Leaving Facebook #socialmedia #ebookadvertising

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Where does time go? I looked at my blog and realized I haven’t posted in a month. How does that happen? I’m online constantly, visiting other bloggers, but have somehow neglected my home base. With the holidays coming up, I may not have another post until January, but thought it was time to share…well, something!

For those of you who have followed my blog for a while, you probably know I’m not a fan of Facebook. Never have been from the time I signed up, but I hung in there because authors are expected to have a presence on FB. I’ve been awful about posting on my profile, but I have run several ads over the last few years, all with decent results. I considered Facebook worthwhile as a good ad source, never where I connected with others. I’m better with mediums like the blogosphere, Twitter and Instagram.

Then FB did something I couldn’t ignore.

Last week, my publisher reduced Cusp of Night to .99c for a few days. As usual, I signed onto Facebook to run a promotion. I modified the same ad I’ve run twice in the past, targeting the same audience as before, but got flagged for violating FB’s new ad policy.

Huh?

I didn’t include men in my audience and didn’t target women under 25. Guys, if you read my books, I love you, but honestly I know that the bulk of my readers are women, and the majority are over 25. My guess is that Facebook considered this discriminatory (let’s not forget they let me target the exact same audience multiple times in the past), so they deactivated my ad manager and wouldn’t approve the ad.

Oops! Facebook even sent me an email saying I had violated their ad policy.

Okay, got it. I figured I could fix the problem and all would be good. I understand they need to make adjustments. But when I tried to change my target audience I couldn’t. The powers that be had shut down the ad manager for my account, no chance to change anything.

Just. Locked. Out.

That left me an option of jumping through hoops with FB support, emailing, and trying to straighten the situation out. In other words, a major headache.

Um…for a platform I’ve disliked from day one? No thanks. So, I deactivated my Facebook account. Then the good folks at FB asked me (through an online form) why I was leaving their wonderful community. I explained they’d deactivated my ad manager and why. I thought perhaps they’d send me a follow up email. You know…customer service and all that, but of course that didn’t happen. I’m a drop in the bucket, and customer service is a dinosaur of days past when people mattered.

So I’m outta there. If you’ve tagged me in the past, or might try to in the future, I wanted to share why you won’t find me. Look for me on BookBub, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, Pinterest, or in our lovely blogging world, but I’m done with Facebook.

I never did get to run my ad, but thanks to a large BookBub push by my publisher and other promotions I did, Cusp of Night did well, hitting:

278 in the paid Kindle Store
#2 in Mystery Supernatural
#5 in Mystery Cozy
#7 in mystery paranormal

I would have loved to hit the top spot in one of the genres, but coming close was nice. A few of my other books picked up sales as well. And all without Facebook. I guess I didn’t need it as much as I thought.

Book cover for End of Day, mystery/suspense novel by Mae Clair shows old dilapidated church with bell tower and a cemetery in the background overgrown with weedsIn other news, I’m plugging away on the final book in my Hode’s Hill series. Book two, End of Day, releases on January 19th and is available for pre-order from all major booksellers. If you haven’t reserved your copy, now’s a good time. 🙂

As we gear up for the holidays, I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I love this time of year and am in permanent happily-ever-after-Hallmark-sap mode. And let’s not forget Elf and  A Christmas Carol, my two favorite holiday classics.

Ho-Ho-Ho and sugar plums to all!

89 thoughts on “Leaving Facebook #socialmedia #ebookadvertising”

  1. I only post here and there on my Facebook account. I used to advertise, but I haven’t in a while. Thanks for the heads up with their change of policy because I pick the same audience, too. I just use Facebook to chat with family and old friends mainly now. I think you are right customer service is a thing of the past. There are days when I can handle jumping through the hoops and others I can’t. I’m glad you got to let them know how you felt though and had success with BookBub. Congrats on moving up on the charts! I have my book pre-ordered and happy to hear the third one is shaping up. Yay!
    I’m glad I’m not the only one watching the Hallmark movies right now. I am taping every new movie for this season. I haven’t watched Elf yet this year, but will…and never miss Christmas Carol! Ho-ho-ho and sugar plums right back to you.

