Authors using social media: layers of identity and the online author community.

Laing, Audrey 

Abstract

This article offers an analysis of the impact of professional social-media engagement upon authors. Authors primarily use Facebook, Twitter and there is growing use of Pinterest. Authors use social-media platforms primarily for marketing, publicity and making contact with readers. They tend to adopt a multi-layered approach to self-presentation and the lines between their 'public' and 'private' identities are blurred. The research reveals a limited author-reader community, but a much stronger online author-author community, founded upon practical support and encouragement. There are implications for the publishing industry as authors believe their publishers lack social-media expertise. The commercial benefits of maintaining a social-media presence are unclear for many authors.

Citation

LAING, A. 2017. Authors using social media: layers of identity and the online author community. Publishing research quarterly [online], 33(3), pages 254-267. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12109-017-9524-5

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 22, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jun 29, 2017
• Publication Date: Sep 30, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jul 3, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 3, 2017
• Journal: Publishing research quarterly
• Print ISSN: 1053-8801
• Electronic ISSN: 1936-4792
• Publisher: Springer
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 33
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 254-267
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12109-017-9524-5
• Keywords: Social media; Online; Community; Author; Persona
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/2397
• Contract Date: Jul 3, 2017