How Louise Murchie juggles family life with being an author – with some help from Hookle

Background

Louise has been an entrepreneur for over 20 years. She has also always been writing in her spare time, but it was only during the 2020 Global Lockdown that she finally found the time to undertake her long-planned adventure of truly becoming an author.

Marketing is by far the hardest thing in her work, says Louise. She can easily write tens of thousands of words to tell a story, but telling people that her story is there to read – that’s a different story! Here, social media is vitally important for Louise. She mostly uses Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook Pages to promote her work. “They’re the best ones for authors such as myself, and Instagram integration is a must,” says Louise. She uses Hookle to post everything to these channels, from branded posts to silly memes that she finds funny, reflective, or meaningful for her as an author.

Entrepreneur Louise Murchie

Combining full-time writing with taking care of a family of three children

Combining full-time writing with taking care of a family of three children means that Louise’s days are hectic. She does the school runs in the morning, then edits what she wrote the previous day in the morning. She spends her afternoons writing and evenings reading other authors’ work. All that combined with housework, dog walking, being a mum and a wife… finding time to post on social media is a challenge!

Louise Murchie's books from left Gone Dutch, Predicted and Jigsaw

Connecting book reviewers through social media is crucial

Louise aims to post three times a day, so Hookle’s scheduling feature is particularly useful. “Imagine having to stop what you're doing to post when you're up to your arms in shopping, or you're taking the kids somewhere. Scheduling software like Hookle means I can still connect with my audience, get the message out there, then I can respond when I'm free and able.”

Hookle’s scheduling feature is particularly useful. “Imagine having to stop what you're doing to post when you're up to your arms in shopping, or you're taking the kids somewhere.

Another feature that Louise finds useful is the ability to post to all channels at once. However, the main reason Louise picked Hookle is the Instagram interface – that’s where all book reviewers, editors, copy writers, and cover designers are, and connecting with them is vital for her as an author.

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Instagram update of a product post

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Facebook post

A piece of advice for fellow entrepreneurs

Louise also has some social media tips for other entrepreneurs: “Do what 's right for you! What works for me, may not work for you. A few authors love TikTok – me, not so much! Start off slowly, you can build your extra audiences once you decide that's what you want or need to do. But, don't be afraid.”

“Do what 's right for you! What works for me, may not work for you. A few authors love TikTok – me, not so much! Start off slowly, you can build your extra audiences once you decide that's what you want or need to do. But, don't be afraid.”

To have a look at Louise’s novels, see louisemurchie.com.