When I first started blogging last year, one of the very first writers I got to know was Teresa Frohock who just happened to be living in NC like myself. So I was thrilled for her when I learned she had not only secured herself an agent (the highly awesome Weronika Janczuk) but that she and Weronika had received a contract for Teresa’s debut novel 
MISERERE with Night Shade Books.
Now, months later, I have the pleasure of hosting Teresa on her One Question Blog Tour as MISERERE is released into the universe. Already deep into this novel, I can report that Teresa is one of those gifted writers who makes writing look easy. And I couldn’t be more thrilled for her much-deserved success. Teresa is also someone who makes using the tool of social media look effortless. So I felt compelled to ask her:
Knowing what you know now about using social media as a writer, is there anything you would do differently just starting out?
Thanks for hosting me here, Erika. I always enjoy the special insights that you share here at your blog, so I’m really excited to be a part of it today.
For those of you who don’t know, I had the pleasure of meeting Erika in Charlotte in June, and she is just as genuine and lovely in person as she is here. We had lunch and during our conversation, we discussed social media, what works and what doesn’t. I was delighted when Erika asked me to share some thoughts with all of you, especially about things I might have done differently.
When I decided I wanted to pursue writing for publication, as opposed to writing simply for the fun of it, I knew I would need a blog. I wanted one for two reasons: 1) to hone my writing skills; and 2) to get my name out there.
My only problem was that I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write about. In the end, I geared my first blog helluo librorum toward the craft of writing. I felt it would be a way for me to connect with other writers and get my name out there for agents and editors.
It was a great experience.
Since my visibility was low, I felt comfortable making mistakes while I learned how to write blog posts that would get me noticed. However, while I did interview quite a few authors, I didn’t talk a lot about genre fiction. Nor did I connect with a very important part of this equation–the reader.
Not everyone who reads, writes, and in my desire to craft a well-written novel, I really neglected ways I could have been making impact with my readers of genre fiction. Oh, sure, I visited all the big name blogs, followed them on FaceBook and Twitter, but I rarely commented or engaged in any of the conversations, because I thought no one would care what I thought.
By neglecting to do so, I missed a huge opportunity to engage with other genre readers prior to being published.
Don’t get me wrong: I needed all the input and advice that I found through my writing contacts, but at the same time, I wasn’t writing just for me. Engaging with your future readers is just as important as engaging with other writers.
So if I had to go back and do something different, I would spend more time engaging with genre readers through their various blogs and web sites.
What about you? Do you know where your readers are hanging out? Do you lurk or are you openly engaging your future readers?
Thanks so much for stopping by, Teresa–and friends, please click away on all the great links attached below to hear/see/read more about Teresa and her writing.
* * * *
Raised in a small town, Teresa Frohock learned to escape to other worlds through the fiction collection of her local library. She eventually moved away from Reidsville and lived in Virginia and South Carolina before returning to North Carolina, where she currently resides with her
husband and daughter.
Teresa has long been accused of telling stories, which is a southern colloquialism for lying. Miserere: An Autumn Tale is her debut novel.
Teresa can be found most often at her blog and website http://www.teresafrohock.com. Every now and then, she heads over to Tumblr and sends out Dark Thoughts http://teresafrohock.tumblr.com, links to movies and reviews that catch her eye. You can also follow Teresa on Twitter http://twitter.com/TeresaFrohock and join her author page on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Teresa-Frohock/134892453223242.
Miserere: An Autumn Tale (http://www.nightshadebooks.com / July 1, 2011)
Exiled exorcist Lucian Negru deserted his lover in Hell in exchange for saving his sister Catarina’s soul, but Catarina doesn’t want salvation. She wants Lucian to help her fulfill her dark covenant with the Fallen Angels by using his power to open the Hell Gates. Catarina intends to lead the Fallen’s hordes out of Hell and into the parallel dimension of Woerld, Heaven’s frontline of defense between Earth and Hell.
When Lucian refuses to help his sister, she imprisons and cripples him, but Lucian learns that Rachael, the lover he betrayed and abandoned in Hell, is dying from a demonic possession. Determined to rescue Rachael from the demon he unleashed on her soul, Lucian flees his sister, but Catarina’s wrath isn’t so easy to escape. In the end, she will force him once more to choose between losing Rachael or opening the Hell Gates so the Fallen’s hordes may overrun Earth, their last obstacle before reaching Heaven’s Gates.
Read the first four chapters of Miserere FREE here http://www.nightshadebooks.com/Downloads/Miserere_%20An%20Autumm%20Tale%20%28Sampler%29%20-%20Teresa%20Frohock.pdf
Book Trailer Link: http://youtu.be/3MvCHEp0EVA
LINKS TO PREVIOUS INTERVIEWS:
All Things Books http://speedyreader-allthingsbooks.blogspot.com/2011/05/interview-with-author-teresa-frohock.html
Down at Lucky Town with Alex Bledsoe http://downinluckytown.blogspot.com/2011/06/interview-with-teresa-frohock-author-of.html
Layers of Thought http://www.layersofthought.net/2011/06/interview-with-teresa-frohock-debut.html
MuseTracks http://musetracks.wordpress.com/2011/06/26/its-pitch-day-at-agent-shop-with-weronika-janczuk/
The Written Connection http://www.uninvoked.com/writingblogs/wordpress/?p=75
I love that you two were able to meet up
This was a great question (and thoughtful answer). I’m still trying to figure out my way in the blogging/social media world.
Congratulations on MISERERE, Teresa!
Thanks, Amanda! I think it’s kind of a trial and error thing for all of us. It’s hard to find the right balance.
Thanks again!
T
This is a path so many authors are trying to negotiate. Thank you for posing the question, Erika, and thank you Teresa for sharing your experiences. As we authors find our place with social media, another question I’m always asking myself is how much time should I spend on it.
Good luck on Miserere.
Like I said to Teresa, Jackie, I have admired the way she seems to be very much “in the thick” and still seems like she doesn’t have a computer attached to her hip every second of the day. Like so many things, I think about the quality vs. quantity element of social media. Yet I do think there needs to be a certain amount of repetition to keep you as a writer visible…this too is a work in progress:)
Thank you so much. It’s always such a toss up as to how much time should be spent on what. I think it just depends on where you are in your publication process.
And you’re right about staying involved, Erika. It’s a real difficult balance sometimes.
Congratulations on your book, Teresa. That’s really some kind of wonderful. I look at blogging as an experience in itself. It’s not a means to an end, or an agenda disguised. Every time I post, it comes from something I’m milling over or a problem I need to vent or an artistic expression. It’s the connection itself with other bloggers that often helps fuel that.
MSB, I love your blog because it DOES come from a very real place and it feels very organic, which is something I envy in many of the blogs, like yours, that I read. That natural sense of expression without agenda makes a reader want to return, to stay connected, to catch up when they’ve been away too long.
Oddly enough, I think blogging really helped me develop my writing voice. It took me a long time to let go of formal writing and just be myself.
Congratulations on your forthcoming book Teresa. Some excellent points about social networking, too.
Thanks so much, Downith!
Yes, it’s all about the balance: good blog posts, good contacts and good books.
Congrats, Teresa. Will definitely need to read your book!
Thanks so much for stopping in, Sherry–hope the summer is treating you and yours well. You hit the nail on the head with the word balance. I think that is the key to it…and that said, I wonder if I’ll ever find it! Argh! I used to feel badly when laundry piled up, now I feel badly if I go to long without a new post…of course, I’d still rather write the post than do the laundry:)