Today storytelling has evolved, from word-of-mouth to digital. In this age of digital explosion, every aspiring writer should keep himself/herself abreast of the continuously transforming digital media. As storytelling evolves, writers are also becoming more creative by engaging more digital media tactics and tools. Many writers are using social media platforms to promote their work and expand or supplement their creative processes. We seem to be moving from the world of Twitter and Facebook to newer platforms like Storify, Goodreads, Vine, Snapchat and Quora. All these can be valuable resources for writers trying to promote their writing and connect with their readers.
Twitter and Facebook
It is good to create a dedicated Facebook page. Some writers prefer Facebook while others resort to Twitter. Chetan Bhagat, Arundhati Roy and other writers are all on Twitter. Arundhati Roy has 300 followers while Chetan Bhagat has 3.26 million followers! The author of New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell, is an avid Facebook user who uses the platform to inform her readers about upcoming books and events. “I think the best way to use social media to promote yourself is to post content other than just your writing on both your Facebook and Twitter pages,” says Nihar Suthar, author of Win No Matter What.
Instagram and Tumblr
An interesting way to connect with readers is through Instagram and Tumblr. The visually appealing format of Instagram and Tumblr helps writers to provide a holistic picture of their writing and at the same time fans can also conceptualize settings and characters. You can either leave a great deal or very little up to the readers’ imagination. “One of the most interesting ways I’ve found to connect with readers is through Instagram and Tumblr accounts for my main characters,” says Scott Bergstrom, author of The Cruelty.
Goodreads and Quora
Goodreads is a social media network site that can be used as a marketing tool for self-publishing. It is a custom-made website that tailors to the needs of writers and readers. The features of the site are the following:
- Author profile with blog and video posting.
- Once after you become a registered user, you can add your biography, photograph, and your books.
- Book listing.
- You can add your books to the Goodreads Bookshelf either manually by furnishing information about your books or by using the add feature that searches for your books from several online book stores like Amazon, Kindle Store, etc.
- Giveaways.
- Goodreads giveaways let you give free copies of your hardcopy books to readers.
- Events.
- This feature can be used to promote your events like book launches or author experiences.
Quora’s aim is to share and grow the world’s knowledge. It is a question-and-answer website. When you type your question in the search box, you may get an answer. If not, users will attempt to answer it. Writers can use this feature to answer the questions that readers may have about their work.
Storify
Storify helps you to connect to many social media sites and sources, facilitating an all-in-one search experience. You can also keep track of anything that is story-worthy online with Storify bookmarklet. Today many writers are using Storify to promote their work and to engage audiences. Through Storify, you can create a gallery of people interacting with your books or blogs.
Maptia
Maptia is an app that allows travelers to create maps and upload stories. The website promotes itself like this: “Places are made of a thousand stories. Some of them are yours. Together, we are on a mission to build the most inspirational map in the world.” You can create stories, choose a name, describe it, and choose the location of your story. The site features a storytelling guide you can refer to for inspiration.
Image credit: LT – Technology – Digital Annotation on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Smitha-Abraham.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]I’m Smitha Abraham. I love traveling in my flights of imagination and use these flights to craft short stories and poetry. I am a budding writer from India. My passions are reading, creative writing, listening to music, learning new languages, meeting new people, getting acquainted with different cultures and traveling. Authors like Isabel Allende, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, genres like magic realism, historical romance, and writing styles that are imaginative and flow effortlessly fascinate me. I love to unwind with a book curled up on a sofa or by gazing at the stars by the sea shore. I am a nature lover and spending time admiring the sunset and sunrise is relaxing for me.[/author_info] [/author]