Andrea Hurst & Associates

AUTHORNOMICS Interview Series with Tom Masters

By: Andrea Hurst

With a publishing industry that is ever in flux, it can be hard for an aspiring author to figure out what information is relevant and what she needs to do to be successful. Recognizing this, literary agent Andrea Hurst and writer and blogger Katie Flanagan present a series of weekly interviews with publishing industry specialists. The AUTHORNOMICS Series features literary agents, editors, authors, marketing experts and more talking about their opinions on the publishing industry, writing, and what a writer needs to know.

If you have questions for upcoming guests on the AUTHORNOMICS Interview Series, email them to authornomics@andreahurst.com.

Interview with Tom Masters, Social Media Expert

Tom Masters founded Orion Wellspring. He has extensive experience in technology management, web development, web marketing and strategic planning in a variety of industries. For the last 8 years, he has provided web consulting services including information architecture, SEO, search marketing and social media strategy for numerous clients.

He is a frequent speaker on blogging and social media, and has published 2 books on blogging, Blogging Quick Easy: A Planned Approach to Blogging Success and Blog to Book & Beyond: A New Path to Publishing Success. He also teaches blogging courses for the University of Washington Experimental College.

Since 2007, Tom has served as the president of Book Publishers Northwest, the Northwest regional affiliate of the Independent Book Publishers Association.

 

1. How did you first get involved with blogging?

My very first blog was tied to a small consulting business I had around e-learning.  However, when I entered book publishing, I saw blogging as a way for authors to build and engage an audience.  I created a blog, called Future Perfect Publishing, to talk about how blogging and other technologies are revolutionizing publishing and when I began to see the audience grow, I was hooked!

2. Can you give us a little bit of the history of blogs?

The first blogs appeared about 1997.  At that time, there were no blogging platforms such as Blogger or WordPress.  At first, blogs were mostly used by technology professionals as a new way to communicate among themselves.  Blogs really captured the public imagination in 2004 when Howard Dean and other candidates began using them in their campaigns.  Businesses, especially small to medium size businesses, quickly realized the potential of blogs to help them grow their customer base.  Traditional media – e.g. newspapers – began having adjunct blogs in the early 2000’s and now some of the largest media properties in the US – by audience size – are blogs.

3. One of your books and workshops is on the “blog to book.” Can you talk about what this means? Does it apply to fiction as well?

The traditional writing model is the author who goes into the “writing cave”, labors over their work, and then emerges at the end of the process to seek an agent or publisher and (hopefully) build an audience for their work.

The blog to book model is all about using a blog to showcase your writing, but more importantly, build an audience while you write the book.  You can use a blog to do research, develop a writing discipline, discover the content your readers really engage with, and measure the size and behavior of your audience for that future agent or publisher you want to contact.

4. How important do you think an author blog is to helping obtain an agent and book publisher?

I think it used to be a “nice to have.”  Now, many agents and publishers won’t take on author who doesn’t have a good online platform.  By platform, I mean not only website / blog, but also social media – e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.  The reason is simple:  authors are the best marketing tool a publisher has.  A strong online platform demonstrates that the author has started down the path of building the audience they will market their title to.

5. What are some of the keys to creating a good author website and blog?

A good website should really present the brand of the author in a strong and appealing manner.  The content on the site should also be engaging and fresh – text, video, images.  There should be links to social media, and a way for the author to capture the e-mail addresses of visitors (especially important when the book marketing begins in earnest).  The website should have all the information about a title that might be needed by reader (to make a purchase decision) and the media.

The blog should have the authentic voice of the author.  It is one of the first ways an audience can get to know the author.  Where possible, an author should use video blogs on occasion as a way to further personalize their interaction with the visitor.  Blogs should be relatively concise and easy to digest (people are busy!).  The blog should also be structured to invite interaction:  comments, sharing.

