One aspect of social media for writers, which has been little discussed, is the idea of extending your story with social media. Social media is part of the new wave of communications, which is dominating the mindspace of hundreds of millions, with its instant tribal culture, its visual cortex stimulating nature and its snappy story-telling ability.

The challenge for writers in the 21st century, in my opinion, will be how to integrate social media into their story telling.

I propose to take this challenge on for my new novel, The Manhattan Puzzle, to be launched by Harper Collins October 10, 2013. Here’s what I will be doing on social media to address this:

1. Using a hash tag #themanhattanpuzzle on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ and other sites to share links to images, videos and posts related to the story.

2. These images and posts, on Pinterest, my blogs, YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and on guest posts on other blogs will look to add both fictional and non fiction elements to the story. For example the science of cloning and the crimes of some major financial institutions are all matters of historical or scientific fact, which add depth to the story. A fictional account of the history of BXH, the bank I created for The Manhattan Puzzle, is all made up, but will follow the exploitative history of some large global financial institutions.

3. An online map, linked by social media, will allow readers to see where the locations for the story are in the world.

4. Conversations, via comments on the blogs and through Twitter will ask questions, answer questions, and explore the story in the book.

5. A series of coordinated guest blog posts about the novel, on 50 blogger’s sites around the world, will introduce the novel to readers worldwide.

6. Book giveaways on Goodreads and my blogs will add excitement, I hope.

7. Links and posts on subject specific sites, about Manhattan, Revelation, and the crimes of the financial services industry will engage people interested in those issues.

The launch in October will be an experiment in using social media to extend the story and to attract readers, the way a good cover, plates and a list of sources did fifty years ago. If you have any suggestions or comments on all this let us know below.

Can you get on with people who are different to you?

Collaboration is a critical part of achieving your dreams as a writer. If you can’t get along with your editor, mentor and writing group colleagues how is all this going to work?

And the next step to getting along is helping your fellow writers or others. Helping can come in the form of allowing people to guest post on your site, interviewing writers on your site or providing advice on some aspect of writing, which you have mastered.

I have reached Emerging Writer Guest Post # 40 over at my main writing site. I promote each post to 150,000 followers on a variety of social media platforms.

I also posted a series on Getting your Writing Noticed on that site too.

These are simply examples of what you can do to give back.

So what are you doing to give back?

Because one thing I know for sure, what goes around comes around.

Whether you’re just starting out in your freelancing writing journey or you’re a veteran author working on your masterpiece, there is a plethora of online services and applications that should be in every writer’s toolbox. From document sharing to copyright checks, to finding interviewees to SEO assistance, there are more tools at a writer’s disposal for online success than ever before.

The Associated Press Stylebook – Starting with the old stalwart, the hard copy version of  the Associated Press Stylebook is a well-known standard tool for writers. The online version makes for a faster search and more environmentally-friendly than the original; it is a must-have if you spend a lot of time writing news articles, or if the company you work for does not have a set style. The AP Stylebook is a great resource to aid with consistency and grammar checks. A fee is required to access the full site; once a member, you are able to access the site through computer, tablet and smartphone.

Google Drive – Another fairly straightforward writers’ tool is Google Drive. Like Dropbox, Google Drive is a cloud storage system with a host of web-based productivity tools and is ideal for collaborative projects. Particularly useful for telecommuters, documents are easily uploaded for review. Documents that are uploaded show when they were last edited and by whom. Access to your work is permitted only by invitation or “sharing.”

Copyscape – This program is the ultimate tool for checking for any copyright issues. If content has been plagiarized from someone else’s work, this program will highlight it. Even if you are sure you haven’t accidentally lifted a sentence or two, it’s always wise to utilize this program as clients tend to use it themselves to test any work they’ve been given. Always opt for the premium Copyscape check as it’s far more accurate. Although it demands a small fee, the value for money aspect makes this more than worthwhile.

Image courtesy of marin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Grammarly – For the times you don’t want to review your work for the third time, and your editor is not available, Grammarly will perform a quick grammar, punctuation and spelling check. While far from being a replacement from the human eye, the program does provide tips and advice to improve your writing.

