The Secrets to Building an Online Presence

Ah, the all-important, frequently-mentioned online presence. It's one of those things people talk about all the time, but what is it really? And how do we get one? Who do we have to pay off to achieve it? Let's discuss.

In this day and age, we as authors are super lucky. We have *plays fanfare* THE INTERNET!

I'm not sure what authors did before the internet. Lots of pounding the pavement, probably. Lots of visits to the post office with thick manila envelopes, I'm sure. So let's all take a moment to say a thanks to that British guy who invented it.

Online presence was the very first thing my publicist and I talked about when I signed with Entangled. Getting your name out there, connecting with readers and other writers, is super important. Of course, actually writing is the most important thing, but online presence does a lot for a writer. Those people you connect with will be there for you when you need advice or when it's time to promote your book. So, how does one start? Here are my suggestions in list form because I love lists, if you haven't already noticed:

1. Twitter: Oh man, go get a Twitter account right now if you don't already have one! Follow authors you like, agents you'd love to be repped by, publishing professionals, and Misha Collins (always follow the Misha). And don't just sit quietly back stalking reading their feeds. Interact! Reply to their happy news, tell them why you love their work, thank them for any advice they give, etc. I'm not saying reply to their every tweet, just be friendly. I look at Twitter as one big party going on all at once. If you don't mingle, you'll never meet any one new and no one will remember you. The same will happen if you never venture out of your circle of friends.

I also think it's important to tweet at least every other day or so. I frequently go through the people I follow and unfollow those who haven't tweeted in a long time. Except for J.K. Rowling (always follow J.K. Rowling).

I really could do an entire post on the importance of Twitter and how to use it. Maybe I will... Would you like to see that? Post in the comments :)

2. Facebook: I was lucky enough to find the WraHM (Writing at home moms) society group on Facebook back when it was first started by Gennifer Albin, author of CREWEL. I've met soooo many awesome author ladies since I've joined. I've watched as they found success in publishing. We've commiserated about the many obstacles of writing, having a family, publishing, etc. I mentioned them in my acknowledgements because they're all awesome. And I've made a lot of other connections through them.

There are tons of Facebook groups for writers and readers. Through them you can meet other writers and readers. And when the time comes for you to promote your book, they'll be there to support you!

3. Blogs: Having your own blog is great and everything, but I've found it's not useful unless you interact with other bloggers. There's that word again: INTERACT! You have to visit other blogs, comment on their posts, join blog hops, and do memes. Don't have an agenda. Don't copy and paste the same comment on every blog you visit. That's called spam and everyone hates spam.

There are plenty of other social media sites like Tumblr or Goodreads that I haven't mentioned, but I think they all follow the same rules. Be genuine. Be nice. Make friends!

The Secrets of Writing for a Group Blog

Hey, lovelies!

It's been awhile since I've posted anything substantial on our sweet little Secret Life of Writers blog, besides some kick-ass interviews. And that would be because I screwed up our group schedule.

I scheduled posts on the wrong days, because even though Stefanie is an amazing schedule monger, I apparently can't read correctly. And then I started feeling a little lackluster in my posting topics because I was overwhelmed with all things real life, and this blog took a back seat.

I wasn't the only one of my fellow group bloggers that felt this way. With looming deadlines and day jobs and tiny banshee children running around, it became difficult for us to continue communicating efficiently, and in a timely manner. And as you guys know, once something feels like it's slipping, it's hard to stay motivated to bring it back to life.

Running a group blog is both harder and easier than running your own. That's the secret. When I first started contributing here, I thought that it would be easier because I'd have four other people to bounce ideas off of, four other people to pick up my posting slack. And that still holds true. But what I didn't account for was that four other people had to be okay with the schedule/topics before they posted. Four other people had to chime in on email chains with their opinions, and four other people had to have the same vision as I did.

Difficult, but not impossible.

But honing those things, including redefining our mission and what we want to do for the writing community, takes time, patience, and persistence. That's why we're taking the next two weeks off. We'll be working behind the scenes to revamp our weekly posts, schedule some upcoming bad-ass author interviews, and become an overall efficient word-crunching machine. We're taking a hard look at the things that works here, and everything that doesn't line up with our mission is getting the boot.

So this is where I need you to chime in, Secret Lifers! Is there a feature you love that you think needs to stay? What about stuff you don't love? We're taking everything into consideration as we overhaul this blog. Tell us in the comments what you'd like to see from us.

See ya in two weeks!

Andrea Hannah is a YA writer represented by Victoria Marini of Gelfman Schneider. She writes stories about criminals, crazy people, and creatures that may or may not exist. When she's not writing, Andrea teaches special education, runs, spends time with her family, and tries to figure out a way to prevent her pug from opening the refrigerator (still unsuccessful). Oh, and she tweets a bajillion times a day, mostly about inappropriate things. 
You can find her on Twitter @: http://twitter.com/andeehannah

Drop her an email @: andeehannah@gmail.com
And visit her website @: http://www.andreahannah.com/