Your Worth is Not Determined By Your Number of Followers
Social Media is an Awareness tool rather than a full marketing strategy. Rather than approaching it as promotion, think of it as connecting to readers and introducing them to you. If it feels overwhelming to think about “readers/followers” broadly while starting, try posting for ONE person. Think about how you would tell a friend about your book. How would you explain your characters to that friend? The setting? Your writing style? Theme?
We are often told that once something is on the internet, it’s permanent. That is a lot of pressure and not entirely true. With social media especially, you’re striving for progress, not perfection. If you reread a post and decide you don’t like it, it can easily be archived or deleted from your profile, so experiment and see what works. Try lots of ideas. Identify which types of posts feel the easiest and most fun to make, and cycle through two or three ideas weekly.
Identify your content pillars— choose a few topics that you want to represent you as an author. My three might be
1. My Book
2. Books I am reading/want to read
3. My interests/hobbies/collections
Make a list under each topic of types of posts you may share that fit within the broad categories of your content pillars. Think about your content pillars as education tools for your readers— what do they need to learn/know before buying your book?
And now, a fiction break.
Zoomed Out
Lisa's alarm went off at 7:30 AM, but she hit snooze and stayed in bed for another 15 minutes. She finally dragged herself out from under the warm covers and changed into a clean pair of pajamas – grey with pink polka dots. She checked her schedule for the day: five Zoom calls with clients and team members, plus a few hours reserved for checking on project progress.
As she made her way to the kitchen for some coffee, she glanced at her closet full of interchangeable pajamas, sweatpants, athleisure clothes, and muumuu dresses. The outfits were comfortable yet presentable enough for video calls. It had been three months since she started working from home, and at first it was exciting. No more commuting or office politics. Now, she felt drained and exhausted while still wearing her nightclothes.
Her boss, Jack, had told her that all she needed to do was check in with the team and make sure projects were moving along smoothly. But it turned out to be much more than that. Lisa found herself on back-to-back calls from 8 AM to 6 PM every day, not just discussing work but also delving into her team's personal lives. It was like being their therapist but without a degree or an hourly fee.
She now knew all about their household pets -- Bacon, Taxes, Fione, and even Pete's white rat (named Rat). She knew the names of all of their children and their nap times, as well as details about their spouses who didn't have the luxury of working from home. They were essential workers – for example, grocery store employees, truck drivers, medical professionals – who risked their health every day.
Lisa sat at her desk, surrounded by piles of paperwork and multiple computer screens. She checked the latest data on each clinical trial and mentally reviewed the individual situations of each team member. She knew who needed to prioritize hygiene before seeing their families, who had to homeschool their children, and which marriages were struggling. But she tried not to dwell on that last part.
Jack called for a Zoom meeting. Lisa quickly changed into a colorful Indonesian dress and applied a fresh coat of lipstick. She put on her slightly tinted glasses, knowing that was all it took for her to look "professional" while working from home. She couldn't remember the last time she wore heels.
Jack announced that it was time for the team to complete mandatory HR training on sexual harassment and racial sensitivity. He believed it was the perfect opportunity, since they were all working from home. Lisa, as the project manager, also had to complete an additional 20 hours of training and make sure everyone else completed theirs as well. Jack even suggested slipping in a few questions during their meetings to ensure compliance.
"But what if they don't do it?" Lisa asked.
"I don't know," Jack shrugged. "You'll figure something out. You're a smart girl."
She rolled her eyes at his condescending remark. She was a middle-aged woman with years of experience, far from being a "girl."
Lisa sat at her desk, staring at the piles of paperwork and endless emails that never stopped coming. She couldn't remember the last time she had a moment to herself during work hours. Being a project manager for clinical trials used to be fulfilling and challenging, but now it felt more like being a traffic cop and therapist combined.
Before the pandemic hit, Lisa never considered quitting her job. She loved what she did – managing projects, analyzing data, and working with a team of dedicated individuals to bring new medical treatments to the market. But now, everything felt overwhelming and chaotic.
It was impossible for Lisa to keep things running smoothly when everyone constantly interrupted her with questions and issues while she attempted to juggle multiple projects at once.
The lines between her work and personal life were blurred, as she found herself responding to emails late at night or early in the morning just to keep up with the constant influx of information.
Lisa sighed heavily and rubbed her temples. Her phone rang. It was Jack again, asking for an update on one of their clinical trials. She quickly pulled up the latest data on her computer screen while simultaneously trying to remember which team member was responsible for that particular trial.
"Everything seems to be going according to plan," Lisa reported after a few minutes of scrolling through spreadsheets.
"Good," Jack replied curtly and hung up.
Ever since they’d started working from home, Jack no longer saw her as a valuable employee, but rather just another item on his checklist. She resented being seen as replaceable when she had spent years building relationships with clients and perfecting their project management processes.
Lisa took a deep breath and tried to refocus on her work. Her workday never really ended so, even though she was home all day, she was actually spending less time working on her own projects, playing with her dog, and tackling the long list of books she wanted to read.
As the days went on, Lisa received numerous emails from team members with questions and updates on various projects. She tried her best to stay on top of everything but felt like she was drowning in an endless sea of information.
It wasn't until late in the evenings that Lisa finally finished all of her tasks for the day. She slumped back in her chair and let out a sigh of relief. As she shut down her computer, she couldn't shake off the feeling of exhaustion and burnout.
The next morning, Lisa woke up feeling even more stressed than before. She had barely slept worrying about work and had no idea how she was going to tackle everything that she needed to get done during the day.
As she sat down at her desk and opened her email inbox, Lisa's heart sank as she saw Jack's name pop up again. He wanted an update on one of their most challenging trials – a project that seemed nearly impossible even before the pandemic hit.
Lisa's eyes burned from hours of poring over spreadsheets and reports. Her fingers were raw from clicking through endless pages. Finally, she sent back a detailed update to Jack, hoping for a word of gratitude. But instead, all she received was a cold silence that felt like a slap in the face. A wave of anger washed over Lisa as she realized her hard work had once again gone unnoticed and unappreciated.
Still, at least she had a job.
Author's note: Both the nonfiction and fiction sections are written by Liz Dubelman