How Social Media Made Me a Better Author

How Social Media Made Me a Better Author

I know, I know—this is kind of an annoying headline, because most of us have a love/hate relationship with social media, but hear me out!

For the past ten years, I’ve worked as a social media manager for companies like BuzzFeed, Netflix, and Amazon Prime video. Much of my life’s work, so to speak, exists on places like Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. And while my writing has often been limited to 280 characters (looking at you, Twitter), I’m also an author—I’ve published two non-fiction books, Womanskills and The Big Redhead Book, and my debut romance novel, For Butter or Worse, comes out this summer. So believe me when I say that working in social media—or just existing on those platforms—can actually help improve your writing.

On a practical level, the thing you learn while working in social is that timeliness is kind of everything. If you want to start a trend, or be part of it, you have to post immediately. With writing, that’s been super helpful, because I’m not precious about the work. I’m able to get the work I need to get done because, ultimately, one book will hopefully be one in a series of many for me. I don’t want to spend ten years toiling on one project—that’s not the kind of writer I am, and I want to produce many books. I know a few writers who want everything to be absolutely perfect before they submit it to agents. I do respect those writers, but the thing is…your book will never be perfect. You can work on a book for years, and keep changing things. At a certain point, if you want to get published, you just have to let go and allow other people to read your work as is.

Social media is all about testing things out—you try a new format, maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t, you move on. I’ve been able to view working on a book as a kind of test—I’ll write a full draft, try out new kinds of characters and tropes, and see how people respond. I know that I’ll be able to rewrite based off of the feedback I receive, but that kind of test and learn mentality has allowed me the room to not get stuck in ruts.

Then there’s the creative fun you can have by using social media in your books. With my debut romance book, For Butter or Worse—which is about two celebrity chefs who have to fake date in order to save their careers—I knew social media had to be part of the story. Not only because social media is central in everyone’s day-to-day life, but it’s even more for celebrities and how they curate online personas for their fans. That was something I witnessed firsthand while at Netflix and working directly with talent on their posts.

Because I understand the power of social media, and how even one post can change the narrative of someone’s career, I was interested in showing the consequences of an unexpected moment going viral. For Nina and Leo, the leads of my book, they’re caught in what looks to be an intimate moment, and their fans assume the two have been dating all along.

I wanted to show that these two celebrities would be savvy enough to see the opportunity to change their careers by fake dating. Because if the public loves them together, their restaurants soar, but when the public isn’t on their side…neither are sales.

I had a lot of fun crafting headlines for news stories that pop up every time Leo and Nina are spotted out together. As a former writer for BuzzFeed, headlines are kind of like catnip for me. I’m going to share a few I came up with for Nina and Leo’s first date at an ice cream shop (Nina neglects to tell Leo his fly is down…whoops!)

• “We Zoomed In On Leo O’Donnell’s Unzipped Sitch So You Don’t Have To!”
• “Forgot to Zip Up? Leo and Nina Spotted Post-Coitus”
• “The Photo You Didn’t Ask For: Leo O’Donnell with his Pants Unzipped”
• “Former Next Cooking Champ! Contestant Has ‘No Complaints’ About Leo’s Unzipped Pic.”

On top of the fun and playfulness of including social media in the book, I was also able to use it to highlight the differences between being a male and female celebrity online. This won’t shock anyone, but women are treated differently! When #NastyNina trends on Twitter, and becomes an unfortunate nickname for our heroine, Nina’s team (PR, Agent, Manager), encourage her to take control of the narrative. Readers also get to see the difference in how women are expected to behave versus how Leo, her co-star, is treated online. By the end of the book, Leo begins to hold himself accountable more for the role he played in Nina’s career, and Nina begins to understand that she is not the problem—these sexist expectations are.

Look, am I telling you to spend even more precious minutes of your day on social media instead of writing? No, absolutely not (in fact, I have certain websites blocked on my laptop so I don’t lose entire days to posting). But what I hope is clear is that while social media can be a massive distraction, I truly believe there are benefits to existing on those sites. Not only can those destinations be a form of escape and a break from everyday life, but they can also serve as inspiration, and a training ground for the endless marathon that is getting published. So don’t feel terrible if you’ve spent some time scrolling instead of writing, because you never know where inspiration might hit. Take it from me, the author who was inspired by all of those Instagram chefs to write a book about them!

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Erin La Rosa has written many highly engaging… tweets, as a social media manager. But on her way to writing romance, she’s also published two humorous non-fiction books, Womanskills and The Big Redhead Book. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three daughters (one human, two felines). Find her on Twitter and Instagram @erinlarosalit and on TikTok @erinlarosawrites.

FOR BUTTER OR WORSE

“With great tension, simmering heat, and clever banter, FOR BUTTER OR WORSE is a mouthwateringly delicious enemies-to-lovers romance.”—Helen Hoang, USA Today bestselling author of The Heart Principle

They go together like water and oil…

All chef Nina Lyon wants is to make a name for herself in the culinary world and inspire young women everywhere to do the same. For too long, she’s been held back and underestimated by the male-dominated sphere of professional kitchens, and she’s had enough. Now, as co-host of the competitive reality TV series The Next Cooking Champ!, she finally has a real shot at being top tier in the foodie scene.
Too bad her co-host happens to be Hollywood’s smarmiest jerk.

Restaurateur Leo O’Donnell never means to get under Nina’s skin. It just seems to happen, especially when the cameras are rolling. It’s part of the anxiety and stress he has come to know all too well in this line of work. So nothing prepares him for the fallout after he takes one joke a smidge too far and Nina up and quits—on live TV.

To make matters worse, the two are caught in what looks like a compromising situation by the paparazzi…and fans of the show go absolutely nuts. Turns out, a “secret romance” between Nina and Leo may just be what their careers need most.

Now all they have to do is play along, without killing each other…and without catching feelings. Easy as artisanal shepherd’s pie. Right?

BUY HERE

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: How To and Tips