Topic: When is enough enough? (Being happy/celebrating vs overkill . . .)

[christine]

I think the people who worry about whether they are promoting too much are probably the least likely offenders.  Sorta like when you're at the office staff meeting getting the lecture about professional dress and EVERYONE is staring at the person wearing flip-flops and a halter top. That person's always oblivious...

[Laura Murray]

This is a great question, Anne Marie and I was so interested in everyone's response!  It is such a fine line of wanting to spread the word and coming off as "selling." You are doing a great job and I am looking forward to getting a copy this weekend at Hooray for Books, and treating my girls to a tour of Alexandria too .

[Ev]

Yay for the picture! And yay for Vampirina's place of honor in it!    Thanks for sharing, Anne Marie.

Your question is a good one and the responses have been helpful and interesting. I agree with Vijaya--enjoy the happy times in life!  You have enough sensitivity that I don't think you have to worry about overdoing the promotion.

I'm happy for your rejoicing time.

[Owl]

That's a GREAT picture! Thanks for sharing it!

There's a big difference between sharing happy news around the time of one's launch and being an over-the-top 24/7 promotion machine. (I don't read twitter because I'm afraid there's too much of the latter there.) But no worries, AM. You are very much a happy celebrator, not an over-the-top promoter. Enjoy!

[Christy]

Such a great thread! I love all of these thoughts and they really give a sense of how people think about this whole promotion thing. But celebrating is so important too. Maybe find creative ways to show pics of people with your books like pinterest. I know if an author posted a picture of me with their book it would mean the world to me and kids even moreso. I think it's more of how it's handled than anything else.

[Melissa Marr]

AM, I don't think there is a good answer to this that works for everyone.  I've loved reading the thread, and I'm glad you asked.  After so long on the blueboard, I'll admit that I'm guilty of sometimes just reading the Good News threads. On Twitter, I read my "following" list specifically to see two things: what's new in the industry and what's new for people I know. So, for me, I'd be happy to read every tidbit of good news anyone posts.

My approach to Twitter/public Facebook page is "post what I'm thinking or excited about right now." Sometimes that means lots of book stuff. Other times it's all dogs, kids, & tea.  Lately, it's a lot about my walking goals. (Tonight, it's been about getting readers to meet me on tour so I don't have to go on my nightly walks by myself.) It is--as others have said--about your comfort level too.  If people don't want to read about my walking, books, or family, they can unfollow me. *shrug* Be yourself. Be real. Don't flood the feed by tweeting every hour.  Beyond that, if people don't like it, they can move along.

(Also, congrats!)

[JennaWren]

Be yourself. Be real. Don't flood the feed by tweeting every hour.  Beyond that, if people don't like it, they can move along.

(Also, congrats!)

[Lisa S]

I think some people are just more excited than others and can't help but share, share, share and give away things and give away more things and jump for joy at every review and and and...

Then there's me who has a new book coming out in January and because I've been at this a while, and have had been hurt because of reviews or poor attendance at signings or any number of things, it's *really* hard to get excited because the higher my hopes, the harder I will fall. I kind of wish I could just stick my head in the sand from now until February.

I also think there is a part of me that believes nothing I do makes a bit of a difference. Me talking about the book doesn't sell books. Other people talking about the book sells books.

Anyway, I was thinking about this while on twitter one evening, and asked the following: "Does an author's excitement about his/her book make you excited? Or is it irrelevant?"

I wondered if people might say it annoyed them sometimes, like it can annoy me sometimes. No one said that. Everyone said they love excited authors. Some went on to say that if an author wasn't excited, they would be worried, because maybe the book wasn't any good.

One multi-published author replied to me after watching the conversation for a while and said, "Never realized not being bOUnCy and eXcITeD!! could be read as not having put one's heart in the book. Ack!" It was eye-opening for me too. I thought, so how is this rabbit supposed to stand out in a bunch of tiggers? I'm still thinking about that.

So if something genuinely excites you and you want to share it, I think it's fine, understanding that there's a difference between being excited and simply selling for the sake of selling. And if you have excess amounts of excitement that you don't know what to do with, SEND SOME MY WAY. 

