Interview with Social Media Expert/PR Consultant Killian Czuba on How to Use Social Media to Promote Your Book

Killian Czuba is a fiction writer, comics enthusiast, podcaster, and social media/PR gun-for-hire. She has a grad degree, some published works, an arts editor gig with Cactus Heart Press, and would immediately take up any scientist who offered her gills. (She is also, as I have personally known her, full of a kind of infectious energy and enthusiasm! And I’m very happy to have her guest post on this blog!)
Websites: killianczuba.com and http://scoutlitpub.tumblr.com/
Twitter: @ScoutLitPub and @killianczuba

JHG: Thanks for being here, Killian! How would you say most authors are using social media today, and how should they be using it to be more effective at book promotion?

KC: So happy to be here, thank you!

Not enough authors use social media. Many of them who I know personally admit to being afraid of it; they are daunted by a lack of knowledge about certain platforms, or the assumption of overwhelming time commitment. Now, some more famous authors do use it, to different degrees, and there are a few who really stand out to me (I’ll use Twitter as my base example here): journalists Laura Hudson (@laura_hudson) and Ta-Nehisi Coates (@tanehisicoates), horror writer Joe Hill (@joe_hill), and lit fiction author Colson Whitehead (@colsonwhitehead). I gravitate towards following people who interact very personally and positively with their followers. I could follow X author, but they only tweet promotions or very removed and boring updates, so I don’t. I could follow Y author, but they spend most of their time saying inflammatory things and fighting with people, so I don’t.

Honestly, I think that the prose and poetry communities should take note of what the comics community is like. They are supportive, close-knit, and very friendly towards outsiders. They retweet fan photos and favourite enthusiastic tweets. They engage in conversation. Everyone gets political sometimes (and, believe me, that is necessary at times), but the overall feeling is one of improving the field, of adapting, of promoting the youngsters and new faces instead of sneering. I think authors need to embrace that supportive and socially engaged aspect to social media. That’s the point, right? To be social. Check out someone like Kelly Sue DeConnick (@KellySue).

When people who I respect and admire on social media write a book, or suggest a book, I am far more likely to put it on my to-read list. My most recent example of this is my recent following of Caitlin Doughty (@thegooddeath) and my desire to read her new nonfiction book, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory. I think she’s smart, and I like her as a person. That second part? That’s all social media.

So, okay, summary: Get on Twitter. See how the people you like use it (because tastes vary, and that’s part of the fun). Use it like they do.

JHG. This could be a loaded question – what the best/most useful social media type for promoting books right now, in your opinion? I know I’ve felt overwhelmed by the options (Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook…) and just haven’t known where to spend my time. (Plus, as may be obvious, I love my long-form blogging!)

KC: I think a combination of platforms is the way to go, but if you are crunched for time and only give yourself one new platform to master, then the answer is to focus on what each platform is good for, and pick that which will appeal to your audience. Doing YA? Go for Instagram. Have a 45yo+ general audience? Facebook. Funny, I know, but the internet changes quickly. Facebook is a great place to be, but it’s not where the teenagers hang out anymore. If you have a broad age range OR a very niche community, use Tumblr and Twitter, and utilize tags. When in doubt, you should have a blog , too. Tumblr can fill that void, or WordPress, Blogger, etc–but a blog is best when paired with something more interactive (that way you seem like a person who actually cares about engaging, and not just talking). Whichever you pick, be present. There’s a delicate line between consistent updating and spamming–everyone has a different tolerance, because life just can’t be easy–but it is so important to post multiple times a week (even better? Tweet 3x a day, and fave a few other tweets).

JHG: What’s the number one thing you see authors doing that you’re like: “Please, just stop!”

KC: Authors being vitriolic towards one another for petty reasons. There are legitimate reasons to criticise and demand action–some of which have been very prevalent recently–and then there are people who say “X people can’t write,” or “God, I hate Y because they’re so successful.” Am I envious of Eleanor Catton for writing a perfect Victorian Detective Mystery and winning the Booker for it? Yeah, but because her work is so good–NOT because she wrote it in her twenties. I could be resentful of her success, or give in to the feeling that I need to catch up, but instead I choose to admire it and share my appreciation of it. It’s not just good karma, it makes the writing life feel more like an act of love than a competition to get into Harvard. (…Yes, I have been Netflix-marathoning Gilmore Girls.)

JHG: What’s the best way to be heard above the general “noise?” I feel awkward, for instance, tweeting anything more than once…but know that all my followers may not be online at the exact same time. And Facebook keeps changing their algorithms…so I feel it’s not reaching people as well as it used to…

KC: First, never pay for ads on Facebook. Unless you are a corporation and sheer numbers are your game, don’t do it. It actually negatively affects engagement, for complicated reasons.

Social media is the long game. You have to use it regularly, and use it well, and then, when you have something to promote, people will (a) accept your tweeting about your release for the morning and night crowd all week (assuming you tweet other things as well) and (b) listen. You have to be a good social media internet citizen and participate, and then you’ll be rewarded. Social media is just human interaction. Be nice. Be interested in others. Promote good work that isn’t yours. Give a little, get a little. Or get a lot, really.

JHG: What’s your own strategy with your writing and social media?

KC: I use my personal Twitter and Instagram all the time. I use Facebook less. I blog at least once a month (usually). I podcast. I’ve even started to play around with YouTube. Most of my tweets are dumb (hilarious) jokes and photos of my cats When I come out with a new story or podcast project, I share them. I tag relevant parties on Twitter and Tumblr, and sometimes they read or listen, and that makes my day. I’m being followed by one of my favourite comics writers/artists on Twitter because he liked what I said about serial fiction.

Basically, my life goals are two-fold: 1. I want to make Good Art. 2. I want to make knowledge and art accessible–most ideally, free. I need to make a living, too, but if I can put it out there for free, I will. This is why I love social media. It’s a culture of sharing. You make friends with people you’ve never met, and they become real friendships. You promote each other’s work, and you purchase each other’s work. I love Kickstarter, and I really love Patreon (and Gumroad)–there are all of these new methods of supporting one another financially and socially. My advice is to jump in! Participate. Learn. And don’t be sad when you lose a follower, because they were either fishing for follows or aren’t cool enough to appreciate your jokes.