Where I'll be scrolling now

Social media tips for authors. Plus TONS of writing resources!

*For writing news and resources, scroll down.*

I’m leaving X… again.

Back in the summer, I wrote a post about social media for authors. My agent had some great thoughts on the topic, which I shared, and I also revealed my decision to go back on Twitter/X after having mostly left when Elon Musk bought the company.

At first it was nice to be tweeting (now called “posting”) again. It seemed a lot of writers hadn’t left the platform, and I enjoyed supporting writers in a few pitch events.

But I noticed something: even when I posted every day and reposted and commented on other people’s posts, mine were getting very little engagement. Was anyone even seeing them? I refused pay for one of those blue check marks. Was X punishing me by burying my posts?

I don’t know the answer. But I’m stepping away from X, yet again, for a myriad of reasons. I no longer think the site will fall apart, which is what I assumed when Musk first purchased it, but I do find that X has become gunked up with ads and posts from people I don’t follow (who are probably paying to have their content seen). I have deleted my profile because it’s just not where I want to spend my social media time and energy.

(Edited to add: I am feeling a seemingly disproportionate amount of grief, FOMO, and other weird emotions about deleting my account! I’m going to be okay, right??)

But at the end of the day, isn’t social media just a place to post pictures of my cats? Here’s my boy cat, Ash, sitting in a child’s booster seat. (He thinks it’s his throne.)

Where I WILL spend my social media time and energy

I recently saw a Substacker* recommend posting at least once a day to Notes. Once she started doing that, said she saw a noticeable increase in her Substack subscribers and followers.

She said it didn’t seem to matter what she posted: one of her own newsletter posts, a “restack” of someone else’s newsletter or note, a random thought, a picture of her cat. As long as she was active on Notes, it seemed to help her gain traction on Substack.

*I wish I could remember who this person was so I could give her proper credit. If this was you, or you know who it was, please let me know!!

Up until then, I hadn’t really been using the Notes function. I’d thought of Substack as my newsletter server and nothing more. Since I started using Substack several years ago, they’ve added tons of features: video, podcasting, chat, notes. In fact, I was at a party recently, trying to explain Substack to people, and I really struggled:

Me: Well, it’s an email newsletter service, but there’s also a social media feed and a chat function. Oh yeah, and it supports podcasts.

Them**: Huh?

**One of those people was my husband. The rest were other parents because the party was a 5-year-old’s birthday party.

Let me see if I can do a better job explaining now. Yes, you can use Substack to create a newsletter that gets emailed out to your subscribers. But ALSO, you can have a Substack profile and not write a newsletter. You can subscribe to newsletters (so they show up in your email inbox), or you can follow other people and see what they’re up to whenever you go on Substack (either on your computer at www.substack.com, or on your phone through the Substack app).

When you go to Substack and click “Home,” you will see a vertical row of all the latest posts (or podcasts!) from the newsletters to which you subscribe. Below that, you will have a vertical feed of short posts (these are the “Notes”) from writers you follow (if you subscribe to a person’s newsletter, you automatically follow them), as well as from people those writers recommend.

Let me repeat that. On your Notes feed, as far as I understand, you only see content from people you follow/subscribe to, as well as content from people they recommend (which often helps you find more creators you like). My Substack Notes feed is lovely and interesting and helpful. I always find so many things I want to read or like or share.

Guess where I’ve been spending most of my scrolling time these days?

And yes, I’ve been posting at least one Note every day for the past two months. Is that what’s giving me a steady stream of new followers and subscribers? I don’t know, but at this point I’m doing it simply because I enjoy it. Because I’m having fun posting and interacting with other writers.

Oh, hey, look at one of the pieces of advice my agent gave me over the summer. She said:

You can connect with other writers on any platform... It’s about connection, so focus on the platform you enjoy using the most.

Well, I enjoy Substack the most. I may pop over to Instagram from time to time, but for my scrolling and short-read needs, it’s gonna be Substack.

(Read more about Substack Notes here.)

Please note: I am NOT a Substack expert. It’s very possible I may have gotten something wrong here, and I know I didn’t explain ALL the nuances and functions of Substack. But hopefully this was helpful for people who needed to know the basics.

My first time as lead host!

I am loving being a podcast host! K.T. Nguyen, author of You Know What You Did, was one of the first authors I reached out to for an interview on THIS MAMA IS LIT!, and this is the first episode in which I am the “lead” host, which means I came up with questions and steered the conversation.

Please consider taking a listen as debut thriller author K.T. Nguyen talks about being the child of immigrants, her experience with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and why her book is dedicated to “mothers, daughters, and the daughters who mother.”