[Jayca]

I think the people who worry about whether they are promoting too much are probably the least likely offenders.

THIS!

AND WHAT MIKE SAID!

AND WHAT ALL OF THESE OTHER WISE BLUEBOARDERS SAID.

I'm glad you posted the pic on LJ, Anne Marie. We're all cheering for you, here...and genuinely excited & happy for you, as you have been for so many others!

[nickypicky]

Anne Marie - I was so excited when I saw Vampirina in B&N the other day, people probably thought it was MY book! I think excited is perfectly fine. And Neiman Marcus is something to blow your horn about! So cool.

Now, for my two cents -- I've been considering this very issue lately...
I have sort of the same problem Lisa S has, without all the lovely publication credits haha, even though I try to hide it. This whole year, as the Big Day grew closer, I found myself less and less willing/able to be "public" with my writing. As in, I stopped posting here, pulled back from my other writing groups. I don't know, I felt more and more exposed, and scared.
Then I began to worry that the perception of a lack of excitement on my part might affect people's thoughts about it... and I ventured back out again on twitter, etc. But my heart's not been in it... until now. My book's out, it's done, I can't "fix" anything... and I can move on.
I was wondering if this dwindling of the public persona happened to others, but I guess it does, sort of. Makes me feel better.

[Melissa Marr]

I was wondering if this dwindling of the public persona happened to others, but I guess it does, sort of.

Yes. It very much does for me. The closer I get to release, the more I want to talk about anything BUT the book both in person & online. I wish I could skip tour. I've pretty much skipped most interviews. I did 1 taped, & I have a radio tour mid-way into my tour (bc really who need sleep?).  The exposed & scared bit though? I get it all the time. I try not to, but it's always there. Sometimes it's worse than others: I had a panic attack and walked out of an event at ALA this summer. So, you're not alone in this at all.

[Karen K]

I also think there is a part of me that believes nothing I do makes a bit of a difference. Me talking about the book doesn't sell books. Other people talking about the book sells books.

 

Before my first novel debuted, I was EXCITED! and couldn't stop talking about it. (I suspect I was annoying.) Now that my third novel is coming out soon, I'm much calmer about the whole thing. It can be exhausting to bounce around online and be super bubbly at every single author event.

And I strongly suspect an author's excitement levels *don't* translate into sales, or make readers think any differently about a novel. I've observed that excitement levels seem to peak with debut authors right before their first book comes out, and never quite reach those heights again with their later books. But that's a good thing, I think, because whipping yourself into a frenzy of promotion can be distracting from actually, you know, working on your books. To be honest, I'd rather save my excitement for my writing!



Karen

[Amanda Coppedge]

I remember as a teen reading that John Steinbeck passionately invested himself in each book as he was writing it, but once final edits were through it was pretty much dead to him--he was already invested in his next project. That surprised and kind of horrified me--how could "East of Eden" be dead to its creator? Or "Cannery Row?" Or "In Dubious Battle?" As a reader this made no sense to me. But once I started to understand the biz end of writing as an adult, yeah, I can kind of see it. You have to always be looking forward. And it's tough because what is a "new book" to readers to you may be something you wrote years ago.

[Just Jodi]

LOVE hearing everyone's answers! I've wondered/stressed about this too.

My feeling? If you're ONLY talking about/promoting your books, it can get a bit one-dimensional...as if your posts/updates/etc. are nothing but commercials. BUT, most of the people I know not only Tigger dance for their own material (which is totally cool - you SHOULD be excited about your work...even if it's internal, for all those shy people...), but also celebrate - and promote - their fellow writer/illustrator's work as well.

(And bacon.) 

Personally, I love seeing all the great news - and the great photos! Keep 'em comin'!!!

Tigger dancing for all! Hugs, Jodi 

[writerjenn]

I used my own feelings as a barometer of how much stuff to post about my own books. Here are the "guidelines" I set for myself, based on my own reactions to others' social media streams:

If something big and new happens, YES! Share it! Your new book came out--or it's now in paperback--or you won a big prize--or you get a starred review--or it's being made into a movie--or it has a new cover--yes! The first time you see your first book on a shelf--your keynote speech at a big conference--yes!

