Wednesday, April 17, 2013

How to Create an Author Page on Facebook



I'm technically challenged. When CD players first came out, I waited before I bought one. And waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, one of my good friends bought me two CDs for my birthday, which forced me to buy a player. I'm slow like that.

Fast forward several years. I have a personal Facebook page, but was intimidated about creating an author page. What I needed was Author Pages for Dummies. But I took the plunge and lived to tell about it.

If you'd like to connect and chat on Facebook, check out my new author page here!

If you haven't created an author page yet, I'll share what I learned. And if you already have an author page, feel free to correct me or chime in with your own tips for making a better page.

Author Pages for Dummies, Step #1--Sign Up

If you have a personal page, sign out. Then log on to Facebook.com. At the bottom of the screen, beneath the green "sign up" bar, you'll see "create a page for celebrity, brand or business."

It gives you the following options:

  • Local Business or Place
  • Company, Organization or Institution
  • Brand or Product
  • Artist, Band or Public Figure
  • Entertainment
  • Cause or Community
I chose Artist, Band or Public Figure. Once you click on that tab, you'll need to "choose a category." I chose "writer." 

Then you'll choose a name. I chose "Author Julie Musil" to differentiate from my personal account name. 

Agree to the terms, then click "get started." Type in all the password stuff, then click on "sign up now."

Congratulations, you have a page!

Author Pages for Dummies, Step #2--Customize
  • Add your author photo. I used my Twitter photo, which is a couple years old, but it's recognizable. (I really need to learn how to air brush) Anyhoo...
  • Add a banner. Some talented people, like Stina Lindenblatt, create their own banners. Like I said, I'm techie challenged, so for now I used a stock photo from MorgueFile. Lots of great images to choose from, and they're free of charge and free of hassle. 
  • Upload content. I didn't want to invite people to an empty page, so I uploaded recent blog posts and accompanying images. Trial and error here, too--I learned to uncheck thumbnail if I didn't like the way it looked. I also learned to be sure my personal page was signed off, or it looked like my personal page posted to the author page. Ironically, creating an author page also encouraged me to learn more about Pinterest. I'm still new to this, but one of my fave authors, Jody Hedlund, regularly pins great stuff on her author page.
Author Pages for Dummies, Step #3--Spread the Word

I didn't want anyone to feel pressured about liking my author page. On my personal page, I let my friends and family know I'd created a page, and added the link. Many people ask how things are going with my writing life, and this way they can see on a regular basis.

Next I sent out a couple of tweets with the link.

I also added a Facebook badge to the sidebar on my blog. Facebook offers them here. I don't love what I have up now, so I'll play with it a little until I'm satisfied.

So that's the down and dirty on creating an author page on Facebook. If you've already done this, are there any additional tips you can add? Do you ever connect with authors on Facebook?


46 comments:

  1. Very helpful! I could of used this as I fumbled my way through doing this last year!

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    1. LOL! I tell ya, fumbled is exactly what I did as well :)

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  2. Thanks for sharing. I'm challenged like you and not as talented as Stina. I'm going to save the link to your post for step-by-step instructions when I need an author page.

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    1. Excellent idea, Natalie. And I'll be there to like it when you do :)

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  3. I'm not on Facebook - and don't want to be - but those are great instructions. I'll share them with my followers tomorrow.

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  4. Looks good, Julie! I set up my Facebook author page about a month before my book launched last June, using much the same trial and error as you did. Technically speaking, the hardest part for me was setting up the top of the page, including the cover photo which was a frustratingly horizontal slice of my vertical book cover, to my satisfaction. I also had to make sure it didn't downplay the important attribute that the foreword to my book had been written by someone famous (James Carville).

    The one thing I would add to your tutorial is: before you start, think about what purpose you want the page to serve. If you're already blogging, is your FB page going to offer anything more & different to followers, or is it just going to be a tool to steer folks to your blog? Try to frame your answer in the context of: what's in it for your reader/followers?

    In my case, I don't have a separate blog, so this was always intended to be my one-and-only online presence. It started out with news about the book -- promoting and then reporting on each and every book signing.

    As that activity tapered off toward the end of the year, I adjusted the page's focus. Taking it on faith that readers of my nonfiction book have an inherent interest in the subject matter -- hurricanes, Cajun culture and Louisiana's crisis of coastal land loss -- I now use the page to share interesting or otherwise important news about those topics. With the one-year anniversary of my book's publication approaching, I 'm still posting at least once a week from that page, hopeful that followers will find the posts interesting enough to share, which in turn could lead new followers to my page, and new readers to my book.

    If your readers would care to check it out, it can be found here: www.facebook.com/HellorHighWaterBook.

    Thanks, Julie, and best of luck with your new page!

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    1. Ron, those are excellent tips. Thanks so much!

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  5. Very helpful, Julie. I could have used these when I did this a few months ago :D

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  6. Perfect post, Julie! I sooooooo need to get better with using my author page... great summary here!

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    1. I've goofed a few times, but I'm getting the hang of it!

