51 Weeks and Social Media

Social media is still both enticing and frustrating, as someone who came to it late in life and for whom it is still not intuitive.  As an independent author, however, I understand that to reach different audiences, engaging in social media is not optional.  There are many aspects I find enjoyable. Personally, it allows me to become and remain in contact with friends and family who live all over the country and the world. Professionally, it’s been a gift to get to “know” other authors and many readers whom I’ve never met in person, but who have enriched my life and my career. 

When I published my first book, Even in Darkness, my publicist insisted that my personal Facebook page was not adequate as an online presence. Why would I care?  Because, as “The Authors Show” writes, “nearly every book buyer today, regardless of genre, uses the internet to find new books.” So today I'm featuring my first pre-publication endorsement for Isabela's Way, from my favorite book store owner, Pamela Grath of Dog Ears Books in Northport, MI

I swore I’d never use twitter, but that resistance went by the wayside, and I engaged with the literary world for a number of years via tweets, until the politics of twitter sent me looking for alternatives. Enter Instagram and Threads. I love taking photographs, so Instagram was easy.  (The photo in this image is of a statue of St. Isabela in Estramoz, Portugal, whose story inspired me to choose the name for my main character.) Choosing the right hashtags for social media posts — #fortheuninitiated  #pithydescriptionsofyourpost has been a little less easy. And Threads is a twitter alternate that I am re-entering with this post!  #Fiftyoneweekstopublication. See the post on Threads here, or at my website.

And if you are so inclined, please subscribe to my Substack newsletter and follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Threads! Thank you!