Social Media During Nanowrimo
NaNoWriMo is practically here! You’ve taken the time to plan out your story, but you might have another big question: apart from writing your novel, is there something else you should be doing to support your book? Namely, should you be using social media much during NaNoWriMo?
For many of us, social media serves as a major distraction and roadblock to reaching out writing goals. But if you use it intentionally, it can prove to be a big help during this month! So let’s talk about a few ways you can make sure you’re getting the most out of social media during NaNoWriMo without doomscrolling or losing hours of valuable writing time to mindless online browsing!
BUILD A WRITING COMMUNITY
Social media, for all its flaws, is a great way to find new friends and build a community with like-minded people from all over the globe. NaNoWriMo is a massive undertaking, and working to achieve this massive goal on your own can make it more challenging than it needs to be.
The official NaNoWriMo website has a lot of resources to find other Wrimos out there, but you can also search the #Nanowrimo hashtag on your favorite social media site to find online support to not only cheer you on when things get tough, but to help you mentally process writing blocks or problems with your book, brainstorm ideas for future publishing plans, and help you network with other writers and publishing professionals.
WORD SPRINTS!
One of the most challenging parts of NaNoWriMo can be the mental shift it requires. Unlike your average writing session, NaNoWriMo forces writers to get the words out, even if they aren’t particularly good words.
For some writers, this is a really challenging mental shift to make. One way to combat this is to set a goal for yourself and find online writing sprints to take part in. Twitter (or X? Is that what we’re calling it these days?) is a great place to find other writers and get word sprints going. What makes them helpful isn’t just the community and the accountability, but they also help you create a goal. That can help you pump the words out, even if you feel a bit of writer’s block creeping up. Word sprints last for a specific amount of time, they’re short, and they’re meant to help you tackle your book in more manageable chunks. Plus, they sort of gameify the writing process, and that always makes things more fun!
CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT!
Are you struggling to develop your online presence as an author? Not sure what kind of content to push out to your website, newsletter, or socials? Chronicling your NaNoWriMo journey can be a great way to help you become more comfortable posting online! You can use your socials to chronicle your experience during NaNoWriMo, gain some more followers, and even start teasing your book idea out and directing people to sign up for your newsletter, subscribe to your vlog, or even direct potential readers to something monetized like a Substack or Patreon. If you plan to traditionally publish, growing your network, increasing audience engagement, capturing email addresses or getting folks to pay for your content will be a huge thing when you query agents and publishers.
NETWORKING WITH PUBLISHING PROFESSIONALS
Obviously, your novel won’t be ready to query on December 1 (and just to say it—we can help with editing your book once NaNoWriMo is over). However, making connections now will help set you up for success once you’re ready to query. Agents and editors are well aware of NaNoWrimo, and they tend to keep an eye out for exciting new voices. So use this time to not only build up your own authorial brand, but also take advantage of as many opportunities as you can to connect with agents, editors, fellow writers, and other publishing professionals!
PERSPECTIVE
It’s quite easy to start planning for NaNoWriMo and begin to feel overwhelmed with the entire process. Am I networking enough? Am I being active enough on socials? Is my story unique enough? Do I have what it takes to make this book a reality once December 1 hits? Finding a community of fellow writers online can be such a huge help when it comes to keeping perspective on the month.
NaNoWriMo is a great way to get a first draft out, it can be a fun way to build a community, and it can lead to amazing opportunities. However, it’s just one month. You’re not going to make or break your writing career in that month, and if things don’t go as planned, you can still pick things up and keep going the next day—or in the days after November. Having folks in your corner experiencing the same thing can help you keep that front of mind and make sure NaNoWriMo is a fun challenge, not something that destroys your love of writing forever.
If you want to talk about your writing project with us, don’t hesitate to reach out to us! We’re ready with amazing writer coaches, editors, marketers, cover designers, and more to help the book of your dreams become a reality!