My self-published book is finished. Now what?

When a self-publishing author finishes the writing of a book, a new process to promote the book can start. This thesis is a first step in showing how self-publishing authors use different social media platforms to engage with their audiences. Drawing from Web 2.0 developments, uses and gratification theory and marketing strategies, such as the 80/20 Rule and the 90-9-1 Principle, this study explores the social media engagement of self-publishing authors on different social media platforms. A combined qualitative method is applied to this study. Ten self-publishing authors were interviewed for this research. The results show the most frequently used social media platforms by the interviewed self-publishing authors and the engagement process regarding time, topics and the different use of social media according the features of the platforms. The results also show how users support self-publishing authors by reviewing a self-published book and the existence of a self-publishing author’s network helping each other reciprocally. This master thesis finds that the interviewed self-publishing author’s online engagement varies according to different social media platforms. Furthermore, social media engagement activity can increase depending on the publishing date of the book. Hypothesis for further research and implications and directions for future work are discussed, in order to deepen the knowledge about self-publishing authors and social media engagement.