Instagram for Authors: Reach New Readers in Ten Minutes a Day

by Martina Boone

YA author Stephanie Scott is one of our fabulous First Five Pages Writing Workshop mentors, and she JUST had a cover reveal yesterday for her brand new and gorgeous upcoming book, ALTERATIONS. Please give her a warm welcome as she reveals the secrets of Instagram for authors, and scroll down to admire the newly revealed cover!

Instagram for Authors: Reach New Readers in Ten Minutes a Day
by Stephanie Scott

As authors, pre-published or seasoned, we are always on the lookout for how to connect with readers. Did you know lots of readers, particularly young adult readers, hang out on Instagram? The bookstagram community is not only visual, but readers connect with each other through commenting and micro-blogging in photo captions.

Oh, great. Now I have to learn another social media platform?
I hear this a lot from authors. The truth is, you don’t HAVE to do any social media if you don’t like it, but how do you know you don’t like it if you don’t try? (Yes, I’m channeling all of our mothers today! Just try it!)

I started changing the focus of my own much-neglected Instagram account almost a year ago. I had no idea what I was doing, but decided to dive into a 30-day photo prompt challenge started by a popular Instagram book blogger. And … I loved it! I don’t use a fancy camera or a lighting rig—it’s just my camera’s phone and a nearby window for natural light. Since Instagram is meant to be a mobile app, I use free photo editing apps downloaded to my phone. Instagram has built-in editing features as well.

Where to start? Search Instagram’s popular book-related hashtags like #bookish #booknerd or #yalovin (for YA books). Check out the top 9 posts of popular tags to see what bloggers and readers are up to. Search a few of your favorite authors to see what they post. Book bloggers post pictures of books. As authors, we can post books, selfies, favorite writing spots, photos from book events, a pretty sunset. Use your captions to tell a story and invite readers to comment by posing a question. The idea here is personal rather than images of ads to buy your book.

Everyone’s short on time, so here are some tips!

Ten Minutes a Day Instagram

Post a photo with a short caption (ideally ending with a prompt to encourage a response). Include relevant hashtags. If you skip posting for the day, go to the next step! *pro tip: you can take photos ahead of time and post later when you have time
Click the heart comment icon (notifications tab along the bottom on your Instagram). Click on each person who liked your posts and like one or more of their posts. For anyone who commented on one of your posts, like and comment on their posts. This is how you engage! The comment can be brief.
Click on the house icon to get to your home feed. Take 2-3 minutes to Like and/or comment on posts that interest you. You want to regularly engage with the people you follow.
If your 10 mins isn’t up, go to the magnifying glass search icon. The top is videos you might like and Instagram’s stories features. Look below that to suggested posts. Click on any that interest you or that relates to your author brand (books, reading, a related theme) and Like and/or comment. Follow 4 – 5 people from this list who seem like they have similar interests (ideally: readers). You can always unfollow later if their content doesn’t interest you.
Have fun!

For more tips and general brainstorming of how to use Instagram as an author platform, feel free to join the free Facebook group Instagram for Authors. This group is specifically limited to writers who are pursuing publication or who are published.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Instagram4Authors/

About the Book:

ALTERATIONS
Bloomsbury Spark
Releasing: 12/6/16

If anyone saw the prom boards Amelia Blanco makes on her favorite fashion app, they’d think Ethan Laurenti was her boyfriend. They wouldn’t know that all the plans she’s made for them are just dreams, and that she’s the girl who watches him from the kitchen while her parents cook for his famous family.

When Amelia’s abuelita enrolls her in a month-long fashion internship in NYC, Amelia can’t imagine leaving Miami–and Ethan–for that long. As soon as she gets to New York, however, she finds a bigger world and new possibilities. She meets people her own age who can actually carry on a conversation about stitching and design. Her pin boards become less about prom with Ethan and more about creating her own style. By the time she returns to Miami, Amelia feels like she can accomplish anything, and surprises herself by agreeing to help Ethan’s awkward, Steve-Jobs-wannabe brother, Liam, create his own fashion app.

As Liam and Amelia grow closer, Ethan realizes that this newly confident, stylish girl may be the one for him after all . . . even though he has a reality TV star girlfriend he conveniently keeps forgetting about. The “new and improved” Amelia soon finds herself in between two brothers, a whole lot of drama, and choice she never dreamed she’d have to make.

Pre-order Now:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

About the Author

Stephanie Scott writes Young Adult stories about teens who put their passions first. She enjoys dance fitness and cat memes, and Pinterest is driving her broke. Born and raised in Kalamazoo where there are no zoos, she’s a Midwest girl at heart. She now lives outside of Chicago with her tech-of-all-trades husband. You can find her chatting about all things books on twitter and Instagram at @StephScottYA.

Martina Boone

Martina Boone is the award-winning author of the romantic southern gothic Heirs of Watson Island series, starting with COMPULSION from Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse and the Celtic Legends Collection of novels set in Scotland, Cornwall, and Ireland beginning with LAKE OF DESTINY. She’s passionate about improving lives through literacy and the love of books, and she runs the Compulsion For Reading program to distribute books to underserved schools and libraries.

She lives with her husband, children, Shetland Sheepdog Phinney, and Zoey the lopsided cat, and she enjoys writing contemporary romantic fiction with a hint of magic set in small towns and beautiful places. When she isn’t writing, she’s addicted to travel, horses, skiing, chocolate flavored tea, and anything with Nutella on it.

Post © Martina Boone and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Oct 21, 2016

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: Instagram | Promotion | Social Media | Stephanie Scott

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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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