A quick note about social media

I'm just going to tell you my whole strategy, okay?

I’ve seen a ton of discussion around social media in the last few weeks, which makes sense, given TikTok in the news right now, Meta always getting side-eyed, and Twitter, uh, well, you know how that’s going too.

Here’s a bit of author advice from an elder millennial:¹ don’t rely on social media.²

I’m not saying abandon it. Just that it shouldn’t be only way you communicate with your readers.

I see a lot of new writers working to build their platform — focusing on getting followers on Instagram or TikTok. And if you enjoy that, go for it. Have fun. It can be incredibly useful to have a healthy following on your app of choice.

But here’s the thing: those platforms won’t always be there for you.

Like a lot of authors who’ve been at this for a while, I’ve seen social media empires rise and fall. Maybe the company vanished, or my target audience moved somewhere else, or the platform just stopped being useful for me.

I’ve hopped platforms as needed . . . and had to build a new following on every one of them. Often, I get readers who come with me. (Thank you!) But I’m still starting over. I have to learn the new algorithm, culture, editing tools on the app. . . . It’s a lot of work, given that my actual job — the one that pays my bills — is to write books.

But last year, I changed newsletter services, and the only thing I had to do was upload my file of email addresses. I didn’t have to start over. And you didn’t have to do anything.

And if I ever stop liking this service? I’ll just — once again — take you with me to the next one.

I know there are a lot of folks who are understandably worried about what they’ll do if this or that app disappears on them. Many, many small businesses find new customers thanks to their reach on social media. Honestly, it’s why I still put a ton of effort into my socials — to find new readers!

And then I want to bring them here. To something I control. Because while the algorithms can be amazing for discoverability, they aren’t great for reliably putting my content on my followers’ screens. If I want to tell my readers about a new release or an ebook sale,³ I can’t count on an algorithm to show anyone. But you do see it here.

(Now you know my whole strategy. I hope you find it useful.)

Honestly, a newsletter isn’t the perfect solution; it can be easy to delete them unread, especially if they’re all marketing all the time. Scheduling is different from social media — no one likes an inbox flood. And it takes work! I can’t reuse content like I can on Instagram, but you all signed up to get stuff from me, and frankly you deserve the best I’ve got.

So as questions about various social media platforms heat up, enjoy the apps you enjoy. Use them while you can. Just remember that your best bet is to find a way to never start over again. And if you have ideas, I’m all ears.

Let me know how you use social media and if you’re worried about things changing. How do you plan to adapt?

1. I’m turning a milestone year in May! I like wool and people buying my books.

2. I’m not talking about personal use. Folks have built amazing communities on these platforms and it’s scary to wonder what will happen to them. This note is from the standpoint of someone who uses social media as part of her business, and a very specific one at that.

3. Speaking of, the ebook for NIGHTRENDER is still on sale for $1.99 in the US. Here it is on Nook, Kobo, iBooks, and Kindle.