There are a few experiences that all writers share: struggling to complete the first draft, agonizing over edits, and anxiously awaiting responses from agents and publishing houses. 

So, are there things an author can do while waiting to hear from agents and publishers?  Yes!

Build your social media following

• Create Twitter and Facebook accounts under your pen name (if you haven't already)
• Learn HootSuite and/or other social media managers so you can have a social media presence without having to be online constantly...scheduling is your friend
• Follow authors, bloggers, reviewers, and other publishing people
• Follow potential readers
• ENGAGE with them...people will know if you are only online to sell and they often won't be interested
• Retweet/comment on other peoples books, reviews, and posts; they will often return the favor

Draft Tweets and posts for your book
Once you know your book will be published, you will have to promote your book.  Start drafting Tweets and posts about your book.  Look at other books posts and discover which ones YOU like and inspire you to look at the book...then follow those examples when drafting your own.

Create 10-20 Tweets/posts to promote your book before it is published, and another 10-20 Tweets after your book has been published.

Reviewers
Try to arrange for potential reviewers, especially if you might end up with a smaller publisher or self-publishing.  Getting honest reviews will help with sales.

A lot of people won't buy books if there aren't any ratings or reviews. 

Create a website
If you don't already have a website/blog, create one.  Now is the time to explore, not after your book is published.

If you haven't created a site yet, you have a lot of decisions to make.  Do you want to purchase a domain and create a website?  This option could give you more flexibility and make you appear more professional and serious about your writing.  [Could this help if a publisher or agent searches for you on the internet?]  Or, do you want to use a free blog service?  Easier on the pocketbook, but it may not be as flexible as owning your own site.

Whichever you choose, you have to design it and set it up!

Blog, blog.....blog, blog, blog
Show some personality on your site by blogging. If you aren't inspired, here are a few blog ideas (some of them you know, but...):

• Review books, tv shows, movies
• Show a recent baking or decorating project (with pics)
• Find guest bloggers
• If you have started your next book, maybe post about successes or failures of the work in progress
  

Plot out some giveaway or promotion ideas
Once your book is published, one way to promote your book is with giveaways and promotions.  While I am not a huge fan, I've heard a lot of authors say they've had a lot of success with them. Discover what works, what you like, and what you are comfortable with.

This sounds like a chore, but it could be a way you get your friends involved with your writing experience.  They may have ideas and suggestions and social media experience that you don't know about. 

Be flexible
Once you have an agent or publisher, you may have to toss a lot of your ideas out the window as they may have their own PR methods. If this is the case, all the work above won't be a waste.   If asked if you have ideas or comments, you are already prepared with answers.  You can show that you are following the industry, trends, and have already created an online presence.  You are a professional.

With so many self-publishing options available, a lot of aspiring authors suddenly can publish their works...but can these indie authors find potential readers?  Luckily, social media is exploding at the same time as self-publishing.

I am not in marketing or PR, but in addition to being a reader, I also am an editor and an aspiring author who watches the trends and, luckily, has a friend who works in the social media field, so I can follow her lead and pick her brain when needed.

Here is a quick list of things for newbie indie authors to consider as they self-market their books:

Twitter and Facebook -- Create accounts under your pen name and post regularly. 

Scheduling -- If you have a full-time job and/or a family, posting two to three times a day can be hard to manage.  Instead, find a platform, such as HooteSuite or TweetDeck, that allows you to sit down for half an hour once every week or two to schedule your minimum, standard posts.  This gives you a social media presence even when you can't log in.

Political and social issues -- Before posting on a political or social issue, be sure it is something you believe in strongly enough to lose readers and followers.  I strongly suggest having a personal account and a pen name account; use your personal account for political, social and, well, personal interactions.  While writing is a calling, it is also a business; keep the personal and business separate.  Your real life friends will probably also thank you.

Monitor @replies and DMs --  Interact with your followers.  If all you do is post and never reply, you look like a social media bot -- a machine or an intern could do it, and followers can tell!   They want to interact with you.

80/20 -- You are marketing your books, so people will expect you to post about your books, but keep in mind that if all you post about is that your book is available, well-- it will be BORING.  Make sure at least 20% of your posts not about your book, but about your likes or dislikes, your writing life and books you read, or other things that make you a real and interesting person who might write something the rest of us will want to read.

Pinterest, Instagram, GetGlue, and other social media sites -- Keep an eye on new social media trends. This can be done by following other people, noting what other sites they are using to post on Twitter and Facebook.  A lot of these sites can be connected to Twitter and FB, so you can incorporate (aka, schedule) posts about your hobbies and interests using other sites.

Pinterest example: If you LOVE shoes, browse for shoes on Pinterest and schedule Tweets about shoes (which will help you with your 20% personal posts-- kill two birds with one stone).  Or, connect your Pinterest account to your Twitter account so you can easily Tweet something you are Pinning (a Pinterest feature). 

GetGlue example: Checking into GetGlue (after connecting it to your Twitter account) when you watch a movie or tv show gives followers a chance to get to know your entertainment tastes...something they can easily reply to you about.

Sharing the love -- Repost positive, non self-promotional reviews of other authors' books.  The authors of those books are more likely to share your posts (and increase your following) and can also help you build an on-line community.  In addition, if followers consider you a source for good recommendations, they are more likely to at look at your own books.

Blogs and reviews -- If you post blogs or book review on your website, don't just Tweet about to those blogs and reviews; repost Tweets/links to those blogs and reviews a few times a month (especially your favorite ones).  Use your scheduler!  This will increase your following and increase visits to your website.

Freebies -- I'm gonna be honest and admit that I don't think freebies of one book will increase sales of your other books.

Booksellers put restrictions on freebies, which means the author loses control over pricing and other issues. 

Offering your book for free on Amazon or other bookseller sites will definitely attract deal seekers. For newbies, I feel like people will read your free book but won't review it or buy your other books. Aren't you offering a free book as a means of gaining readers and followers?  Chicken or the egg...situation... 

If you have a good following and book readership, freebies might help sales of your other books...might.

Talk to a real marketer with experience with ebook freebies.

Giveaways -- Contrary to my opinion on freebies, I do think giveaways are good.  Giveaways allow you to control what you give away (with no conditions from book sellers), how much you give away, and what conditions you want to put on giving it away.  Ebook giveaways are easy because Amazon and B&N both allow someone to "gift" a book if you have the recipient's email address.  Note: You will have to buy that book you are giving away.

The quick giveaway -- On the spur of the moment, an author can post something like; "First person to @reply XXXX get's a free ebook copy of YYY".  Quick, easy to administer, and normally a positive response. 

Review -- An author can give away a book to one person on the condition that the recipient actually reviews the book on Goodreads or a bookseller's website.

WRITE! -- Don't let social media take over your life.  Be smart and disciplined.  Twitter and FB can be time-suckers, so don't let them take away from your writing time!

Social media is constantly evolving and changing, so what we do today could change tomorrow.