6. What are some tricks for using social media effectively as a writer?

Each type of social media has a different strength and purpose to it.  Here are some ideas for using social media effectively:

- Make sure your social pages tie back to your website / blog – which should be your content hub on the web.  Remember that you can pretty much control everything about your site; not so with social pages.

- Find groups where your readers might hang out and try to engage them there.

- Make your social profile interesting to your potential readers and don’t forget to link them back to your site.

- Weed your social garden; trying to be friends with everyone results in a lot of noise on your social pages.  The idea is to build a network of people who might want to read your book.

- Don’t forget to “socialize” and “network” on your social network – that is what they are there for.  Many authors neglect their social pages and this might be the first thing a potential reader sees.

7. How often do website designs need to be updated?

It’s really a matter of personal taste, but I would say about every 3-4 years.  Part of the reason is that web technology marches on, and updating your site gives you the opportunity to rethink what content you offer your visitors and new ways to deliver it.

8. Your business, Orion Wellspring, has helped many authors build their websites and blogs. What are some of the factors you consider when creating a unique website for a writer?

Pacing – Establishing a sustainable posting frequency so that your readers can adapt to and depend on your posting schedule.

Engagement – Responding to comments, taking surveys and polls, creating posts with questions to the audience that invite readers to engage.  And don’t forget those sharing and like buttons!

Content mix – Having a mix of post types – e.g. interviews, guest posts, videos, link fests (set of annotated links your readers will find useful), posts based on reader comments, etc.

Foucs – Blogs should have some sort of focus, similar to a magazine.  Many blogs wander all of the place and readers don’t know what to make of them.

9. Do you think every writer needs a blog even when their book is not finished?

Absolutely!  The time to start building your audience is while you are writing, not when you finish the book.  If you do that, you’re that much further back on the book marketing timeline.

10. What are some of the most common mistakes you see in author blogs and websites?

Probably the three biggest mistakes are:

- They are uninteresting.  Visitors don’t come back and the audience building goal is compromised.

- They are difficult to figure out.  If you have great content, but the visitor has to stop and figure out where it is on your site, you will almost certainly lose them.

- Nothing is measured or captured.  No metrics are collected.  No e-mails or other information is captured from the visitor.  (They came, they saw, and we just can’t remember who they are.)

11. Can you tell us about your beginner’s book on blogging?

In addition to some standard best practices for bloggers, it offers a path to blogging starting with your audience in mind.  The basic steps are:

- Profiling your audience and incorporating that profile information into the title, description, topic categories, and keywords that characterize your blog.

- Learning from your successful “blog neighbors.”  These are blogs that are talking about the same things you want to.  It’s relatively easy to determine who is doing a good job in terms of audience size and engagement.  You can leverage their strong points and determine how you will make your blog unique.

- Meeting your blog neighbors.  Engage with the successful bloggers and become part of their community, through comments you leave, and direct contact.

- Creating a content mix that will help you build traffic and keep your readers coming back.

12. Do you have any upcoming classes or projects we can look out for?

I offer Introduction to Blogging and Blog to Book classes each quarter at the UW Experimental College.  I am also currently offering a series of seminars through the Whidbey Island Writers Association, which cover many of the online book marketing topics I’ve touched on in this interview.

Andrea Hurst has over 25 years experience as a published author, developmental editor for publishers, and skilled literary agent. She works with both major and regional publishing houses, and her client list includes emerging new voices and New York Times best-selling authors. Andrea represents high profile Adult Nonfiction and well crafted fiction. Her clients and their books have appeared on the Oprah Show, Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America, National Geographic network and in the New York Times.

Katie Flanagan is a fiction major at Northwestern University. She is currently an editor with Booktrope and a reader for Pink Fish Press. In the past, she has interned with Andrea Hurst Literary Management and the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. Her favorite genre is women’s fiction, but she reads any fiction put in front of her. Check out her blog about the writing life at katieflanagan.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter at @K_Flanagan.

Winners of the AUTHORNOMICS End-of-Summer Contest will be announced later in the week. Thanks to everyone for entering!