Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
I'm wondering if it is one of the chicken-and-egg problems: If your books sell and make enough money to let you write full time, then perhaps there is some spare time to spend being social. But until then you need to work at a paid job, so writing time is limited and leaves little time for social sites and other marketing. But the books will never start selling enough until they are marketed ... (etc. etc. etc.).
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Social media seems to be the best advertising tool available to independent authors right now: You can build a fan base, and if you get lucky, a major media outlet will notice you and give you some mass exposure (a NYT article, appearance on a talk show, etc).
So spending time using SM is valuable. The key does seem to be choosing the right SM to use, and to spend your effort wisely. I don't twitter, but I use a blog, facebook, and an occasional online newsletter, plus making myself visible on sites like this. Consciously meter out your time, and it can be manageable (though some would say saturating the market with yourself is what's required to get those sales numbers you want).