Sean:
How important do you view social media to selling your books or interacting with fans?
Marianne:
It’s a large piece of the puzzle, but ultimately we don’t know really what makes one book sell over another. I think the important thing is to be yourself when using social media – don’t try and cater to a market. Let your own personality shine through in your posts and interactions. I treat it as a tool for self-expression and communication more than “selling”.
Sean:
Do you or would you want to receive any guidance from your publisher/agent on interacting via social media, both in a technical sense or in a 'professional presentation' sense?
Marianne:
Generally publishers encourage their authors to use social media, and will give rudimentary guidelines to those who are inexperienced. (Not every author knows about or wants to know about the ins and outs of twitter, FB, and tumblr and goodreads). However, the publisher only has so much time they can spend with any one author, so a lot depends on your interest and commitment. Of course books that sell well often have their own publisher-built and maintained website, which helps, because those kind tend to look very professional.
Sean:
There have been some recent examples of inexperienced authors reacting badly on the Internet in response to blog reviews e.t.c., what are your thoughts on being social media savvy? What advice would you give to new authors?
Marianne:
Getting into an argument online with anyone is a negative experience and I wouldn’t recommend it at all. The reality is that once you put your work in the public domain, you’re exposed. You have to think about how you will handle that, and each of us have different methods. Foremost though, you need to accept that you can’t control readers’ opinions. Having said that, no one has the right to contact you and be abusive. My advice is to be very careful who you enter into a dialogue with in these circumstances, usually nothing is gained from it. If you must reply, keep it simple and don’t encourage a second reply.
Sean:
In my experience Social media breaks down normal communication conventions. People can be more familiar and 'take liberties'. Have you experienced problems where this ease of communication has lead to followers/fans 'crossing the line' or has your experience been entirely positive?
Marianne:
The most common thing I encounter is that people can be quite insensitive to your time/availability and expect you to drop everything to read their manuscript. This pre-supposes that firstly, you want to do it, and secondly, you have the time. Nothing gets me crosser than this assumption. By and large though people are pretty cool when they contact me. I love the easy familiarity, it suits my nature. If anyone crosses the line, I just don’t reply.
Sean:
How vital is social media to the genre in which you write and how do you think social media will effect the way you write and interact in the future?
Marianne:
I think SM is its own kind of publisher already and that it will only continue to solidify its role as a medium for expressing creativity, and a vehicle from which to disseminate it as well. it’s quite an exciting thought really. I’m not sure what form this will take in the future, but it will affect everything in our lives, especially the way we think and how we form relationships.
Marianne is a prolific Australian writer, writing across genre’s as well. Her latest is Burn Bright, a YA novel that’s part sci-fi, part steampunk, part paranormal but all 100% original de Pierres. A review from myself will be forth coming (Hint: I thought it rocked).
You can find her work here or at most brick and mortar stores. The book depository also carries the Sentients of Orion Series the last of which(Transformation Space) won her this year’s Aurealis Award for best Sci-Fi novel.
If you would like to see more in this series you can subscribe to the blog through a reader or Follow me on twitter.
