Speaker 1: 0:43

in terms of writing your book. I think social media allows you to keep in touch with readers during the creative process and it helps you to get to know your audience better, to know what they like, what they don't like, what gets them excited, what drives them mad, that sort of thing.

Speaker 2: 1:08

Welcome to the Fiction Writing Made Easy podcast. My name is Savannah Gilbo and I'm here to help you write a story that works. I want to prove to you that writing a novel doesn't have to be overwhelming, so each week, I'll bring you a brand new episode with simple, actionable and step-by-step strategies that you can implement in your writing right away. So, whether you're brand new to writing or more of a seasoned author looking to improve your craft, this podcast is for you. So pick up a pen and let's get started. In today's episode, I have such a treat for you.

Speaker 2: 1:38

My guest, laura Ferrari, is joining me here today to talk about social media, specifically, how you can strengthen your writing with the power of social media. Now, if you're not a big fan of using social media, I want you to give this episode a listen anyway. Laura offers so many different ways to think about and use social media that I promise this episode will blow your mind If you've never met Laura Ferrari before. She is the face behind Lemon Friday and she's an Instagram marketing specialist who has helped hundreds of writers grow engaged communities of readers online and have fun while doing it. She's probably one of the nicest people I've ever met and I challenge you to not smile as you listen to her talk about social media. I'm telling you right now it's impossible. She's so full of positivity and encouragement that I know her take on social media will be like a breath of fresh air for you. So, with that being said, I won't make you wait any longer.

Speaker 2: 2:35

Let's get right into my conversation with Laura Ferrari. Hi, laura, thank you so much for coming on the Fiction Writing Made Easy podcast. I'm super excited to have you here today.

Speaker 1: 2:42

Oh, thank you so much for having me. I am very honored to be here with you.

Speaker 2: 2:47

I'm excited for what we're going to talk about and I won't spoil it before you introduce yourself. So can you introduce yourself to my audience in your own words, even though I already gave you an intro in the beginning?

Speaker 1: 2:58

I am Lara Ferrari and I am an author marketing specialist. I specialize in Instagram and author and email marketing. So really I used to be a developmental editor until I kind of realized that all of these clients are coming to me with these amazing manuscripts and they kind of seem to think that all of the hard work was behind them. Understandably, they put so much effort and passion and dedication into creating these beautiful books. And then I kind of had to break it to them that, like you know, you have to like market these now. And they're like oh, how do I do that? So I was like I think I can help with that. So I set up Lemon Friday, where I help authors to build their audience of readers online and connect with the people who are going to love their books as much as them.

Speaker 2: 3:53

Which is awesome. It's such a need, I think, to get some marketing help out there. I talk to a lot of writers who they just don't know that no matter which publishing route they pursue, they are going to need to work to market their books.

Speaker 2: 4:05

So I love that you offer help in this regard, and I think let's just throw the elephant in the room, right out on stage and say a lot of people don't love the idea of marketing, they think it's hard to do, it's scammy, they don't want to do it. What are your thoughts on that?

Speaker 1: 4:22

Oh yeah, I have so many thoughts For one. I completely empathize with that. Not that it's scammy, not that it's gross, it's really not. I think that sharing your book with, like I said, the readers who are going to love it, you're doing them a service. We all have our favorite books, right, and if you imagine that those authors were too worried about appearing spammy and pushy and salesy, that they never told us about these amazing books, that we never had the chance to read them, that would be so sad.

Speaker 1: 4:58

So I kind of want authors to kind of think of it that way that you're really kind of being selfish by just keeping it to yourself. But I do have a lot of empathy because you've already done so much work to create this story. It doesn't seem fair that, like you said, no matter which publishing route you choose, so much of the kind of promotional burden does seem to end up falling on authors, particularly new authors. But I do think that there are some fun parts of it. There are some really cool aspects of getting to connect with readers and, as I said, like share this book and yeah. So that's kind of what I want to be able to help with.

Speaker 2: 5:43

Yes, which I know you're going to do, because I love hearing you talk about marketing and social media and you make it sound so much more accessible and so much easier to do. So we're going to get into all of that. But it's funny you mentioned it's a disservice to not share your book. And if, for everyone listening, think about, like Laura said, when you see your favorite author sharing their book, you're excited to pick up that book and read it, right, so you will be that for somebody else.

