The last course from George Galdorisi's Get Published Now seminar.

1. Get Published Now!
Coronado Adult Education
Spring 2016
Social Media – Challenges and Opportunities
March 8, 2016

2. “If you decide to become a professional writer, you
must, broadly speaking, decide whether you wish to
write for fame, for pleasure, or for money.”
Ian Fleming
How to Write a Thriller

3. Recap of What
We Covered Last Week

4. Establishing an Online Presence
• Review of weeks one through four
– Why write – writing skills in general
– Writing for and selling for publication
– Writing and selling non-fiction
– Writing and selling novels
• What makes your online material unique?
• Beating the competition for “eyes”
• Balancing content and entertainment
• Doing-it-yourself…or…?

5. This Week: Social Media
Challenges and Opportunities

6. “Social media is not just a spoke on the wheel of
marketing. It's becoming the way entire bicycles are
built”
Ryan Lilly
Write Like No One is Reading

7. Social Media-Challenges and Opportunities
• Everyone is doing it
• Vote early and often
• Building a following
• Sustaining momentum

8. What This Evening Is – and Isn’t - About
• What it isn’t:
– A primer on how to use social media – I suspect you all
know how to do that already
• What it is:
– Thoughts on how to use social media to support and
promote what you publish

9. “Over the past 60 years, marketing has moved from being
product-centric (Marketing 1.0) to being consumer-centric
(Marketing 2.0). Today we see marketing as transforming once
again in response to the new dynamics in the environment. We
see companies expanding their focus from products to
consumers to humankind issues. Marketing 3.0 is the stage when
companies shift from consumer-centricity to human-centricity
and where profitability is balanced with corporate
responsibility.”
Philip Kotler

10. EngagementDesign
Visibility
Do all three
and you are
marketing
successfully

11. Social Media – Your Vehicle for
Engagement and Visibility
• Engagement
• E-mail mailing list
• Blog
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Visibility (typically after your book is published)
• Publicity
• Advertising
• Events
• Guest posts
• Give aways
• Interviews/podcasts

12. Everyone is Doing It
• 74% of online adults use social networking sites
• 71% of online adults use Facebook
• 23% of online adults use Twitter
• 26% use Instagram
• 28% use Pinterest
• 28% use LinkedIn

13. Vote Early and Often
• There are no limits to how much you can use social
media
• This goes to the number of sites you use as well as to
how often you are on those sites
• However, as with your online presence (website) it
comes down to how you invest your time
• Most practitioners advise a Zen approach: “If you
don’t do it excellently, don’t do it at all”

14. Building a Following
• There are many ways to build a following – find the
one that’s right for you
• You can even “buy” a following on media like Twitter
– if this is really what you want to do
• Most people find that letting a following build
naturally conveys the best long-term benefits
• Remember that social media following is a very
ephemeral thing (Un-friending, Tweepie, etc.)

15. Sustaining Momentum
• Building a following on social media carries an
implicit obligation – to stay with it!
• As one indication, Twitter tells you when a person’s
last Tweet was – and Tweepie keeps score too
• You want to make social media your servant not your
master
• Recognize that there are dangers that come with this
http://www.georgegaldorisi.com/who-likes-you

16. …now let’s get to the “where”
and the “how to”

17. …but first…a strategic pause

18. “A fixation with connecting with 'friends' online
comes with the risk of disconnection with
friends waiting for you to be present in the
offline world.”
Craig Hodges

19. Do You Really Want To Do This?
• It can be time consuming – or all-consuming
• It can be boring
• It can be distracting – to the detriment of your work
• It can be expensive in terms of missed opportunities
• Doesn’t have a definable return on investment
• At the end of the day it is ephemeral

20. …on the other hand…

21. Benefits of Social Media
• You can reach a global audience
• Social media is accessible to everyone
• Most social media tools are easily learned
• You control your content and periodicity
• If you have no Web presence, agents, reviewers and
readers are a lot less likely to take you seriously
• Publishers will ask: “What platforms are you on and
how many followers do you have?”

