Barsky-Lyn Adventures

Episode Eleven: Social Media and Authoring

• Cheyenne Hernandez

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barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Hello, beautiful people of the Bookish Persuasion. Thank you so much for joining us today as we talk about reading, writing, and publishing. I'm C. H. Lin. With me, as always, is my You know, I had meant to look up adjectives before this, and I was like, I'm gonna have them ready. And then I didn't.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Towering towering co-host

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Towering and adorable co host.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Tracy

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

You,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

me.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

set me up for it. We are readers. We are readers, writers, mothers and wives, and we are here today discussing the rest of it. Um, so we've

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

else.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

else. So we've talked a fair bit about how to write a book and that was kind of the first or how to publish a book, I guess, was kind of the first five episodes. And then we've discussed. Uh, ISBN numbers, we've discussed content, we've discussed, we haven't done a deep dive into covers yet, but that's, yeah, platforms,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

I mean, there are a lot of topics we've talked about, sort of surface level, a lot of things that we could go into more depth, but we haven't heard from people about what they want more in depth of,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

I mean,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

just gonna

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

we have a few things, we just need to write them down and actually remember them when we start recording. Um,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

sure. Sure,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

yeah. So today, we're going to talk about everything else. That goes along with this career, basically. Um, being an indie author is fully having a job. Um, most of our friends also have job jobs. Um, which we do too. Our job jobs are taking care of small children and husbands.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Mm

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Um,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

and,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Fully lost it. So we're going to talk about everything else today. We're going to talk about social media. We'll talk a little bit about, um, probably a little bit more about covers than, um, the publishing itself, because that is definitely a big part of it being a job. Talk about marketing and promotions, what art tours are, how to find people to be on your street team, etc, etc. Uh, Tracy's making a face right now because she just started a forum for her street team. How's that going, by the way, Trace? Weeks. Weeks.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

weeks. Um, when I first posted about it, I need to, I need to post about it again to see if there's any other people who are interested. I think I had like 10 people.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

That's a lot.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

a little, it may have been fewer than

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

I have fewer,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

noun. Countable

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

than ten on my, uh, street team at the moment. I think that's how many, I think I have seven, no, I have maybe a dozen because I have seven who are specifically located in New Zealand and Australia. Cause Kel's, Shadow Kel's, um,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

them,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

yeah, she's,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

mean,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

New Zealand. So she's got a whole group of friends. Um, okay. So let's rewind a little bit. You've written a book or you're planning to, you know, you want to do self publishing. Um, what, what else? Right. There's the book part of it, but what else? Uh, social media, social media is huge. Um, number one way to get your information and yourself and your book out there, um, it is, I'm,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

yourself that way. That's how you find your niche, um, your people, what you like to post about, what's easy for you to post about. It's kind of an experiment

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

you explain to people what, what a niche is for people who don't maybe know that term and when it comes to bookish things?

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Yeah. So not everyone is like this, but you will find Well, this is my advice, generally, to people who are just starting out. Um, because I'm not, I don't feel like I'm very good at social media. As far as posting and doing that kind of thing. I'm really good at engaging with people because I like to chit chat and like message. Like when

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

You do?

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

watching people's stories and I, and I message, you know, and do that kind of thing. But, I'm not really good at giving little Snippets of things from my life like there are people who are really good about inviting their audience into their world a little bit You know people who do these Videos where they're sitting there typing and doing that kind of stuff or like this is my writing space I'm like, you know what my writing space is wherever I happen to sit down So a lot of that kind of stuff it's not my jam I was not really very good at posting I And I also started my social media like right when I published my book, which is not generally recommended, but it worked fine for

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yeah.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

I found my niche, which was funny reels. And it was the lip syncing kind. Like I don't, I have, I think, maybe two reels that are me talking. The rest syncing ones, which say what you want to say about what's popular, what the algorithm is. Pushing right now. You ain't gonna catch me moving away from that because I just like it.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Apparently that is.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

my

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

At the time of recording, that is what's popular at the moment. That's what's doing the best for, uh, Reels.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

the lip syncing

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

The lip syncing. Um, real quick, this is specifically in reference, uh, to Bookstagram. To the Instagram book community is what we're at the moment specifically discussing.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

