say "Oh, stop!
You did that page already."
It's
sad, because it gives those awesome street teams, who do watch what
they're doing, a bad name. It also gives the author a bad name, and
they may be completely ignorant of what their street team or fans are
doing. They may not.
What
upsets me is the name calling.
I've been bullied before - in school and online - and it's not
pretty. Seeing people posting things like "whoever reported you
is an ignorant asshat" or whatever, gets deep under my skin. You
don't know who reported the author or why. Maybe it was a mistake. I
know I've almost clicked the report button on a post in two different
websites, because my mouse ran away with me or because my hand shook
(which is a condition, not drunkenness :P ) It may even have been a
group admin who is fed up of one book being blasted on their page
fifteen times. Either way, I don't see the need for name-bashing.
So
how do you tell if you're spamming
or promoting?
Read
the rules of EVERY group that you join. If you can't see the rules,
until you join, then feel free to leave that group, if you read them
and decide you can't adhere to them. For example, there's a really
awesome group on Facebook "Vampire
Writer's Support Group" which is specifically designed for
writers of vampire novels, who want to talk ideas, need a boost of
ego or just need some support, while working on a really tough story.
BUT, if you want to promote your Vampire novel, there's only one
place to do it - in the pinned post. If you post your promo anywhere
else, you'll get your post removed and a warning. Do it again and
again, you'll get removed.
It's
important that you read the rules,
because if you don't and you violate their terms and get reported,
that will be your fault. So we want to avoid that.
Another
way to prevent turning your promo into spamming is to keep
a log of where you're posting. Generally, Facebook lists the
groups in order of where you were last active, so if you were
recently in the Vampire Writer's Support Group, then that will be at
the top. I suggest opening the 'groups' page and then opening each
individual group in it's own window, so that you can see which groups
you're posting in. Then, post one post for each group and don't touch
that group again for a week, unless you have urgent news - sale
ending etc - because that's one sure fire way to bug people.
Also,
try to spread out your promo. Don't
dump the same thing in 50 groups in one day. Try dropping into
a few groups one day, talking about your book and leaving a teaser or
quote behind with a link. Then, a few days later, do a few more. It
will actually benefit you more if you spread it out.
The
key to any promotion is to interact.
Don't just join a group so that you can dump a promo and run. People
want to know YOU, to get to know your personality, to talk about the
things you like. Be a real person in those groups and when you come
to promote yourself, people will be more responsive to what you have
to sell. If you love a book by another author and gave it a rave
review, then share that in an appropriate group and gush to your
hearts content. If someone gave YOU a rave review, share it and thank
your readers. They'll thank you for it later.
Here
are some vital rules I try to live by:
Rule
#1 - be authentic.
Rule
#2 - respond to your audience.
Give them what they want; to know you and feel like your best bud.
Rule
#3 - remember that you're a person
first and an author second. Your readers - and, in turn, your
potential reviewers - will do the same.
Rule
#4 - treat others - including groups, pages and readers - as you
would want to be treated. If you don't want someone spamming your
author page with links to their book, don't spam groups with links to
YOUR book. It will get you noticed in the wrong ways.
Rule
#5 - NO pity-parties. Never try
to encourage people to buy your books by using guilt. Do not go
around saying "I had cancer, so please buy my book" (an
excuse I could actually use, but don't). Don't complain that you
didn't make #1 in a list, when you only made #5 and then beg everyone
you know, if they have ever loved you or your books, to get you to
that top spot. Don't bitch that you haven't got a #1 Bestseller flag
on Amazon, within hours of your release, to guilt-trip your readers
into getting it for you.
~
The
most important thing about promoting yourself is that it
takes time. You need an audience and fans and readers and
reviews and...so much more. Writing is hard. That's a fact of life,
for every author out there. Getting the words on paper is a bitch.
Editing them is hell and releasing them is worse.
Finding
that fine line between getting noticed for your work and getting
noticed for spamming can be tricky. But, follow some simple rules of
etiquette and courtesy and you'll go far.
Remember...being
an author isn't a sprint. It's a marathon. Most authors take 5 years
to build an audience. FIVE YEARS!
So, if you're not a best-seller with book 1 and fighting off movie
deals from all sides, don't sweat it. One day, you will be. You'll
have made your fans through hard work, swear and tears. And when you
do get that kick-ass movie deal with Johnny
Depp or Megan Fox, or
the next-big hot actor/actress, gagging for a role in YOUR movie,
you'll know that you worked damned hard to get there and you deserve
every second of it.
Easy
is overrated.
