Friday, February 25, 2011

How Much Time Should You Spend on Social Media?

One of the biggest problems any writer has with building and maintaining a platform is the time issue. Many writers struggle to find time to write, let alone keep up with e-mails, blogs, and everything else. What is the solution? Is there one?


There is no one solution for writers to manage their time on social networking. Each author is different, at a different place in her journey, and not everyone should devote the same amount of time online.

I have my own theory about the stages of the writer and social media. Each stage will require a different amount of energy and time.

1. The BeginnerThe writer who is just starting out should not worry about building a fiction platform yet. Beginners are smart to devote the bulk of their time writing and learning about writing. This is a good time to start reading author blogs because they are full of tips and advice. A Facebook page and Twitter account set up under your writer's name are fine to connect with other writers and friends. Don't stress yourself out trying to get followers and friends. Write your book, study the craft, and relax.

2. The Actively Querying Writer
Writers who are actively trying to acquire an agent or who are submitting their projects to editors are poised to build a platform. They are not wasting their time by starting a blog, adding friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter, or any other venue they feel comfortable utilizing.

Writers at this point are wise to schedule time each day or week to be active across their social media sites. Owners of new businesses are willing to spend many extra hours to insure their operations succeed. Think of yourself as a new business. Building a platform takes time and energy. It doesn't happen overnight. Spend the time now so that when you get that book contract, you'll have social networks in place to help promote it.

3. The Debut Author

This writer has an advantage over writers in other eras--she can build buzz about her name and her book before the book comes out--all from the comfort of her own home. Janet K. Grant of Books & Such Literary Agency wrote a phenomenal post--Building Velocity is More Important than Building Sales on the subject. Ideally, by this point, the debut author should have a solid network in place through blog followers, Facebook friends, Twitter followers, or other sites. She'll also want to create a website, if she hasn't already, and publish a quarterly newsletter.

She should invest time to stay active on her sites, whether it's thirty minutes each day or two hours, and she will want to be smart about the time she spends. Her goals should be maintaining contact with her current network while adding new friends. This means actively "following" new people, and being personable on their blog or other sites. I'm not going to mislead you--this takes time.

4. The Established Author Who Wants to Grow Her Audience

This author typically has a fan base, a website, and that's about it. She's savvy about promoting her writing in person but isn't quite comfortable with the whole social media thing. Not only is she unsure of what to do online, she has doubts that it even works.


This author would be wise to evaluate her current website. It should be showcasing her achievements (best-seller lists, awards) and it should be professional, updated regularly, and it should feature her current book, her backlist, and any appearances she's making. She will also want to add social media buttons so fans can easily follow her on any sites where she's active.


At this point, the established author should not feel compelled to start a blog. She already has a fan base--she's in a great position. She can spend a smart fifteen minutes each day on Facebook, another fifteen on Twitter, and she'll grow her audience.


Really? Only fifteen minutes on each? Yes, if the author is focused, she can grow her network quickly in a simple half hour each day. First, she should "friend" all of the authors she knows. Second, she should search for groups related to her genre and "friend" people there. For instance, a fantasy author might look for groups dedicated to online gaming. If she interacts with the people she meets, they'll be much more likely to want to buy her book because they like her. Plus, her efforts will drive people to her website, the perfect showcase for her writing. Win-win!


In my opinion, the writers who can get away with the least amount of time on social networks are beginners and established authors. Writers who will benefit from more time online are those actively querying or who have a debut book coming out. The exact amount is up to the writer.


Do you worry you spend too much time on social media? Not enough?


Have a terrific Friday!

34 comments:

  1. What great advice. I'm in your camp too. I could easily spend more time networking but I have an allotted time. My writing comes first - as it should!

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  2. Fantastic post, Jill. I love hanging out on social media, but I know when I'm spending too much time. When it's time to buckle down and write, I write.

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  3. I've been monitoring my time better and trying to write more, browse less:)

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  4. I'm sure I spend too much time with social media and not enough time writing. I figure it is writing practice too... :O)

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  5. I worry about not spending enough time on here but I'm so conscious of not wanting to become too sucked in (since that is so easy!) that I work hard to maintain as much balance as I can.

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  6. It's definitely a balancing act. I'll adjust my blogging time depending on my writing schedule and what I have going on. In the end, the writing comes first.