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    • I love all the Christmas movies and specials. I wish the season were longer so I could cram more in, LOL.

      Facebook will advise you of their updated ad policy if you go to place an ad but I guess I didn’t pay close enough attention. Oh, well. At least it gave me a legitimate reason for deactivating my account. I was going to delete it entirely but read a blog post that advised against that.

      Thanks for the pre-order on End of Day. That makes me do a happy dance 🙂
      And I’ll take the “ho-ho-ho’s and sugar plums, too 🙂

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  2. Mae, it’s lovely to see a post from you. Grr…I’m sorry for your hassles with FB but feel you made the right call to leave! Congratulations on the success of the advertising campaign and well-deserved placement in the book charts!!

    Yeah … who can resist these movies? At home Elf dvd is on the coffee table and we all love settling down for this film … an essential part of Christmas! 🎄

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    • Hi, Annika. I know I haven’t been too visible here lately. I’m going to try to correct that in 2019.

      Thanks for the congrats. I was excited to watch the book climb.
      And do you know, as many times as I’ve seen Elf and A Christmas Carol, I still get misty-eyed at both! 🙂

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    • Yep! And remember waaaay back in the day when FB said they would never charge for advertising? Given that ship has sailed, you’d think they’d at least give their advertisers a chance to fix any goofs in an unapproved ad.
      Not that they need my money, but I’ll place it elsewhere 😉

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    • Thanks, Priscilla. It’s great that authors have other avenues for promotion and don’t have to be married to Facebook. In this case, I realized there are more viable options available.

      Wishing you a wonderful Christmas, too! 🙂

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  7. I deleted my Facebook account 18 months ago and have never looked back. I did it for various reasons, not least that I was getting messages such as ‘Happy Birthday’ when it wasn’t my birthday, etc. I also felt that Facebook took up vast amounts of my time: time better spent writing instead of feeling I had to like and comment on every single new update from those I followed. Yep, blogging can sometimes be the same, but the Blogging world is way beyond Facebook when it comes to reading posts that are interesting and worthwhile. I also found that many people on Facebook were looking for nothing more other than to get their ‘friends’ count up, and wanted you to promote them and not return the favour.

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    • Hi, Hugh! I was never that active on Facebook to begin with (except for ads) but I feel like it was frequently stalking me. Reminding me I had 99+ notifications pending, my friends hadn’t heard from me in ages, and didn’t I want to update my profile, etc., etc.

      I’m sure I will be exactly like you and not miss it in the least. And I completely agree about the blogging community. The support here is entirely different, there is a wealth of information to be shared, and so many entertaining posts.

      Thanks for visiting with me today! 🙂

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    • Hi, Tammy! So nice to have you pop in and visit.

      I guess I shouldn’t be surprised about Facebook. They’ve become a behemoth and have no time to cater to customer service. I’m thrilled there are other choices for authors.

      Sending you wishes for a wonderful Christmas, too! 🙂

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  9. One bot tagged you, then another bot asked why you were leaving. There is no humanity at FB today. I don’t see social media doing much of anything for me. Blogging is still my best effort. Oh, and most of my readers are women of a certain age too. Go too far from that group, and there isn’t a lot of reading going on.

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    • Good point about the bots and lack of humanity. One was sent to lower the boom, the other to collect data. Ugh!

      I know social media is rough. I enjoy some aspects of it, but others I don’t have the patience or desire to embrace. Here’s hoping there will always be readers for the stories we write without a bot saying we can’t share with them.

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  10. Part of me misses the days when computers didn’t exist and we actually spoke to people when we had a problem. It seems there was a lot more respect then, and a lot more got done. Maybe not on a macro-level, but I live on a micro-level. And I miss the human component to solving problems.