Speaker 2: 6:09

And yeah, marketing, you know it might feel like you're doing it too much or it might feel like who's going to care? I've already said this 10 times, right? I read a stat yesterday that said it takes people an average of seven to 10 touch points before they take action on something. So imagine if we're talking about emails or social media. That's like seven to 10 emails or posts before I'm going to take action, to do something. So I don't know. I think one thing I really like about what you do is you help us reframe our mindsets around marketing, which I think is the key to everything.

Speaker 1: 6:42

I 100% agree with you and I think mindset is actually something I really want to talk about a lot today and how writers can use social media. And I think mindset is actually something I really want to talk about a lot today and how writers can use social media. And I kind of want to talk about something a little bit different to what I normally talk about because, you know, I do think, as you say, a lot of writers have really negative perceptions, understandably, of social media, but they typically see social media as either this necessary evil to help them promote or sell their books or they see social media as a threat to their writing. It uses up precious writing time, energy, creativity. It's this huge distraction, let's be honest. It can feel like just another thing on your to-do list, like an extra pressure, and then it can also be kind of demoralizing to open up your app and just witness everybody else's apparent like highlight reel, maybe when you're kind of still in the messy middle of it, all Right.

Speaker 1: 7:48

So I totally understand, as I say, those perspectives, but I would like to offer an alternate perspective, as we've talked about. I really really do believe that social media is a really valuable marketing tool and that is the side of it that I usually focus on. I do my best to make it as easy and painless as possible for writers to build that audience, share their books online, connect with readers, launch to fanfare. But I think that there's another, like often overlooked benefit to social media for writers Because I think that if it is used intentionally and thoughtfully, with clear goals and defined boundaries, I do believe that social media can be a phenomenal tool to developing as a writer, not just for marketing, but actually for crafting better stories.

Speaker 2: 8:47

Okay, that sounds super interesting. I want you to talk more about that and I feel, like anyone who's listening, that's multitasking. You might want to stop because I think this is going to be huge, so take us more into that.

Speaker 1: 8:59

Okay, so I think that there's three main aspects to it, right, there's this mindful aspect where social media can, if used right, like I said, thoughtfully, intentionally, it can increase creativity, inspiration, passion, motivation, you know, all of those things that successful writers have like, maybe not all the time, but the things that keep you moving forward, that get you closer to success, kind of make it inevitable.

Speaker 1: 9:28

And then there are the practical aspects so using social media to get reader input, to get feedback, to do some market research, to kind of gain sensitivity, awareness, like really important things like that, not just for the business of writing but the craft of writing. Then, thirdly, there are community aspects of social media. Right, Like emphasis on social. It can be a really phenomenal space to get support, to build a support network, to refill your creative well, to get inspiration not just for your stories but like personal inspiration, like career inspiration from other writers, and also kind of get that sense of like public accountability which some people find really helpful, you know, in terms of keeping them motivated. So, yeah, I can definitely go into each of those three areas, but that's kind of an overview of how I really do think that social media can be a time suck. It absolutely can be a distraction, but if we're intentional about these three different aspects, I think it can be really really productive and fun and kind of fulfilling.

Speaker 2: 10:43

I think so too, and I feel like, just the way you explained it already, it's like you have to have the mindfulness there to then go into the practical application of this and then, once you're doing that, you kind of can glean the benefits of the community. So I feel like they kind of build on each other. I love the idea that we can give ourselves inspiration or work on our creativity or you know, tap into that side of ourselves when we're doing stuff on social media. So what does that look like?

Speaker 1: 11:15

Well, I think that when we create in any form, it's kind of look, I'm not a scientist, so it's probably, you know, I'm just going to use terms like igniting neural pathways. Yeah, probably, you know, I'm just going to use terms like igniting neural pathways. Yeah, think of it as a metaphor. Okay, less science, but it's kind of an outlet, you know, and anytime we do anything creative it can spark something else in us, you know. So I think that that's kind of an element of it. But, more than anything, I think most writers or I don't know I'd love to hear from you if you're listening to this and you agree or disagree with this. But talking about your book with other people, people who get it, people who are also passionate about books and stories and storytelling it's fun. I mean, it's not If you're talking to somebody who's just like I don't care, like I have no interest in this. It's not If you're talking to somebody who's just like I don't care, like I have no interest in this. It's draining. But the opposite is true when you're talking to people who are on the same wavelength as you. So if you have a community of people, this is, you know, kind of crossing over, but getting to talk about your book.