If you have something amusing to show, like you took your first book to the movies with you and it's sitting on the seat next to you with a bucket of popcorn--yes!

Repeated posts about every single review, every single foreign rights sale, every single signing, every single fan letter--please, no.

I notice I'm more tolerant of regular promo announcements when they're accompanied by other content. I think most of the people reading my blog are there for the writing and literature discussions. So nowadays, if I post a link to a place I've been interviewed, or if I post an announcement of a signing, I make it a note at the bottom or top of a blog post that discusses my usual subjects: writing, reading, quirky cats, etc. That way, people who are interested in my news get the info, but those who've heard enough already can just scroll to the part of the post they're interested in.

These are just my own guidelines based on my own comfort level. YMMV.

I also want to say that celebration of each and every milestone is appropriate--and not all of it has to be shared on our social networks. I have a group of friends who hear from me about all kinds of ups and downs, but I don't put all that stuff on my blog.

Celebrate? YES! Share publicly? Maybe.

(I've tried to speak in generalities in this reply--but to you personally, AnneMarie, I will say that you have built up so much goodwill in the kidlit community that we are all as excited as you are about your book.)

[CynJay]

I've only unfollowed two people on Twitter because of this and both of them had 'auto' announcements at the same time every day saying the same thing promoting their books. It was so impersonal and annoying that I just couldn't take it anymore. But you'd never do anything like that, so I wouldn't worry about it.  :grouphug2

[ameyers]

Hi Anne Marie

That's a good question. I've been wondering the same thing and did post my upcoming book on FB and Twitter. However, I don't want my page to be all about the book, so am in kind of a quandary about how often to mention it too. Some writers  send out info about their books almost daily, and while I admire that, and it can get to be a bit much.

My suggestion: Make one announcement, because this is a super big deal -- congratulations, by the way, -- and then let it go.

[Mara]

Make one announcement . . . and then let it go.

I wouldn't go THAT far! I think it's fine to post a handful of times in the first few weeks or months when there's a lot happening, and then later if there's big news (a starred review, an award, whatever).

I do get tired of the people who post about nothing but their book. But that's obviously not you, AM.

[Anne Marie]

But that's obviously not you, AM.

I do post my share of dog throw up posts.  And kid humor.  And of course, pie.

[Elaine (aka sweetpea)]

I'm late to this, but I wanted to weigh in on the bacon thing. Can you really post too much about bacon? 

[Hélène Boudreau]

I'm late to this, but I wanted to weigh in on the bacon thing. Can you really post too much about bacon? 

Haha! NO! obv...

[ameyers]

Bacon? Never!!

[Elaine (aka sweetpea)]

Good to know! We shall celebrate the crispy delicousness that is....bacon!!

[MaureenMcGowan]

I think Mike's answer is fabulosity itself and should be a sticky thread of its own somewhere.

I agree, Joni!! Thanks for that post, Mike.

I read something recently about using social networking for promotion and marketing that really made sense to me.

Of course, I can't find it now. D'oh. But the upshot was both making sure you keep a balance (like others have said) and also what kind of social contract you have with the people you're sharing your news with.

The balance, I imagine, is hard strike right around a book release. I'm struggling with this question right now too...

But the social contract concept gave me pause... The idea was considering what people had signed up for when they chose to follow you, or friend you, or whatever it is. And that you can give more blatant "sales" messages to people who've signed up to get news like that.

Eg.

Newsletter subscribers -- have signed up for sales messages
People who go to your blog or website -- have signed up for sales-type messages too (unless your blog was not about your book or writing until your release. i.e. probably shouldn't turn a sports blog or a movie review blog into a book blog overnight.)

On the other hand: Twitter followers and facebook friends have not signed up for sales messages. Or at least not exclusively.

I would extrapolate from there that people who've clicked "like" on a FB page are somewhere in between. That is, you can make your feed on your Page more book related than on your personal profile without annoying others.

The hardest thing for me is that my twitter feed and FB status updates are usually full of whatever is occupying my mind at any given time. And from now until my launch. And certainly right around my launch... My mind is going to be completely occupied with, well, me and my book. So it will be hard to keep the balance....

