WTF Facebook???

The world has been a buzz with the news of Facebook's new policies regarding business pages. What's my take on it? F*ck you, Facebook! Each time there's a policy update, Facebook makes it harder and harder for business pages to reach and market to their followers. It's bogus! 

Small business owners with a lot of followers will realize that it doesn't matter how many people are following if they are not paying Facebook to boost their status. Usually, a business owner would only boost a status to get the word out to more people and not just the folks who are following the designated page for the company. However, with the new rule, the thousands of fans an entrepreneur might have may never see a status unless it is boosted.

Read more: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/21102/20141130/facebook-is-killing-small-business-entrepreneurs-with-new-policy-rule.htm#ixzz3LnZxnyf5

According to the above article, Facebook has decided that they aren't making enough money from the ads they already have SPAMMING our News Feeds, now they wish to make small business owners and page owners in general, pretty much pay for every post. I have 1320 followers or likers on my Facebook Fan Page. That isn't really a lot, but it's still more than I can reach on my regular profile. The point of having the business page or fan page is so people can "like" it, see the updates and interact without having to become friends with someone they don't know and have their personal information available to a stranger. I completely get it and use the function myself on my personal profile. The problem isn't the purpose of the page, it's how Facebook decides to rob those of us who can't afford to spend thousands of dollars on marketing that we can't even be sure is going to pay off. 

Let me show you what posts look like now:

This is one of my "organic" posts. This means that it is original content that I posted, not containing any links, photos or information from any other source:

Out of the 1320 likers, 47 of them saw this post??!!!

That's just ridiculous. I mean, really??!! So I'd have to pay for people who have already liked my page to see my posts? How much sense does that make? If they've already clicked "Like", why the hell can't they see my posts? If they didn't want to see what I have to say, they wouldn't have clicked "Like" in the first place or can just unfollow me. 

Here's another post that is "inorganic", meaning I shared it from another source:

Out of the 1320 likers, 240 of them saw this post!!!

This is where I call bullshit on Facebook and its so-called policies. The say that the algorithms can somehow pick out the organic posts that aren't considered spammy and make them available to more followers, but this post is the exact opposite and was seen by more people. How do you explain that?? Basically, Facebook is full of crap! Again, why can't I post directly to my followers without having to take back doors into their feeds? How is this fair? What am I supposed to do about it?

Well, there isn't really much I can do. I've created a new group for my fans to join, I've join Tsu, which I don't think is going to be a lucrative as Facebook and Twitter, but I'm willing to try it out. Not to mention I'm on pretty much every other networking and social media site out there. Bottom line is, I refuse to pay a company that is in no way hurting for revenue. Facebook has become the only social networking site for people to share and interact since they blew MySpace out of the water years ago. 

Facebook is wonderful if you are using it to connect with your family, share articles with your friends and even play games with a community. Facebook can even be wonderful if you are a member of the many, many, many groups it has to offer about any and everything under the sun. But, Facebook is treating its business page owners like red-headed step-children. We are the exception to be able to take advantage of it's vast platform. Given the option to boost posts to reach OUTSIDE of our ALREADY ESTABLISHED networks is acceptable, but not being able to reach OUR FANS who've taken the time to seek us out is JUST PLAIN WRONG and borderline THIEVERY. Facebook is potentially stealing revenue from people like me who are hard-working independent authors and don't make much money in the first place. I'm forced to pay out more than I make, creating a deficit in my business funds and ultimately making it harder for me to generate the business Facebook potentially holds. I refuse to go broke for you, Facebook.

Please, please, please join my group, add yourself to my newsletter and even become a member on my website to keep up with me and my books and join in discussions. Help me reach you and I won't have to let Facebook come between us. Please don't break up with me!

xoxo

Lisa Logue 

The Nitty Gritty of Self-Publishing (as told by me)

Photo courtesy of John O'Nolan

There's been a lot of talk lately about indie authors who decide to pull their work and call it quits. Boy, have I been there! Some days, I still think it would be so much easier to act as if this entire endeavor was an elaborate dream and I've just now woken up. The bottom line is that you have to love what you do more than you hate the details! 

Writing is the fun part (most of the time) and the part most of us are the best at. Granted, there are some people who are good at all of it, but most aren't. After the manuscript is written, you have to pass it off to your editor (which you should have) and for formatting if you don't normally do your own. Then, beta readers or the like to look for issues missed in editing rounds one and two. Lastly, you run through the editing yet another time while compiling the suggestions from the beta readers and editor and look for continuity. You get covers made depending on how you're releasing your title. You pick a platform and click submit and there you go! 

Obviously, there are a few parts that seem simple that really take forever, but you get the idea. Not to mention the money coming out of pocket to pay the service providers, unless you just have really awesome friends. In that case, I may need to make friends with these people :D

So you clicked submit. Now what? The short answer: market yourself. Ha! Easier said than done, unfortunately. Unless you already have a network of bloggers, writers, readers, etc., you may find yourself overwhelmed. Marketing is the part most of us suck at. But it's not really our fault! Some social media networks are requiring money in order to reach an audience. Pages I follow on Facebook are starting to move their business elsewhere because no one sees their updates anymore. A lot of people want to move to Google+, but aren't sure how it works and Twitter is so spammy it makes my eyes cross. Yet, most established indie authors will tell you to have the following:

Website
Blog
Twitter
Facebook Page
Wattpad
Google+
Tumblr
(Insert other social media here)

Still, all of these things can be instrumental to garnishing exposure, but most authors can't keep up with it all on their own and many don't feel it's worth the trouble now that it's harder to connect. I mean, really? Who has that kind of time? A writer should be writing, not pushing refresh on their News Feed every five seconds in hopes that someone retweets or shares their story. That's what we'd all like you to think, but sadly that is exactly what most of us do. We get so wrapped up in spamming seemingly pointless social media that we forget to actually write! Craziness!

If you have money, you can hire a personal assistant who is versed in social media, but this person will handle your business. I mean, all of your business. You'd basically be leaving your livelihood in the hands of someone you don't know so you can actually do the thing that creates your livelihood. (Ouch, my head hurts). Chances are, if you're writing, you don't have enough money to pay someone else's salary. If you do, I think I'd like to make friends with you, too! 

Think about this, also. How many indie or self-published authors are out there? I think it's more feasible to ask how many aren't out there. These authors, including myself, have to break through the din to have our voices heard. That also means we have to believe in our work and that it's as good or better than the mainstream books. Dog eat dog, my friends. 

Listen, there is no single secret. Not really. I've been writing my whole life. I've been published since 2010 and I'm as starved as starving can get! I've wanted to quit. I've told myself that publishing isn't worth the headache if I don't see the returns, but I'm 100% full of crap. Publishing is worth every second. My blood, sweat, tears and screams go into the stories I'm sharing with the world and, although the crowd is small, they're inviting me into their imaginations for a few days or weeks of entertainment and then back again with open arms. I may not be the best writer, but I believe in my stories and characters to a fault. My passion is inked on those pages and it shows.

So for all of those who are looking to quit, ask yourself why you started writing in the first place. Did you want to become famous? Did you want to tell a story? Did you think "what the hell" and crossed it off your bucket-list? Do you even enjoy writing? 

Get back to basics. Figure out what you want, first! Find the joy in what was once your great love. If the butterflies and goosebumps are gone, you may need to break up for a while, see other people, find new fish and what not. But if at the end of the day, you find inspiration from a typo before auto-correct has the chance to change it, there's something bigger going on there (true story). Take a step back. The world is most certainly your oyster. 

 'Til next time!
Lisa 
xoxoxo