Speaker 1: 12:22

It can be really exciting, especially when you get excitement back and that can be motivating and it's kind of this cycle that sort of feeds on each other, that excitement, that motivation, let's be honest, like when you, you're writing, a lot of us write by ourselves. Right, we're just alone with our thoughts. For long stretches of time, it's just us and us. You know us and characters. I haven't written for a really long time but I'm gonna. I'm gonna talk as if I'm an author as well and, yeah, sort of it can.

Speaker 1: 12:53

It can also be a bit draining. You can talk about mindfulness. You know that we get that imposter syndrome sometimes, all of us, and we sort of doubt whether we're really any good, whether this story is worth telling. So to be able to kind of share that with other people and kind of get a different perspective can help to sort of reinvigorate that and kind of just remind you about what it is that you love about your story in the first place. So, yeah, creativity, inspiration, passion, motivation I think that all increases when you are kind of bouncing these ideas around with other people who, like I said, they just get it.

Speaker 2: 13:31

Yeah, I think that's true too, and some of that, probably some of that insight, probably comes from your work as a developmental editor, because that's what you would have done you're bouncing ideas with off the writer and vice versa, and working together to kind of help them create this vision. So it's similar, right.

Speaker 1: 13:46

But yeah, I've always said that writing is like a team sport. Everybody always thinks of it as just the solo writer and I just don't believe that that's true. I mean, obviously, in the business aspect of it. You know you may work with an editor and a cover designer and an agent perhaps, and you know all of those things, but even before that point you'll have critique partners or beta readers, and their feedback and their insights and how they can shape your whole creative process and who you choose to surround yourself with and allow kind of into your process is really really, really important, and I think you're going to lose some of that if you just it's just you.

Speaker 2: 14:23

I do too, and you lose also, like from a crafting perspective, you lose that objectivity. I do too and you lose also. Like from a crafting perspective, you lose that objectivity. And sometimes I've heard from you know writers who, whoever they're working with beta readers, critique partners or an editor, like you're saying it's like that person helps reflect the story back to them and give them that objectivity that they can't see because they're working in a silo. And you know, for the people out there who are like, oh my God, it sounds scary to invite someone else into my story world, a lot of times people can just reflect that stuff back to you and help you crystallize your vision, which results in a better story. So it doesn't have to be scary if you're stressed about that.

Speaker 1: 14:59

I agree. And also don't forget that you could be doing the same thing for them, you could be playing that role for them, and I think it's kind of amazing how you know I think we can all apply this in all aspects of our lives Sometimes we talk to ourselves in a way where, like, I would never say something so mean to a friend of mine, you know, and I think it can sometimes be like, well, what advice would I give them? And it's the same for you know, when you're working with a writing partner or lifting up another author and kind of reflect those words back to yourself, you think, well, this is what I'm telling them, this is the. I want to encourage them. I think they're brilliant, I think that's so great what they're doing and to know that, well, they think the same about you. It can. Yeah, it's just a really kind of just lovely sort of feedback loop.

Speaker 2: 15:45

Yeah, and I love that. You said it's kind of a cycle of you get that motivation and inspiration that kind of just cycles through, and I do think that's true. It's like once the stone starts rolling downhill it gathers the moss right.

Speaker 1: 15:56

Yeah, because that can work in a negative way as well, right, like when we're just all by ourselves, it just kind of gets worse and worse and worse, and that's why I think yeah opening yourself up to this, it works in the opposite direction.

