How much time do you spend on marketing in relation to how much time you spend on writing? (With Kim Culbertson!)

Hi all! Shannon here and we've got the amazing Kim Culbertson with us again today.

I wanted to give you a little glimpse into all of Kim's books this morning but there are so many! So, instead I'm going to share the summary for her latest book, The Wonder of Us. But, promise me you'll jump over to her website and give the others a look. Yes?

Riya and Abby are:

Best friends.
Complete opposites.
Living on different continents.
Currently mad at each other.
About to travel around Europe. 

Riya moved to Berlin, Germany, with her family for junior year, while Abby stayed behind in their small California town. They thought it would be easy to keep up their friendship-it’s only a year and they’ve been best friends since preschool. But instead, they ended up fighting and not being there for the other. So Riya proposes an epic adventure to fix their friendship. Two weeks, six countries, unimaginable fun. But two small catches:

They haven’t talked in weeks.
They’ve both been keeping secrets.

Can Riya and Abby find their way back to each other among lush countrysides and dazzling cities, or does growing up mean growing apart?

Doesn't it sound exciting? And a perfect summer read, right? Who doesn't want to travel Europe with Riya and Abby? I do!

But before we hop on a plane (or visit a bookstore!), let's tackle today's panel question. It's a doozy.

Kim: I would say that when I’m promoting a book I spend about 20% of my writing time on marketing and social media and I would like to get that number down to 10% of my time. Social media is such a mixed bag for me because on one hand I love connecting with other writers and book lovers – it’s so essential to know this work I love is done by others who need characters and stories and words as much as I do. But social media can create a backlash of comparison and competition that can be destructive to the writing process and to a writer’s heart. Lately, I have really come into an understanding that writing and publishing are separate worlds and I have worked to build an emotional wall between them to protect my heart and my writing life. We can always find someone whose book is getting more attention or they seem like they are living a glamorous, amazing life, but then I remember that most of the time those pictures and posts tell only part of the story. I have to remember that social media is as much a construction as the fiction I’m writing. Also, I’ve realized over the years that I am actually a fairly private person who likes my quiet, small town life, and there are times social media presses too much into that world for my comfort level. It’s a constant balancing act.

Steph: Years ago, I was chatting with agent Amanda Luedeke. Mostly about how awesome Jill Williamson is, but other stuff too. She said she recommended her clients split their time in half. Half the work time writing and half the work time marketing. I’ve found this works pretty well for me, other than intense seasons. Coming up on a deadline, my social media accounts get cobwebs because I’m focused on writing, and during a release season, I hardly ever write. But overall, the 50/50 balance works for me. I write first when I’m the freshest.

Jill: I go in spurts. If I’m drafting a book, I don’t do much marketing at all. I “try” to do a little social media each day, even if it’s only to post an Instagram picture or ask my Facebook page a question, but I don’t succeed. And that’s okay. It’s hard work for me to come up with things to say. And Instagram, which so much fun, is desperately time consuming. Plus, I’m so introverted that social media just doesn’t come naturally to me. Now, If I’m gearing up for a book release, I’ll do much more social media and marketing. It will likely be 100% marketing for the two weeks before a book release and the week of a book release. And if it’s an indie project, I might even invest in some ads. All of that kind of stuff melts my brain, though, so I’ll make a calendar and plan everything out in advance. That way I won’t get overwhelmed worrying about what I’m forgetting. Then after the book release, I need some time to recover from all that scrambling to post things, so I might not do anything. Take a few days off. Then I ease back into writing. And a week or so later, try to ease back into a social media routine.

Shan: I don't know how to answer this question. But, let me say this: I love that Stephanie up there is following Jill's agent's advice and Jill so totally is not! That feels real and honest. As does Kim's answer. I feel the press of social media in much the same way. I go through seasons where I'm downright sick of myself--of talking about myself and reading about myself and posting about myself. I told this to my publicist once and she fired back with the truth that most of my readers aren't seeing everything I'm posting. Each post gives a reader a chance to find me and my books. That helped frame the task for me and I cling to that when I'm feeling over-saturated with SELF. It is such a balance because we MUST write. In reality, I'm a lot like Jill. It goes in spurts and stops for me. The only thing I'm consistent about is posting to Instagram and that's because it's a form of social media I enjoy. That might make it easier on some of you. Find a platform you enjoy and invest your energy there until you're brave enough to take on another.

How about you? How much time do you spend on marketing? Is it more or less time than you spend on writing?