As you all know, last week I got the amazing opportunity to meet one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Weiner. Oh, and did I tell you she linked to my blog on her Twitter and her Facebook? Well, she did. Jennifer Weiner tweeted and Facebooked about this very blog.

*Cue happy dance and excitement*

Okay, back to the point of this post.

Before the actual signing, Weiner told a few stories, read from her newest book FLY AWAY HOME and answered a few questions from the audience.

I was lucky enough to get called on and I got to ask Weiner a question. I asked:

“I think you do a great job on Twitter and doing your own PR and marketing for your books. How important do you think it is for other authors to be promoting their own books?”

Jennifer had a wonderful answer.

She explained that back in the day, authors were expected to just write and their publicists would promote their books. Now that’s all changed. With publicity budgets being slashed, it’s becoming more and more important for authors to get their name out their whether it’s through tweeting, Facebooking or blogging.

Being on Twitter helps readers to get a better idea of your personality and gives a little glimpse into the person behind the book. Most of Weiner’s fans at the book signing laughed along when she joked about how every Monday night she tweets about The Bachelorette. We all know that she does this. We all follow along. This is the sign that Weiner has truly captured a Twitter audience. Not only do we love her for her books, we love her for her personality.

What would make you more likely to buy a book? Someone who writes GREAT books and engages with fans online or someone who just writes great books?

Weiner explained that most publishers are encouraging their authors to get on social media. Some are joining with pleasure while others are grumbling for the golden days where they were just paid to write.

As a writer and someone who hopes to be published (FINGERS CROSSED) I personally think it’s exciting to be a part of the entire publishing process- from writing the book, to editing it and then to helping promote it. Perhaps this is because of my PR background, but as an author, I think I’d want to be involved in all of the efforts to sell books. Plus, who wouldn’t want to interact with people who love what you’ve written? What can be more inspiring than that?

When I helped debut YA author Kristin Walker with publicity for her book release in February, social media was a huge aspect of my PR plan. I wanted to make sure that Kristin understood Twitter and engaging with fans. Interaction with fans is key and while Twitter isn’t the end all and be all of social media, it’s definitely important and can only help when promoting a book!

In my own life, I know how important it is to if not excel at social media, to at least have a basic understanding of it. I’m glad to see that so many authors are catching on and engaging with their fans on a different level.

Later, I saw that Jennifer was interviewed by Media Bistro where she answered a similar question. You can check out that article here.

What do you think about authors using social media? Do you like it? Do you think it helps them to sell book?