Avoid Follower Freak Out!
How Authors Without a Large Following Can Still Find Their Footing
A literary agent once told me she won’t even consider an author’s manuscript if the author doesn’t have at least 500k followers on social media. What? I said, “Well, that knocks out about ninety percent of the population,” to which she replied, “Exactly!”
Hmm.
Don’t freak out. I have good news.
There are numerous successful authors, including seasoned, best-selling, and debut authors, without a strong social media presence. This doesn’t mean followers aren’t important; it simply means other things matter more—a great manuscript and an engaging author.
Don’t have much of a following?
It’s okay. Just start somewhere. This includes anything that builds your online presence or at least gets your name out there. Perhaps a newsletter or speaking engagements are more your style. That’s fine. Hired a publicist? Awesome. Have a massive network? Great. One or all elements of an author platform enhance your chances of getting published and making sales.
Here are a few helpful articles on Books Uplift, and there are more to come…
5 Ways to Promote Your Book Without Fatiguing Your Audience
How to Build an Author Platform
Why You Should Write a Guest Post
5 Tips For Pre-Publication Book Promotion
Ultimately, the goal of all of this, including followers, is not to turn you into an influencer but to drive sales. If you have a solid plan for driving book sales, you’ll avoid “follower freakout.” Just make sure you’re building this plan each week with your end goal in mind.
To steal a line from the movie Field of Dreams…
If you build it, they will come.
I hope this article gave you a few useful ideas. I would be honored if you shared it on social media. Speaking of sharing, please share your ideas and experiences below. Together, we can build an uplifting community that uplifts each other’s happiness, well-being, creativity, and success.