So not everyone likes doing those kinds of reels, but not everyone tries. Sometimes people are really resistant. I was really resistant to reels at first when my friend was like, you need to start doing reels. I was like, that sounds terrible. And then I started doing them and then I was like, this is hilarious. I love it. And I started doing that and it really got me a lot of followers. It got me a lot more. Attention that kind of thing. I don't know like I've talked about this with my husband He's like do your views translate to book sales and I was like, I doubt it but still the fact that when you have people who will follow you because of them then they enjoy Watching some of your other ones and then they might eventually check it out or they'll engage with you and start talking to you That's how I've met a lot of people

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yeah.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

I might not have engaged with otherwise because someone made a comment, I responded, we get a conversation going and then they, they're like, this person's really nice. the same for myself. If I catch a reel that I like and I go to their page and there are a few of them that I like, I am much more likely to go check out what their book is about purchase it.'cause I won't just buy a book, just when I see it on books because I am not a,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

for sure.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

I'm not easily influenced.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

was only.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

So

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

think there's only one book that I've bought from seeing a reel on Instagram and it was the, it's going around right now. She's really gaining a lot of traction. It's a British Bake Off, but with elves, but with fantasy creatures. And I was like,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

it, but I also,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

I just went and bought it.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

via an ad, not because of

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Oh, okay. Which you can turn reels into ads, by the way, folks, as long as you have the correct, um, audio to go with it. So I'm going to. Um, well, correct meaning,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

let,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

yeah, sorry.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

me just finish the niche

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yes.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

quick and then we'll bounce. So all that to say, find what you like. First of all, because the more you like it, the more likely you're going to put the time into it and also people can tell. Um, so my niche was doing silly reels that I, I almost exclusively gear them toward writing, publishing, whatever thing with that. Some people will do, they'll, they'll branch out a little bit on topic or whatever, but there are some that have a niche with their reels where like, um, Elizabeth. What is her last name? Wheatley, I think she's got a lot of followers. She does these book goblin ones that are

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

They're so funny.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Um, and she's really great. So that's her, her deal. Like she has, you know, a certain style that she does in a certain, like she doesn't only do book goblin ones, but those are ones that she does a lot. And then

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yeah.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

features authors on there, it boosts their sales significantly because

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

she has a massive following. Yeah.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Yeah. So you have that kind of thing where like if you're not into the lip syncing thing, but you have some other gimmick, lean into that. it's gonna be your, if you're really good with the ex, uh, aesthetic, uh, like posts of, you know, this is where my writing space is, this is like, whatever else. Those things appeal to Instagram people as much as they appeal to other of Instagram. It's just find what you're good at. Lean into that and you'll find your people just like your book will find your

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yes.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

for you.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

I'm going to jump in with a couple of things. The first thing is this applies to every platform. Uh, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook. what once was Twitter. Um, there's a new one called Kara, which is for mostly for artists, but if you like getting character art done and you have really pretty covers, that's a good spot to be. Um, it might be called Kara, whatever. Uh, but,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

it sounded like you said the first

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

oh, okay, cool. I'm

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

But also sometimes different things work for different platforms.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

that's true. But specifically speaking of like,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

with certain things on TikTok that don't translate

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

yes.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

and vice versa.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yeah.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

And that's, I mean, that's going to be the same with different kinds of platforms, like Facebook is not a video real

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

It's not as real heavy. Yeah. It's more interactive in terms of posts. Yeah. Um, but, but specifically speaking to find a thing that you like to do on the platform and do that versus trying to do everything on each platform.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

what worked for somebody else and

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yes, that's a big one.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

will say, I will be the first to say, I really don't like TikTok. I just don't. So I hardly ever do anything on it. Mhmm.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yeah.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

know how to, like,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

It's,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

that. Even though I like doing reels on Instagram and it doesn't translate for some reason to TikTok, I just, I don't like

