Ep. 31: How to Promote Your Book on Twitter with Ray E. Boomhower

Welcome to the Pub Date Podcast. The show where we discuss what should happen before, during, and after your book publication date. Brought to you by Broad Book Group with your host Vanessa Campos and Jen Dorsey.

Hello, hello. Happy Friday, Vanessa. This is the second time I've seen you today. We're recording a lot today. How are you?

I'm good, and it's always really nice to see you twice in a day.

I know, the more FaceTime, the better. It almost feels like we're together in the same room. Almost.

Almost.

Well, we're so excited today because, um, we have an old, an old pal of mine on the, on the podcast going back. We were trying to figure out before we officially started recording today, it's been probably about 22, 20 or so years since we have, uh, seen each other and talked to each other, but he's a fantastic author who I worked with at the very beginning of my career, way, way, way back when, when I lived in Indianapolis. And I'm just so thrilled to have him on today because we're going to talk about a lot. The reason I thought of him is because we have not yet done a show about how to promote your book and your brand on Twitter. And this gentleman does a fantastic job of this. I'm always learning interesting things about his books and his projects. From his tweets. And so we thought, well, this is the perfect time to, to bring him in and have this conversation. So today I want to welcome my old friend Ray Boomhower. He is the senior editor of Indiana Historical Society's historical magazine, Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History. He is what I would consider a very well-known public scholar and writes a lot of historical content. And he's got more books than I can even begin to mention here. We don't even have time to talk about all of them, but he's got quite a few. We worked on together, The Country Contributor: The Life and Times of Juliet B. Strauss. He has got a fantastic book out about astronaut Gus Grissom, Gus Grissom: The Last Astronaut. And I can't wait to hear what else he is working on. Ray, welcome to the pod.

Yeah, it's good to see you after nearly more than two decades and good to meet Vanessa as well. And happy to be on your program today.

Oh, thank you. It has been a minute. And what I— I had a few flashbacks talking about the Juliet Strauss book. And all the things we worked together when you published books with Guild Press of Indiana, which is long since gone but has a wonderful legacy. A lot of great Hoosier authors came up through that program, and we owe a lot of thanks to Nancy Niblack Baxter, who was the founder of that and the driving force behind really pushing a lot of great Indiana-based content, right?

She did. And she's still around. I believe she's still publishing Indiana content-based books. But it shows what you can do as an author publisher, if you're not afraid to kind of go outside the regular system, there are ways to get your manuscript published if you just look in the right places. And that's what's happened with me in my career. I've been able to flit around from, you know, regional historical societies to small local presses like Guild Press was, to nationally based presses such as History Press. And I've also had some good luck in dealing with academic publishers, both Indiana University Press here in the Hoosier State, and I branched out all the way over to the University of New Mexico Press with my, with my latest book.

Wow, you cover all the bases, don't you?

I try to, yeah. It shows you that, you know, I've been able over the last 25 years, uh, to publish 18 books and, uh, did so for the most part without an agent until very, very recently. And so I think that's a good indication of what you can do if you can just find the right niche for yourself.

Absolutely. And so tell us a little bit more about your niche and what it involves. I mean, I obviously know your background, but our listeners don't. What is it like to, to do the kind of work that you do that kind of toes that line between academic writing and historical writing and, and kind of a popular biography sensibility? I mean, what do you do and what's it like?

Well, for the past 35 years now, I've been at the Indiana Historical Society, and since 1999, I've been editor of Traces magazine. And that's really where my story starts. When I get into writing history because I was encouraged way back in 1989 by Traces' first editor, Kent Calder, to do some writing for the magazine. I started out my writing career as a reporter, but quickly then moved into history after about 4 years working for some small-town Indiana newspapers. And I found that I really love writing about regional history, particularly about notable people from Indiana. And that's where I was able to really get my writing career started. I started out in 1997 with my first book, which was kind of an outgrowth of my master's thesis on an Indiana historian named Jacob Pye Dunn Jr. And from there, I kind of concentrated on notable people from Indiana for quite a while. And only recently I branched out to writing about figures from history from other parts of the country as well.