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  7. I love how you broke this out into different stages, as I do think it depends which stage we are in how much time we spend.

    Janet's post was phenomenal!

    ~ Wendy

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  8. Great post, but the reason I'm commenting on your blog...is because I'm socializing with you. I keep each comment to about :30. Ding! My time is up!

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  9. Thanks for your post, it gave me some food for thought. I hadn't read Janet's article yet, so that was an awesome link. I think you're right that every phase has its own social media demands. I'm just not sure I agree with you completely on the 'allotted time' for the last category. Twitter and Facebook are social media and I don't think 15 minutes a day is enough to be 'social'. It feels more like a popping in and out, if you know what I mean. I followed some bestseller authors who did exactly that, tweet once a day or even less and I stopped following them. All they did was tweet something about their books or upcoming tours or whatever and that's really not all that interesting...In my opinion, you have to be willing to actually invest in relations, no matter what phase you're in. But maybe you know of a way to actually do that in fifteen minutes? ;)

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  10. Hi Jill, I'm new to Social Media and trying to find my balance here. Writing in isolation, it has been great to connect with a few people, with the hope of building slowly and carefully. What I plan to start next week, hoping to feel better and be back on track, is to write in the morning and early afternoon hours and do the Social Media stuff in mid to late afternoon, which is when I start getting sleepy and writing gets impossible.
    Thanks for the helpful guidelines. I'll be using them as a safeguard against getting off-balance. (I've been needing this slight knock on the noggin.)

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  11. Good morning!

    Laura: It's the most fun form of procrastination, isn't it? :)

    Jessica: Same here. I track how much time I spend writing, revising, or plotting each day. Keeps me accountable!

    Terri: I don't think there's anything wrong with browsing! You spend a lot of time writing--I know that!

    Diane: That it is! You just never kow where it might lead, either. :)

    Angela C: I understand, and I'm the same way. I could spend all day reading blogs if I wanted to--and sometimes I DO want to! But ultimately writing is my job, so I don't.

    Joanne: That's true. Some parts of a project are less intensive, giving us more time to socialize. Very true.

    Wendy: Yeah. Social media isn't one-size fits all. I see some writers blitzing networks for months--and they should because they have a book coming out--but that doesn't mean I should. I'm in a different stage.

    Em: Yay! Thanks for socializing with me! :)

    Rachel: You bring up a good point--but the crux of your point isn't time--it's content. Anyone who spends time on FB and Twitter only to promote themselves and not to interact with people won't see any benefit by being on these sites, even if they spend three hours a day. I routinely have days where I only have fifteen minutes for Twitter, so I spend 5 in the morning, 5 at lunch, and 5 in the afternoon, but I'm talking to people and following new people. Thanks for mentioning this--it's important.

    Patti M: Great plan. I do the same. The bulk of my writing/revising happens between 9:30-2:30 every day. I socialize first thing and late afternoon. Works for me!

    Thank you so much for stopping by!

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  12. I was very interested in reading your post, because for me, the desire to write came AFTER my blog. After spending time each day writing and recieving positive comments, I realized how much I actually enjoyed the creative process and want to do more with it. I still love my blog, but schedule time each day for writing. Thanks for the insights:)

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  13. Great job exploring this topic, Jill. I agree with you on the stages. Janet's post was insightful. I'd not thought about velocity before I read it, but she makes some good points.

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  14. Maren: How wonderful! It's so nice to hear that through blogging, you realized you love writing! Congrats and good luck!

    Keli: I hadn't thought about it either, but her post made a lot of sense.

    Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  15. Jill, excellent post! As I found out this past week, the social media thing is becoming a real juggling act for me. When you throw in your regular life, family, church, and job, along with your writing, fb, checking emails, and starting a blog, something has to give. Your post is clear. I can see the levels and know exactly where I’m at. I must set up a networking schedule and stick to it. Fb and email were a twice a day thing for me, never more than 30 minutes tops, but now with the added blog, I found myself with Internet overload and my writing has taken second seat this week. I know once the novelty of the new blog wears off, I’ll settle in. I have to admit, it is a juggling act. Have a great weekend all!

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  16. Great advice but a Social Media platform is not something that is built overnight. It's much better to get into all platforms from the start and as the journey progresses the amount of time on each platform should increase. It's not the best to try and build a community when you're trying to attain a goal.
    One of the largest components of my job is to create strategies and plans for social media. The most common mistake is diving in late and pushing a goal without understanding the platforms.