    Then again, without technology, I wouldn’t have “met” you, so there are benefits.

    Sorry about TPTB at Facebook. But I think this decision was right for you and you’ll be happier. And major kudos on the BookBub promo and Amazon rankings!

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    • There are definitely good aspects to computers and social media. I count my friends and readers among them. 🙂 But wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to have that AND a human competent to customer service? Maybe one of these days someone will figure that out. I think I will be far happier without FB too. It’s one less thing on my plate.

      And thanks for the congrats on the Amazon rankings. It was exciting to watch the book climb!

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  11. Mae, I have two FB accounts. I’m usually on the one for friends and family. My author’s account has never taken off socially with the exception of a few RRBC folks. I tried ads twice and saw no success. I’m not adept at marketing so I don’t know if I can blame FB, but I also chose your categories. I hadn’t planned to advertise soon and now that I have this info, I probably won’t again. Thanks for this contribution to the writing community. Ha! I just discovered Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies. I’m in Heaven! I love the Hode’s Hill series and I anticipate your new WIP.

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    • Linda, Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies are staples of the season, LOL!

      I guess you could say I had two FB accounts two—my personal profile and my author page.The author page was the one I used to advertise. I used to boosts at the beginning then switched to ads. I did see good results on most of them, but that ship has now sailed. 😉

      I’m glad people are finding this post helpful. It’s always a benefit when we can share obstacles and successes, allowing others to learn from our experiences!

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  12. Congratulations on the fantastic rankings, Mae. Well deserved indeed! Sorry to hear about the Facebook nonsense. It’s getting so crazy over there.
    Wishing you a fabulous, joyous Christmas. Fa la la la la la la la la! Cheers! 🙂

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    • Natalie, I like your Fa la la-ing 🙂

      Yeah, Facebook and I have chosen to part ways. I’m sure I won’t miss it since I only really used it for ads. And thanks for the congrats on the rankings. It was exciting watching the book move up through Amazon!

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  14. “[A]uthors are expected to have a presence on FB.”

    Writing as a form of art and selling books are two vastly different things. I’m not in a position to tell anyone what to do, but through my long and painful experience in “the industry” (what a clinical term), I came to realize I had to choose from two different paths:

    i) chase my own tail, babble and drool on the internet struggling to be heard in an ocean of mediocrity and noise.
    ii) write.

    Surely, one might say, both should be possible, right?

    Again, I only speak for myself, but I have concluded that each time you “beg” your friends to like a post, each time you try to come up with something witty to write on Twitter, each time you subtly-yet-visibly-oh-god-how-do-you-do-that try to push some promotion, it’s yet another little piece of your heart (now baby).

    Do I promote my work? Yeah, on my own terms. Which means, no social media (if we don’t count Goodreads), no telling my friends (let alone asking them to do anything), nothing which would debase my art. My art comes first, and any marketing or promotion has to submit to it.

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    • HI, Chris! Thanks for visiting and sharing your thoughts. I think every author would love to do nothing but write. I try to be selective where and how I promote (goodbye Facebook) and there are several platforms I truly enjoy.

      As an example, I love sharing reviews of books I’ve read on BookBub. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite platforms for connecting with others–both readers and authors. And blogging will always be first. I’m a Twitter fan because it’s my source for news. So I guess I’d be on social media regardless (hmm..that was an eyeopener).

      It sounds like you’ve found what works for you with the integrity of your writing (no social media). I applaud you for that and wish you all the best with your writing!

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    • I’ve been meaning to part ways with Facebook for some time now. They just forced my hand, LOL.

      And–oh!–good to know End of Day is on your read list this week. I’ll be on the lookout for your review. Hoping you enjoy it! 🙂

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  16. I saw your BookBub Feature- congrats!
    I think Facebook got slapped down in the news so many times that they’ve gone the other way and made it all but impossible to use. Sad really, because it’s user friendly for people (commenting and keeping in touch with friends), and a great way to make connections.

