You've likely heard the phrase 'Building your author brand'. For those of you who aren't familiar, basically in this day and age, you have to sell yourself as a writer just as much as your books. We're all so connected via technology that it's really hard to get noticed. It's not just sending off a query to a publisher anymore. And a lot of agents and people in the industry will tell you that if you don't have some kind of social media presence, then they might not even look at your manuscript.

So part of selling your book, be it through traditional publishing or self publishing, is building your author brand. This is basically treating your author name as your business. Treat it like it's the company you own, and you need to market it to as many people as possible. How does one do this? Networking.

Now, I'm going to tell you a story. I loathe marketing. I'm not terrible at it. I've worked in retail, customer service, and real estate, so I have had some experience in jobs that require me to be salesy. My customer service face is actually pretty inviting. But behind that mask, I am skewering my eyeballs out because I hate it. I hate the customer-is-always-right-upsell-market-to-their-needs-fuck-my-life type of work. I hate being pushy. I hate trying to sell stuff to people. Even if they're already interested in the product. Still hate it.

Networking, however, is a whole different ball game. I adore networking. This is kind of strange because I am an extroverted introvert, which means I have fun in social situations but really I hate people and would rather be at home eating chocolate on my couch. So one would think that I would despise networking as well.

But beneath it all, beneath all the sales speak, what networking really is at its core is chatting with people about common interests. And guess what all writers have in common? We love to write. And we also love to read.

So what does this big long diatribe have to do with building a brand?

Well, the goal of building an author brand is to get your name out there. You want people to see that you exist. So you create social media accounts. You get Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Goodreads. Then you sit back and watch the readers flock to you!

Haha, just kidding. You need to socialize. It is social media, after all.

The beauty of the writer's community is that wherever you go, it's a symbiotic relationship. Writers come together over their love of the craft, and their love of the product, and in building friendships with each other, build love for each other's books. It's a really beautiful way to network, and one that I absolutely adore.

I didn't set out to build a brand. I started a Wattpad account to get some smutty fanfiction out of my head. And then I somehow got some readers. And made some friends. And read some stories. And chatted with those writers. And joined a book club. And started an Instagram sharing sexy quotes that horny people like. And hung out on Twitter chatting writing and reading with other writers and readers. And now I'm finding myself in the warm embrace of the Writer's Community, with people to talk to and inspire me every day.

So how is this productive to my writing?

See that last bit, people that inspire me every day? Accountability can be the most important tool in building ambition to do something. If you've started a story on Wattpad and nobody is poking you going Hey, you writing a new chapter or what? then it's easy to lose motivation. If you hop onto Twitter and put out a call with the #writerscommunity hashtag telling people you're having a hard time getting those words out today, you'll have an outpouring of support!

Everyone's been there. Everyone's had those days. Know that you're never alone.

So for one, networking will help build a group of people that will kick your ass, or at the very least offer a solidarity salute so that you don't feel alone in your procrastination.

But the flip side of social media from a writing perspective is that every time you're posting content, you're building your brand just a little bit more. You're sharing something new. Writing a tweet? Guess what? You just wrote fucking words today.

That shit counts! Pat yourself on the back! Feel productive!

Wait, if I'm patting myself on the back for writing a tweet then I won't get anything done!

Two scenarios. One, you are angry at yourself for not having written and you're angry at the blank page in front of you for being blank. Two, you shared a few things on social media and chatted with a few people and you feel productive and energized.

Which of those two scenarios do you think will breed inspiration and ambition? Probably the second. I hate to sound silly and cliche like you have to tell yourself that you're better to BE better! but in essence, a lot of getting shit done is tricking your mind into wanting to do it.

Look at it this way. Deep down, you want to write words. You are angry at yourself for not writing words. So you go and jerk off or bake cookies or watch facebook videos for hours to try to distract yourself from the anger of not writing words. But deep down, you do want to do it. You just need to foster that want so that it comes to the surface.

This all comes back to self-care, really. If you use your downtime productively and feel good about what you're doing, then you'll feel good and confident and that will help you get into a positive mindset to get those words out.

But what if I spend all my time on social media instead of writing?

This is a risk, I'm not going to lie. The day I discovered Goodreads was a day of absolutely nothing else but adding every book I've ever loved to my shelf. And then joining a bajillion groups to try to find the best erotica on Amazon. It was a wonderful day. But then I had to do a mad scramble in the evening to get my daily word count out.

This is the balance that we face, though, and it all comes down to self discipline. You gotta have it to be a writer. You can do this. I believe in you. You just need to believe in yourself now.

But if you must procrastinate, do something productive.

Don't follow a bunch of random people sharing what they had for breakfast.

Do follow and reply to tweets asking fun questions about your plot or protagonist.

Don't mindlessly flip through Instagram feeds with hot half-naked girls.

Do follow author loops and comment and like posts that share quotes in your genre.

Don't get stuck reading a bunch of blog posts on things that don't relate to writing.

Do research for topics in your genre so that you have good blog content to share.

The best part of all these? As you're interacting and researching, you might get a spark of inspiration!

Seems kind of heartless to use people for my own personal gain.

Well if you're looking at it like that, then you're not going to succeed anyway. The point is to build relationships. If you go into social media specifically to build your brand and sell your shit, then you will come off as just another one of those business accounts that sell shit.

Engaging with other writers and readers is wonderful, because it's great to have coworkers, and it is mutually beneficial. Who doesn't want to make friends? And if you end up liking each other's books, it's a match made in heaven. But this only works if you're genuine, and really want to connect with people.

My favourite part of working from home is interacting with people. Wattpad is my favourite social media, because it's just allllll writers and readers and everyone is so excited about books and fandoms and awesomeness. The energy is contagious. But coming together over sexy things on Instagram and chatting about weird stuff on Twitter is super fun, too! It doesn't feel like work.

The general consensus was no. XD

Bottom line? If you're not forcing yourself to write book words, then at least you can build author profiles around the internet to further your brand and business. Productivity breeds productivity!

Fold yourself into the #WritersCommunity and you will always have people to talk to, commiserate with, and inspire you. And maybe you'll even end up inspiring them too. <3

The Best of the Best

One of my favourite Twitter feeds is GMTSchuilling. Not only is she a master of social media, but she's genuine AF. She's so warm and friendly and excited about writing and books, and she's constantly sharing excitement in everyone's successes, be them big or small.

A wonderful Instagram account is djhowty, the 'suspected' bibliophile. She takes aesthetics to the next level with her book photography, colour-coding and sharing her favourites with style.

On Goodreads, I love RealLDNash. She's got an engaging bio and lots of things to read on her profile! Fun questions, book blurbs, it's all there! Definitely hook up with her.

What are your favourite author hubs on social media? The most interactive and engaging content on the internet?

Activity

Make a friend! I sent you out back in chapter three to find a Wattpader you'd never interacted with before. This time, do it on social media! Tweet at an author that you've never talked to but you like their work. Find some quotes on Instagram that you like and comment why you liked it.

Not only will this make you feel like less of a hermit, but you will also be making that writer's day. Because when they decide to procrastinate, then they'll see your comment and it will give them the warm and fuzzies.

Have you hugged a writer today? <3