authors owning digital space: a master class in social media for writers

AUTHORS OWNINGDIGITAL SPACE

A MASTER CLASS INSOCIAL MEDIA FOR WRITERS

PRESENTED BY SEAN CRANBURYSURREY INTERNATIONAL WRITERS CONFERENCE 2014

SEANCRANBURY.COM | BOOKSONTHERADIO.ORG | @SEANCRANBURY

#SIWC14 #THISDAYWEWRITE

Thursday, October 23, 14

CHANGE | NO CHANGE • THE INTERNET HAS IRREVOCABLY CHANGED

THE FOLLOWING:

• HOW WRITERS WRITE

• HOW READERS READ

• HOW PUBLISHERS PUBLISH

• HOW WRITERS ARE DISCOVERED

Thursday, October 23, 14

CHANGE | NO CHANGE• THE INTERNET HAS NOT CHANGED THE

FOLLOWING:

• THE VALUE OF GOOD WRITING

• THE NEED FOR GOOD EDITING

• THE VALUE OF PUBLISHERS AND AGENTS

• THE VALUE IN CONNECTING WITH READERS

• THE NEED TO HUSTLE FOR SUCCESS

Thursday, October 23, 14

RANDOM THOUGHT 01

• WHAT YOU WRITE AND HOW YOU WRITE IT IS WHO YOU ARE.

• YOU CAN WRITE ANYTHING YOU WANT IN ANY MEDIUM YOU WANT.

• NOW. LATER. FOREVER. INSTANTLY.

Thursday, October 23, 14

OWN YOUR ONLINE SPACE

• YOUR NAME DOT COM

• SPECIFIC, CAREER-SPANNING WEB DOMAIN OWNED BY YOU

• WEB HOSTING PAID FOR, MANAGED BY YOU (AND/OR YOUR TEAM)

• WEBSITE NOT RUN BY PUBLISHER

• YOU CONTROL YOUR PRESENCE ONLINE

Thursday, October 23, 14

WORDPRESS• WORDPRESS is my weapon choice.

• There are many other platforms for creating a website: Tumblr, Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, etc...

• All have their advantages, drawbacks, inconsistencies.

• WordPress, for my money, represents the best value, best set of tools, available.

Thursday, October 23, 14

HOME PAGE

Thursday, October 23, 14

BOOKS ON THE RADIO

Thursday, October 23, 14

REAL VANCOUVER

Thursday, October 23, 14

RANDOM THOUGHT 02• Follow comedians on Twitter.

• Follow your own best advice.

• Express yourself, don’t hold back.

• Don’t get hung up on analytics.

• Know when it’s over.

• Synthesize!

Thursday, October 23, 14

BUILDING/CREATING• It won’t end, it can’t end.

• Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop.

• Always be learning.

• Prepare yourself for this new reality.

• You don’t always need to be online, and in fact you rarely should be, but the garden needs tending if the fruits are to grow.

Thursday, October 23, 14

ASTRA TAYLOR• Astra Taylor, author of The People’s Platform, Taking

Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, recently said:

• There are three phases in the modern creative process: 1) being the uncompromising artist, 2) being the career survivalist, 3) being the armchair critic.

• Recognize the boundaries, don’t try to do too much.

Thursday, October 23, 14

INTERNET VS SOCIAL MEDIA

• Social media allow you to communicate with people around the world in real time in an ever-increasing number of ways.

• Written words + audio + still images + video + some creative combination of all these things.

• You can tell stories here.

• You can express what you want to in any way you want to. As little or as much as you choose.

Thursday, October 23, 14

FIRST KNOWN USAGE: 2004

Thursday, October 23, 14

A CLUSTER OF BRANDED IMAGERY DESIGNED TO SHARE

Thursday, October 23, 14

RELATIONSHIPS• The relationships that you have with the people on

the internet, your current and future readers, are real.

• People are not marketing opportunities.

• They care about characters and stories, and they care about their favorite authors.

• They are also the word of mouth - the finest currency - that giveth and taketh away.

Thursday, October 23, 14

CORY DOCTOROW

Thursday, October 23, 14

kc dyer

Thursday, October 23, 14

DIANA GABALDON

Thursday, October 23, 14

HUGH HOWEY

Thursday, October 23, 14

SELF-PUBLISHING

• Are you willing to do the work?

• To find the fit that is best for you?

• To figure out file formats, marketing options, website integration?

• Are you willing to wear all the hats?

Thursday, October 23, 14

KOBO

Thursday, October 23, 14

AMAZON CREATE SPACE

Thursday, October 23, 14

SMASHWORDS

Thursday, October 23, 14

O’REILLY ATLAS

Thursday, October 23, 14

PRESSBOOKS

Thursday, October 23, 14

BEHAVIOURS• Social media relationships and manners are

not unlike those we exhibit in real life (IRL).

• Deception, disingenuousness, negative expression are not well met.

• Criticism, strong opinions, etc... are fine, in fact, encouraged.

• Honesty, owning your mistakes always wins.

Thursday, October 23, 14

CATFISHING

Thursday, October 23, 14

#GAMERGATE

Thursday, October 23, 14

#FEMINISM

Thursday, October 23, 14

RINGS OF SATURN

Thursday, October 23, 14

THANK YOU!AUTHORS OWNING

DIGITAL SPACEA MASTER CLASS IN

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR WRITERS

PRESENTED BY SEAN CRANBURYSURREY INTERNATIONAL WRITERS CONFERENCE 2014

SEANCRANBURY.COM | BOOKSONTHERADIO.ORG | @SEANCRANBURY

#SIWC14 #THISDAYWEWRITE

Thursday, October 23, 14