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The Steve Laube Agency

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The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Social Media

Social Media

Building Your Platform Without Becoming a Narcissist

By Dan Balowon October 19, 2022
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Authors in the process of building and maintaining their media platforms can easily slip into a self-focused effort, evaluating every relationship with an eye toward their personal benefit, seeking attention in any way possible, and exhibiting all the traits of destructive pride.

Well now, there’s a cheery thought to start the day. Some little hairs must have gotten under my collar after my last visit to the barber.

Yes, platform building can be toxic unless you intentionally make it nontoxic.

Narcissism is when a person becomes arrogant, prideful, selfish, demanding, and manipulative. The consequences surround a person like a “sin force field,” making them far less than what God planned for them.

Often, I compare the writing life to a series of job interviews. Getting an agent, pitching a publisher, and assembling an author platform each have similar aspects to interviewing for a job.

When meeting with a prospective employer, it is always confusing whether you should come across as confident and assured or humble and open to leading. Without knowing for certain how to act in every situation, we can misread the audience, and it usually doesn’t end well.

When it comes to building an author platform for marketing purposes, there are any number of best practices for content development, media use, effective promotion, and reader service. But there should be best practices to prevent you from developing into a personal mess, as well.

How do you build your author platform without becoming a narcissist?

Compliments: Never write, “If I say so myself …” statements about your work. Always have compliments originate from others. Maybe you have heard the management technique of “Praise in public, correct in private”? A corollary would be, “Praise from others, admit to shortcomings yourself.”

Service: Any successful author platform has an element of service to it. This means you provide information and inspiration, with the reader foremost in your mind. Unless you are an already-famous person, you will never build a responsive platform by only writing about yourself. Give people something to inform or inspire them. Rarely will it be entirely about you.

Books: Since this is about book-writing, the books you talk about in your media platform should be from a mix of writers. Sure, include your work; but also talk about another book or author you recommend. Every author should have a list of books they enjoy and appreciate from other authors. And to be clear, do not expect the authors of those books to do the same. Expecting reciprocity only fuels the kind of behavior you want to avoid.

Prayer: Pray for your readers and those consuming your material, but don’t make a big deal about it. It’s fine to ask others to send prayer requests, but then you need to follow through quietly and without fanfare. This simple approach to prayer extinguishes the pride-potential, making you a real, caring person.

Concluding, these practices will always be a battle. Like many things in this world, it’s an imperfect process; and there will never be a complete victory in this life. But if you don’t push and pull on these things to control them, they will control you.

The solution is to struggle.

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Category: Branding, Marketing, Social Media, The Writing Life

Not Only the Lonely

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 16, 2022
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Since many publishers ask that authors have a robust online presence, I’m revisiting a topic that, sadly, hasn’t gone away since I wrote about it a few years ago. This article is worth everyone’s time if I can save even one person from being scammed. Recently, I received a private message on Facebook from a man I didn’t know, saying that he liked my profile and would like …

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Category: Career, Social Media

Too Much Social Media?

By Steve Laubeon October 25, 2021
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The following article appeared in the UK on November 5th, "Facebook Users Spend Three Solid Days a Year on the Site."

Three full 24 hour days on Facebook per year! Or nearly two full work weeks if you count a work week as 35-40 hours a week. And I suspect the statistics hold true in the U.S. as well.

Not all writers are full-time. Some must juggle day jobs or home-life responsibilities …

Read moreToo Much Social Media?
Category: Social MediaTag: Facebook, Social Media, Time Management, Writing Craft

Books, Hooks, and Good Looks

By Bob Hostetleron September 30, 2021
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I love hooks. As a writer, I work hard on my hooks. When I was a magazine editor, the hook was often the best way for a writer to make a good first impression on me. And now, for me as a literary agent, the hook is the first and one of the most important criteria I use in evaluating a book pitch, proposal, or manuscript. A good book hook will often prompt me to give a project a more careful, …

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Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Career, Get Published, Pitch, Pitching, Platform, Self-Publishing, Social Media, The Writing Life

What the 2021 Facebook Changes Mean for Authors

By Guest Bloggeron February 22, 2021
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Thomas Umstattd, Jr. wrote this post as part of his podcast at AuthorMedia. I asked permission to make it available to you as well. This is extremely important to understand for authors and publishers trying to use Facebook as part of their marketing efforts. Check out the great work Thomas is doing to help authors navigate the labyrinth called “publishing” at AuthorMedia.com. …

Read moreWhat the 2021 Facebook Changes Mean for Authors
Category: Marketing, Social MediaTag: Facebook

5 Social-Media Mistakes Writers Make

By Bob Hostetleron October 21, 2020
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There are many ways to shoot yourself in the foot as a writer. For example, using clichés, such as “shoot yourself in the foot.” The advent of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.) has definitely added to the list. Here are what I consider five of the most common mistakes authors and would-be authors make on social media:  Mistake #1: Don’t “do” social media I’m …

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Category: Marketing, Social Media

More Favorite Blog Comments

By Bob Hostetleron July 15, 2020
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If you read this blog regularly (or, even better, subscribe to it), you already know something about the wealth of free information that appears in this space every weekday, week after week, month after month, by the agents of The Steve Laube Agency. Posts like this one—okay, like the ones by Steve and Tamela—are a major contributing factor to this site being named as one of the “101 Best Websites …

Read moreMore Favorite Blog Comments
Category: Get Published, Social Media, The Writing Life

Responding to Criticism

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 18, 2020
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When someone tells me she’s not sure she wants me to read her manuscript, I know she’s not ready for publication. Such sentiment shows a lack of confidence and a fear of both rejection and criticism. Even though readers usually treat writers with respect, a critical word can puncture the heart.

Imagine the wounds delivered on Internet sites such as Amazon from readers who lack that respect. A …

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Category: Book Business, Career, Social Media, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Criticism, Rejection, Writing Craft

3 Ways to Embarrass Your Editor or Agent

By Bob Hostetleron August 7, 2019
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Nobody likes to embarrass themselves. Except for maybe some reality TV personalities. They seem to thrive on it. But the rest of us, not so much. And editors and agents even less so. When do the likes of us get embarrassed? When we realize a word was left out of the second page of an otherwise-excellent novel. (Seriously, I recently started a friend’s published novel; and there it was! …

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Category: Career, Social Media, The Writing Life

Lessons Learned As a Literary Agent

By Dan Balowon October 23, 2018
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Dan is leaving the agency at the end of this month to focus his attention on the work of Gilead Publishing, the company he started in 2016. Here are some parting thoughts. _____ I’ve been a literary agent for about 2,000 of the 13,000 total days spent working with and for book publishers over the last thirty-five years. It’s been a great experience, for sure; but as I look back at the thousands of …

Read moreLessons Learned As a Literary Agent
Category: Agents, Book Business, Branding, Career, Conferences, Craft, Creativity, Encouragement, Inspiration, Marketing, Personal, Pitch, Platform, Self-Publishing, Social Media, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life, Writing Craft
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