Some things I have learnt over a decade of book blogging and social media interaction

20th January 2023

Some things I have learnt over a decade of book blogging and social media interaction.

THE BOOK COMMUNITY

The community of book bloggers comprises massively supportive people – pals, even – who care about books and want to share their thoughts on top reads with anyone who will listen. Coming alongside publishers and getting to know individuals with whom you can click is a real delight, especially learning about books that are coming out down the line and attending the occasional book launch, so that acquaintances made on the socials can be consolidated. Covid, sadly, largely put a stop to that.

SEO

One of the aspects that is quite a challenge is the dreaded SEO – Search Engine Optimisation. It is absolutely necessary to get to grips with keywords and such like because without SEO what you have to say will be drowned out by people who have at least some experience with it. There are some simple guidelines on the internet and it is worth familiarising yourself with a few of the aspects, and if you implement them, you may well find a tangible difference. Basically, if you don’t engage with SEO, you will not travel up the Google rankings and people who don’t know about you, will probably never find you. SEO continues to be a sometimes daunting and never-ending journey for us but it is worth the effort.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Having said that, the book community network on Social Media provides a large base of people who are interested in the literary world, and you can find plenty of accounts with which to connect.  One of the best ways to engage is cross-sharing to spread the word and all the book chatter.

I am not a naturally gregarious personality, so it took quite some courage to get stuck in on, say, Twitter, but people love positive interventions and discussion, and you will find mutually appealing interchanges, all boosting your presence. Ambling around Twitter, we teamed up with Doro Lefering, a travel writer based in Germany, to create a Monday lunchtime book chat on Twitter – #verbatimjourney. If you are new to the game, come and join in, we are friendly and welcoming, as we chat books and travel.

It REALLY is a slow process, though, isn’t it? I sometimes see early days bloggers wondering how long it will take to make inroads. I remember how pleased I was when we reached the first 50 followerss on Twitter. But, yes, there are many book bloggers out there and finding your own distinctive voice takes time. And that time is invariably measured in years, so it’s important to commit for the long haul.

There is a lot of ambivalence about Social Media but for the book industry it works really well. If a querulous interloper decides to take a pop at you, you will find others coming to your aid. So don’t be put off by the vitriol, the naysayers and the nastiness that can pervade the site, just keep the positivity going! Thankfully, we rarely see any of it, and there is always the ‘block’ option! There are some very funny memes which can make you smile, even at the worst of political/world times and it is a reminder that people are humorous and creative. It is worth remembering that Social Media is just that, it’s social, so just get stuck in!

Of course, there are frustrations. I am waiting for that one photo on Instagram to go viral and it is quite hard to find different book settings and creative staging that will make one – just one – image hit some dizzy heights. Instagram is still a nut that needs cracking and as yet I have no real answers. On Twitter one of our great frustrations is that some authors just don’t get involved. It is worth highlighting that the bigger everyone’s platform, the more engagement there will be. A simple ‘follow’, ‘retweet’ and ‘like’ do wonders for everyone. If, as an author, you see someone positively promoting your work and regularly doing so, why wouldn’t you follow them, swell numbers, grow all platforms, thus making everyone a winner? (top tip to authors: if you don’t like a blogger’s chat, you can always show appreciation of what they do for you by giving them a follow and then you can press the mute button 😉).

Facebook trots along and it eventually delivers but again, finding material on a fairly regular basis can be taxing. And it takes quite a few years to build a good following.

TOO MANY BOOKS (and yes, it can be problematic!)

One of the odd frustrations/positives is having just too many books on the “To Be Read” (TBR) pile. Learning to prioritise is essential, otherwise the pleasure soon turns into a daunting slog. And yes, we do receive quite a few books through the post, and with that comes a delight of finding new titles, combined with a sense of commitment to the author/publisher/publicist that invariably accompanies the delivery. Per se, the notion of ‘free’ books doesn’t really exist, and if you decide to be a blogger for the freebies, you will ultimately be disappointed if you are not generally honouring  the quid pro quo.

THE TIPPING POINT

Once the balance of fun is out of kilter with commitment to the project, then that is the time to take a break from your bookish journey. There is nothing worse than losing the delight of reading and finding the commitment overly daunting.

Please share with us the pros and cons that you have encountered, tell us what your bookish journey has been like?

Tina for the TripFiction Team

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