Social Media: How Much Is Too Much? by Kathy Ide

Social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) has become an important tool in the author's marketing toolbox. But are you using it, or abusing it? Today, author Kathy Ide provides a few problems that can crop up in our social media plan. -- Sandy

Kathy: When my Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors released last January, I started doing what “everybody” (including my agent and my publisher) told me I’m supposed to do: talk about it! In every social media venue, multiple times a day, several days a week. Which is easy, because I truly believe it’s a great resource for writers and editors. (A belief that, fortunately, is being confirmed by my readers!)

Truth to tell, all this social media blitzing is kinda fun! Especially when I read a positive review on Amazon or someone’s blog. Or when I see that people are retweeting one of my posts or chatting about my book on their Facebook pages. Or when others ask me to do a guest post or a Q&A interview for their blogs.

But I have to say … there are a few downsides to this exciting world of book promotion through social media.

• Problem #1

I had a super-crazy-busy schedule before my book came out. And with everything a person can do on social media, that makes for a really long to-do list … on top of all the to-do lists I already had! Since my “day job” is freelance editing, I have to make time to work on my clients’ manuscripts. And I really love doing that. But it would be easy to spend all day every day doing nothing but promote my book!

• Problem #2
I know people who are always hawking their wares on social media. And it gets irritating really fast. If I see a flurry of messages from someone that say, “Buy my book!” or “Got a great review on my book!” or “Please post a review about my book,” I’m going to be clicking that little X that hides their messages. And I do not want to become that kind of person myself! I mean, what’s the point of having thousands of friends, fans, and followers if they all hide your messages, right?

• Problem #3
I’ve been hearing some disparaging opinions lately about the effectiveness of social media for book promotion. But with a book like mine, the target audience is writers and editors—who are strongly encouraged to be heavily involved in social media!

• Problem #4
Before I had this book to promote, I posted things on my social media venues that I thought would be helpful to people. Like writing tips. And publishing industry news. And my observations of trends in the book world. Well, I’ve been tossing in a few of those kinds of things among all those book-promotion posts. But I think they got lost in the barrage!

• Problem #5
I have a new book coming out in June (see my bio for details). Okay, that’s a great “problem” to have. But I don’t want to just jump from pitching one book to pitching another one.

Possible Solution 
I want to get back to posting the kinds of things that drew people to sign up to follow me in the first place. Oh, I’ll still post stuff about my books from time to time. But I don’t want to overdo it. And I don’t think my followers want me to, either.

Your Thoughts? How often should authors post announcements and information about their own books? How can an author get the word out about his or her book in ways that don’t come across as blatant self-promotion?

~~~~~~

Kathy Ide is an author/ghostwriter, editor/mentor, and writers’ conference speaker. Her new book, 21 Days of Grace: Stories that Celebrate God’s Unconditional Love, the first in a series of Fiction-Lover’s Devotionals, releases June 1, 2015, and is available for preorder now at Amazon and BN.com. To find out more, visit KathyIde.com.

LET’S EAT GRANDMA - The Importance of Proofreading by Kathy Ide

The following post from Kathy Ide originally appeared on my blog in February, but I think its something we can all use since grammar, especially commas, can be the bane of a writer's life. -- Sandy

Kathy: Have you seen the plaques and T-shirts that say:

Let’s Eat Grandma.

Let’s Eat, Grandma.

 Commas Save Lives.

I love that! It shows how one tiny bit of punctuation can change the entire meaning and tone of a sentence.

You may think that as long as you’ve got life-changing content in your nonfiction manuscript, or an intriguing story with lots of conflict and interesting characters in your fiction manuscript, that should be enough. And yes, content and story are extremely important. But no matter how good those things are, you’ll be running some pretty big risks if you don’t bother proofreading your manuscript carefully for typos, inaccuracies, and inconsistencies … and learning the industry-standard rules regarding punctuation, usage, grammar, and spelling.

OK, you won’t be putting your grandmother’s life on the line or joining a tribe of cannibals. But tiny mistakes in your writing can have disastrous consequences.

Here are my top ten: 

1. Mechanical errors can decrease your chance of acceptance by a traditional publisher.
2. Mechanical errors can cause miscommunication. 
3. Mechanical errors can cause confusion. 
4. Mechanical errors can give an unprofessional appearance to publishers and readers.
5. Mechanical errors can be embarrassing.
6. Mechanical errors may cause readers to take you and your message less seriously. 
7. Mechanical errors can affect the sales of your book. 
8. Mechanical errors could cost you money. 
9. Mechanical errors can be distracting. 
10. Mechanical errors can give you a poor reputation. 

Professionalism Is Key

If you’re writing just for family and friends, it may not matter so much whether every comma is in exactly the right place or if you have a few typos here and there. But if you want to get your book published in today’s highly competitive commercial market, you need every edge you can get. If you expect people to buy what you write, you need to take the time to do it right.

If you have a hard time finding typos, inconsistencies, and “PUGS” errors in your writing, consider hiring a professional proofreader. If you go to www.ChristianEditor.com and fill out the form for Authors Seeking Editors, you’ll be connected with established, professional editors who can make your manuscript shine.

A comma may not save Grandma’s life. But a careful proofread might make a life-or-death difference for your manuscript.

If you haven't read Kathy's new book, I highly recommend it. What grammar problems do you find the most aggravating? 

