Authors Who Build With Social Blogging, Networking, Books, and Social Media Become Well-Rounded Authors

When authors strive to build beyond books, novellas, and short stories, they can become a well-rounded author who builds a steady following

At the beginning of my writing journey, my only desire was to deliver enthralling stories to readers.

Like so many other authors before us, we too strive to captivate an audience.

However, when authors widen their scope to the other audiences they could captivate, the possibilities of growth become endless. This is because authors can find readers on platforms and markets that they can’t typically find by simply selling stories in book, novella, or short story form. And many authors pinhole themselves this way.

Now the question is, how do we widen this scope?

Imagine yourself becoming an umbrella in which everything you create will fall under.

To most, this is considered a brand.

Many authors shy away from marrying themselves to this term because it feels corporate. Authors and writers want to tell stories. The stories they wish and hope will reach their audiences far and wide.

But what authors and writers don’t consider is how you gain the attention of your audience.

For example, an author who writes about their journey as a writer here on Medium may attract readers to their profile, who then explore their website. This is because when you pull readers in with your writing style and voice, you pull them to your other works as well. Such as those precious books we want readers to be grabbing.

When you consistently post updates about your projects and writings on social media, you inevitably begin to get people curious about your work.

What should authors consider placing under this umbrella?

Taking this question into consideration, authors need to determine where their skills lie.

If you can’t find yourself able to write on a social blog such as Medium, how else can you connect with readers? Can you share short stories on Medium and talk about your process of writing them? Looking at aspects that seem difficult from a different perspective can open the possibility of working with them.

Here are other pieces to bring under an authors/writers umbrella:

Social Blogging

It is difficult to bring readers to a blog on your website because they have to take numerous additional steps to get there.

This is why it can be beneficial to blog on social sites such as Medium where the readers already are. Taking advantage of this means you make it easier for readers to find you. And hopefully, those readers will tell other people about you too.

Social Media

People often say that social media feels like a second job, and many people hire other people or PR firms to do that job for them.

However, social media is a way to connect with people for free and on a daily basis.

If you take the time to plan out your content, schedule posts ahead, and make designated time to engage with the comments and feedback, it becomes easier. Because just like anything else, in the beginning it’s overwhelming and exhausting to keep up. But it you take the time and effort, you get the hang of it.

Book Groups

This ties into social media and online presence because we don’t all go sit in book groups at cafes.

Being part of bookgroups on Instagram and Facebook reap their own rewards when you find the right ones. Some book groups allow authors to share their work on select days of the month. And if you take the time to engage with others in the group, you can meet some great people.

Networking

Through social blogging and social media, you will be surprised by the people you meet.

Meeting other authors/writers helps you learn more about target audiences per genre and tricks of the trade. Meeting book reviewers and bloggers helps you form relationships for future book releases. And meeting readers may add to your growing reader base.

Teaching

Even if you don’t believe it yet, you know something someone else doesn’t.

You have valuable information that people want to know and applying in across your platform can make a big impact.

You can blog about your experiences in the writing industry. You can make courses to teach people how to do something (editing, outlining, publishing stories to Amazon, or more). Authors even create YouTube channels to publish cross-platforms the same information they blog about.

Becoming a well-rounded author means thinking outside the box.

Consider what expertise you bring to the table and you could pull in readers from numerous places you hadn’t considered before.