Speaker 2: 16:10

It can be all positive, that's right. Yeah, and one of the writers I was talking to last week this is kind of maybe bridging the gap between the mindfulness part and the practical part, but she participates in this thing on Instagram called Friday Kiss, hashtag Friday Kiss, and it's something, I think, that came from Twitter when it was Twitter, and she was telling me that it's really cool because it forces her. When it was on Twitter, it forced her to condense her story into the certain amount of characters, right, and every Friday kiss they have a theme. So it's like find the word togetherness in your manuscript and then whoever has that word can play and whatever. But she was just saying like that act of participating in something on social media showed her her story in different ways, like it made her tighten things up or it made her get clear on things.

Speaker 2: 16:54

So I think, again, it all comes down to boundaries, right, because we can all waste time on social media. But I love what you're saying about making the connections with people, which we'll dig into more later. Using it as more of an inspiration and tool to fuel your creativity. Using it as more of an inspiration and tool to fuel your creativity. Whether you're kind of, you know, looking for inspiration or bridging that gap to the practical side of it, there's so many things people can do that makes time spent on social media worth it, yeah.

Speaker 1: 17:21

I love it and, like I said, you also again reiterated that the importance of having those boundaries, because, yes, it absolutely can be a time suck. You can go down just this rabbit hole, this never ending rabbit hole of just scrolling and scrolling and scrolling and I have been there and I know that feeling, specified specific times to say, okay, I'm going on social media now and this is what I'm going on, for it's either to connect with my network of writers, or it's to do some research, or it's to get inspired, or it's to let my creativity just kind of see where it takes me, kind of thing. But having a limit to it as well, if you feel like that is impinging on your writing time.

Speaker 2: 18:05

Having a limit to it as well If you feel like that is impinging on your writing time, then, yeah, just limits, balance, yeah. And I think something that helps us put limits and boundaries is understanding why we're doing what we're doing or how this fits in the big picture. And I know we're going to dig into this in a second, but you said earlier like doing market research. Right, if we have a goal, we can be still writing the early version of our draft, but maybe we feel like doing market research that day. Having that why behind, why we're going on social media or our actions on social media, makes it a better use of our time and actually does something constructive versus destructive to our writing.

Speaker 1: 18:42

Oh, yeah, that's such a good way to put it. So yeah, in terms of, you know, market research. When I say market research as well, I'm not necessarily just meaning like when you're getting ready to promote your book and thinking in terms of actually marketing your book, but in terms of writing your book, I think social media allows you to keep in touch with readers during the creative process and it helps you to get to know your audience better, to know what they like, what they don't like, what gets them excited, what drives them mad, that sort of thing. And I'm not saying that that information should dictate the direction of your story or it should change, like your vision or anything, but it might help you to be aware of things that maybe you weren't aware of before. You might decide to approach something slightly differently. It might give you new ideas of ways that maybe you were thinking oh, that's actually, that's kind of been done to death.

Speaker 1: 19:43

You know people are saying that they're kind of tired of this. How could I give it a twist? How could I kind of flip it around a little bit? Or they're saying, oh, I love it when writers do this and you're like that's me, I'm doing that. Okay, I'm I wasn't sure about it before, but stuck on something it's just not working for you. You're not sure why. You could put it out to readers on social media and they could help you figure it out. Like, readers are smart, like readers on Bookstagram are voracious readers and they know what they like, they know why they like it. They're really, really insightful. So, like, why wouldn't you use that research? They can help you figure out a dilemma. You know, they can kind of give you some inspiration.

Speaker 2: 20:32

It's uh, yeah, definitely, yeah, I saw a real life example of this a few weeks ago. Uh, victoria Aviard was posting on threads and she was like I want to write in the Romantasy world. What does Romantasy mean to you readers?

Speaker 1: 20:47

Because I have a definition. I saw that.

Speaker 2: 20:49

Yeah, and it was so cool. People disagreed, people agreed, people had very strong opinions. But if I were her and I wanted to write a book what a great way to find out. I can think Romantasy means one thing, but if I'm not thinking it in terms of the same way that the readers are, there's going to be a big disconnect. So I don't know. It was a really cool thing to see and I was like that is smart it was, it was yeah.

Speaker 1: 21:16

Reading through all of those comments, it was because I was like, well, yeah, I know what, I know what romanticism is yeah and then reading, going like oh, a lot of people think it's the opposite.

