The Queen of Vampires is the Queen of Class

Because I don't have permission to post Anne Rice's image 
and I understand she has an affinity for felines,
I'll just grace my page with this handsome fellow: Moon.

There are many writers I look up to for various reasons, but my admiration of Anne Rice does not follow my traditional list of character development, plot originality, and scene arc. I do praise her writing, particularly concerning her intricate vampire mythology. However, the reason I am such a fan is because of her Social Media and public relations activity. The woman is brilliant when it comes to branding and navigating sticky situations.

If you are an author, follow Anne Rice on Facebook. There. I've even linked it here to make it easy for you. Most of her posts are commentary on movies or books, responses to reviews, a small percentage of announcements about upcoming releases, and articles she finds interesting or funny. She does have an assistant, and while they do call out when the post is from him, I suspect some material sneaks onto the page from him under her name. How could someone with so many public engagements and books in the works post so consistently online without help? I've been following her for a while, and the content has always been current.

A lot of the activities I listed above seem pretty standard. Many authors link to articles, but in Anne Rice's case, the articles are rarely about her. The majority of linked content is about things she has found that interest her or thanking a reader for bringing something to her attention. In these cases, it is clear she read her fan's recommended article and offers some input of her own. She also comments on other authors. Recently, Ms. Rice posted a lovely salute to Charlaine Harris as the True Blood series aired its last episode. I read it and thought, "Wow. This author has class."

I have heard again and again that Anne Rice does her best to personally write back fans. This amazes me when I consider the number of fans that adore her work. Anne Rice encourages reader interaction and sets a great standard for advertising to readers. Some people argue one advertisement should take place for every three personal interactions. I think the ratio should be closer to eight or higher personal interactions per one advertisement. Social media is a place to build relationships, not push a book. I find that the majority of Anne Rice's posts are on interesting and engaging topics, which is why I recommend other authors follow her.

Do you have an author you look up to on Social Media or because of the brand they present? What do you think about advertising on Social Media?