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  17. AH! This is all stuff I have to think about since I'm in the debut category. I definitely struggle to find the time, but I know how important it is to connect with readers and writers.

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  18. Loree: I know, I know. I've let go of the guilt of not having time to read blogs as often as I'd like. We all have limited time, and it's important to spend it on the most important things in our life.

    P.W.: Absolutely! It takes a lot of time and energy to build a platform. That's why I think any author who is over the initial "can I write a book" phase is smart to build their networks. It can take years to build relationships.

    Katie: You've done a fab job connecting with people on all the social networks. Your promotion efforts will be augmented by all of your friends--we want to help sell your book!

    Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  19. These are good guidelines and I think it's important to adjust social networking time with what stage we're out. I still have a hard time finding that balance, going back and forth between feeling like I'm doing too much and then feeling like I'm doing too little. But each of those times I have to remind myself what the most important thing is for the stage I'm at and usually it's improving my writing.

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  20. Really great advice! It's always tough to decide how much is too much, how much is too little, when dealing with social media. I think you've broken it down in a very clear way.

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  21. Cindy: Some months I spend a lot of time on social media, and others I can't. There's an ebb and flow in my life. Right now I'm spending a lot of time, but I know that will change next month! You and I are so similar!

    Sondrae: It is hard. And because it's fun, we can feel guilty about it--but we shouldn't unless it's interfering with our life!

    Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  22. Great advice! Now that I've gotten into the rhythm of posting M,W,F it's gotten much more manageable. I also find just a little bit of planning (keeping notes about blog ideas, writing several and scheduling them for later in the week) helps keep me in line. I also have a limited number of blogs I follow regularly (this being one!).

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  23. Awesome post, Jill!!! Love how you've broken out the different categories. I fall in one of the categories that requires more time, and honestly that makes me feel better...I'm always wondering if I should be spending as much time as I do.

    I'm off to retweet this. :)

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  24. Sarah T: Thank you! Scheduling posts is a lifesaver, I agree!

    Sarah F: Don't feel guilty. This is part of your job!

    Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  25. This was a great post. I guess I'm starting a little late because my debut novel was released in November and I'm just trying to increase my blog following now. I started the blog a year or so ago, but never even knew about the "followers" gadget until recently. Oops. I was slow to the social-networking end of marketing, but I hope to make up for it.

    Your breakdowns were perfect, and I couldn't agree more with your assertion that your writing time should come first.

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  26. I probably spend way too much time on it!

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  27. Maggie: Welcome! Congrats on your big release! Don't worry too much about being late to the game. Not everyone has to utilize social media! But for writers who want to, it's never too late to start.

    Melissa: Ha! Don't we all? :)

    Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  28. I'm really enjoying getting my feet wet with social media (as an author) over the last month or so. It's fun to connect with other writers, readers, and friends in this way.

    Jill, I think your breakdowns on the different stages were perfect. I think it's key, too, for authors to take a little time to figure how to make social media work efficiently for them (i.e. connecting their FB and Twitter to save time on posting, or having new blog posts automatically post to Twitter). Great tips in here. :)

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  29. Hi Jill -

    Your breakdowns are helpful. Still, I find even a short time away from blogs hurts my own blog traffic.

    I'm interested in your thoughts on maintaining and growing blog traffic.

    Blessings,
    Susan :)

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  30. Jill, these are all such great points. This does take time, but boy is it fun hanging with other writers. Plus, other writers teach us so much! It's definitely worth the investment.

    One of my rules is that I accomplish my writing tasks first, then I can play online.

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  31. What a well done and thorough post on media time. I am in the first group, even though I'm not a beginning writer, I am a beginning blogger and computer user. I wonder if I'll ever move on to stage 2. Time will tell. Meantime, I'm noting this entry. Thanks.

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  32. Thanks for the awesome advice. I alot myself only fifteen minutes to Social media yet end up spending hours commenting on everyone's blogs.

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  33. I love this advice, Jill. I think you're right to break it into the different stages.

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  34. These are great thoughts, Jill, thanks for sharing! Social networking is a way to get some practice with our writing and further our platform at the same time. And, I think that, at the end of the day, good content in our books will grow our fan base as well as social networking!

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