That is fantastic. It's— I love to see the trajectory of where you started and where you are now. And that career just, just continues. I can't wait to see where you go next. What is— you know, we want to kind of dive into the promotional piece a little bit too here since that's our topic for today, although I could talk history with you all day long. So let's talk a little bit about what you do on Twitter. I think a lot of people, um, when they're talking about promotion, they might be a little hesitant about using Twitter because they don't quite know how to capture an audience there, or they tell themselves, well, I'm not an influencer, I'm not famous myself, so therefore, you know, should I even be on there promoting myself and my, and my brand and my book? Talk to us a little bit about how you stepped into that social platform as a tool for promotion?

I use Twitter in two ways. One, I always am fascinated by the writing process and about how other people approach what they do as far as writing books or magazine articles. And so I always like to have some kind of writing advice from, you know, on this day in history, like this writer was born, here's what he or she said about the writing process, giving tips on how to get yourself going when you're approaching a book project. And then, of course, I use Twitter to promote my own publications and I have this large corpus to draw upon that I can, I can use on Twitter and also as a way to promote what I'm working on for my next book project. And I always like to say that, you know, don't waste anything if you're a writer. I know that when people approach a project, sometimes they go down one avenue that doesn't work, so they start over again. But don't throw anything away. Keep it because you can then use it again. As I say, cannibalize what you don't use and use it on Twitter either through— like, I have a Blogspot site that I use quite a bit to connect with my Twitter posts, but you can do it on Twitter as well. So use anything you have to promote what you're doing or what you have done with your book projects.

I love that because I think that there is a— this is me diving or dipping my toe into TikTok. There's a nice little song that's going around and saying, "Everything is content. Don't forget to record it." Because literally everything is content. And I know that that's something that we love to share with our authors and remind them, hey, just because it didn't make it into your book, doesn't mean that it's not good. It just means that you get to share a little bit of more insight into, you know, your process. In regards to Twitter, what would you say are your most popular and shared posts?

Probably having to do with the quotes or writing tips that I often post from writers from the past. They seem to get the most reaction. Also posts that kind of tie into what's going on in the world. If I can make those kind of connections with the people I've written about in the past, then I might have something to say about current news items or what's going on in the world. Those seem to do well. In addition to my, to my other posts.

I took a little bit of a detour on your Twitter account and on your Blogspot account, and I got a lot of I got a lot of memories from being in high school and reading, um, Zinn books, A History of the United States, People's History of the United States. So I love that there's a little bit of a connection here. I love that you include images. I love that, you know, it's, it's bringing a little bit to life, but it's not a lot. It's just like, here's a little blip. It just kind of gets you interested. Have you found that, um, pairing images with texts are more, uh, more engaging with people, or does it really— is it text versus images, images without text? What do you see, um, is really what resonates with your audience?

I think really what I found over the years, and particularly working with Traces magazine, which is a good combination of text and images, that you have to have those things melded together to the best response from readers because just having all text is sometimes might be a little too much for people to handle. So if you can break that up by using illustrations that go along with what you're writing about, that really hits, I think, with readers. It gets them interested because they can make those connections between what you're writing about. They can see it and get, you know, they have more, a better idea of what's going on in your writing.

I would agree with that. And I think you did an exceptional job of that with your, with your book launch this past year. And can you please tell me how to say the gentleman's name? Because I don't want to get it wrong.

It is Richard Tragaskis, Reporting Under Fire: From Guadalcanal to Vietnam. He's a World War II correspondent, probably best known for writing the bestselling book Guadalcanal Diary. And so when I knew that book was coming out, you know, went on Twitter right away and tried to promote him and, you know, let people know that I was working on a book about him and tried to let my Twitter followers know more who he was. Because sometimes you write about a person and not everyone has heard about him or her. And so you want to present them and promote them to the public so that when the book is out there and available, they'll know a little bit of something. About them and are, you know, kind of whet their appetite for what's going to be in your publication.

Sure.

And to me, the imagery that, that you used in the promotion of that book really brought him to life and, and brought to life the kind of writing he did. And it obviously gave me big Ernie Pyle vibes, whom you've also written about.

Yeah, another war— good war correspondent.

That's right. That's right. Hey, the Ernie Pyle School of Journalism at Indiana University has a lot, a lot of beautiful imagery from his life as well. So To me, it really— the way you promoted it bridges such a gap between what we, what we don't know and what we think we know about a person.