Speaker 2: 21:25

Yeah, or just the divide, you know, and then how do you? Then it's a question of how do you bridge that divide, and things that don't need to stress us out but can help us think about our stories in different ways and, you know, help us become better authors and all that fun stuff in the process yeah, for sure I think another thing that Instagram is really good at.

Speaker 1: 21:44

So that's you know, throwing uh, that was on threads and putting out this question and getting comments, and you know instagram is really good for that as well. But it has specific tools like poll stickers, which are so helpful, because anytime you ask a question and you want engagement, you want people to reply. You have to make it as simple for them to reply as possible. So when you often ask these like big, open-ended questions that people really need to think about, like, you're probably not going to get a lot of responses. But if you can make it really easy for people, give them a few options to choose from just let them say A, B or C and this is something that it really easy for people. Give them a few options to choose from. Just let them say A, B or C, and this is something that's really easy to do on Instagram Then you're going to get a lot more responses.

Speaker 1: 22:33

If it's something that people care about that they already have an opinion on, people love being asked for their opinion, right? So you make it really simple and then you can always follow up with them. Like this is something that I do I put a poll up on my stories. I give really simple options. People then vote on that and then I send them a DM saying like thank you so much for taking part in my poll, Like it's so interesting that you thought that. Can you tell me more about that? Or I agree, I feel the same way Like so nice to meet somebody else who you know is also a fan or whatever it is, and it's a really nice, natural way to start conversations and build relationships with people and kind of get a deeper insight into what they're thinking and how they feel about things.

Speaker 2: 23:18

Yeah, and I was going to say you're really good at this. I see you do this all the time on Instagram. We'll put the link in the show notes, but what is your handle so people can go check out what you do?

Speaker 1: 23:27

Oh, yeah of course, gosh. I am the worst at giving introductions, aren't I? I need to work on that. Yes, I'm on Instagram at lemonfriday. That is my company name. So, yeah, I'm Lara Ferrari. We have the same initials. That's kind of the inspiration behind the name, but it's at lemonfriday.

Speaker 2: 23:45

Yeah, and so go look at her account because she's really good at doing exactly what she just talked about the polls and following up and just doing all the fun stuff on there. So okay, so I love. We talked about, like market research, input and feedback on different things. Earlier you mentioned sensitivity. Can you talk about that a little more?

Speaker 1: 24:06

earlier you mentioned sensitivity. Can you talk about that a little more? Yeah, I think that as writers or as humans, we don't know what we don't know right. So you can write something with the absolute best of intentions and you could even write something with a very clear intention to be inclusive and, to you know, represent different, for example, let's say, in your book, but without really understanding certain issues or important facets of different experiences. It can be very difficult to properly represent somebody else's story without you know having lived what they have lived.

Speaker 1: 24:50

So there are some really, really great resources on social media where you know specific accounts that educate on these kinds of topics whether it's topics of race or gender or sexuality or disabilities or chronic illnesses or all kinds of things that if you're not a part of a particular group, like I said, you don't know what you don't know, and there's no shame in not knowing something, but you do have a responsibility to educate yourself on that and to go out and seek you know answers and seek information, and so there are some really great accounts that do that specifically.

Speaker 1: 25:34

And then there are obviously people themselves who are living these experiences, and nobody is just one facet of their identity. So it's really great to be able to see people online living their lives, to kind of, you know, get a fuller picture of what it means to be maybe a member of a particular community or facing particular challenges, things like that. Like I said, when you're just at home by yourself, you're not necessarily interacting. Obviously, if you have people in real life and you can go along and meet people in person, that's fantastic, but if that's not an option for you, potentially, then social media is a really great space for that.

Speaker 2: 26:16

Right, and again that goes back to kind of having a why for your time on social media. If you have a character of a certain group that you don't have that live experience, you can go research and that's a why, right, that's a great use of time on social media.

Speaker 1: 26:29

I would consider that to be writing as well. You know, I think a lot of people when you say, oh, you're on social media again, like what a waste of time and it's like no, this is a really crucial part of my writing process. I am researching or I am connecting or I am getting inspired, like it's all part of writing, right?

