Diana Gabaldon is not your average writer

Diana Gabaldon has already broken the notion that a book series must stick to one genre; she is now killing it on social media. Many successful writers hire handlers or publishing companies representatives to run their Facebook and Twitter accounts; not Diana. To the delight of fans, she is very active on social media. She has over 500,000 people following her on Facebook page and almost 130,000 following her on Twitter. She not only posting information about her books but is an enormous advocate for the TV show and its actors. She also reads blogs and will promote the ones she finds interesting on her social media accounts. Her support comes free and translates to instant success. She always quick to point out she does not get paid to promote any web sites or products she shares on social media. Diana, Herself enjoys replying to fan questions or comments about her books or the TV show. In the 21st century, this type of unfettered access with one of the most noteworthy writers is extraordinary. She was doing something similar on her Compuserve Writers Forum back in 2004, but not many people knew about it. Most of the information she posted on her Compuserve site has been transferred to her companion books series called The Outlandish Companion. She knows what her fans like and is willing to give it to them. She is also quick to tell fans to pull back their enthusiasm with great playfulness. Her use of hashtags on her social media accounts shows she has a great sense of humor.

Diana is currently writing book nine but is in no rush to get it to the publishers. Much to the delight of fans, she likes to post lines that may or may not make it into book nine. Her latest “Daily Lines” Facebook post proves she understands fans frustration for waiting years for a new book but is not apologizing for it. In jest, she tells fans to “#GopesterGRRM”. You might know GRRM as George RR Martin or the writer of the wildly popular Game of Thrones book series. Diana and George are very close friends and have even collaborated on a book called Dangerous Women. Both authors have been under pressure from fans to get their next books out, but more so GRRM. The TV show Game of Thrones has caught up to the book series. Diana still has seven seasons worth of books before the TV show catches up. It is refreshing to see authors poke fun at each but also educate fans how much time and effort it takes to write a book.

I hope more authors take notice of Diana’s influence on social media. Successful writers making themselves more available to fans can only help book sales.

Do you think this trend of writers engaging with fans on social media will catch on?