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  7. I'm not on Facebook, but I'll keep your advice in mind in case I ever create a page for myself. I like your page, though, especially the image you had for perseverance and the quote about not giving up. I want to print that out and hang it over my desk, because I need to remind myself of that when I feel tempted to give up on grad school.

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    1. You and me both! I post those things to remind myself!

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  8. Hi Julie, although I don't get on Facebook all that regularly, I do love popping by my favourite authors' pages. I find that they do offer different content than on their blogs. Facebook keeps me up to date with competitions, local appearances, behind-the-scenes stuff and general news that doesn't require a seperate blogpost.

    Keep it up! I don't have one, because I'm not published yet, but I will create one when that magical day happens :)

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    1. Melanie, I must say, you've hit on exactly why I'm loving this page. Quick little statements, maybe some inspiration, without a whole post.

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  9. Okay, now come create mine. I'll buy you a really delicious cupcake.

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  10. This is great! Thank you.

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  11. I've had one for a while, but honestly, I don't do much with it. I didn't want to spam my family/friends with second rounds from my personal page on what I've been up to. I'm sure I'll use it more when I get author news to share...

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    1. Traci, I felt the same about family and friends! I didn't want anyone avoiding me at Christmas dinner :)

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  12. I've got a profile page and three book pages that run me ragged! I often think of de-facebooking myself so I can do other things besides post pictures and witty sayings. I'll stop by your page, Julie and say hi.

    You've done a great job in making fb easy for your readers.

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    1. "De-facebooking myself." I think you've created a new term, Lee!

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  13. I have an author page, as best as it will get I suppose. I'm also still very new to Pinterest and trying to figure that out along with Goodreads. I can only do one at a time! ;) Great post!

    Mel at Writings Musings and Other Such Nonsense

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    1. Mel, OMG, I have yet to join Goodreads. We can only juggle so much, right?

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  14. Hi Julie! I paid a visit to your page and think it's great. I love that it has a personal touch that encourages your page followers to interact with you. It'll be a great tool for you to use when you have a book to promote. As for posts, I think that as long as you stick to what's relevant to your brand, your page will be a success. :)

    -Sage Aumick

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  15. I'm a slow starter, too, lol! Have I liked your page yet? I'll go check it out :)

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  16. I was able to create my author facebook page after reading this. Thank you.

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  17. I haven't done this yet. Thanks for letting me know the steps. Good luck with your author page!

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  18. I need some more tips on getting others over there without seeming desperate! LOL You're doing great! You've already got more than I do. ;D

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  19. Congrats on your new author page! Just "liked" you even though I already did like you of course. :-)

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  20. Great post! I'm tackling my page now. Question, do I use my current email and password or log out altogether?

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  21. Cindy, I tried replying via email, but you're email address was a "no reply blogger." Hopefully you'll get this message! I used a different email address, but the same password. That way I can toggle between my two pages--personal and author. I hope that helps!

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  22. Julie, I'll have to look at my email, yet another thing to boggle my mind, lol. That was very helpful. If I have more questions I may be back. I will also like your page :)

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    1. Cindy, feel free to send me a message at julie@juliemusil.com. I'll help more if I can!

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  23. Thank you! I wasn't sure which category page to choose as an author until I read your blog post!

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  24. Julie, I found your article through Google. Followed your steps and added my author page in minutes. Great article.

    Thanks,
    Tom Sheppard
    https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTomSheppard

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    1. Tom, I'm so glad it helped! Good luck with your page :)

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  25. "I also learned to be sure my personal page was signed off, or it looked like my personal page posted to the author page." What do you mean by this? Will my family pics and messages appear on the author page? Horrors!

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  26. I haven't joined FB yet, but I'm planning on creating an author page one of these days and learning the ropes. I've bookmarked this to help me out when I get that far! Thanks :)

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  27. Hi, Julie:

    Nice to meet you. I have liked your page as well.

    I've had a FB author page for several years now, and I update it regularly. I share content that I hope will be of interest to everyone, and I never want to make the page "all about me."

    I'd like to offer a few things to keep in mind once you have a page.

    First, I LOVE that you referred to it as an author page. Many people still call it a "fan page" and I find that really off-putting, as do others.

    A lot of people will post on Twitter or other places and ask others to please "like" his/her page. If you're going to do that, please, offer to like someone's page in a return. Simply add the words, "Happy to reciprocate; send me the link." It's so much nicer and yields better results, too.

    Also, once you have an author page, be very aware that FB has an algorithm that decides how many views each post gets. The more comments/likes; the more views. Many people assume that if they have 1500 likes, 1500 people will see each post in his/her feed. WRONG! My advice here is to make your page as interactive as possible. Otherwise, nobody will see your posts unless they actually go to your page.

    I'll keep this comment short, but hope it helps.

    Best,
    Lisette

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  28. This is really helpful. I don't have a personal Facebook page so it's all new to me. Your page is great!
    If you need G+ help I'll gladly return the favor!

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  29. How do you copyright your written work?

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  30. Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon.
    Buy Facebook fans

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