Speaker 2: 26:48

Right, and a lot of writers who include diverse characters. They have good intentions, they want to represent them well and they don't know where to go to learn more. So I'm glad you brought that up as something that you can do on social media and you know a way to get their questions answered, a way to find inspiration and to infuse their characters with that realness of an experience they don't have. So great point, yeah.

Speaker 1: 27:11

Like I would just say that I would never just approach somebody kind of cold and like send them my questions just because they appear to be part of, you know, a group that I'm writing about. I wouldn't do that, but you can definitely learn from somebody. And if they ever you know a group that I'm writing about, I wouldn't do that, but you can definitely learn from somebody. And if they ever you know, make it clear that they're open to questions, then that might be an opportunity to do that. But definitely just kind of just watch and learn, to start with at least Right, and then see if they're open to questions.

Speaker 2: 27:42

Right, and a different angle at this kind of same thing is I know there's like groups out there on Facebook maybe even on Instagram at this point that are like doctors helping writers or firefighters helping writers, and it's like there's places you can go to find information on careers. Like, if you're not a lawyer and you're writing about a lawyer, there are sources available and some of those are on social media, which is pretty cool.

Speaker 1: 28:07

Yeah, I actually have a client that I have worked with, an amazing writer, and, sorry, I feel terrible. I've actually completely forgotten their handle on Instagram. I know their name but not their handle. But they are a doctor and they have just created this free email miniseries on you know the basics of writing medical drama for authors, which is, I think, such a brilliant thing.

Speaker 1: 28:35

You know, we don't all have doctors in our lives that we can just go and pick their brains and ask them all of our questions, but there are doctors on Instagram, like you said, who actually love to help educate people and would love to kind of see people getting things right in a book, you know, instead of just following kind of TV tropes that I'm sure sort of drive them crazy. And that can apply, like as you said, to so many different professions or like people of different expertise, different interests. There is pretty much any topic you can think of. It is represented in some way on social media. So you can, you know, look through hashtags. You can find people through other people recommendations. That's a really good one. You know, if you're looking for somebody with a specific kind of skill set, put that out on Instagram, ask readers good one. You know, if you you're looking for somebody with a specific kind of skill set, put that out on on instagram, ask readers. Do you know anybody of this? And I am sure somebody will be able to right. It's this great sort of crowdsourcing of of of information. You kind of put it out there and somebody will come back to you being like oh, I have a friend who knows this, you should check them out. So it's really great for networking in that way.

Speaker 1: 29:45

And yeah, of course there are books you can read and courses you could take and things like that, but it's just need like one little quick question answered. You know, or you just want just a little bite-sized glimpse into getting, so just kind of get the basics. Or you know, you're just a visual learner and you want to. You want to see something. You know reels, and these are great for that. Or current topics, kind of current events, issues. That can be a really great way to kind of just stay on top of things that might be impacting something in your book. So yeah, in terms of research, again, don't feel guilty if you are using this intentionally. As I said, if you put up your time boundaries and you're on social media for a specific reason to find some specific information, I think it is a really valuable use of your time.

Speaker 2: 30:33

Yeah, I think so too, and so we kind of bridged a little bit into community, which is like the last pillar of this. But you, you really talk about like getting support and accountability and having that community. So can you go into that a little more?

Speaker 1: 30:47

Yeah, I did touch on this, this idea that you know writing can be lonely, it can be isolating, and I think being able to build a network of other writers again, if you're not able to do that in real life, or even if you are, it could just sort of augment it real life, or even if you are, it could just sort of augment it. I have made incredible friends online. There are some people who I met through Bookstagram, you know, 10 years ago, who I am still in touch with and I'm in touch with them regularly. I talk to them more than I talk to some of the people who are actually like you know, friends IRL, exactly, exactly, like we're really close.

Speaker 1: 31:27

So and that's really cool as well, because you're looking outside of your bubble right, this could be somebody who's in a completely different continent to you. They live in a different culture, they've had a completely different upbringing. Like their outlook is just something that you just may never have considered. Outlook is just something that you just may never have considered. So, yeah, you can say, oh, just, you know, go along to a local, you know writers club meeting or something, and that could be great. But it doesn't give you that aspect of literally being able to sit down at your computer and connect with somebody you know the other side of the world. So, yeah, connecting with other writers the world. So, yeah, connecting with other writers, that's really great. Again, that keeping you motivated, answering your questions, getting that encouragement.