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

it's a different method of recording reels and it's a very different method of, of communicating with people. Um, I really enjoyed TikTok when I first, like, signed up for it. Um, it felt like it was a lot easier to get a lot more followers really quickly, but then it got very stagnant. And I know some people on TikTok now in the author community that I still speak to and I go on there to check messages and stuff like that, but I'm also not as present on that app specifically because Bookstagram has been a better place for me, um, both community wise and also again with the algorithm and with.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Mm.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Doing reels and stuff like that. So I think today instead of doing everything. Let's just talk about

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

hmm. Mm

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Let's just talk about Instagram because we're already at like on 12 minutes And we're gonna try to keep we're gonna try to go back to 30 minute episodes and So let's just do Instagram today and then maybe tomorrow or tomorrow, maybe next session, uh, we do Facebook and talk about that because a lot of people in our generation and younger don't use Facebook at all. And I have found it to be incredibly helpful. Um, not necessarily. for like a court, like your husband was asking a correlation of sales to posts, but meeting other authors, connecting with other people in the community, events that are going on, it's really useful for that kind of thing. Whereas Instagram is more useful for finding readers and other authors. Um, so reels, you sent me a very collab, which was a list of Suggestions of things to do when you post a reel. And this is for reels. This is not for posts. This is not for carousels. We'll get into those in a minute. Um, reels specifically try to find trending audio, try to find trending audio that is under 5, 000 uses. That's been very helpful for me when I hit one that's at like a couple hundred that usually does a lot better. Um, as soon as you make a reel and post it. Like it, save it, share it to your stories. Um, I just, I read comment on it.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

you say

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

I did not say comment yet. Comment on it with keywords. So if you're doing one of those aesthetic reels, that's like, Oh, look at my beautiful writing space. It's so pretty with a Taylor Swift song in the background. Um, Tag it with, this is my favorite Taylor Swift song for all my book girlies out there, or all my writer friends who want to see my setup. Use the words that correlate to the real, and then pin that comment. And that's not even talking about the, uh, caption. That's the word. That's not even talking about the caption itself. The caption itself. Also important, also use those keywords, also use the hashtags, um, Bookstagram, indie authors, etc. Um, I have noticed when I don't use any hashtags, nothing happens. Like, it doesn't do well at all. I'll get like 50 views on it. Um, and that's not true every time, but I've been posting, pretty frequently the last couple months. And when I forget to do a hashtags, it doesn't do as well. Um,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Interesting. Because I flat out refused to do hashtags for a while, like a significant chunk of time, and didn't have

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

a difference.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

This one's a

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yeah.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

you. That one's a collab

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

They do change the algorithm for frequently. Uh, there's a new change that I think anybody who's on bookstagram fairly frequently has probably heard about, but there's a new change. That has to do with, um, sharing content where if you use the same image as somebody else without it being a collab, uh, collab post, a collab post, by the way, if you don't know when you set up your post or real or whatever, you go to an invite button after you scroll down a little bit and you don't just tag somebody, you invite a collaborator and then the post shows up on both people's feeds. Um, Gets a lot more views that way, right? Because Tracy's audience and my audience, it's going to hit both followers, both sets of followers. Um, right back to the advice for the reels themselves. The things that we just said were all of the things in, that you had sent me. I did see something else that I thought was very interesting that I have been trying to utilize, which is that reels are for followers and stories are for sales. So trying to sell your book, In reels, it's probably not going to do very well. And I have noticed that when I post, I mean, aesthetic reels, where it's like a ton of pictures or a movie trailer, that's different, those are cool and fun and catch people's attention. If you've got like a short snippet, that's like a really high emotional or intense scene and people can get sucked into it immediately. Yeah. Keep doing those. We like those, but the reels of somebody sitting there being like, this is my book and this is what it's about. really do not do as well for the correlation of views to sales, um, versus doing something like that. And then when you share the real to your story, you share a real to your story, say you're doing one that has to do with like Morley Grayman, So sharing like a funny reel about that to your stories and then adding a link that takes people directly to your book purchase site and saying you can check out my morally gray man right here and stuff like that. Um, the more followers you have, the more people are looking at your stories. And that's where they're able to directly click a link, versus if they're watching your reel and interested, they have to then go to your page, and then go to your website, and then find the right book, etc, etc.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

steps. I know that's, that's too many steps for me. I'm not gonna

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

That's why you didn't get that cookbook, that cooking book one.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

