Finding my Voice on Social Media

By: Natalia Brothers 

Nearly three decades have passed, but I remember that week as if it happened yesterday…

I’m talking about crystallography.

Crystallography was the hardest discipline I had ever had to study in college. Physics, math, chemistry-oriented German—no problem, but complicated three-dimensional crystal-structure models were absurdly difficult to recreate on paper as two-dimensional sketches (the purpose of that exercise still eludes me). Unfortunately, those sketches were the condition for being allowed to take the final test and finish the course. Have you ever faced a situation when no matter how hard you study/exercise/try, there’s no guarantee you will accomplish the task?

My past year went like that. I signed a publishing contract, and jumping into the world of social media became an unavoidable necessity. The avalanche of things I had to learn hit me with crushing force. It was crystallography all over again. I had no idea how I was going to figure it all out.

First, the technical aspect of any social media platform. Whether I was creating a blog, Facebook Author’s Page, or a website, it started with a big “Okay, how do I do this?” Learning how to set up an account, upload photos, add links didn’t require extensive technical knowledge but took time. Lots of it, because the amount of information was staggering. For example, have you ever participated in a Virtual Book Party? I was asked to enter such an event before I knew how things worked on Facebook, so I joined a “party” in progress to see what was involved. It lasts for hours. If someone comments on a post from two hours ago, that post jumps on top of the feed. You need to refresh the page to see new posts. Complicated? No. Takes time to understand what’s going on? You bet.

Design. I never know what works best until I try it. One of many things that makes me comfortable as a Twitter user is that I can change my banner/cover photo all day long and it doesn’t inform my followers every time I do so. A header that took me hours to create looked beautiful—a wall of framed landscapes—but the number of my new followers dropped while I kept it posted. The header that works? The one with the title of my unpublished novel and the tagline.

Content. A year ago, attending Pikes Peak Writers Night, I announced that I tripled my Twitter followers that afternoon: from a single follower my numbers jumped up to three. During the meeting, someone gave me a few tips on how that platform worked. I’ve been tweeting away ever since. I just celebrated my first anniversary with over 2,000 followers. Of course it took time to learn, but I discovered several hashtags that allow me to connect with other writers on a weekly basis and showcase my writing style. I participate in #2bittues on Tuesdays and #1linewed on Wednesdays. The host announces the week’s theme, and authors post lines from their WIPs. A new hashtag was recently created for Thursdays, a similar idea but tailored for published works. Have you tried #Thurds?

I recently realized that while on Facebook my friends saw plenty of my posts, on Twitter my hobbies—orchids, photography—were disconnected from writing. I wanted to find a theme that would show who I was with a “click of a button,” something that would link my dark fantasy genre with my other interests. Just like with crystallography years ago, when I persevered and passed the course, my year-long social media quest led me to an answer. I chose a theme that always fascinated me as a storyteller and photographer: Atmospheric Settings. I created a new hashtag and use it daily to post pictures of places that inspire my writing.

It has been an eventful year. I parted ways with the publisher; by the time this article is posted, I will either sign a new contract—or make a daring decision to go Indie. I’ve learned so much in the past twelve months. I have a lot more to learn. Would you say that social media is your second nature? Or is it more like what crystallography was for me? I doubt it will ever become my addiction, but I admit that I’m having fun. I hope to see you on Twitter.

About the Writer: Born in Moscow, Natalia grew up with the romance and magic of Russian fairy tales. She never imagined that one day she’d be swept off her feet by an American Marine. An engineer-physicist-chemist, Natalia realized that the powder metallurgy might not be her true calling when on a moonless summer night she was spooked by cries of a loon in a fog-wrapped meadow. What if, a writer’s unrelenting muse, took hold of her. Two of her passions define her being. Natalia is an orchid expert and she writes dark fantasy.