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    • I’m positive all the changes with their ad policy have come about because of accusations of data collection and privacy violations. Now, the pendulum is swinging to the other extreme.

      Had they flagged my ad as unapproved and given me the chance to correct the problems, I would have been fine with that. But they locked me out of my ad manager so I couldn’t even change things. Gah! What genius came up with that, LOL?

      I do think people enjoy it for staying in touch and seeing what’s going on with family and friends. I just never found the time or the knack to work it into my life.

      Thanks for the congrats on the BB feature. I was excited when my book popped up in my daily email. I hadn’t expected that, and know it was thanks to my publisher. 🙂

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  17. If Facebook makes it hard for me to place ads, like you, I just won’t place them. Amazon has already made it impossible for me to write reviews for any authors I know, so now I just post on Goodreads and Bookbub. A bummer. But I was so excited to see your book make the top ten!! Way to go, Mae! Congrats!

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    • Amazon is another double edged sword for authors. I’ve run into a few friends I can’t post for, too, and have had reviews of my own books pulled (yours was one of them). So frustrating!

      Like you, I also post on GR, and I’ve fallen in love with BookBub. That is such a classy site. I love sharing my reviews there.

      And thanks for the congrats on Cusp. It led into pre-orders for End of Day as well!

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  18. That’s crazy! Shame on Facebook. I only target women above 25 y.o., too, because, let’s face it, they buy the majority of books online. Geez, I planned to restart my FB ad today, but now I’m not sure what to do. Guess I better scroll through their never-ending changes. What author has time to read all their updates?

    Congrats on the awesome stats for Cusp and the new release, End of Day!!!!

    BTW, I can’t “like” posts these days because WP keeps telling me my user name doesn’t exist, even though I’ve used the same one for years. *sigh*

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    • I probably should have read their ad guidelines better, Sue, but because I wasn’t being discriminatory I skimmed through them. I’ve been using that same audience since I started putting ads on FB. I’m sure you’ll be fine with you actually take the time to read the guidelines thoroughly.

      No worries with the “like” button. I had problem getting mine to work on my Mac but John Howell got the problem worked out for me. Mine was just a Mac tracking issue, but it looks like you’ve got a bot deciding your user name doesn’t exist. Don’t you just love technology 😉

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  19. I have been spending too much time on Facebook. I’ve been running a lot of sales this since 11/30 and plan to continue for this month, but I keep asking myself why I waste time posting my books to Facebook and Twitter. The only time I post on facebook is if I have a sale. I used to get a few sales from their reader groups but no more. I tried Facebook Ads in 2016 without much luck, so I don’t do that anymore. Don’t have a lot of money to spend on promo since I retired so I’ve been opting for mainly free promo, except I am running Amazon Advertising Ads (was AMS). I always thought Boosting Posts on Face were a waste of money but had heard they were better and you could target them the same way you could Facebook Ads, so I tried it out a couple of time. Nope, still a waste.

    But get this, I targeted women 35+ (because I noticed those are the ones who clicked my ads when I did run Facebook ads), and I had no problems. This was just last week 11/30 – 12/2.

    Here’s what Facebook is good for;
    Socializing with family and friends (especially those who live far away)
    Author Groups: I recently joined author cross promotion groups and started one myself for Romantic Suspense. I also joined a writer support group where we keep each other writing and have a critique group of 4 authors. I have missed my old critique group.
    I enjoy some of the cute little jokes and animal videos.

    But I really need to get my writing done before getting on Facebook.

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    • Interesting that FB let you target that market but flagged me. I guess I got a bot in a bad mood, LOL. I used to try boosting posts a few years ago but heard that running ads gave better results, which is why I switched. I did get decent results now and then. I keep eyeing Amazon ads but haven’t taken the plunge yet.