The witch

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

The one with the elves, the British Bake Off, yeah. Fair.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

I'm very, I'm very picky about what I spend my money on. And so, I usually, um, and because, you know, I made a cross country move. So, I was like, buying

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

budget at, yeah, in that moment. Heh

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

well, that too tight budget and not wanting to move, uh, additional

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Mm.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Um, I do purchase a lot of eBooks more often, but I like having physical copies of particularly indie author books

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Mm hmm.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

reasons. But I also am very careful about what books I do buy.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Mm hmm.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

As well,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Paperback books are

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

there

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

expensive.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

and I would really like to support everybody that I can, but I also have to prioritize that among other things.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yeah.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

We're very, very, very strict budgeters in this house and so when I only get a certain amount of spending money a month, I'm being very

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Well, and we need character art, people, so she's spending it on character art. Heh heh.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

yes

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Oh. We, uh, When I first got really into, because I had a technically a bookstagram account for a while before I released Hope and Lies. But it wasn't doing anything and I didn't know how to do anything with it. It was just posts. Um, I had no idea how to do reels or anything like that. Eventually I got into them and enjoyed them as much as you do. But, um, When I did finally start meeting people and making friends on there, I went on a little bit of a spree and I have so many indie author books on my shelf that I've not read yet. Um, just if people are like, Oh, you seem cool. I'm gonna buy your book and just went and bought and like, and I have them.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Honestly, most of the indie books that I've purchased, which I have quite a few now, um, in paperback, and then I've also, some of them I've and then I'll buy the next ones, but usually in e book, because I'm like, I gotta save my money here, so I'm gonna buy the e book version, but that's still supporting them, and honestly, I think I get more money from an e book sale than a paperback.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yeah. It depends on the book for sure.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

yeah, but I know that, um, I'm still supporting them that way and I will eventually get them in paperback, but I have a ton, a lot, a lot, a lot of the books that I've purchased. I have not read because I only have so much time in the day and I'm with my children basically all day long because I homeschool. So even during the school year, I can't books. During the day, unless I want children interrupting me every five seconds, and then it feels like it's pointless.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Well, we

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

what I was just

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

We have the added struggle, which I think, I think a good percentage of our listeners are also writers, but we have the added struggle of, uh, kids, work, work life at, in terms of the home. And then if we do have free time, we want to be telling our stories. So, Oh, I'm, Oh, I didn't tell you.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

consider writing, well, and especially because you and I are a little bit unique in how many books we're putting out while doing the things that we do. Because there's,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

It's a lot.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

and not to say that we're the only ones who are doing this. There

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

No.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

people who work, have children, write, read, do all of those things. But how many books are they putting out in a year? Um, we are putting out at least two every year. Certain years we've put out more. Um, and we'll see how that, yeah. Last year I put out,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

A lot.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

I guess it was three books last year. So that was,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

When did the second Cassidy come out?

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

November of the previous

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Okay.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

So

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Right before the year.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Yeah, I put my first book out January of 2022. Had the second one out by November. Put out the side story in May. Then we did Love is Murder. Then I did Cassidy And

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yep.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

put out one book and there's another one coming out. So I feel like my average is probably going to sit around two, like full length novels. We're

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yes!

