AFTER THE BOOK IS WRITTEN: WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA

/ D.L. Finn, Author

Hi SEers! D. L. Finn here to talk about what I learned after writing the book.

Over twenty years ago, I tried to find my children’s book a publisher. After a couple of years of nice handwritten or standard form rejections, life got busy, and I put this on the back burner.

Then eight years ago, after I was laid up with a broken foot, I decided to try self-publishing.  After some research, I hired an editor and someone to create a book cover. I was ready.

Being new to self-publishing, I used a company that formatted and uploaded my book to various websites. It was a steep price with little in return, but it was done.

Then I imagined myself creating my next book while waiting for readers and reviews to find me. None came.

I realized the only people who might read my book was family and a few friends.

That’s when the next step in my writing journey began—marketing myself.

The first thing I dove into was creating my own website. I didn’t start with WordPress but ended up there. You can always have someone create your site for you, too, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

  • Decide on a Domain Name. You can use one provided by the site but can’t take it with you if you leave. Here are several good companies to go through, including GoDaddy,  HostGator, Bluehost, and Domain.com.
  • Do you want to pay for your site? They offer extra features like no advertising and bigger storage.
  • Next was picking a theme or how you want the website to look. There are many free themes. I went with simple.
  • When people visit your site, they first see your header, site identity, and home page. I have my books on the home page, but there is no wrong way to set them up. At the top of my page is a picture of dolphins, which fits me. Find something that represents you.
  • Add in the plugins you need. I use social media connections and an easy way to showcase my books. This required some research and a question or two for the WordPress techs.
  • What pages do you want on your site? I have my books, blog, author information, contact, and some good books I’ve read. What fits your needs?
  • Sidebar content makes it easy for visitors to navigate. Things to consider. What do you want on your sidebar, and what do you like to find on someone else’s site? I put my blog and newsletter subscriptions, plus my past blog posts by month.
  • Blog page. I made sure there are social media links, a like button, a reblog if you can have it, and comments. I learned not to allow your entire post to be seen in an email, just a preview. That encourages visits and perhaps some comments.
  • Make sure you check to see if anyone has gone to spam you don’t want to or if you have any website comments.

Social Media is where you can interact with other authors. I decided to be in as many places as possible: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. Twitter has been my go-to for sharing blogs and promoting other authors. It has good and bad points, but I have met many author friends through that media. I recently started using Facebook more and found many authors and groups posting there. Instagram, I post more personal pictures, and Pinterest and LinkedIn I use the least.

  • Get to know other authors by interacting with them.
  • Visit author blogs. While you are there, you can share and comment.
  • Read other authors’ books, review them, and spread the word on social media.

Offer to lend a helping hand when you can.

There is a lot more than just writing the book. What comes after is just important and can be time-consuming, but all a part of our writing world. What did you do after you wrote your first book?

83 thoughts on “AFTER THE BOOK IS WRITTEN: WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA”

  1. Hi Denise, I also started my blog after I published my first book. I discovered Sally Cronin’s blog early in my blogging life and she kindly shared one of my fondant posts. That got me off to a great start and I love blogging and all of my talented blogging friends.

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  2. You learn as you go and it is a constant process. There is so much to do and never enough time! Great post Denise. My main focus is Instagram and FB. I’m finding it distracting with my new more outdoors lifestyle in Portugal, (where I spend part of the year.) But I do try my best to keep up with my reviewing of fellow authors books, Arcs, blog tours, and visiting blogs when I have the time. As for writing even less time for that!

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    • Yes, it really is a learn as you go process, Marje! Thank you 🙂 It is great to have a focus, but I’m all for an outdoor lifestyle! We all do what we can, its all a balance with life.

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  3. Very useful post Denise. I try to think of my books as a business. Not a very profitable one but I still would like them to reach as wide an audience as possible. In this day and age of 20,000 ebooks being uploaded on Amazon each week across all the genres, it is tough to get noticed without some form of presence. The most effective in my experience is in being part of an active writing community online and time wise I am only really on Twitter, FB and LinkedIn and I use my blog as my main driver.

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    • Thank you, Sally 🙂 It is a business, very true and not much profit, but a place I enjoy being. We do struggle against a lot of content in our field, and all we can do is let the readers know we are here. Blogs seem to be a good way to connect and very helpful as are certain social media outlets. We are so lucky to have a community that is so suportive too!

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  4. You learn as you go and it is a constant process. There is so much to do and never enough time! Great post Denise. My main focus is Instagram and FB. I’m finding it distracting with my new more outdoors lifestyle in Portugal, (where I spend part of the year.) But I do try my best to keep up with my reviewing of fellow authors books, Arcs, blog yours, and visiting blogs when I have the time. As for writing even less time for that!