      I do think author and writing groups are great. I belong to one that used to be on FB, but we moved to another platform for communicating. I think is good for small groups of family and friends (even though I never used it that way), and private groups. And, yes, writing comes first!

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Kim!

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      • It could be a difference in a boost and an ad for targeting. However, everyone who teaches FB Ads says you need to target your audience. So that’s just ridiculous that they penalized you for doing that.

        If Twitter works better for you, FB has groups where authors post their link for their Twitter post, and each author retweets the posts for that day. There’s one for romantic suspense/mystery/thrillers. Some are mixed genres.

        I don’t make nowhere near what I want on my books, but where my best results have come from are author cross promotions, joint promotions, and newsletter swaps.

        This time of year is not a good time for Amazon Ads. For some reason it’s hard to bid high enough to get impressions and clicks. So I haven’t created any new ads this month and will wait until January to do that. It did the same last year around December.

        Good luck.

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      • Outside of what my publisher does, author cross promotions and joint promotions also give me the best results. I’m not making nearly what I’d like to either, but I hope until I retire in a few years, writing will be a supplement to my retirement income. The truth is, whether I make money or not, I’d keep doing it anyway. I think we’re all like that. We love writing too much.

        Thanks for the info on Amazon ads. Maybe I’ll give them a try in January. 🙂

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  20. I was a heavy user of Facebook for years. But when the whole political thing began to cause so much angst and nastiness that ended it for me. Now I only share an occasional joke and funny meme or the new release of a book by an author I admire. As for my books? Maybe once a year if I have a new book coming out. I’m seeking out new platforms for my work now. Twitter has proven to be the best option thus far. As for Christmas? The selection of wonderful sappy Christmas movies on Netflix is so binge-worthy. Have a marvelous and memorable Christmas and New Year, my friend. 💗

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    • I used to have good luck with Twitter but haven’t really engaged there like I should lately. It’s still one of my preferred platforms. As for the political garbage on FB–ugh! I always compare it to….a normal person wouldn’t walk into a room full of people or a party and start spouting off political views, so why are many so apt to do it when sitting behind a compute? I guess I’ll never figure that one out.

      I just resubscribed to Netflix. I’m going to have to check out the sappy movies 😀

      Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, too, my friend!

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      • I’ve come to the sad conclusion that many people are distancing themselves from face-to-face personal interactions. Perhaps because they no longer feel safe in the world that exists outside. Sadly good manners appear to have been compromised as a result. The age of technology may end up having more destructive powers than the big-bang theory. Oh, look, a synopsis for a horror manuscript. Sigh.

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  21. Whoa. That sucks. I reisisted FB for the longest time, until we set up a private Writing Sisters group. And the whole FB author page thing. And half my family communicates on FB (only time I get to see some of my nieces and nephews, and keep up with news about my cousins). And the local Sisters in Crime chapter uses FB as a major communication avenue. Sigh. Good tip about ads, though. And congrats on the BookBub promo stuff! Woo-hoo! Can’t wait to get my copy (I suppose I’ll have to work on that uber-long TBR list — er, or work on my WIP 😉 )!

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    • I think private groups work well on Facebook, and a lot of writing groups do use it to communicate. Hopefully, something else will come along down the road that achieves the same thing without being so intrusive (I can’t tell you the amount of reminders I got from FB asking where I live). If I left that spot blank on my profile, I left it blank for a reason. But according to FB they value my privacy. Yeah. That’s why they kept pestering me to let them know my location. 😉

      Thanks for the congrats on BB. It was fun 🙂
      And I hear you about the TBR. I’ve slacked off reading this month, but need to tackle my list again!!

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  22. When you see what they let be posted and hear about what they flag, I think it’s just a numbers game for them. You are in a few columns, “discriminating against, a, b, c…” that can now list on their “Accomplishments.”

    It’s ridiculous.

