Each month, the Nonfiction Authors Association asks a burning publishing question of our wonderful, experienced members. Here’s what they have to say in August!
NFAA: What is your favorite social media outlet and how do you use it to engage your audience?
DONNA PERPETUA
I use the GoodReads blog feature to occasionally post about topics that interest me. For example, I shared a quote about the nature of prayer not long ago from Archimandrite Zacharias of the Holy Mountain, Athos, off the coast of Greece. I use LibraryThing to show others my collection of Orthodox Christian books and my books on iconography. I thought readers might like to see my collection, which grows continuously.
Donna Perpetua is an Orthodox Christian who lives in Michigan with her husband of thirty-five years. She wrote the introductions and supplementary materials for the first volume of Writings of the Early Christians for Today, Ancient Examples: The Writings of Saint Justin Martyr and Saint Perpetua, which includes all of the extant the works of these two Saints. She enjoys pilgrimages to Orthodox monasteries and iconography.
DEANNE BURCH
My favorite social media is Facebook for several reasons. I have written a blog, The Alaska Nobody Knows, and I am able to use Facebook to promote the blog by writing snippets of it each week to generate interest. I use Create a Story in it to post photographs and advertise my blog through this part of Facebook as well. I find many people are following these posts and I encourage them to follow my blog. I have occasionally used LinkedIn and don’t find it nearly as effective in promoting my blog or my memoir as Facebook is, because it is more for businesspeople than it is for writers. My posts are directed to the public so I am not only reaching my friends, I am reaching others as well.
In addition, Facebook is linked to Instagram. Instagram also gives me the chance to post photos, which also generates interest in my blog. It serves a double purpose because posts can be shared on Facebook.
Deanne Burch is the author of Journey through Fire and Ice: Shattered Dreams Above the Arctic Circle, a historical memoir that takes place in 1964-1965, and is about her experience as a newlywed in a small village of Inuit people above the Arctic Circle. https://thealaskanobodyknows.home.blog/
LUCINDA JACKSON
I use two social media outlets daily for different reasons. I use Facebook because it is a main platform for both readers and writers. As an author and writer, it’s the place to be. I connect every day with other writers to support them and stay current in my field. A main audience for my book, podcasts, and articles are women 40+ and they tend to use Facebook regularly, so this is a solid platform to communicate with my readers. I also use LinkedIn daily because clients for the speaking and consulting parts of my business tend to be on that medium. They are corporations and businesses interested in dismantling sexism and harassment in their workplaces. I generally put the same post on both platforms simultaneously. However, if a post is very business-oriented, I might post only on LinkedIn. Conversely, if a post is more “get-to-know-me” and friendly, I may post that one only on Facebook. Both outlets work well for my business!
Lucinda Jackson, PhD, scientist, and escaped corporate executive, is a feminist and risk-taker and the author of Just a Girl: Growing Up Female and Ambitious. Connect with her at: www.lucindajackson.com.
ANNA CARNER
I’m so comfortable chatting on Facebook about my adventures with Blossom, the doe I rescued, that I’ve neglected other, newer social media outlets. I try not to dive into controversy when fighting for the humane treatment of wildlife and keep posts relevant and fun, with pictures and videos to get my points across. For instance, a new baby fawn, Buckaroo, was brought to our farm by a person who knew of my book, Blossom~The Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury. The baby’s mother had been killed on a highway and wildlife rescue would not take it. You can check out photos of Blossom at the site listed below.
Anna Carner
Blossom~The Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury
Facebook: Blossom~The Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury
MARGO LEE WILLIAMS
After much deliberation, I still cannot decide which social media site I prefer, Facebook or Instagram. As a family history and genealogy writer, both sites are well suited for engaging with followers. I have about the same number of followers on both sites. I also have many followers who follow me on both sites. On the other hand, most of my followers follow me only on one or the other. I use both sites to share my blogposts from my website and to publicize my books. One advantage of posting on Instagram is that I can share whatever I post directly to Facebook and Twitter. I do not have to create a duplicate posting. That said, there are some differences in how I use Facebook and Instagram.
While I use images on both sites, the image may be all that the visitor engages. On Instagram, I try to make the image, whether a photo or document, something that will make the visitor want to stop and explore further. Once they have stopped, I try to make sure the narrative provides an expansion of the image, essentially mini-blogposts. Naturally, I try to make sure to respond to all comments or questions.
By contrast, on my Facebook page, which is separate from my personal page, there is a need to strive for an engaging introductory narrative. In addition, I use my Facebook page to share articles from newspapers, magazines, podcasts, YouTube, or television on subjects that would be of interest to my followers. Thus, I use Facebook as an educational tool for topics that are complementary for my own writings. Again, I make every effort to respond promptly to anyone who asks questions or makes a comment.
Margo Lee Williams
From Hill Town to Strieby: Education and the American Missionary Association in the Uwharrie “Back Country” of Randolph County, North Carolina (Crofton, KY: Backintyme Publishing, Inc., 2016)
Website: https://margoleewilliamsbooks.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/personalprologue
Instagram: https://instagram.com/margoleewilliams
ELVA ANSON
Imagine successful author of six books, four of them selling thousands. At age 85, she finished her memoir. Successful book launch, sold four hundred books. Wondering Around God won 1st place in memoirs and non-fiction books, and 2nd place for cover/design, in the 2019 NCPA book awards.
Disaster struck! Coronavirus arrived. Husband broke his neck falling. Remodeled house to include downstairs shower. Became caregiver. Favorite media? Blogs, Facebook, good website with book reviews included. Twitter didn’t work for me. If you read this, you saw how I engage my audience.
Elva Anson
Wondering Around God
www.family1stbooks
Emidra Publishing www.emidrapublishing.com
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