Interesting discussion...

~Maureen

[m_stiefvater]

I'm glad Melissa and Lisa jumped into this thread, too, because "how much is too much" is something that changes, definitely, the more books you have out. First of all, I think people love seeing authors excited about their first books. Every little step that new book takes into the world is thrilling — every page proof, cover reveal, ARC, early blog review, pro review, display at your local indie, first copy spotted at Barnes and Noble, someone reading it on the subway, etc etc etc — they're all thrilling. And I think for new authors, readers love to hear about that bubbling enthusiasm. They utterly believe that it is just that exciting to have your first book or two out. AND IT IS!

So I think it's difficult to overshare as a debut or second book. So long as it is sharing and not promotional, I think people will laugh and enjoy your giddiness.

I do think, though, that it changes with the more books you have out. Not only do I, as an author, feel differently about my books coming out now than I did as a debut, but people would view my enthusiasm differently, I think. I remember when I used to post every new cover and starred review here on the board, and it never, ever felt weird. Now, though, I think it would feel weird. More . . . gloaty? Even though I haven't changed — just my career has.

This is really not to say that I'm not excited out of my mind about The Raven Boys coming out in two weeks. But the things that I'm thinking about it now are not easily bloggable. They are more nuanced, and a lot of times, more secretive too. As everyone here with a contract will know, the more books you have on the table, the more likely good news is something that has to be held for six or eight or twelve months. Which means by the time you're able to talk about it, genuine giddiness is gone.

This is a long reply to basically say BE EXCITED! EVERYONE WANTS TO SEE EXCITED!

[ohmylorelei]

I agree with the others, that it's about including other info too.

But also, I think there's just a point where you aren't adding anything to the way people perceive the book. 

Though I always try to link to blog reviews, because I feel like the links benefit the bloggers, and I want to show appreciation to reviewers who took the time and interest...

[Anne Marie]

But also, I think there's just a point where you aren't adding anything to the way people perceive the book. 

This is a really good point, Laurel.  Thanks.

[lyrical]

I just really loved this quip about John Steinbeck.

I remember as a teen reading that John Steinbeck passionately invested himself in each book as he was writing it, but once final edits were through it was pretty much dead to him--he was already invested in his next project. That surprised and kind of horrified me--how could "East of Eden" be dead to its creator? Or "Cannery Row?" Or "In Dubious Battle?" As a reader this made no sense to me. But once I started to understand the biz end of writing as an adult, yeah, I can kind of see it. You have to always be looking forward. And it's tough because what is a "new book" to readers to you may be something you wrote years ago.

If you are feeling excited, tweet, blog, post about it. It has to go on for weeks or months to get annoying. One of my Twitter followers was on a bookstore hunt for her new release. She posted about it effusively, for about a day. It was annoying at first, because she kept nailing that book title, but then it got fun. If I saw the same thing week after week, I would get annoyed. But for now, ride that wave, lady. Ride the wave. You may never get a chance to celebrate this again.

[Karen K]

If you are feeling excited, tweet, blog, post about it. It has to go on for weeks or months to get annoying.

Maybe I'm a Scrooge, but I have seen at least a few authors who *did* get annoying faster than weeks or months. They constantly gushed about Every. Little. Thing. And I started to get tired of it, like I was watching a little kid scream over a Christmas present for more than an hour straight. But this is the exception to the rule, and most of these culprits settled down eventually!

Karen

[Anne Marie]

Coming back to Laurel's point about how at some point you aren't adding anything to how people perceive the book--I am watching this happen right now on a certain social media site with a certain author.  At some point, with 6 and 10 posts a day, there's no value added--I'm now skipping over the author's posts, even though I am quite happy for this person and I've seen the book for realz and it's very, very good.  But when you are saying to yourself, be happy--it's a first book--you just did this yourself, AM--that means the person is getting close to that invisible line, I think.

Of course, the line is going to be different for every reader and that is a conundrum.

Me, I have a couple of interviews coming up, which I will link to, but otherwise, unless something lovely and big happens, I'm relaxing on social media now.