Authors… What do Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, FiledBy, Flickr, Ning, Friendster, Flixster, and hi5 have in common?  Well, other than the fact that you may not have a clue what they are or how to use them AND that your publicist, agent and publisher are all consistently reminding you that you’re supposed to be using them to “connect,” “promote” and “sell” yourself and your books.

These social media and social networking sites also have another thing in common:  Accessibility. Facebook isn’t popular just because you can showcase parts of your social life online but also that you have access to your friends’ lives as well. Most YouTube users don’t post videos, but the obsession with the video-sharing site comes from the access to millions of other people’s videos online.  People follow Shaquille O’Neal and Ashton Kutcher on Twitter so they can access a glimpse of what it’s like to be a professional athlete or celebrity.

In the age of Web 2.0, your biggest fans won’t settle for just reading your book.  They want more.  They want to know what you were thinking when you wrote chapter five or what inspired your story’s dramatic conclusion.  They are fans of you and your books, and like any fan, they want access to their favorite author.

But authors, don’t be overwhelmed.  There will always be way too much technology moving way too fast to lose sleep over the fact you haven’t tweeted today. You should be embracing Web 2.0, but don’t be beholden to it. So I’ve come up with three tips to help you effectively get started building your web presence while ensuring a healthy night’s sleep.

To Avoid the Web 2.0 Headache…

1)  Quality, Not Quantity. Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to utilize all of the social technologies available. Just pick one or two social networking sites on which to be active. As long as you’re consistently interacting on Twitter, your fans won’t mind that you’re not on Facebook. Whatever platform you choose, your readers and fans will find you, and the quality of your connections will be much stronger. (For authors, I advocate setting up an account on FiledBy, as the community is focused on connecting authors and readers, and its author sites have tools and features specifically designed for authors and other book contributors, but hey, I’m biased…)

2)  Keep it Professional. Suit and Tie Only. Interact with your social networks as if you’re on a book tour or giving an interview with the press. Sure its fun to share photos of your last vacation or give a thumbs-up vote to a new movie you just saw, but be aware that your web presence will become a central part of your image as a professional author. So if you’re writing travel books, it might make sense to post new photos of a recent vacation, but make sure what you are doing online is consistent with your image and brand as an author.

3)  Access Doesn’t Equal Overload. Social networking can scare authors because many assume that they will be expected to be a 24 hour participant in conversations with readers and fans, leaving little time or no time focusing on what they really should be doing, WRITING. But readers understand that their favorite authors are not their friends, family, or coworkers, and they also understand that they do not have unlimited access to your time. The key here is consistency. If you only have the time and energy to interact once a week, that is great, but make sure you are active once a week, every week. If you join Twitter, tweet consistently, not aggressively.  If you join FiledBy, write a blog, add new videos and podcasts, and interact with readers, but always remember that you are your own social media boss, and you set your own hours (and, like any good boss, build in some vacation days for yourself as well…).

If you follow these three simple tips, you will avoid many of the headaches and frustrations of learning how to use Web 2.0.  Happy Networking!