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

put out more partly because you've had Yiddish ones.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yeah, yeah, doing the short stories, which, I mean, we, oh, we still need to deep dive into Vela. Um, doing the short stories on Vela, I was thinking about this last night, I'm so glad that I got Indeveloped because otherwise I wouldn't have written the short stories for it and then I wouldn't have the world of Spooky Cat and the old tales to, to be writing. Those are, yeah, Spooky Cat stories are 10k total word count. Um, those are written in a week. They're very fun to write. Uh, and then the old tales are less than 50, 000 words. They're gonna stay less than 50, 000 words.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

fewer.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Fewer. There are fewer than 50, 000 words. Thank you. Back to Instagram.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

So that, not to, to like diminish what you've accomplished because you've, you've done.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

No, but it is different to put out six books that are full length novels versus six books, and four of them are less than 50, 000, are fewer than 50, 000 words. Like, there's a huge difference there. Um, I'm excited for

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

that's, that's a lot of work we're putting in that we're not spending reading.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yes. Yes.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

an important element of being a writer, is reading. But you and I have both been very prolific readers in our lives, in

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yes, we have a backlog of having built up a bunch of books we've read, and we do have to, we gotta pop in here and say, we critique read for each other, other people. We do beta reads, when we say we're not, yeah, yes.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

reading books multiple times a year still, top of

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

When we, yeah, when we say we're not having time to read, that's really in reference to not having time to, like, curl up on a comfy couch, open a paperback book, and read for fun.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

for enjoyment.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

reading on Google Docs so that I can leave comments for my friends. Um, so it's a little different. Back to the topic. Boom. Okay. So Instagram. You want to stay on stories. You want your stories to be, the stories are the little circles at the top, um, where you click it and it's just a short image or video that somebody has shared that, blah, blah, blah. People know there. Um, you want, you all right over there?

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

about the noise that I'm making while I'm shifting,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

so noisy. No, I'm kidding.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

since people Most of you have probably been watching and or listening for a while, but I am now in another state, not

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yes.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

with Cheyenne,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

If you couldn't tell

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

I also

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

from the current backgrounds.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

well, if someone's just listening to the

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

That's true, I forgot about that. If you couldn't tell from the slightly different audio, uh, yeah.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

I'm echoey in here.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yeah, you don't have the

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

soundproofed this room.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

not yet.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Not even the, uh, a jury rigged one like you have where you're closing blankets in the door.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

it's only

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

to do

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

there's only two blankets.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

or something.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

of it is actual foam padding in the corners

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Yeah.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

and noise cancelling curtains. Haha,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

down here.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

something for the corners.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

blanket. Yeah, some stuff to, like, m turn the sound a little bit less because it's, I can hear the echo in here, but

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

So anyway,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

reference,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

our first episode recording virtually, and I think it's going well, but we'll see after we hit stop. Maybe it's not gonna be there. It says it's recording, so I hope it will be.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

I believe it will

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

I believe in us. Um So stories, you want to be on those every day, uh, because the more often people look at yours, the closer yours end up to the front of their feeds. Um, reels are really fun. If you're not comfortable doing them, don't do them. Uh, maybe experiment once or twice and see if they seem like fun to you. Um, if you need help or have questions, always feel free to reach out. Um, by the way, if you are. watching in or listening to this anywhere where you can't leave a comment just pop over to our patreon because all of the main feed episodes are free and you can comment on all of them so we'll be able to see any questions or concerns or questions

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

you need to go to our social media and send us a direct message because we

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

as well yes

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

willing to chat about any of that stuff if you have questions, whatever. We are here

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

we're here for you so uh regular posts Carousels are when you have multiple images and people can thumb through. and see all of them. Those are really nice for two reasons. One, you can really build tension, especially if you're doing, uh, like quotes or putting in a little snippet of a scene from something because you can like leave people hanging until they swipe to the next one. Um, they're also useful because if somebody has already seen the post and they exit out of Instagram and come back, It'll show them the next slide, so your post will get more eyes on it if it is a carousel post. Single images are fine,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Mm

