I had a great time this week at the HarperCollins Publishers Annual Author Day. I got to meet some wonderful and interesting writers and caught up with some familiar faces.
James Kellow, Managing Director at HarperCollins Publishers Australia had invited me to speak on social media and to facilitate a panel of “social savvy” authors.
We had a great time talking about where social media is currently at and what opportunities exist to create and build a commercially viable community on various platforms. We only had an hour but we covered everything from who is on social media (including my amazing cat @mybuddyfranklin), the various platforms that exist, to performance management, reporting, budgeting and crisis planning. We also briefly looked at the latest Facebook features and the platform’s incredible targeting capabilities – many of which can enable writers to more effectively stay connected with their readers.
I learn new things every time I conduct a workshop. It’s the interaction with people and their real-life situations, sometimes unique, that challenges the way I think and what I know.
Jane Hutcheon, Nicola Moriarty and Lucy Perry were brilliant panellists who shared their approach to social media and in particular how they deal with trolls and unreasonable online behaviour.
Thank you, HarperCollins. I’m very much looking forward to presenting again next week at the Melbourne Author Day.
Brett Osmond
Managing Director
Leading Hand