You don't need thousands of followers to build a successful author career. Often, all it takes is the courage to strike up a conversation.
Let’s face it: Most independent authors would rather rewrite a whole chapter from scratch than introduce themselves to a stranger.
And I get it. Writing is a deeply personal act of the writer’s interior life. Many of us became authors because we love spending hours alone, creating imaginary worlds free of interruption.
But the need to publish our writing adds an uncomfortable complication.
You can write the best novel in the world. It won’t sell if nobody knows it exists.
That means finding readers, reviewers, editors, and other people who can help you reach a wider audience.
For introverted authors, approaching strangers can be a daunting prospect. Luckily, you needn’t reinvent yourself as a slick car salesman to succeed at networking.
You just have to start talking to people.
That’s it.
Let’s take a look at how.
The golden ticket hidden in your inbox
Two authors are planning book launches. The first canvasses social media for months with promotional posts, hoping enough strangers will take notice.
The second posts regularly, but strategically, taking fifteen minutes each day to contact people whose interests overlap with his new book.
At 9:00 he replies to a fellow author’s newsletter. Then he thanks a reviewer for an insightful critique at 9:05. Come 9:10, he asks another author with a big Kickstarter how she built her campaign.
Fast forward six months: Author 2 has a growing network of people who know him and his books. Author 1 has lots of social media interest, but far less interest.
Because if there’s one common misconception that a decade in publishing has dispelled for me, it’s that you can found a career on social media spray and pray.
In truth, durable author careers are built one conversation at a time.
Let’s be real: Most discussions end with polite goodbyes, not instant results.
But some plant the seeds of lasting relationships. And those interactions are worth their weight in gold.
Do the math. You carve out a quarter-hour of your time for daily outreach. That’s a little over an hour each business week. Let’s say your writing earns you $25 an hour.
If even one of those discussions introduces you to a new reader who buys your whole catalogue, an editor whose improvements triple your sales, or a mentor whose advice doubles your crowdfunders’ profit margins, you’ve not only outearned what you’d have made spending that hour writing, you’ve multiplied your writing’s value going forward.
📚 Today’s sponsor: Glorybound - Dawn of the New Age
By author and Court of Kairos member Tyler F.M.
They tried to save the world. Instead, they may have doomed it.
In Glorybound: Dawn of the New Age, Callan and his companions must deal with the consequences of their previous adventure as an ancient evil threatens their world.
This second installment of Tyler F.M.’s Glorybound series features epic fantasy adventure, sinister conspiracies, and life-or-death struggles.
The campaign offers digital and print formats, including a BackerKit-exclusive hardcover.
Support a rising new author, and get a great story.