~~~~

Kathy Ide, author of Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors, is a full-time freelance editor/mentor for new writers, established authors, and book publishers. She speaks at writers’ conferences across the country. She is the founder and director of The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network and the Christian Editor Network. For more about Kathy, visit www.KathyIde.com. Or find Kathy Ide on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, ShoutLife, Goodreads, or Pinterest.

PUGS Pointers by Kathy Ide

It's Manuscript Monday! Kathy Ide is the founder and coordinator of The Christian PEN (Proofreaders and Editors Network). She's here to share her expertise in editing. So, in the spirit of helping us with craft, we welcome Kathy to help us with punctuation, usage, grammar and spelling--PUGS.

PUGS POINTERS

WHY POLISH YOUR PUGS?

Literary agent Richard Curtis wrote (in The Christian Communicator, June 2001):

It was not long ago that the prevailing attitude among editors was, “This book has some problems, but the author is so talented that I’d like to buy it and work with him.” Today such words are rarely heard. A book with problems is a book rejected.

Editors receive so many manuscripts from so many authors every day, they can afford to reject them for the most minuscule reasons. Don’t let PUGS errors cause your manuscript to be rejected!

PUNCTUATION TIP:

Capitalization of Family Relationships

“Kinship names” (father, brother, etc.) are lowercased when used generically (“the youngest mother in the group,” for example) or when preceded by a modifier (“my dad,” “your mom,” “our brother,” etc.).

When used before a proper name, or alone in place of the name, kinship names are capitalized. Examples:

“I know that Mother’s middle name is Janice.”

“Will Aunt Becky be singing?”

“Will her uncle Ed be at the book signing?”

“Hey, Dad, are we going fishing today?”

(See The Chicago Manual of Style, rule #8.39 and The Associated Press Stylebook, pages 91–92.)

USAGE TIP:

any more/anymore

any more (adjective) means “any additional.”

“I don’t want to hear any more backtalk from you!” hollered Cindy.

anymore (adverb) means “any longer.”

“I don’t want to listen to you anymore,” cried Linda.

NOTE: Adjectives modify nouns. Adverbs modify adjectives, adverbs, or verbs.

GRAMMAR TIP:

each other vs. one another

Use each other when referring to two.

“Angie and Gwen discussed the book with each other.”

Use one another when referring to more than two.

“The critique group members discussed their manuscripts with one another.”

SPELLING TIP:

good-bye (with a hyphen) if you’re writing books (or short stories that will be included in books).

goodbye (without a hyphen) if you’re writing articles (for newspapers, journalistic magazines, or most newsletters).

Kathy Ide has been a published author/coauthor/ghostwriter of books, articles, play and movie scripts, short stories, devotionals, and curriculum since 1988. She is a full-time freelance editor/proofreader for aspiring writers, established authors, commercial book publishers, subsidy publishers, and magazines. She also speaks at writers’ conferences across the country. She is the founder and coordinator of The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network and the Christian Editor Network. To find out more about Kathy, visit her Web site.