Get Back to the Future with a Social Media Dashboard

By Jennifer Lovett Herbranson

Back to the Future is one of my all-time favorite movies. The Delorean, the diner, the music, Marty McFly, all of it. Watching it the other day reminded me of why Social Media Dashboards are so effective for writers in every stage of their careers. I am partial to Hootsuite, so that’s what I’ll talk about today.

1. Flux Capacitor. Well, no one really understands the flux capacitor. It’s sorta the same way with Hootsuite. You don’t need to understand all of it to be able to use if effectively.

a. It’s a dashboard that allows you to post to multiple platforms at a given time.

b. You log in with one of your platforms, so there is no added log in /password requirement.

c. You get five streams for free. For a fee, you can get more, but for beginners, five is plenty.

2. You too can go back in time! Use Hootsuite to manage up to five social media streams.

a. Facebook profiles, groups and author pages (thumbs up!)

b. Twitter (also thumbs up!)

c. Google+ (wouldn’t really bother)

d. Instagram (thumbs up, especially if you’re targeting Middle Grade or YA)

e. LinkedIn (not really a necessity for writers)

3. Donate to YOUR clock tower, which in this case is your social media. Just a quarter a day is all you need. Yes, 15 minutes.

  a. Schedule out posts.

  b. Respond to folks.

  c. Read your stream.

4. Hootsuite is the DeLorean. But you don’t need plutonium to fire it up and make it work. Remember when the doc used everyday stuff from the garbage to power the DeLorean? Everyday stuff (not garbage!) is exactly what people want to see on your social media.

a. Simple – What are you doing today, with whom, why and what did you laugh about? Easy – What great quote, book, movie, show, song or poem spoke to you today?

b. Intuitive – Would your best friend want to know? Then so will your follower.

5. Where you’re going, you won’t need roads! Hootsuite is an essential tool if you’d like to focus more time on your craft and less time on your marketing. Not to say you can’t do any marketing, but this tool will definitely free up your time.

a. Once a week, log in and schedule out all your posts for the week.

b. Once every other day or every three days, log in and respond to followers.

c. Upload it on your phone or tablet for max flexibility.


Use Hootsuite to turn your mad scientist life into something more manageable. You’ll be doing the twist and the bop all the way to the social media bank! What do you do to make your social media posting easier?

About the Author: With a combined 14 years of active and Reserve time as a US Air Force Public Affairs Officer, Jennifer Lovett Herbranson has marketed books, shows, concerts and more. She is currently the speechwriter for the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency outside of Washington DC. In her spare time, she is pursuing a career as a fiction writer.

Be A Winner - Marketing Your Book

By Jennifer Lovett Herbranson


It’s Football Time!

Bring on the tailgates, the barbecue, and the excitement. I’m originally from Birmingham, Alabama, and there is nothing in this world like a Saturday in autumn down south.

RV's park themselves outside the game field a week before the game. Crowds litter every available inch of real estate on campus and set up tents, grills, coolers and yes, even televisions. Strange new phrases reappear in the lexicon after a six-month hiatus. “Roll Tide,” “The Swamp” and “Suuu, eee” are heard from Savannah to Texas. Can’t you hear the marching band and the cheerleaders?

What does this have to do with marketing your book? Everything.

Legendary Alabama Head Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant once said, “Everything you ever need to learn in life can be learned on a football field.” With six national championships under his belt, I think he might be on to something. So grab a box of hot wings, a cold iced tea, and some Dreamland Barbecue Sauce. We’re gonna' talk football.

First, what do Peyton Manning, Tim Tebow, and Joe Namath have in common? He married his college sweetheart; he wrote a book about faith; and he played football with my Daddy, respectively. So nothing, really, other than they were all SEC quarterbacks who made it to the NFL.

Quarterbacks are in charge. They read the field, decide the play, and either let go or keep the ball - all before the barreling monster of a defense lineman squashes him to a pulp. In the writing world, you are the Quarterback. The head honcho of your team. The one to decide when to release the ball and when to hold onto it.