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

as well.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Mm hmm. Mm

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

we've already said, we've already talked a little bit about trending audio. It's not hard to find trending audio. There's a little square. When you go to look at Reels, there's a little square in the bottom that is the audio. If you click that, it'll show you how many times it's been used. If it's got a cute little arrow, it means it's trending. If it's got a number next to it, it means it's one of the, like, top trending audios. Um, you don't have to use trending audio. Use what is fun. Use what fits for your niche, right? If you're doing all real fancy makeup transitions, maybe you're not using trending audio of the Chauffeur song, which was hilarious, and we had a lot of fun doing that one, but Find what works for you and use that. I will also say, we've already talked a little bit about collab posts. Those do quite well. They're also fun to do. Um, though the editing, if you're doing a reel, can get a little, a little tricky. It's a learning curve like everything else. Um, giveaways are very good for, boosting your numbers, boosting your follower count. And I'm not recommending people do giveaways every week or anything like that. I'm

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Mm

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

currently running a lot because I just put out a book. Um,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Well, and Cheyenne, you do a great job with those because you're not only appealing to people. free books. You're doing gift cards on top of

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

yes.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

bit more motivating for people who are like, Oh, I get a free book that I may or may not like. And I don't know that I trust it. I would like it, but I also get free money.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

And that's the kind of the big one. I don't recommend doing a giveaway without Even a 10 gift card is more likely to have people do all the fun steps. I'm running one right now. It'll be over by the time this releases. But I ran one, uh, with TheaViciousCosplay, who's an amazing woman and human being over on Instagram. Y'all should go check her out. She does really cool cosplay. She's done Love is Murder. Um, she's gonna do a bunch for us for Unborn. I'm very excited because she's got a lot of, like, fun stuff. Badass gear that she can use. She's truly, she's done every single one of my books. Except Spooky Cat, because there's no character that she could do. Um,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Mm hmm.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

But we're running one at the moment, because we just finished up a Voice in the Tower cosplay tour. There were four stops on the tour, where she dressed up as the, uh, Riva, the Rapunzel character from the story, and did different cosplays. fun audio or music to go with it. And each one of those has a question. And it's really simple. It's like, would you prefer ocean powers or light powers? Uh, would you prefer to meet your true love or talk to animals? And it's super simple to answer these questions, right? So when we did our giveaway, we said, Hey, make sure you're following us. Tag two friends in the comments. I don't remember if there was another thing, but for extra entries, Go hit all the stops on these tours. and answer the questions and became a fun scavenger hunt for people. It also boosted engagement on both of our pages and it boosted views to all four of those reels. It was just, it's, I mean, I'm doing a 50 gift card on that one. That's a lot of money. Don't feel like you have to do that. Um, that's, that's a lot, but I'm going hard on the giveaways and tours for Voice in the Tower because I want to see what works and what doesn't work for when you and I do our Unborn release. Um,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Mm

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

but that one is working and I don't think it's just the 50 gift card, um, because my other ones are also working and they're considerably less, but even something as simple as 10 bucks is going to make your, uh, your giveaway. a lot more successful. And if it

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Yeah.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

down to paperback copies, or a 10 gift card and ebook copies, do that one.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Mm hmm.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

That one will do a little bit better for you. This started out as being like all the other things and we were just talking about Instagram, but I feel like that's fitting because there's a

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Well, you s you said, you were like, since we're 12 minutes in and we're only still talking about that, let's just keep talking

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

That's true.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

works. It's

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

That's true.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

We can do whatever we want. This is our

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

This is our party. We can dance if we want to. Cry? We can cry if we want to?