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  5. Great share Denise. I spent a year learning self publishing while I was writing and hired an editor, formatter and bookdesigner. And I did same as you with the website and moved 3 times over the years, As many writers feel, I don’t enjoy marketing, especially myself, lol. I love having a blog community and sharing blogs I enjoy so others may also. As for social media, I was everywhere, and as we all know, we just can’t be everywhere productively, so I scaled down a few years ago to where I get most interaction and only work with FB, Twitter and Linkedin. ❤

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    • Thank you, Debby :);Yes, it does take a while to get our bearings after publishing that first book. I’m glad I moved my website, sure made my life easier. No, I rarely hear writer say they love marketing.. lol. The blogging community is wonderful, I enjoy that too. I do try to be in as many places as I can. You mentioned the top three I like. I stay on Instagram being family and friends are there and I like taking photos. It is a journey to find our place within this community. Xo

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  8. Great information, Denise. Writing the book is the easy part. Marketing takes a lot of effort. You’ve covered many great points here. I think interacting with other authors is very important, as you’ve mentioned. Building a network with fellow writers can really be a benefit to all involved. Thanks for sharing your experiences here.

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  9. I’m going to bookmark this, Denise, as it sounds very, very useful. I don’t have a blog and am struggling to find time for things as it is. I honestly don’t know how the rest of you cope. I will second the views on the wonderful support of the reading and writing community and it is this that has kept me afloat. ❤

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    • Thank you, Alex 🙂 It is hard to find the time to do everything, I agree. I don’t get to read all the blogs I want to but enjoy the ones I do. We are so lucky to have this community. A wonderful benefit for all of us!

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  11. The whole writing journey seems to be a constant learning experience. I know of very few people who love the marketing angle, but that’s also part of the educational process. Thanks for sharing your journey and insights, Denise.

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  12. Great post and an even better introduction to self publishing. I’d only add two bits of advice. The first is ‘go with your strengths’ and do as much of the work as you can before you outsource. The second is….have fun! If you don’t enjoy the bits of marketing you do, you’ll never be able to keep doing them, day after day, week after week, year after year. Your marketing has to be sustainable, or it won’t happen.

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  14. Terrific advise, Denise. When my debut released, I’d already built my site. Can’t remember if I moved to self-hosted before or after. For a long time, I owned my domain name on a free WP site.

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    • Thanks, Sue 🙂 You were already ahead in having your website ready! I still own my domain name but gave up some extra ones I thought I’d use.

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  15. This is a great post, Denise. I, too, like Twitter, although who knows where it will end up. I am on Instagram, but I don’t visit or share often because I feel bad sharing photos I’ve already shared everywhere else. I don’t think I’m connected to anyone there that I’m not connected to elsewhere.

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    • Thank you, Dan 🙂 Twitter has been the best for connecting with other authors with Facebook coming in second for me. I like Instagram but don’t do as much as I should there. I manage to share a picture here and there. I think we just need to be where we thrive and not worry about the rest.

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    • What a great community we belong to, Colleen. It is so opposite from the personal writing process to the public marketing. Good thing we have each other to accomplish both sides.

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  19. I discovered the need to market after my first book too, Denise. I think for many of us, that’s when reality bonks us over the head. I’ve cut back on social media platforms over the years. I wasn’t able to keep up. But I know I should! Thanks for sharing your journey. 😀

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    • Reality definitely finds us that we have to market ourselves, so true, Diana 🙂 It is really hard to keep up with social media. Sometimes we need breaks from it too. All we can do is put our energy where we can. Thank you.

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    • Thank you, Yvette 🙂 I set mine up too, twice in fact, after I moved from Wix to WordPress. Back in the day Wix was weak in the comment and a couple other departments. I’m still learning too 🙂

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    • Thank you, Jacqui 🙂 It is an experience we all go through in our own ways. The very best part is all the friendships made along this journey.

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  22. My agent wouldn’t send out my book until I’d written 5 blogs and had 50 followers on Twitter. At the time, I was horrified, didn’t think I could possibly do it. Now, I enjoy it. It’s a way to connect with a lot of wonderful people I’d have never met otherwise.

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    • That would have scared me at first too, Judi. It is amazing how natural writing a blog becomes and how fast we get 50 followers on Twitter. During this whole process we do meet amazing people!

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  23. In someways writing the book is the easy part, LOL.
    I’ve cut way back on social media. These days it’s mostly just Twitter to share the posts of the blogs I visit, and of course, blogging (though I’ve had to cut that back too). I do think a professional website and/or blog is important. I’ve noticed that WordPress ads have become far more intrusive. Remember when there was just one at the bottom of a post? Now I find myself having to scroll through two or three rows of them when I want to comment!

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    • The publishing may be the easiest part, Mae! It is harder to put the time into social media like I used to as well. Blogging and visiting blogs, is my first priority. I have noticed the ads are getting more aggressive. I can usually tune them out but sometimes they don’t let me. Yes, getting to the comments lately has taken some determination.

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  24. You are so right, Denise, when you say that writing the book is only step one on this crazy journey. Without marketing yourself, no one will ever find your book. You’ve given some great tips here for creating an attractive and professional website. One thing I would add is to create a website you can edit yourself to keep your newest work up front and center without having to pay someone every time. Thank you for sharing!

