Make it Easy for Readers to Contact You
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I’m lucky to have a very good relationship with my readers. We frequently exchange emails.
I recently received an email from a reader of mine that I’ve corresponded with for years. She asked me if I could figure out a way to get in contact with another of her favorite authors. This reader was on email, but not on social media.
As a favor to her, I looked up the author’s books on Amazon to see if I could find her website through Amazon Author Central. She was not on Amazon Author Central.
I googled the writer and found a rudimentary website. There was no contact page or contact information on the website.
I looked up the writer on Twitter and found that she had an account. I sent her a tweet, letting her know that a reader of hers had a question for her. Two months later, I’ve received no reply.
I looked her up on Facebook and found she had a page there. I left the writer a direct message about her reader. Again, I haven’t heard back. I finally wrote back to my reader with the bad news that the author appeared to be unreachable.
Literary agent Janet Reid recently posted about her difficulties tracking down an author online. The author’s social media icons weren’t actually linked to the networks.
I’ve run into this before. There have been times when I’ve wanted to credit authors when sharing posts on Twitter and couldn’t find the author’s Twitter handle (although the author stated he or she was on the platform).
At the bare minimum, set up your Amazon Author Central account. You can provide an email address or website and other social media locations on that page.
If you’re on social media platforms, set up notifications for messages. Or check in once a week or so.
Every author website should include a contact page (or contact info in the sidebar, if you have a one-page website). At a minimum, this page/info should include an email address, name of the writer/pen name (you’d be surprised how many have a first name only: “Angela’s Musings”), and where to find you on the web.
If you’re not yet on social media, industry expert Jane Friedman has tips for getting started: choosing a network and what to post.
Do you have to be on social media? No. You just need to be available to readers with questions. You could skip social media altogether as long as you list ways of contacting you (email, P.O. Box, via your agent, etc.) and as long as you’re responsive when readers do try to reach out.
Have you made it easy for readers to reach you?
Make it easy for readers to contact you:
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