Social Media

Virtual assistants take over tasks that you could do yourself. What you’re buying, in effect, is the freedom to use your time in other ways.

An unpublished writer describes how she built a five-figure Twitter following within a year, by helping other writers and engaging on a personal level.

Social media use can drive book sales, but not all successful authors use Twitter. If you don't want to be on Twitter, you don't have to be on it. Digital services consultant and AuthorPop founder Daniel Berkowitz shares why Twitter truly is optional.

Younger generations (and older ones!) flock to Instagram for its feed of beautiful pictures. So how can writers use Instagram to their benefit?

I believe a successful social media strategy is driven by one’s personality and strengths, as well as the qualities of the work produced—leading to a unique approach for each writer. A

Social media is just one component of your author platform, and not necessarily the most important component. It works best as part of a holistic book marketing and promotion strategy.

Every author is told to start an official Facebook page. But what if you stick with your personal profile only? Learn the advantages and disadvantages.

I think it's fair to say that most of us are not looking to add more social media activity to our lives.

Agent Laurie McLean discusses the platform and book launch strategy for author/musician Simon Curtis.

Kirsten Oliphant discusses how to effectively use Facebook pages and groups.

Chris Jane, who writes the biweekly Q&A series 5 On, discusses overcoming her fear of joining the Twitterverse.

I'm often asked: How can I be so productive? Or how does one balance creative work and other life demands? Here's the most truthful answer I have.

Writer and blogger Kirsten Oliphant explains how to build your platform on Twitter in only 15 minutes a day.

A children's author shares her strategies for promoting her picture books on Pinterest—as well as what adult fiction marketing techniques haven't worked for her.

If you need a place to start, then focus on talking about or posting about others you admire.

This 101 guide describes best practices for authors using Facebook for book marketing, with tips on when you should set up a fan page.

Learn how to easily study the impact of your social media use on your marketing and promotion efforts.

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of speaking at a one-day publishing event hosted by Blurb in Brooklyn, NY.

Today I'm a contributor over at Writer Unboxed, discussing how social media can be used more effectively. My suggestions rely, in

Tomorrow, I'm moderating a panel at BEA's uPublishU on Social Media 201, featuring: Porter Anderson L.L. Barkat of Tweetspeak Poetry

It's not unusual for authors to be told by their publishers that author websites aren't necessary or effective. Should their insight be trusted?

The internet and other technology keeps us on insanely high alert, ultimately producing an effect where we attend to everything and we attend to nothing (deeply). This high-alert state is producing a fatigue that’s detrimental not only to our psyches and relationships, but also to the quality of our professional output.

There's no end to the conflicting advice about social media and book marketing. In this post, I present a framework for what's effective and what's not.

In this talk from the 2013 Midwest Writers Workshop, I explain the process of growing my readership since 2008, then share a few key principles I follow to make it an enjoyable and sustainable process.

Note from Jane: Today's guest post is from Dan Blank (@DanBlank) and covers a topic that was recently addressed on

How authors, especially novelists, can start using Pinterest in a way that's a natural outgrowth of their work.

Author L.L. Barkat argues that writers who already have experience—as well as authors trying to promote themselves—should stop blogging.

It's almost a running joke. Whenever my manager introduces me at an event, he always starts by saying how many

Today's guest post is by Laura Pepper Wu, the co-founder of 30 Day Books, a book studio that provides marketing tools

Before you decide to follow someone on Twitter, what's the first thing you look at? Probably the bio. Let's assume

Yesterday, over at Neal Abbott's blog, I answered a few questions about my new job at the Virginia Quarterly Review,

The following Q&A is with author Bob Tarte. Bob lives in Michigan with parrots, ducks, geese, parakeets, rabbits, doves, cats, hens,

The following advice is excerpted from How to Blog a Book by Nina Amir, recently released from Writer's Digest Books.

If you're like most authors I know, you've wondered about how to best use Facebook. Should you stick to your

The following advice is from Michael Hyatt's newest release, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. The book is one of

Last week I shared 12 Must-Read Articles From 2011. Now I'm going to share a list of the best advice

Here are the most brilliant online articles I read this past year. You may not agree with the arguments you'll

Sometimes I find myself defending social media to the experienced user and beginner alike. It can be easily accused—and rightly

As part of the 2012 Missouri Writers Guild conference faculty, I did a Q&A for their conference blog that discusses

Today's post is excerpted from The Writer's Workout: 366 Tips, Tasks, & Techniques From Your Writing Career Coach (Writer's Digest,

On my personal Facebook profile, I am slowly but inevitably reaching the cap for friends (3,810 of 5,000). It's prompting

Today's guest post is from author Kristen Lamb. The digital age author has more opportunities than any writer in the

Last week, I discussed how you can waste your time trying to get published. You can also waste your time

In the newest edition of Writer's Market (and Writer's Market Deluxe), there's a featured interview with me, where I discuss the

Facebook is the No. 1 most popular website in the United States in terms of visits, which means it's more

Amy Stolls is the author of The Ninth Wife, a novel just released from HarperCollins as a paperback original. The

"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his

I've found Twitter—and many aspects of social media—somewhat tricky to teach. Why? Here are 3 reasons to start: Using social