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    • Heehee. I like the sock theory. 🙂

      I’m sure I do have male readers, just not the percentage of female readers. And come to think of it, Facbook even takes the time to break down the results of the click-thrus on my ads by male/ female, showing me where my advertising dollars are most effective. Methinks the pot is calling the kettle black 🙂

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  24. What makes no sense is that they ALLOWED you to violate their ad policy. If you couldn’t leave men out, then why is that option even there? I’ve really hated some things FB has been doing for a while. I did start an account on MeWe (the anti-Facebook), but if you can’t get everyone over there, it doesn’t help. I’ve been staying off FB a lot lately, and I don’t miss the drama. I check in from time to time, but I’m not very active anymore.

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    • I never heard of MeWe. I’m going to have to Google it just to see what it is.

      The thing that irks me the most with the whole FB debacle was that they told me to fix the problems in my ad, but locked me out of the account at the same time, so the ad became “unfixable.” There was no way I was going to jump through hoops with support for a platform I’ve disliked from day one.

      Good to see you on here, and thanks for the info om MeWe, Lauralynn.

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  26. I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. Mainly, I use it to keep up with folks I don’t see on a regular basis and share pictures of my grandchildren. 🙂 Twitter is more suited to the business of promoting books. I’ve yet to fully jump into Instagram, but I know I should. It’s hard to find time for it all. I don’t think you’ll miss out on a thing on FB, Mae.

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    • Time is really the killer for all of these social platforms. I’ve started using Instagram a little and it’s okay (better than FB), but I guess I don’t think to photograph enough moments in my life, LOL.
      I don’t think I’m going to miss FB at all, either, Jan. 🙂

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  27. Mr Wonderful opened my FB account and he his on his A LOT. I tend to get lost over there and before I know it an hour or two has passed by. I know authors put of lot of emphasis on FB so I do share stuff. I pay for my blog, so that is my main concern. WordPress did that exact thing to me some time ago. I do not like bullies and that is how I feel…like I was bullied, cast aside like my thoughts and feelings were immaterial. Sounds like FB did the same thing, only worse. WordPress was a freebie for me and your ads cost…don’t they?
    sherry @ fundinmental

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    • Yep, the ads on Facebook cost me money every time I ran them. That’s horrible about what WP did. It does make you feel like your thoughts and feelings are immaterial. God forbid, WP would start shutting down blogs. I rely so much on mine.

      I hear others say the same thing as you about Facebook–they hop over to make a quick post and suddenly they’re caught up for hours. Waaaaay to much of a time suck for me!!

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  28. Facebook, wrong on so many levels. I closed my account about a year ago, although for different reasons. Now it would seem they are adding arrogance to their many other sins. More and more of us are finding we don’t need Facebook. You certainly don’t. All success to ‘Cusp of Night’!

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  29. Don’t blame you a bit, Mae – I’d have done the same thing. I’ve run ads with FB with absolutely no results – have no idea why – and they keep asking me to promote more posts. Since I haven’t I’ve seen my views per post decrease considerably. FB and their algorithms – It’s one big headache. Saw Cusp on Bookbub – thrilled for you on the rankings and sales!

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    • The algorithms at FB are so frustrating! Even if you’re not advertising something it’s hard to get posts seen by people you want to communicate with.It’s not so much a social network anymore but a bunch of code that determines you sees what. Ugh!

      Thanks so much about Cusp. I was elated!! 🙂

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    • Thanks, Bette. I was pretty fortunate with the FB ads I ran, but the BookBub promo far surpassed them. I have no regrets from bowing out of FB, especially given there are other channels (like blogging) to connect with my friends!

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  31. This is an interesting post, Mae. I read that “serious” bloggers are supposed to have a presence on Facebook and Instagram. I dropped Facebook two years ago because of it’s participation in the Russian attack on the U.S. elections. I was going to join Instagram but Instagram is owned by Facebook which allowed Russia to use its Instagram to discredit the Mueller investigation and the FBI.

    I want to be a successful blogger but I can’t support Facebook and its other brands.

