Do Authors Actually Need Social Media?

You’ve heard this author advice before: build your platform. Get on social media. Post consistently. Post constantly. Post every minute of your waking life.But do you have to? What if you don’t want to? And does it translate to book sales?In this episode we try to answer that honestly, which means we have a lot of tangents, some strong opinions, and at least one story involving foot fetishists and a witch on a broom.We start with the basics: what “platform” even means, why the term feels borrowed from influencer culture, and why fiction authors are not nonfiction authors and should probably stop treating themselves like they are. From there we get into how many platforms are actually realistic to maintain, why the newsletter beats all of them in the long run, and the one painful truth neither of us want to admit about TikTok.We also walk through the major platforms one by one: what Facebook is actually good for, who Instagram is and is not suited for, why Threads is where you go to complain and not to sell books, and what we both think of Pinterest (short answer: not much. Sorry). We touch on Facebook groups, the real cost of spreading yourself too thin, Becca Syme’s author types, and whether grayscale mode on your phone is actually a productivity hack or just a sad gray cell screen.One caveat: we had a little technical difficulty toward the end. Please bear with us! This is our first podcast and we hope you all are enjoying! As always, if you leave a note in the comments we will respond (and possibly address your question on an upcoming show!Support the Show - Buy Our Books!* Shop Tara’s books on Amazon* Shop LL’s books Show NotesPeople/resources mentioned* Becca Syme’s author type framework (the Sandbox/Platform/Series breakdown)* Noelle Ely’s TikTok (she was cited as a good example to watch)Paid promotion services mentioned* BookBub* Fussy LibrarianTools mentioned* Freedom app (a site-blocking app helpful for focus)What we’re reading/listening to:* The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards - a mystery set at a dinner party* The Epicenter of Forever by Mara Williams - a contemporary romance set in California with lots of family dramaThanks for reading YOU SHOULD TOTALLY WRITE THAT! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit youshouldtotallywritethat.substack.com