Dragon Naturally Speaking – Love Siri? If your carpal tunnel is acting up, but you have a deadline to meet, Dragon Naturally Speaking is exactly what you need. With this speech recognition program, you can dictate your story directly to your computer.

Sourcebottle – Ideal for journalists, writers and bloggers who need to interview sources for their articles, Sourcebottle can help you find an expert for your piece. A free service that is particularly helpful when your cadre of resources has dried up, or if you are researching a very specific topic. All you have to do is enter your information as well as what you’re looking for to Sourcebottle. They contact relevant parties from their email database; interested parties will email you with contact information.

These are just a few of the more popular tools available, with many more available to address any number of needs. Online content writers can find SEO analytics tools to maximize their performance; bloggers can find programs that will link them to like-minded companies to improve traffic and affiliate marketing; and novel authors can find communities and outlets to promote their work. Taking advantage of these online tools can lead to greater returns on work written (and greater demand as well).

Marcela De Vivo is a freelance writer and online marketing professional in the Los Angeles area. In addition to covering topics like health & wellness, travel, and music, she specializes in social media and search marketing, which has been instrumental for her freelance career. Read more of her articles on online marketing expertise at the Gryffin Media blog.

The above is newspaper coverage in Ireland of Dan Brown’s new book and how I found echoes of my own novel in it.

Would you be willing to court controversy to promote your writing?

There are more books than ever getting published. Millions! Seth Godin predicted there would be 12 million published in 2012 in the US. And he was probably right. How many will be published this year?

That’s up from 300,000 in 2003, where most writers imagine we still are. And that’s excluding the millions published (self published mostly) in the UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia and all the other English speaking places around the world.

So how can you get noticed among this vast crowd? Imagine the biggest stadium ever full of people and then multiply that by 100!

Controversy is one way. When I publish a controversial post on my blog the readership jumps 1000%. But is it worth it?

Ask Dan Brown. The controversy over The Da Vinci Code propelled him to become a bestseller.

Ask EL James. The controversy around 50 Shades of Gray made her a multi-millionaire

Then ask Stephenie Meyer. The controversy around the vampires in Twilight helped her to huge success.

So the question for you is, where is the controversy in your book?

I have helped authors find controversy where they thought there was none. But please consider this; do you believe in what may become controversial in your book? And are you willing to stand up for what you believe in?

And here is a final question for you, do you think it is the writer’s role any more to take a stand, or should writers simply entertain?

If you have any thoughts on this controversial subject please comment below.

I have given away copies of my books every month for the past six months and I have posted copies to as far away as Japan. On Goodreads over 500 people responded to a competition last January to receive a free copy of my latest novel.

I have also given away copies of each of the translated versions of my first novel. In most cases the publisher sends me six copies of each foreign language version. I only need to keep one. The others I can give away. Here’s a pic of some of the foreign language versions:

I also run competitions on my main writing blog offering a free copy of my first two novels posted to people who share that post on Twitter or Facebook or Google+ or wherever. They also have to comment and at the end of the month I pick one of the comments at random using http://www.random.org to select a winner. Then I post the books to them.

And I don’t check if they have shared the post. I assume that most people are honest. Research backs that up. Only a small percentage are dishonest. Otherwise life would be unbearable!

Your competitions could give away more than books. You can give away restaurant meals, toys, tickets to events. But if you do run a competition ask people to share your page or post and you will boost your chances of being discovered.

I wish you well with your competitions. Please let us know below what type of competitions you run and provide a link too, so we can all join in!

But what should you write about on your site?

Here is a tool you can use to uncover subjects to write about:

The idea is that you go around the outside subject areas in turn and consider if you can create a post (400-600 words with a pic) that you can upload to your blog or web site about that subject.

I recommend that you consider creating a series of posts on a particular subject or in the run up to a milestone, such as the launch of a book. I am creating a series of posts, one a month, on the Secrets of Manhattan at my author blog www.lpobryan.com. I am also hosting a long running series of “guest” blog posts every week on the site.

Some other things to consider when you’re creating content:

* Setting a timetable – every Wednesday morning for instance – so that your followers will know when your material is coming out.

* Encouraging people to follow your blog or site with a prominent FOLLOW ME button near the top somewhere. With most blog sites the site will automatically email all followers with your new posts. (BTW Please follow me too!)