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    • Rob, I applaud you for taking a stand. I admit, I am on Instragram and I do know it’s owned by Facebook. You can certainly be a “serious” blogger without either. In fact, I bet serious bloggers rely on their blog as their voice rather than diluting that voice through FB and Instagram. You’re doing what’s right for you and that’s what counts. I have never been a fan of FB from its creation, and only eventually opened an account because it was expected by the publisher I had at the time. That is now all behind me, and I have more freedom to pick and choose my channels. Blogging will always be my favorite. It’s also where I connect with people and have made friends. I honestly don’t “get” Facebook.

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      • I like Twitter although it’s a bit like a battlefield. I especially enjoy following the journalists who work for the major new networks. They use it to discuss the news in real time; it offers real insight into who these journalists are
        as people. I don’t know how people can keep up with five or more accounts. When I first started blogging, everyone agreed Facebook was a must. I really hated it from the day I joined; I knew something was off…I like my friends on WordPress. 🙂

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      • I love Twitter, especially for news. Like you said, you can catch it as it happens in real time. A lot of that can be depressing, but other times (like when the llamas were loose in Texas) it’s a lot of fun too.

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    • Hi there! Many thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts.
      I’m already enjoying my FB-free life. One less thing hanging over my head and consuming time I don’t have. I agree with you about the policies. It seemed like there was always a new one being tossed our way. You walked away from a HUGE page. WOW! Good for you!!

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  34. Hey Mae! I’m back, yes, I’ve joined wordpress again because, hey, I don’t have enough to keep up with do I? Truth is I missed blogging and my website blog just doesn’t cut it. It’s clunky annoying and I can’t interact with people! So here I am and bravo for leaving Facebook. I hate it but I’m on it as my clients like to link event with me so we co-host them but it is definitely a double edged sword and if it’s not serving you anymore, what’s the point, right? Looking forward to keeping up with your writing journey once more. D

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  35. So sorry not to have visited recently, Mae. I have been dealing with computer woes and family sickness. Wow, FB has really lost its mind. They want us to buy ads but then act so irrationally. If it wasn’t for keeping in touch with old school chums, I’d be out of there, too. Congratulations on your book’s success despite the inanity of FB. You deserve all good things.

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    • Hi, Flossie. So sorry to hear about the family sickness. I prayer everything words out. And oh, yes–those nasty computer woes. I was without my Mac book for most of December. It’s rough when you can’t access the digital world.
      Thanks for the kind words about my books. And, yeah, it’s a shame about FB, That’s one site I never did get! 🙂

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  36. I have read complaints about Facebook ads by other bloggers, Mae. Sorry about your experience. I use Facebook more to connect with our lovely community and to share interesting articles with people I think may be interested in reading them. I can’t change my target audience from South Africa only and my books are very UK focused so the ads don’t help me either.

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  37. Hi Mae, I have noticed that facebook is actually reducing our target areas (which is what they would call it) by stating we can’t target certain ages or genders etc. I write YA fiction which has probably more of an appeal to young adults and probably from the female gender due to the stories being epic, magical love stories but hey guys are welcome too. So a 50 year old man or woman probably wouldnt ​be interested in reading my books. So Facebooks advertising changes are not that helpful to people that pay to place ad​ds with them. But What I have noticed is that by not allowing people to target their paid adverisements by segments the actual ad spend goes up! So this is great for facebook but not for the person paying the bill.

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    • Ugh! Anna thanks for dropping by and sharing this news and your experiences. I never even stopped to consider how the ad changes would effect someone writing YA. For the most part, that’s a narrower audience than I have (though certainly it has really exploded), What you said makes perfect sense. Interestingly, I just launched a new book this past week WITHOUT ANY FACEBOOK ADS and, if anything, it did better than the last one for which I ran a week of ads. It makes me glad I left FB and stopped spending my money there.

      Thank you again for sharing your experience. Wishing you much success!

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