22. A Slice of Social Media

23. A Slice of Social Media
• E-mail
• Blogging
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Text Messaging
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest
• Instagram

24. A Slice of Social Media
• E-mail
• Blogging
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Text Messaging
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest
• Instagram

25. “Your email inbox is a bit like a Las Vegas
roulette machine. You know, you just check it
and check it, and every once in a while there's
some juicy little tidbit of reward, like the three
quarters that pop down on a one-armed bandit.
And that keeps you coming back for more.”
Douglas Rushkoff

26. E-mail
• E-mail remains the most “personal” of all types of
media we use – except perhaps the phone
• Since it is asynchronous in time, it lends itself to you
just launching something at any time
• You can also create multiple “lists” for various
communities of interest
• Many people you e-mail expect a reply when they e-
mail you – and the clock is ticking
• Know the “rules of the road”
• Learn how to handle your in-box

27. “Don’t focus on having a great blog. Focus on
producing a blog that’s great for your readers.”
Brian Clark

28. Blogging
• Your blog is typically your “stream of consciousness”
of content you want to share with the world
• It’s not just about getting people to look at your blog
once, it’s about getting them to come back to it
• Use the “Goldilocks” approach to blogging – not too
much, not too little by remembering what you like
• It always helps to periodically build on material
you’ve blogged on before

29. “In modern politics, even the leader of the free
world needs help from the sultan of
Facebookistan.”
Rebecca MacKinnon

30. Facebook
• Having at least a decent Facebook page is an
expected attribute for any professional
• In much the same way as your website, your
Facebook page should balance content and sizzle
• Be judicious regarding who you follow – it can
overwhelm your e-mail inbox
• Facebook is a great opportunity to engage both your
left and your right brain

31. “Twitter is my bar. I sit at the counter and listen
to the conversations, starting others, feeling the
atmosphere.”
Paulo Coelho

32. Twitter
• In some ways, Twitter is today’s news “ribbon” in
Times Square
• Twitter enables you to redistribute content that you
find and want to share
• Twitter provides a great opportunity to drive people
to your website
• Exercise caution and don’t “over-market” on Twitter
– people can easily see through this

33. “The real challenge is for each of us to determine
where we feel we can make the most impact.”
Jay Samit

34. Like Many Things in Life Using Social Media
to Enhance Your Writing Reach Involves
• Organization and planning
• Knowing your target market
• Getting creative
• Staying consistent
• Picking some – but not likely all – types of SM
• Setting realistic goals–especially the time you invest

35. ...if you are interested in learning more…

36. One Way to Learn More About How Social
Media Can Help Your Writing Promotion
• Fauzia Burke
www.fauiziaburke.com
• Tracy Petrucci
www.tracypetrucci.com
• San Diego Writer’s Ink
http://www.sandiegowriters.org/

37. “Being a comparatively successful writer is a good life.
You don’t have to work at it all the time and you carry
your office around in your head. And you are far more
aware of the world around you. Writing makes you
more alive to your surroundings and, since the main
ingredient of living, though you might not think so to
look at most human beings is to be alive, this is quite a
worthwhile by-product, even if you only write thrillers.”
Ian Fleming
How to Write a Thriller

38. Slides Posted:
http://www.georgegaldorisi.com/
E-Mail
george@georgegaldorisi.com

39. ....let’s see what we’ve learned over these
six weeks….

40. Course Recap
• Why Write?
• First - and Essential - Steps
• Non-fiction - The Hungry Market
• “The Great American Novel”
• Establishing an Online Presence
• Social Media - Challenges and Opportunities

41. Please share just one thing
you learned in the listed seminar

42. Seminar One: Why Write?
• History is what writers say it is
• Picking your medium
• A building block approach
• Due diligence the easy way

43. Seminar Two: First - and Essential - Steps
• Content-hungry media
• Recycling and building content
• Building relationships with editors – a win-win for
both parties
• Solo or with a wingman? The pros and cons of
collaboration

44. Seminar Three:
Non-Fiction - The Hungry Market
• Being - or becoming - the expert?
• Pursuing a subject - or letting life happen?
• Scratching itches - or entertaining?
• How much to tell and what’s next?

45. Seminar Four:
“The Great American Novel”
• Great or not-so-great? What you need to know
getting started
• Mainstream or genre? Which way should you go?
• Defining your audience and picking a “voice” and
point of view
• Getting the sale

46. Seminar Five:
Establishing an Online Presence
• What makes yours unique?
• Beating the competition for “eyes”
• Balancing content and entertainment
• Doing-it-yourself…or…?

47. Seminar Six:
Social Media-Challenges and Opportunities
• Everyone is doing it
• Vote early and often
• Building a following
• Sustaining momentum

48. Survey’s and Follow-On
http://www.georgegaldorisi.com/
george@georgegaldorisi.com