Facebook Rules, a Must-Read for Author Promotions! by Jennifer Bardsley, Author of Genesis Girl

by S.P. Sipal

Last week we were privileged to have Jennifer Bardsley join us to discuss Why Instagram Is Not Twitter. Today she is back to share tidbits she’s
learned from two years of being “The YA Gal” on Facebook. Jennifer’s
first book, GENESIS GIRL, debuts June 14, 2016. Be sure to check it out at the end of the post!

Jennifer Bardsley, Author of Genesis Girl, Explains Why Facebook Rules are Worth the Read

When’s the last time you reviewed Facebook’s terms of service? If it’s been a while, I suggest you brush up fast. Nobody wants Facebook to delete your account without recourse, but if you violate the rules, Facebook could take all your friends away.

I’ve never run afoul of Facebook, but six years ago when I was a brand new blogger I accidentally got banned by Google Adsense after I broke a simple rule in their terms of service. I begged and pleaded, but they refused to reinstate my account. Ever since, I’ve been extra careful about reading the fine print.

Here are three things I see authors do on Facebook that could potentially get them in trouble:

Goof #1: Using their book as the profile picture on their personal Facebook page.

It’s important to understand the difference between personal profiles and public pages. On your public page, you can promote your book as much as you want. It’s okay for the main goal of your public page to be profit. But your personal profile is different.

When you sign up for Facebook you agree to their Community Standards. One of those standards is that you will use your “authentic identity” in your personal profile. The standards go on to say:

“If you want to create a presence on Facebook for your pet, organization, favorite movie, games character, or another purpose, please create a Page instead of a Facebook Profile. Pages can help you conduct business, reach out to fans, or promote a cause you care about.”

Facebook doesn’t let you make a personal profile account for your pet or business, so twisting your account into a profile for your book is very dangerous. Do some authors get away with this? Yes, but why risk it? Post a profile picture of you holding your book instead of your cover all by itself. Save book promotion for your author’s page.

Goof #2: Sponsoring a giveaway without releasing Facebook of all liability.

When you host a giveaway on your author page you must include specific language that releases Facebook of all association with your contest. It’s in the Page Guidelines under “Promotions.” The rules state that you will express:

“Acknowledgement that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.”

I see authors break this rule all the time. Not only do you need to be careful to follow the rule yourself, but you should also be wary of automatically sharing another author’s giveaway on your page. Be sure they are following the rule otherwise you too will be guilty of breaking the terms of service. Don’t risk your own account to help someone who is careless.

Goof #3: Asking people to tag their friends as a way to enter a giveaway.

Encouraging people to include their friends sounds like a great way to boost traffic, but it’s a direct violation of Facebook’s rules. Looking back in the Page Guidelines again, we see:

“Personal Timelines and friend connections must not be used to administer promotions (ex: “share on your Timeline to enter” or “share on your friend’s Timeline to get additional entries”, and “tag your friends in this post to enter” are not permitted).”

I saw a non-fiction publisher do this once, when a marketing intern made a major blunder. So an additional lesson from this is don’t hand your author’s page over to someone who lacks experience.

Would you like to learn more about Facebook? Please check out my article for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators: Tips for Building up Your Facebook Author Page.

About the Book:

http://www.amazon.com/Genesis-Blank-Slate-Jennifer-Bardsley/dp/1944816755/

Eighteen-year-old Blanca has lived a sheltered life. Her entire childhood has been spent at Tabula Rasa School where she’s been protected from the Internet.

Blanca has never been online and doesn’t even know how to text. Her lack of a virtual footprint has made her extremely valuable and upon graduation Blanca, and those like her, are sold to the highest bidders.

Blanca is purchased by Cal McNeal, who uses her to achieve personal gain. But the McNeals are soon horrified by just how obedient and non-defiant Blanca is. All those mind-numbing years locked away from society have made her mind almost impenetrable.

By the time Blanca is ready to think for herself, she is trapped. Her only chance of escape is to go online.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About the Author:

Jennifer Bardsley writes the parenting column “I Brake for Moms” for The Everett Daily Herald. An alumna of Stanford University, Jennifer lives in Edmonds, Washington, with her husband and two children.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

— posted by Susan Sipal, @HP4Writers

S.P. Sipal

Published in fiction and non-fiction through essays, short stories and a novel, Susan Sipal lives in rural North Carolina with her husband, two children, one dog, three cats, and too many squirrels for the dog to keep up with. She has presented multiple workshops, both at home and abroad, to help writers develop their craft as well as analyze the mysteries of Harry Potter. You can follow her on Twitter @HP4Writers, or on her blog at HarryPotterforWriters.blogspot.com.

Post © S.P. Sipal and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Jun 10, 2016

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: Facebook | Jennifer Bardsley | Marketing | Promotion | Social Media

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The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

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