How to use Social Networking to Become a Published Author

By Gursharn Kandola at Social Media Today:
Back in the day (like maybe a year ago), when a budding author wanted to get published, she would have to shop a meticulously written manuscript around to publishers with big hopes and dreams in tow. The other option would be to fund it yourself (or do some fundraising) and try to get the word out on your own.
Lucky for authors, there are some unique social methods to get your book published these days.

Social methods? Like what?

So glad you asked! There are two 'modern' ways that you can leverage to see your book publishing dreams come to light: Crowd Funding or Publish your books as an app.


Crowdfunding
A way of raising money online using social means, crowdfunding has grown in popularity recently. With sites like KickStarter and GoFundMe gaining ground, authors can use social media and viral videos to highlight their projects and garner interest (and therefore funding) to help publish their books.

The social aspect is key here. Interested donors can share the campaign link with their individual social networks to help spread the word. If your presentation or video is compelling enough, you could potentially generate all of the funds you need.
Crowdfunding sites have different parameters and some are focused on specific causes or certain project types. GoFundMe's video is a great description of what crowdfunding can do for you:




Book App
Another option to publish your book is to go digital. The popularity of digital books is rapidly increasing and in response, there have been apps developed that allow you to publish your book as an app and publish it on Apple's App Store or Google Play. Once there, use social media to spread the word and get your book downloaded by the masses.

Apple's iBook author app is one option that will help you bring your book to life. With available templates, image galleries and pre-defined widgets, you can drag and drop your way to a published book!

Another option is the Android Book App Maker ($79US) which lets you to create good looking and functional eBook apps for Android from an existing text file. The Book App Maker supports international languages and can be defined with either the scrolling or flipping options with varying fonts and illustrations. In a short time, your book can be designed and uploaded to the Android marketplace - easy peasy!

If you're an author having some challenges getting published the traditional way, why not leverage social networks to generate funds or publish the book yourself?