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Cry.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

want to cry.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

we can also dance.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

we do. Uh,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

We also do cry.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

We do.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

also cry.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

I cry. You don't cry.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

I don't

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Not often. Anyway, folks, if you have more questions about specifically Instagram, but also all social medias, um, for authors, go ahead and hit those up. I, I think, correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think we're missing a whole lot in terms of this. There are engagement groups that you can join. They're not hard to find. I don't think that they're very hard to find. Um,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

I've only ever been invited into them, so I don't know.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

so start one.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

you could also start

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yeah.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

was gonna say you can start one. Find people that you generally interact with pretty regularly and be like, hey, let's start an engagement group, which looks like you starting, you know, a chat group and then every time someone posts something they post it into the group so that everyone who's in the group can go engage with it, and that just drives up. engagement because it makes it so that other people see those

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yeah. And I'm part of, I want to say now three different engagement groups and I don't use them because I, they're. Building and building to the point where there's so many people posting, there's multiple messages a day where people want engagement on their posts, and I just don't have the time or energy for that. So what I do is when I do have a post that I would like to really bump right off the top, I start my time on Instagram by going to my engagement groups, scrolling up, like a week and going through and liking and commenting on a ton of things. Um, if you're just in an engagement group posting things and not engaging in other people's and participating in the conversation, that's not cool. They gonna kick you out. You're not fun.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Yeah. I have, I was in two groups and then one of them kind of just died and then the other one's still going but I don't do anything with it. I don't even post in there to ask for engagement because I'm like, I just got tired of having to keep up with everything.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

And

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

I just,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

yeah, I,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

I feel like I'm at the point, you're at the point where you're like building and pushing to get more things going. And I'm at the point where I'm like, I'm doing bare minimum because I'm just kind of

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

yeah.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

a lot

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Well, and

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

And they're, those are seasons and they're okay. Like just because you want, like, motivated are you at any given time? And ride the motivation train and when you don't have motivation and you just are burnt out on it, just take a

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

yep.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

It might affect things for a while but you can always get it back and you don't have to push crazy hard just because so and so is pushing crazy hard or just because so and so gets more whatever.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

A hundred percent.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

about comparison. it about. Sustainability and what you enjoy. And right now it doesn't bring me a lot of joy. So I'm just not doing as much on there as I used to. I also just don't have the same and time to do that stuff now that I'm in a new state and you know, my kids are with me at all times, whereas in Colorado, they were not, they were sometimes at my mom's house or, you know, we had one day a week that one of them was at, at a school thing. Whatever, and I don't have that anymore. And so I just don't have the motivation or the ability to just sneak away and do reels or whatever, even though I still, when I've been doing them again recently, which I didn't for a really long time, it was not very active with it. I'm enjoying doing them, but it's still hard to get away and get them done and whatever else.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yeah, for sure. Um, so like I said, I'm not really on the engagement groups all that much. I'm still in them, but I don't post my stuff there because I don't have the time or energy to go. Um, when people comment on your stuff, comment back. Don't just leave a comment. Don't just like it and move on. Um, even if it's just an emoji response, that's a good way to help boost your stuff. Um,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

hmm.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

batch recording, if you're able to, is really helpful. Um, I was, again, as Tracy said, going hard for a while. Uh, fell off of it a little bit.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

that you are

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Um,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

going pretty hard. You have multiple posts a day. I have a handful a week

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

I was going harder a while ago

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

you're

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Um, and now I'm back to going harder, but our dog died in January and I had several days where I didn't want to do anything because our dog had just died very suddenly, I might add. Um, and I had batch recorded a bunch of stuff. So I was able to still. Be posting, um, daily, which, if you have the motivation, the time and the energy, I suggest posting something daily, uh, multiple things daily if you're really trying to, to, uh, hit it really hard, but that's only if you have the motivation, the time, and the energy, and the ability. All four of those things are necessary. Um, I'm gonna, I'm gonna fall back on a line that I use often that I stole from a friend of mine, which is, Comparison is the thief of joy. Do not be going on social media, looking at other authors, other bookstagrammers, other readers, and going, well, this person's been on for two months and they have so and so many followers and I've been on for a year and I have less than that. Like, yeah, that is how the cookie crumbles sometimes and you're allowed to be bummed about it, but don't let that consume you and don't let that drive to do better than that person or that feeling of failing.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

wrong you're coming from the wrong direction

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Yeah.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

when you're doing it that way.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

This community is,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

it's different if you're like, that's motivating me to do such and

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

yeah,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

That's different than you being like, well, they're doing this and they're getting this many things. I gotta one up them or whatever

