The Power Of Social Media

Several days ago, I wrote a blog concerning the amount of time we spend on social media.

Today, I want to talk about the power of social media, and how it pertains to writing.

I read an article in which literary agents, when considering an author as a potential client, always Google the client.  They’re looking for Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, LinkedIn accounts, and any other positive things they can find.  According to the article (and I wish I could find it again, so that I could credit it), it’s to find out if the author has potential name recognition.

Well, duh!  I thought that’s what an agent does!

But, it is a good idea.  If you’re a potential author, and you want representation, then, by all means, do those things!

I have a Twitter account.  I have this wonderful blog.  I also have a LinkedIn account.  I resisted building a Facebook Author Page for a long time, but I have one of those now, too.  If you’d like to see it, click this link, and it will take you to it.  Feel free to “like” it!

I don’t worry about representation, although I would enjoy it…if there are any literary agents that would like to help me with the business end of things, I’d welcome your inquiries.  There are ways to contact me, both on this blog, on Facebook, on Twitter (@mrtmbilderback), and on LinkedIn.  I’d be especially happy to have someone to peddle movie rights…

I keep all these social media things going to make myself accessible to the people that matter most:  the readers!  Through these outlets, you can find out what I’m working on, what I find funny, people that I respect, things that mean something to me…basically, you get to know me!  And, with your likes, your retweets, your favorites, and your connections, I get to know you.

And my list of fans and followers gets longer every day.  People are getting to know me, just like I’m getting to know those that I follow, or favorite, or like.  Social media is fantastic in that respect, because we’ve never before been able to know so much so quickly about others.  Name recognition is a powerful force.

For instance, I’m constantly talking about the book I’m writing at the moment.  Junior’s Farm – A Tale Of Sardis County is taking a while for me to write, because I want to get it just right.  It’s wayyyy longer than the first Sardis County story, Don’t Come Around Here No More, and also ties Sardis County slightly into the Nicholas Turner/Madeline/Justice Security universe, with the Giambini crime family from Jackie Blue – A Justice Security Novel as the bad guys…but, there’s also magic afoot, and a lot of romance.  As much as I’ve talked about it, I’m afraid my own hype won’t live up to the story!

Either way, remember this:  everything you post online never goes away.  But, also, you can be remembered so quickly!  I keep my social media accounts going so that you’ll remember “T. M. Bilderback” instead of “that %$@# writer”!

Also, I need you to…

Keep reading!

Michael (T. M.)