* Consider your target audience and your area of expertise to create suitable posts

* Listen to feedback and respond to comments

* Post occasional competitions, images and videos too, if you can

* Be positive, open and interested. Show your best side! An occasional moan can show the truth of what’s it’s like to be a writer – underpaid, overworked, challenged, but mostly people want to be inspired in one way or another. Good news always gets a lot of visitors

* Focus on helping people

* Describe your journey too

Have I missed something? Please post a comment below with your thoughts on what makes great content for writers.

And thanks for dropping by!

Most writers want to get noticed. These services were designed to help you achieve that. I am both self published and traditionally published by Harper Collins. My first published novel achieved a number one placing in its paid for category on Kindle and is close to selling 35,000 ebooks since launch in 2012. My total book sales for 2012 are just under 50,000 units.

I want to share the expertise I have built up over the past three years to help you get in front of readers or simply sell more books.

If you or anyone wants to contact me about these support services you can email me at: lpobryan@gmail.com

The services I can provide are:

1. A short report on the authors current website with recommendations for content and style.

2. Promotion of each book/site, daily, to 100,000 readers and followers of my Twitter accounts, as if they were your own.

3.  A guest post slot on a published author’s blog with thousands of followers, also promoted to 100,000 readers.

4. A free guide to social media.

5. YouTube book trailer production.

6. Soundcloud chapter one audio recording.

7. Blog creation, advice and posting service.

8. Pinterest board creation & posting service.

9. Blog tour development – teach what you do tours.

10. Online competitions – book giveaways on Twitter, blog, Facebook, Goodreads.

11. Review campaigns to encourage Amazon and other reviews.

12. Google search set up for key words and subjects related to the book subject

13. Launch day/week events including giveaways, recorded interviews, special price promotions, blog posts etc.

14. Goodreads events & Facebook events to mark launch or other milestones, new ebook, revised editions etc.

The above are time consuming and I have done them all for my novels, but I have time to help you.

Get in touch: lpobryan@gmail.com

Laurence O’Bryan

]]> http://socialmedia4writers.com/2013/05/03/get-noticed-find-readers-discovery-services-for-writers/feed/ 4 social network and media concept, switch lpobryan social network and media concept, switch http://socialmedia4writers.com/2013/04/25/were-now-on-flipboard-too/ http://socialmedia4writers.com/2013/04/25/were-now-on-flipboard-too/#comments Thu, 25 Apr 2013 06:26:20 +0000 Laurence O'Bryan http://socialmedia4writers.com/?p=133 Continue reading »]]>

Flipboard, as you know, is a magazine app on iPhones, iPads and Android phones and tablets. They have recently created a feature which allows us to create our own magazines. Anyone can subscribe to your magazine after you have created it.

I have created a magazine called socialmedia4writers and it’s available on Flipboard http://flip.it/U21eR - just search for socialmedia4writers and it will come up, once you have loaded Flipboard.

Why  am I doing this? I love Flipboard. The design is slick and it’s user friendly.

I plan to create a Flipboard magazine for my new novel – The Manhattan Puzzle – in September. I am collecting images and posts already.

So, if you’re looking at this from a tablet or a smart phone try it out. It will have posts from this blog and other suitable posts from around the web.

And please subscribe. I hope you like it!

Reblogged from Restless Writers:

• 

The last thing I want as a writer is another social networking platform to worry about. I have enough distractions, thank you very much. And so it begins...

With a little persuasion from Maria, I have started “Pinning.” I’m using Pinterest for my writing research. Sure, I’m creating personalized boards and pinning my favourite DIY ideas but I’m also pinning research visuals and catching on to why this popular online space might just be a useful resource for me as a writer.

Read more… 315 more words

Characterization builds empathy between the reader and your post or feed/series of posts. But how do you do that?

Characterization is built by revealing personal details. It’s in the advice to “be personal”, but we can expand on that idea to give real depth to a personal or business brand.

You can give your brand a character.

You can reveal its struggles, its growth pains, its strengths.

The keys to fast characterization are markers. Where are you based, how old are you, who are your members, what do you do, how do you enjoy life, what do you value, what do you wear?

These are just seven markers of a character. Think about how you can use yours to give your posts character. And supercharge engagement with your followers.