Social media for authors
How to tweet, post and shout about your writing
It’s Platform-Building month at Jericho Writers, and this week we’re celebrating everything social media. We also have a reminder about our exciting #JerichoWritersOneDay opportunity for members and the first of a series of blogs walking you through your membership.
MEMBER OPPORTUNITY: Submit your book direct to Simon & Schuster with #JerichoWritersOneDay
We’re thrilled to be working with our friends over at Simon & Schuster UK to bring our under-represented members the opportunity to submit directly to their Digital Original list (no agent required!) We have members of our own team on this list and are so pleased to be able to offer this as a member exclusive!
This week at Jericho Writers:
TUTORED COURSES: Creative Non-Fiction starts 7 October (Discounts for members)
Nurture your non-fiction project on this short, flexible course. Sam Jordison has been an editor, a co-director at award-winning indie publisher Galley Beggar Press, and a writer at The Guardian – so he really knows his stuff. Grab your place to create a fully-realised piece of work in just six weeks.
MEMBER EVENT: Events happening this week
Tomorrow, we have Twitter for Authors with Julie Owen-Moylan, followed by an event on Instagram for Authors with Fiona Thomas on Saturday 18 September. Both of these tutors are brilliant at what they do and well worth tuning in for!
BLOG: How to write a compelling plot twist
Our fabulous new Digital Content Manager Natali Juste Simmonds has hit the ground running with a comprehensive post on everything you need to know to write a plot twist that completely hooks readers and stands the test of time.
SUCCESS STORY: Natalie Chandler
Natalie Chandler began researching and writing her debut novel, ‘Believe Me Not’, in 2020, and attended the Summer Festival of Writing to build up her confidence before seeking agent representation. She’s now represented by Liza DeBlock at Mushens Entertainment, and recently signed a deal with Headline Accent.
Social media basics for absolute beginners
We’re living in a world unrecognisable from the one we lived in just a few short decades ago – especially in terms of technology. These days, it’s almost a given that everyone should have a computer, be online, and use social media.
But it’s not.
For those at you who are new to the world of social media and feeling daunted by it, I thought I’d pause and cover some basics for you to start building upon if/when you feel you’d like to.
1: Hashtags
These have found their way into everyday speech now, but at its basic – a hashtag is a way to turn a word or phrase into a link, to discover other content about that word or phrase. For writers, this is particularly wonderful, as we can connect with other people interested in writing from all other the world, just by adding a hashtag at the beginning. Try #writing or #amwriting and see what the world is saying about it!
2: Different platforms
Social media platforms fall in and out of favour, but the main ones currently are Twitter and Instagram (with Facebook close behind still, for those with a more mature readership!)
Twitter is characterised as a way of sharing things succinctly, in a short character limit. It’s brilliant for connecting to the industry and to other writers, but can also be overwhelming.
Instagram is for sharing pictures and videos – brilliant for posting book reviews and connecting with the reading community.
There’s also TikTok (for short videos); LinkedIn (for business connections) and thousands more. Pick one, put the time in and if you decide none are good for you – that’s completely fine.
3: @ing / tagging / DMs
If you want to send a message to one person in particular, you can often do this my heading to their profile, finding their username and adding an ‘@’ in front of it. For example, if you want to say hello to our team, we’re @jerichowriters!
Do bear in mind though that on Twitter and other platforms, these messages are publicly available for the world to view. If you want to send a ‘Direct Message’ (DM) look for the mail symbol on their profile.
When used correctly, the world of social media can be a brilliant way to connect with people and feel part of something brilliant.
Sarah J
Plus, don’t miss:
On top of our #JerichoWritersOneDay partnership with Simon & Schuster, they’ve kindly sponsored a full Jericho Writers membership bursary for an underrepresented writer. To celebrate, we’re sponsoring a further eleven on top of that – so if you identify as being from an underrepresented community, we urge you to apply.
One-to-ones with literary agents still available
Get direct feedback from agents and book doctors. The summer has pretty much gone, and so have most of our sessions – so get booking!
Mentoring (10% discount available)
Get expert one-to-one help as you write and edit your manuscript with your choice of award-winning mentors.
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