And, you know, it's a dramatic story in many ways because, you know, he was involved in combat across the globe from the Pacific to Europe and North Africa and Italy, and then, you know, involved with storming across Europe into Nazi Germany. So those are dramatic scenes and you want to make those connections with him and what he was reporting on. And what he was seeing, because he's one of those correspondents who really had a narrow view of the war. He wasn't looking at the big picture, you know, the movements of armies and divisions. But like Pyle, he was up there at the front with the men doing the actual fighting and giving you reports from what he personally saw. Those— making those connections with my Twitter followers was very important.

I wonder if he ever imagined that he would be a Twitter superstar.

Probably not.

Twitter would have been. Yeah. Unlikely at that time.

Unlikely for sure.

How early on in your writing process did you start sharing content with your audience?

I really started, uh, I start with the idea of the book project. I sometimes muse on my Twitter account about, you know, what's going to be my, my next project. I say, you know, here's a couple of ideas I have, I wonder what, what's going what will it turn out to be? And then once I have a firm idea of what I'm working on, as I go along through that process, I'll, you know, tweet out tidbits of what I've learned about the subject's life. I did that for the Tragaskis book, and I'm also doing it now for the project I'm working on for the next book I have with the University of New Mexico Press on another journalist, this one named Malcolm Brown. Who was the AP bureau chief in Saigon in the early 1960s. And he took that famous photo of the monk who set himself on fire to protest the Buddhist crackdown in Saigon. So once I realized I was writing about him, you know, I started tweeting out, you know, little quotes from Brown's life about his experience in covering war, what it was like for him. What it was like overseas in Saigon in those early days of American involvement in the war. And I mentioned earlier about, you know, don't waste anything. I had written earlier a prologue that I thought would be a good fit for my book. But in conversations with my agent, I realized that's not quite as dramatic enough opening for the book. So I set it aside. But I thought, well, this is a good slice of life, you know, it's kind of one day in his life as the bureau chief in Saigon. Why not, you know, use that on my blog as to— so that people know, you know, what, what his life was like as a reporter in a war zone. So I was able to use that and get people more interested about him and his life.

Tell us a little bit about something I saw you do with, with the Richard book. Talk to us a little bit about how you incorporated giveaways into your Twitter strategy, because I noticed that you did that from time to time. You know, you sometimes you use, I think, trivia questions to do it or, you know, talk to us a little bit about that strategy. Did it work for you?

It worked. It got some good, good feedback from my Twitter followers. They were very interested in trying to win a copy of the book, autographed copy. I always make sure it's an autographed copy. Sure. But, you know, trying to tie it into events in his life, battles he covered, anniversaries of battles he covered, his birthday, his death date, anything, any kind of a special event like that had a direct connection with his life. I tried to come up with some kind of a giveaway of the book when it came out to keep interest alive in that, in that book and let people know more about him. And that's why I use trivia questions, because I figure that if I ask just not quite too hard, but not too easy a question, it will get people at least doing some kind of internet research, and maybe then they'll learn more about the subject or the battles that he covered. You know, they'll learn more about American history, which is always good.

It is good. And I feel like it's a real community-building thing too. You know, aside from just selling books and getting the word out about books, you're building a group of people who are, you know, even if they are not familiar with this person, they're learning more. They're becoming a part of your community of historians and readers. And that's something else I wanted to touch on with you. I think you do a really great job communicating and interacting with other people on Twitter who are, you know, sometimes well-known and out there building their own brands. Could you tell us a little bit more about that? I mean, I feel like it's a very organic thing for you, and, and I think that's why you do it as well as you do. But what is that like to interact with other authors, writers, journalists, and how do you see that as being part of your content ecosystem?

Making those connections, I think, is very important, particularly if you're writing in a specific genre. In my case, it's biography. So I belong to the Biographies International Organization, and because I belong to that group, you know, you're making all these kinds of interconnections with other people doing that, writing in that same subject area that you're writing in. So that's always important. I was able to discover Carl Rolison, who is very engaging on Twitter himself about what it's like to be a biographer, often gives tips about writing a biography. Because I'm very interested in journalism, I follow a lot of current reporters and freelance writers as well. Stephen Roderick is a particular favorite of mine. He's a national reporter for Rolling Stone magazine., and he's always great in letting his followers know where he is in the country, tracking down a variety of stories. And you can get a real glimpse into what it's like trying, trying to make a living as a freelance writer. Those are a couple of people that I'm very interested in. And because I'm also involved in book publishing, I follow Anne Trubek, who's the head of Belt Publishing. A regional publisher based out of Cleveland. And she also has a newsletter that gives you some great insight into what it's like to be a small publisher and the hassles and the triumphs and the tragedies involved in, in trying to make a living in the book publishing trade. So she's been a great find and something that I find very enjoyable because, you know, we're kind of kindred souls. We're both involved in that. That niche area of publishing.