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    • Thanks, Jan it is a crazy but wonderful journey! Unfortunately, or fortunately, we learn quickly marketing is a part of it. You add a good point of being able to edit your website to add tour latest work in. I like to kerp my latest at the top of my book page.

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  26. Great post and suggestions, Denise. Over time, our energies shift and help us see the bigger picture. A book finds life through readers, and those folks need a way to discover our jewel. 😊

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    • Thank you, Gwen 🙂 Great way to put it, that our energies shift to help us see the big picture. Readers do need a way to find our books and websites and social media are a part of that.

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  27. Thanks for the detailed information, Denise. I was a blogger long before I started writing books, before they were even called “blogs,” in fact, and were more commonly known as bulletin boards. So when I published my first book, I just set up a writing-focused blog, and have never had a “website.” I’ve considered it, and even had a few blog discussions about it, and still don’t know that I want to mess with it. (Especially now that I’m slowing down a bit and may or may not finish any additional books.) I’m going to save this post for future reference in case I decide it’s time to do so. It would come in very handy if I take that step, and you never know. I just might. 😊

    Thanks again for sharing your experiences and thoughts on this. Have a super weekend ahead! 😀 ❤

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    • Thank you, Marcia 🙂 I remember those bulletin boards. I think the blog portion of our marketing is a huge part of it and where the traffic ends up. Mainly you are just adding in a bit about yourself, your books and other author information for the website. I’ve learned you really do never know what new things we will learn and try as authors. I hope you have a super weekend too. Xo

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      • Well, at least I do have pages on my blog about me, and about each of my books, and I’m planning to add some Review pages, both my reviews of other books, and other folks’ reviews of mine. Plus all of my books are shown in the sidebar with links to Amazon, so maybe my blog is doing at least a little bit of double duty? Hope so, because keeping up with it is about as much as I can handle, I think. But … never say never. I might decide to build a website one of these days, too. And your post will definitely help if I do. Thanks! 😀

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  28. I’ve always maintained if you want to be a professional author, you need a professional-looking website. (One without ads.) I’m spending less time on social media these days. I use Twitter to share other posts but my focus this year is on building my newsletter readership in hopes of attracting new readers.

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    • I agree Joan about a professional looking website. It does make a huge impression. It is becoming harder to put the time needed into social media for me as well. It could take up all ones time if you let it. I’ve built some long standing relationships with a few subscribers through my newsletter over the years. It is another avenue for writers to explore for sure!

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    • It is completely different, Staci. I watched my daughter do exactly the same thing last year. I gave my “sage” advice and then let her learn on her own journey. Thank you!

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  30. Hi D.L. Finn,

    Chris The Story Reading Ape brought me here. I honestly am not entirely sure where the time frame ended and began but I do remember I never ceased writing. At the time, I had a different wordpress as well as a monetizing platform to market my written works.

    Marketing takes so much effort and yet, it is a journey much worth it because there are amazing people that I have met along the way.

    Thank you for sharing about your journey after your first book was published/ written. I wish you the very best!
    -James

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    • Thank you, James 🙂 It’s great Chris guided you here. For me, I think it was several writing friends. We do learn a lot from fellow writers. You make a good point of all the great people we meet along the way when we are marketing ourselves or others. I wish you the very best too!

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      • You are very welcome, D.L. Finn. 🙂 And yes, it is great that Chris guided me here. It does hearten me when I get to see that there are authors that support authors and endorse one another’s journeys.

        Thank you for your response and acknowledging that we do meet great people along the way. It is … humbling and speaks to the craft being a mantle we all share: readers, fans, writers, alike.

        I appreciate your well wishes and hoping for the very best for me. I will continue to do so.

        -James

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  32. Excellent overview! You’re so right about what happens after publishing. If all you hear is crickets, it feels devastating.

    I discovered that marketing with a website relies heavily on optimizing for searches on Google, Bing, etc. Knowing the key phrases people enter can bring more readers to your site. And that requires a plug-in (e.g., Yoast) plus the commitment to learning how to find and apply key phrases.

    I’ve used different hosting companies. Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that an inexpensive start-up plan can prove costly after you consider all the add-ons and poor service.

    I now have two sites hosted by Automattic, the group that makes WordPress. Although the price tags on the WordPress.com plans might seem high, I got the site theme, plug-ins, and hand-holding I needed for no additional cost. Best of all, the online support team didn’t mind my many questions.

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    • Thank you, Grant 🙂 It’s no fun hearing those crickets! Good advice about using key words for searches. This is an area I need to put more time into. Yes, there may be some cost involved but it is definitely worth it. I appreciate you sharing your experiences.

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      • After seeing the difference in visitors year over year, I’m convinced it’s worth investing time and effort into SEO. At first, it seems like a weird and counter intuitive method, but when the results roll in, you’ve got a great incentive to double down on the methods.

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  33. Pingback: AFTER THE BOOK IS WRITTEN: WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA | Legends of Windemere

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