deannacabinian

Four Reasons I’ve Stopped Using Facebook and Why Other Authors Should Consider It

Facebook blog post

I’ve been experimenting with Facebook for over a year since my debut YA novel, One Night, was released. I’ve always known that being on Facebook wouldn’t necessarily help me sell books, but I thought that at minimum I could connect with potential readers who might maybe buy my second or third book (or at minimum “like” my posts). I’ve discovered, though, that Facebook is basically a waste of my time as an author. I haven’t posted anything on Facebook for more than two months which is an eon in social media time.

Four reasons I’ve stopped using Facebook:

No one sees my posts. My following is pretty small, but when I look at the actual reach of posts the number of users who see them is minimal, like 25 people (and usually those are my immediate or extended family members). I know you can extend your reach if you boost posts, but I don’t want to spend money on Facebook when I could use those dollars more effectively elsewhere.

I don’t like the medium. There I said it. One of my author friends, Marilyn Brant, is awesome at using Facebook. She shares recipes, videos, and other tidbits from her life with the occasional mention of writing activities and it just works. A lot of her followers engage with her. She comes across as genuinely liking the tool. I have tried to be as charming as she is in her posts but I always feel like I’m reaching a bit.

I prefer other social media channels more. I love Instagram. It’s easy to use and I get so much more engagement on my posts there. Plus, it’s fun. I’m also a fan of Twitter, where I’ve been able to connect with other authors and a few readers and drive traffic to my web site.

It is a time-waster. When I do login to Facebook I find myself endlessly scrolling the feed, looking for what I’m not sure. Overall it has been a time suck or a distraction so I’ve deleted the app from my phone. I am happier now that I’ve done so.

What about you, are you still on Facebook? Talk about your experience in the comments.

To be the first to know about new posts, sign up for my email list.

14 comments

  1. I use Facebook mostly to keep in touch with family and friends. Some of the author groups there have also offered helpful advice on various occasions. But my Facebook author page has only proved to be useful on two occasions– once a reader messaged me there with some wonderful feedback about my novel, and a few weeks later I heard from a blogger who wanted to interview me. Beyond that, my experience has been similar to yours, where people don’t see my posts. I also tried Facebook ads, and they did help me sell a few copies of my novel, but ultimately I paid more for the ads than I made from sales.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Thanks for sharing. I totally agree! FB has done very little for me as a writer, other than suck my time. I have never and WILL NEVER have the FB app on my phone. Sheesh. I am attached to my computer as it is. The last thing I want is having cyberspace follow me around like an annoying drone. I will say that I still have two pages there, one for Personal and one for Writer. The main reason is in case I do somehow, by some small miracle, build an economically sound following, I can immediately incorporate FB as an already existing place to meet and greet. I have done boosts in the past, but they bring in some really strange people, and those who are about as opposite of what I expect my fan base to be. And as far as I can tell, FB boosts have maybe gained me a new reader or two. If I do a boost for my latest book, I will not spend more then 20 bucks. So a pretty cheap investment. I never buy ads. I will say it is fun to post photos of author events and cover reveals. But I think that is merely for my own pleasure! LOL

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks for reading, Leslie! Funny thing, after I wrote this post I did post a synopsis of my next book on FB but that’s been it. As expected hardly anyone saw it. It just validates what I already know to be true. Like you I keep the page up just in case :).

      Like

  4. Working backwards: the time suck thing rings true to me. So #4 is check and double-check. I don’t particularly like any social media platform, though I understand the allure of Instagram. I have nothing against Twitter; it makes me laugh sometimes. FB makes me laugh too, on occasion, but it doesn’t make up for the time I’ve lost, so refer back to #4. Regarding #2, see #s 3 and 4. It’s true that only a handful of people see my posts, but only a handful of people listen to what I have to say anyway, so FB is sort of a moot point for me. Now, if I could only find the stones to quit it.

    Thanks, Deanna.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Yes! It is a time suck! I maintain a personal page and an author page but their effectiveness as a tool to aid discovery of my books or my blog is questionable. I do find some groups helpful. As a politics addict I am guilty of sharing posts that express opinions with which I agree – but that simply adds to the ‘time sucking’ without having any noticeable effect. Time I took your advice and left it alone. My uninformed impression of Instagram is that it is mostly a young person’s environment, which makes it great for you as a YA writer, but probably not for me!

    Like

  9. As writer FB was a bit of a bleak wasteland.
    I’ve found WordPress invaluable for advice, support and contact.
    Hardly use FB these days

    Liked by 1 person

  10. I understand what you are saying, I only stick with it because one day I will use it to try and sell my as yet unfinished book. I should point out I can across the article on Face book so it’s not all bad.

    Like

Comments are closed.