I'm gonna have to add her to my list then, because we, we certainly know a thing or two about navigating that world as well.

Already jotted their name down. My question for you is— and I picked up on this earlier that you mentioned regarding sometimes you don't need an agent to pitch your book— and I think that that is something that maybe some people know, maybe some people don't know that you even need one. Um, but it got me thinking about book publishing in general. We all have different different roads that brought us here. But I'm wondering, Ray, what is the one thing that you wish you knew about book publishing before you even got started?

I think the fact that just because your book is not published by a big-name trade press out of New York City, you can have a very good career as a writer. And have your name known by at least a small group of readers who will follow you and will continue to buy your books and spread the word to their friends and families about you. And that you can have a name in publishing without necessarily being known on the East Coast or, or the West Coast or wherever, but you can make a name for yourself right here in the in the Midwest and in the middle region of the country. And you're not necessarily going to make a lot of money. As I always tell people, don't quit your day job. I certainly haven't. You know, I'm trying to juggle, you know, full-time job with also my life in writing as well. So it's a tough tradeoff sometimes. And you're going to have ups and downs in your writing career. But if you stick at it, I think you'll make it.

I certainly think that you have made it, Raybould Mower. I'm looking at this list of books and I just, I'm just so happy for you and proud to know you. And you've just done wonderful, wonderful things, which is why I'm gonna, I'm gonna ask you for some advice for our listeners. What would you like to leave people with knowing that, you know, promoting your book and being a part of a community on Twitter or any social platform for that matter It's just a part of what we, we do now to sell books and to be a part of this writing community. What are some of the top tips you would give to people who would like to step into this kind of environment?

Well, be willing to broaden your horizons. It's not all just social media. It's not just all TikTok or Facebook or Twitter. Sometimes you're going to have to get out and hit the road. And it's been difficult, of course, the last couple of years due to COVID. But throughout my career in writing about Indiana history and other figures in history, I've been willing to go out and do presentations to the public on a variety of subjects that I've written about. And really, I found that no venue is too small for me. Don't forget about, you know, social organizations like Kiwanis, the Rotary. Don't forget about small public libraries in your state. If you're writing about history, remember that there are, you know, regional historical organizations. There are small museums or house museums. There's a variety of locations out there that might be more than willing to host you and to talk about what you've written about. And at least you can, you know, You might not get a big crowd, but your name will be out there and maybe you'll be able to sell a few books in the process.

Absolutely. Hey, that's the way we used to do it all the time, right? I mean, we didn't even have social media when you first started our careers and got into this crazy business. It was media packets and hitting the road and calling the local radio and TV stations and hoping for the best.

And also, don't be discouraged because you're going to be discouraged in this trade. When my first book came out, I was very excited because I had my very first ever book signing at the old Borders Bookshop in Indianapolis, and I went there with high expectations of selling, um, you know, a few copies at least. But unfortunately, in that, uh, 4-hour period I was at Borders, the— I didn't sell any books, and the most questions I got was, you know, where the bathroom was. So be ready for a little disappointment and heartbreak early on.

Yes, it's part of the deal, right?

It's part of the journey.

I love it.

I love it. Well, we are just thrilled to have had you here today, Ray. How can people get in touch with you if they're interested in, uh, in Traces or any of your books or just all the things that you have going on?

Well, on Twitter I'm @RayBohmhauer. Uh, you can find me also on my Blogspot, my blog site at rayboomhower.blogspot.com, and my email is available through that site. And so I'll be happy to talk to you about— if you have an idea for Traces, I'm always willing to listen to potential writers.

Great. Well, thank you so much for being here today. We want to also thank our producer Paul Roberts of OC Talk Radio and our executive producer Emily Carpenter-Polskamp of Little Red Communications. We'll see you next time.

We hope that you gained some valuable insights into the world of book publishing. Head over to broadbookgroup.com to learn more about us and all our services, and be sure to check out all our social media @BroadBookGroup. Until then, keep publishing.