And here’s the deal: whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, if you want to sell your book, everyone expects you to do the marketing. Yep you. Even if you get the Big NY Deal, you are still expected to do the marketing because, frankly, there is no reason to gamble on a new or mid-list writer, which means little-to-no marketing money. And who wins? The guy with the biggest motivation and perseverance. They guy who reads the field and decides how to make the plan.

Repeatedly, writers tell me they just want to write. They hate marketing. They don’t want to learn and don’t see the point. I understand. Really. But if you want to sell that book, listen to Knute Rockne: “Build up your weaknesses until they become your strong points.” He is often considered one of the greatest football coaches of all time.

Once you decide you’re gonna' dig in and go for it, the first thing you’ll do as the quarterback is find a way to fend off the defense. For writers, that can be anything. The massive defensive end coming at your left side is self-doubt, the one on the right is procrastination, and the guy coming up the middle? That’s the competition. Finally, that defensive line blocking every move you make? That’s the industry. In spite of all this, crush ‘em head on because “when you win, nothing hurts” and Hall of Famer Joe Namath, veteran quarterback of the NY Jets and the University of Alabama, should know.

And winning is only possible with a Coach. You need a Coach who will yell and scream and holler and cheer and push and hug all at once. In the world of writing, there are a lot of different coaches: writer's conferences, marketing programs, books, mentors. These coaches will teach you to develop, understand and tackle the game plan. Do you understand why you need to market on specific outlets? Do you understand the outlet? Do you know how to reach people online and turn them into readers? Seek out the people who can help you with this. “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.” - Archie Griffin, the only two-time Heisman trophy winner. So get out there, high five the coach and fight, fight, fight!

Why? Because there is nothing sweeter than stepping into a fan-crazed stadium pushing its outer limits with pandemonium. Look around. The world is your stadium and it’s bursting with fans screaming and cheering. The band is playing and the cameras are popping; they want you to succeed. So after you find your coaches, you need a game plan.

Coach Bryant said there are three rules: 1.) Surround yourself with people who can’t live without football. 2.) Recognize winners. They come in all forms. 3.) Have a plan for everything.

In the biz, the marketing plan, or playbook, is called a communications plan. The best way to learn the playbook is find out what is working for other writers. After that, create your own.

Every game plan should include:

• Target audiences
• Readers
• Interest Groups
• Media (TV, radio, print)
• Bloggers
• Other Writers
• Agents, Editors and Publishers
• Online strategies
• Website and/or Blog
• Facebook Author Page (not the personal one, a professional one)
• Goodreads (for giveaways and author discussions)
• Twitter ('cause it’s fun & all the publishing industry is on it)
• Pinterest (it’s the up and comer)
• YouTube (3rd ranked search engine behind Google and Facebook)
• Face-to-face strategies
• Attend club meetings
• Hold a signing at a hardware store
• Speak (schools, civic organizations, anywhere)
• Messages and themes
• Define the overarching themes in your story and use those to help sell it
• What message are you trying to get across in your novel?

Ask yourself: Who will you market to? How? What will you say? Put all that in your playbook. Be as bold and creative as you can. Include offensive and defensive methods.

You will be successful, but it takes time. Start slow and make small goals. Inch up to national championship status with daily interaction on all outlets. Most of all, hang in there. Writing, just as with “Football, is like life – it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.” – Vince Lombardi.

In the life of writing and marketing, the game never winds down. You play, you practice, you watch game film, revise the game plan, sometimes you’ll even switch out the players. But it is all part of the continual cycle of getting better, finessing your game and playing to win.

Now “Winning isn't everything, but it sure beats coming in second,” said Coach Bryant. “And I ain’t never been nothing but a winner.”

Now, go out there, find your game and Be A Winner!

About the Author: With a combined 12 years of active and Reserve time as a US Air Force Public Affairs Officer, Jennifer Lovett has marketed books, shows, concerts and more. She is currently an Air Force Reserve Public Affairs Officer at Patrick AFB in Florida and in her full-time life, pursuing a career as a fiction writer.