Rate, review, and subscribe to THIS MAMA IS LIT! wherever you get your podcasts!

Listen to the latest episode of THIS MAMA IS LIT here or wherever you get your podcasts!

Writing News & Resources:

For All Writers:

• Looking for a writing mentor? The Round Table Mentors have been announced, and you can apply to be a mentee from Dec. 1-15.

• Live online class from The Manuscript Academy: How To Make Your Setting A Character: Worldbuilding For Earth & Beyond with Editor Sarah Guan on Nov. 19.

• From Good Story Company:

  • Free online Editor “Ask Me Anything on Nov. 27. Bring your writing and publishing questions to an experienced panel of editors, and get answers.

  • Free online Writing an Irresistible Query Workshop on Dec. 5.

• Check out the free event replays of various workshops at The Manuscript Academy.

• The Writers Center website is a GREAT resource for finding grants, fellowships, residencies & retreats, publishers (who publish non-agented authors), and literary journal opportunities.

• Writing Workshops also offers lots of online classes in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, picture books, and the business of writing.

• Check out the meet-up group called Shut Up & Write. There are in-person chapters all over the country, as well online events.

• NewPages has tons of submission calls from literary magazines and journals.

For KidLit Writers:

• YALLFest, the Book Festival for writers and readers of Young Adult will be held Nov. 15-16 in Charleston, SC. Keynote speakers have finally been announced!

• A list of places that publish stories for children from The Write Life.

• Voyage YA’s Novel Excerpt Prize is now open (deadline Dec. 15).

• Literary Rambles has information on kidlit agents and agent interviews.

• Submit your children’s book to these publishers: no agent required!

• Here’s an incredible list of upcoming events for KidLit writers!

• Check out SCBWI (The Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) for events, conferences, critique partners and more. (Picture book through YA.)

For Querying Writers:

• You’re using Manuscript Wishlist to research agents, right? Okay, good, just checking.

• Reminder that query reviews are available through the Book Pipeline Workshop. Only $75 per review until end of year.

• From NYC agent

  Renee Fountain
  : How Agents Decide in the First 10 Pages (with common misteaks that lead to rejection and what writers can do to stand out)

• From

  Mary Kole & Good Story Company
  : Free online Writing an Irresistible Query Workshop on Dec. 5.

• Here’s a list of small publishers, most of which do not require agents.

• Andrea Bartz
  has a list of successful query letters (many of them thrillers).

• I occasionally choose a subscriber for a FREE submission package critique. Send me your query and first two pages, and, if I chose your submission, I will send you feedback on both. Fill out the form here.

Writing Conferences & Events:

• Recently two separate people recommended this online writing conference to me: Women in Publishing Summit, happening March 5-8, 2025.

• The enormous AWP conference (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) will be held in Los Angeles this year, March 26-29.

• If you live in the DC area, this comprehensive Calendar of Local Literary Events, compiled by Washington Independent Review of Books is overwhelming and awesome.

• Live in the mid-Atlantic region and looking for a writing retreat get-away? The Writer’s Retreat at Good Contrivance Farm north of Baltimore is open year-round. The only requirement for this peaceful retreat is that you use the time to work on your writing. Spaces normally book about two months in advance.

• Thinking about going to a conference or applying for a residency? Check out the free searchable database on Poets & Writers.

• YALLFest, the Book Festival for writers and readers of Young Adult will be held Nov. 15-16 in Charleston, SC.

• The Shit No One Tells You About Writing’s Deep Dive Virtual Conference will be held February 1-2. Early bird registration opens November 29. I also highly recommend listening to their podcast of the same name!

• The San Miguel Writers’ Conference and Literary Festival is happening February 12-16 in beautiful/historic San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. I’ve spent a lot of time in San Miguel, and it’s a great place to visit, especially in the winter season.

• Are you an author who's had a book published in the last two years? The Annapolis Book Festival is now accepting submissions for our 2025 Festival, which will be held on Saturday, May 3, 2025.

• The Writing Day Workshop “How to Get Published” Conferences are affordable and helpful. Plus, sign up for pitch sessions with agents for $29 a piece. For online conferences, attend from anywhere in the world! Check out the upcoming conferences: 

  • Cleveland Writing Workshop: November 23, 2024 (in person)

  • Writers Conference of Dallas: November 23, 2024 (in person)

  • Writing Workshop of Chicago: December 6-7, 2024 (online)

• Writers Digest offers loads of virtual conferences on a variety of publishing and writing craft topics.

• For more writing conferences, check out this list or the free searchable database on Poets & Writers.