Speaker 1: 32:13

I think also, it's very easy to look at somebody else and see them doing really, really well and then comparing yourself to them and thinking, why can't I do it as easily as them? Why haven't I been as successful as them? It all comes so easily to them and that's very, very rarely the case. Like, most of those people would probably be shocked that you thought that about them, yeah, but I totally understand. I've been absolutely guilty of doing this myself, of looking at someone else and just saying I wish I could do what they do, but they're so amazing I could never do that. And I think really what's helped me is to kind of flip that thinking around and instead of thinking like, oh it's already these amazing people out there doing these amazing things and they're so far ahead of me, rather to instead flip it around and think if they can do it, if they've done it, then it's proof that it's possible.

Speaker 1: 33:16

So, if they can do it, then so can I. And I think once you kind of, or once I know that, once I sort of flipped that mindset, that it changed everything for me really. Like I'm now looking at all of these incredible women all around me doing these amazing things and I'm not feeling, you know, challenged by that. I'm feeling inspired by that. So I think that's really cool. That's what I meant by in terms of, like, personal inspiration. And then the last thing I think that I mentioned was accountability as well.

Speaker 1: 33:49

So I think if anybody has ever made a goal or a plan and then actually spoken it out loud to someone else, it like, you know that it suddenly feels more real, right, you're like, oh, I need to do this now. Like there's somebody checking in on me. They're saying like, how's it going? And I'm like I don't have anything to tell them. Like it's motivating, you know. So I think it's really easy to give up or procrastinate when you don't have people like waiting on you. When you haven't told somebody this, you know, this big, scary goal of yours, it's a lot easier to kind of push it aside and just kind of give up on it. But if you've spoken it out and there are people who know about it and they're excited about it. For you, it's a lot harder to give up on yourself.

Speaker 2: 34:34

That's true, and this accountability can come in the form of you just posting a story on Instagram, or it could be like if I reach out to Laura and I say I'm going to have something done by July 15th, and then she's like, cool, I'm going to check on you on July 15th, right, so it can be. You can make it, as you know, public or as kind of private slash public as you want, but, yeah, accountability is huge.

Speaker 1: 34:57

Yeah, absolutely Definitely. And I guess the one thing that kind of sums this all up is that you know I said how social media can make you a better writer and I really believe for anything, the only way to really get better at something is to keep doing it. So anything that helps you to keep going to, you know, keep going forward, to keep working towards your goals, whether that is that accountability, or whether it's the encouragement and support that you're getting from people, or whether it's because you're getting the information and the research that you need to kind of get you over a stumbling block, or whether it's now that you're talking about it with other people and it's inspiring more ideas and it's keeping you excited, all of these things. If it keeps you writing, if it keeps you kind of coming back to that page and that keyboard and typing and keep going, then you will get better at it. Nobody ever got worse at something by doing it more, right?

Speaker 2: 36:06

Yeah, it's like using social media in service of becoming a better writer, instead of feeling like you have to show up and do this thing that you dread doing. I also think there's something to be said about the people you choose to follow, the people you choose to surround yourself with, because if I'm a writer who's brand new and I'm only following you know New York Times bestsellers and I'm comparing my life to theirs and I'm not following any accounts that show the messy middle or show the mistakes or the rejections, I'm going to feel very strange and like I'm the oddball, right.

Speaker 1: 36:41

That is such a good point. Yeah, yeah, 100. If you ever find yourself in that position, we're actually going on to social media. It's kind of bringing you down, like just have a think about why is that. And if you're like, well, you know, for the reasons that you have just listed, you're like I think I need to do a little bit of a feed cleanse, right, you know, just go through and make yeah, just you'll be like I don't, I don't need to see that, but what would cleanse? You know, just go through and make yeah, just be like I don't, I don't need to see that. But what would help me? You know, maybe there is an account you're like I actually love them. They always make me feel really great. Make sure that you favorite them so that they always show up in your feed. That's one simple thing that you can do. And then follow more people like that. Also, keep engaging all the accounts that you do find uplifting and that you do find like edifying and fulfilling. Interact with them, not just, you know, to build relationships and that's obviously hugely important but to kind of train the algorithm. So they're like, oh, they like this content. I'm going to show them more like this. You can absolutely do that.

