What are the mistakes you see in beginner writers?
by Ryan Casey
I feel slightly awkward talking about ‘beginner writers’, mainly because I still consider myself as one, in a way. Sure, I have a novel and a few short stories out, and granted, I have a blog with writing advice and musings. But I still feel young and fresh in the writing world.
However, there are always a few pearls of wisdom to pass on, even from just a few years of experience. There’s something that grates on me, and although I don’t like to discriminate against ‘beginner’ writers in particular because we’re all one at some stage, it is something that tends to sneak into the habits of those new to the scene.
That ‘something’ is social media abuse.
Now don’t get me wrong — I love Twitter. I tweet a few times per day, sharing content that interests me, general musings, and stuff that I think my followers will enjoy.
I also tweet the occasional promotional link, if I have a new release out, or am promoting a sale.
Note the key word there. Occasional. Promotional spam is where I think a lot of beginner writers fall down, and it’s something that needs to be cut out as soon as possible unless you want to garner a reputation you can’t shake.
I’ll tell you a little hypothetical story. I followed a writer on Twitter. She used to tweet about her own books a lot. I’m talking several times an hour. People moaned about it, tried to kindly tell her that what she was doing wasn’t helping her career.
Where is she three months on? Taking a break from writing to reassess her options.
It’s painful when people give up their dream based on such a minor error of judgement, especially when it’s an error that can be so easily cut out. Sure, it’s tempting to tweet loads of promotional stuff when sales dry up, but it’s important to remember that sales do dry up from time to time. It’s a long game. Instead of selling your soul to promotional spam, use the time to work on a new release instead.
But how do you know whether you are spamming or not? Well, ask yourself the question, ‘would I enjoy reading this?’ If so, then you’re probably fine. If not, then reassess your social media habits. It’ll benefit in the long run, believe me.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Mystery / Coming of Age
Rating – PG15
More details about the book
Website http://ryancaseybooks.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment