Don’t be afraid to start on Facebook as a writer. Don’t keep those stories, articles and poems in your shelves waiting for magazines that will accept them or publishers to submit to. Your voice can rise dramatically from Facebook. Your voice can boom there. I have seen many writers who made it big starting from Facebook. I have seen many who started off here learning how to bring words together and today, they have gone far and wide. Some of them are those you look up to now as role models. You have probably begged some of these writers to give you feedback on your work! They successfully leveraged on their Facebook likes and comments. Although, they paid many other prices to be where they are now, but truth be told, they started out right there, pn Facebook.
They began their literary journey from Facebook. Hence, they didn’t stop only on Facebook as Facebook writers but they broadened their horizons and looked beyond Facebook as they journeyed on. To everything, there is a starting point and if you start on facebook, it does not mean you remain on Facebook forever. Practically, you can try other strategies:
- Submitting to journals and magazines.
- Attend literary events where you can network and get feedback of your work.
Your ability to keep improving on what you do is the key to breaking boundaries. A space is given, and it is important for you to have the ability to maximize it. Don’t limit yourself because they said you are a Facebook writer and they sometimes, judge or validate your work. Keep improving and keep posting on Facebook. It helps you in the following ways:
- Get self-validation
- Expand your fan base
- Explore the literary sphere
- Opportunities to meet a wide range of readers and writers and literary gatekeepers.
- You can learn about writing contests and calls for submissions.
Don’t limit yourself. The world is a global village. And budding writers can share their stories through publishing a book or stories. While you’re waiting for your big break, you can start off on social media as a writer.
While becoming a writer on Facebook, you must quickly learn:
- how to market your businesses and products
- how to network with potential clients and friends on Facebook
- How to make money as a freelance writer
If you play your cards well, the right people can notice you and offer you mouthwatering contracts.
Do you know there are groups for freelance writers and other beneficial writers groups? By joining a lucrative Facebook groups you can be on a journey to becoming another great personality.
New opportunities are open to writers. Clients often hire Facebook writers.
My first ever anthologized work was published on Facebook. I saw the advertisement on Facebook so I sent in my work. Prior to that time, I was just a starter, a naive writer. I wanted to communicate to the audience out there. I wanted people to hear me and the best place i thought I could do that was on Facebook. I opened an account and started posting. The likes and comments weren’t coming but I continued until I started building friends who could look into my work and say one or two things about it. The importance of Facebook to writers cannot be overemphasized.
Facebook has become an effective launch pad for budding writers. So far, many emerging writers have used social media to great effect.
- They have found audiences in other continents.
- Joined formidable writers forums and groups.
- Networked with literary gatekeepers in various continents
- And accomplished much more than they would have if they were holed up in their basements.
But let’s not forget that there are disadvantages too. Social media is like fire. It’s a good servant but a bad master. It can build an artist’s career and self-confidence, and it can destroy a person’s life quite quickly too. Before you launch your writing career on Facebook or Twitter, here are a few things you must consider:
- Cyber bullies troll through social media looking to suffocate emerging voices with their irrational criticisms. Develop a tough skin and learn to ignore them.
- Plagiarism is also a very big problem. A novelist suddenly found that her Pastor’s wife had copied her serialized novel and published it (without the author’s consent, of course). She tried to call the woman to order but to no avail.
- Finally, the distractions are just too much. Learn to log out when you aren’t being productive.
Other tips to help you thrive as a writer on Facebook.
- Find and follow great content providers. Facebook site make it easy to share content. So find and follow people who align with your writing goals. Creative Writing News is a good example of the many effective Facebook groups exclusively set up to serve the needs of writers.
- Also, find and follow literary agents, as well as magazines, websites, book marketers, bookshops and book publishers that align with your writing niche(s).
- Writers who write in your genre(s) are great people to find and follow too, whether they’re established or not. Follow them and learn from them on how they communicate to the outside world and read their works too.
Final thoughts
Like every social media platform, Facebook gives writers the opportunity to brand themselves. Think about your profile pictures. Your well-written biography and/or tagline speaks volumes about your personality and your work.
Click to Read How To Write A Short Author’s Bio: The Do’s and Don’ts of Introducing Yourself
When people read these, they learn more about who you are and what you care about. They also learn about what you do. Use your creativity to differentiate yourself from every other writer on social media while remaining true to your brand and your goals.
Author’s Bio:
John Chizoba Vincent is a writer and Cinematographer who writes about boys, depression, and the society. He was born and brought up in Aba and later moved to Lagos where he had his tertiary education . His works have appeared on allpoetry, Voicesnet, Poetrysoup Poemhunter, Africanwriter, TuckMagazine, Gaze,naijastories, Praxismagazine, Nairaland, black boy reviews and forthcoming in BrittlePapers. His writings have featured in many anthologies both home and abroad. He has five books published to his credit which includes Good Mama, Hard times, Letter From Home, For Boys Of Tomorrow. He lives in Lagos where he writes
Photo by Tim Bennett on Unsplash
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