Speaker 1: 37:40

I hear so many people talking about what a negative space their social media is. I've heard about people getting you know a lot of trolls in their comments really negative kind of feedback, and they're asking, like, how do you deal with this? And I feel really bad because I genuinely have never had to deal with that and, yeah, I feel like you could say I've been lucky. But I think it's much more about the communities that I've chosen to be part of and surround myself with, and I do think that book people generally are lovely people, but particularly, yeah, like I said, finding people who inspire you, lift you up, make you feel good, interact with them, put that out into the world as well, you know, do the same for other people, and it really will be this.

Speaker 1: 38:25

Oh gosh, I'm sounding so like woo, woo, I love it Like I was just putting it out into the universe and getting it back, and that's not what I'm really meaning in practical terms of really you know, concrete things that you actions that you can take to do this. This isn't just some sort of like mystical energy thing Like these. You know, you can be very intentional about this.

Speaker 2: 38:47

Yeah, and I love that kind of. Everything you're saying goes back to making social media work for who you are, what you like, what you need, versus kind of fitting yourself in the machine that is social media, because that's not fun for anybody, even if we like social media. Like you know, I'm never going to be like your account and your account's never going to be like my account, because we show up differently and that's great. We can choose that.

Speaker 1: 39:10

Absolutely 100%.

Speaker 2: 39:11

Yeah, so, okay, I love that so much so we're going to link to a glow up guide that you have for listeners. Do you want to talk about that a little?

Speaker 1: 39:18

Yeah, I would love to give you my free 10 step glow up your Instagram guide. It's, like I said, 10 steps to make sure that you are standing out on Instagram for all the right reasons, that you have an account that you feel proud of, that you feel good about, that really reflects you as an author and, of course you know, helps you to attract the right readers and get them hitting that follow button.

Speaker 2: 39:45

Yeah so where do we go to get that, we'll put the link in the show notes, but just say it for everybody real quick.

Speaker 1: 39:51

Yep, just go to lemonfridaycom. Forward slash glow dash up.

Speaker 2: 39:57

Okay, great. So we will grab that link and put it in the show notes. We'll link to where you can find Laura on the internet and any last parting words of wisdom you want to give before we wrap this up.

Speaker 1: 40:08

No pressure, gosh, put me on the spot like that. No, I would just love to say, though, please do feel free to connect with me at Lemon Friday on Instagram, because if you have any questions about anything we have talked about today, because if you have any questions about anything we have talked about today, or if you have any questions about author marketing generally, I would love to geek out with you about it, and she really means it.

Speaker 2: 40:33

She loves to geek out about this stuff, so take her up on it. But thank you so much for being here. I think this is going to change a lot of writers' and readers' perceptions about social media, which I think is really important, because it doesn't need to be the scary thing that we don't enjoy or that takes over our life. It can be fun, it can work for us, and you've shown us how to do that today, so I really appreciate it.

Speaker 1: 40:55

I love that. Thank you so much for having me and giving me the opportunity to hang out with you guys.

Speaker 2: 40:59

Anytime. We're going to have to have you back in the future too. I already know it. I would love that. To have you back in the future too, I already know it. I would love that. So that's it for today's episode.

Speaker 2: 41:11

As always, thank you so much for tuning in and for showing your support. If you want to check out any of the links I mentioned in this episode, you can find them in the show notes listed in the description of each episode inside your podcast player or at savannahgilbocom forward slash podcast. If you're an Apple user, I'd really appreciate it if you took a few seconds to leave a rating and a review. Your ratings and reviews tell Apple that this is a podcast that's worth listening to, and, in turn, your reviews will help this podcast get in front of more fiction writers just like you. And while you're there, go ahead and hit that follow button, because there's going to be another brand new episode next week, full of actionable tips, tools and strategies to help you become a better writer. So I'll see you next week and until then, happy writing.