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

yeah.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

just

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

There's a big difference. Yeah.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

we all have those moments where we're, we're thinking I gotta be doing this because that's what so and so is doing. I gotta come up with this thing. I gotta do this thing. That's not, it's not.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

It's not healthy.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

You can have something as a bar to kind of for without turning it into something like a competition and that's not what we want it to be and that's gonna take, it's gonna steal your joy.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

It's going to steal your joy. It's also going to, Maybe not right away, but eventually will be reflected on what you're doing on, in the community. Um,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

hmm.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

the Bookstagram community has absolutely some toxic pockets. Absolutely has some insanely positive pockets. Absolutely has some areas where I'm like, I can't go over there. It's going to make me feel bad about myself. But if you come at it from a negative, aggressive, competitive angle, It's gonna show, and people aren't gonna be as down for it. Like, positivity, I think, is the one connecting factor with everybody who wants to do well on Bookstagram, is none of us are coming to the platform with this idea of, like, cool, I'm gonna take over. And when people do come to different platforms with that mentality, Feel free to go look some of them up, because it doesn't go well. Any of those reels where it's like, oh, I just stole bookstagram by doing, or I just became the, there was one dude who was like, I just became the king of book talk, and it was like, it did not go well for him, because that's not, That's not the positivity that we're trying to do. It's, it's an uplifting, garden growing, rising tides vibe. And if you come at it with that vibe, then you're going to do a lot better versus coming at it of like, well, if I do really well, like I want to do really well, because then I'll be doing better than other people.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Right.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

All right, folks, we're at 41 minutes. My promise at the start of this episode, which was that we were going to stick to around 30. Was a lie.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Did you say that? I thought you just said we were gonna try and keep it under. Did you say 30

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

I said we were going to try to keep it around 30 minutes, yeah? I said we were going to try to go back to our OG. The first several episodes were around 30 to 35 minutes. Which, 40 minutes isn't that much more. But, at least we're not at an hour.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

I keep

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

That's okay. This is our first time doing a virtual and I think it worked really well. Um,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

think so too.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

ladies and gents, thank you so much for, oh, and everybody else, thank you so much for listening. Uh, this has been lovely. It's been lovely to just see your face. I get to see you often on different virtual forms of communique, but getting to sit and talk to you like this is really nice. And I wish you were in my comfy blue chair next to me, but that's okay. Um,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

That would be

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

we love you all. Thank you for listening. You got to say your catchphrase. I know it's been a while.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Yeah, um, well first I was gonna preface it

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Oh, okay.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

drop into the comments and give us feedback, questions, tell us we're pretty,

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

it is.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

Be nice, or you're not

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Be nice.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

So.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

The moms are telling you to be nice. Um, yeah. Be kind to each other. Follow us on Instagram. Um, at chlynn. author.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

And at author Tracy

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

And let us know that you listen to the podcast when you follow us and we'll, we'll check you out too. Um,

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

I'm

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Patreon to listen to our after show, the epilogue, um, currently editing a bunch of episodes of it. We're actually going to have the first one up for free so people can check it out. That'll be fun. Yeah. Uh, thank you all so much and have a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful rest of whatever week it is when this comes out.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

doing that

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Doing the heart? She's doing the heart with thing, the K pop heart with her fingers. I'm doing a real heart with my hands. A millennial heart. Not one of these. Oh, that's fun.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

just

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

Not one of these new ones. You guys seen these new hearts the kids are doing with the middle finger and the forefingers?

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

The

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

I prefer the whole hand heart. Anyway. Alright.

squadcaster-eaa3_1_06-18-2024_142345:

go again.

barski-lyn-adventures--she-her-_1_06-18-2024_132348:

We love you. This is great audio. We love you guys. Have a good one.

Thank you so much for tuning in. For more, and to check out our after show, The Epilogue, head over to patreon. com forward slash Barskyland Adventures. We'll see you next time!

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Tracey & Cheyenne

Host