How Jane Austen Would Navigate Social Media Marketing
From letter writing to algorithms
Hello friends,
None of us have time to waste, we need our marketing to be easy and work. Today, I am going to share an initiative we have launched to make it much easier for authors and creatives to build readership and sales on social media (without paying for ads).
But first, let’s look at the core differences between the business of being an author in Jane Austen’s time, to the challenges faced by today’s authors.
My fifth great aunt, Jane Austen, had a creative vision and was strategic in achieving it. She is a wonderful role model for authors or creatives today. But there are some challenges authors face today that Jane didn't experience.
When Jane Austen first sought publication for her work, she faced a world vastly different from today's digital landscape. In 1797, her father wrote to London publisher Thomas Cadell on her behalf, offering what would later become Pride and Prejudice (then titled First Impressions). The response was swift and disheartening: the manuscript was "declined by return of post."
This began Jane's challenging journey to publication, a path that, while difficult, was relatively straightforward in its steps. The publishing industry of the early 19th century moved at a measured pace. Once a manuscript was accepted, the process remained largely unchanged: editing, typesetting by hand, printing, binding, and distribution through a limited network of booksellers. Other than Pride & Prejudice which was traditionally published, the novels released in Jane's lifetime were published "on commission," meaning she paid for production costs and received profits after expenses (an early form of self-publishing).
Jane faced her own marketing challenges. By her own choice, her early works were published anonymously, simply attributed to "A Lady." She wasn't looking for fame for herself, just her work. While she developed a small following during her lifetime, most of her fame came posthumously. Her main means of connecting with readers? Word of mouth, the occasional newspaper review, and her own network of family and friends.
Consider Jane's letters to her sister Cassandra, where she wrote with excitement about seeing her books in circulating libraries or hearing reader reactions. When Pride and Prejudice was published in January 1813, she wrote: "I want to tell you that I have got my own darling Child from London..." Later, she visited a London library to check if they carried her novels and discreetly inquired what readers thought of them.
Jane's networking was limited to letters, dinner parties, and the occasional visit to a fashionable location like Bath or London. Her "social media" consisted of handwritten correspondence that might take days or weeks to reach its recipient.
What Jane Austen never experienced was the dizzying pace of change that today's authors face.
While publication in Jane's time involved navigating social connections and understanding the business side of publishing, the fundamental process remained constant throughout her lifetime. Once she learned the system, that knowledge remained valuable.
Today’s authors not only have to keep up with developments in self-publishing, but they also need to be marketers. Today’s authors face a radically different reality:
Algorithms that change weekly, sometimes daily
Social media platforms that pivot their focus without warning
Content formats that rise and fall in popularity (remember when Twitter was all text, before threads, before it became X?)
Shifting audience behaviours across multiple platforms
The constant emergence of new platforms demanding attention
The uncertainty when platforms face regulatory challenges or bans
A sea of conflicting advice, information and 'top tips', none of which seem to work
Endless time wasted researching and creating digital content that doesn't connect with your audience
Jane never had to worry about whether Instagram now favoured Reels over static posts, or if her content would be shadow banned for using too many hashtags. She didn't need to understand TikTok's latest algorithm update or fear that the entire platform might suddenly become unavailable (the future of TikTok in the U.S. is still uncertain), potentially erasing years of audience building overnight. She never experienced the anxiety of wondering if her posts were even being shown to her followers.
I often wonder how my famous aunt would have approached today's marketing landscape. Given her sharp wit, keen observation of social dynamics, and desire to connect with readers, I suspect she would have been intrigued by social media's possibilities.
Jane's letters reveal she enjoyed knowing how readers responded to her work. After publishing Mansfield Park, she collected opinions from friends and family, creating what we might consider an early version of "social proof" or reviews.
I imagine Jane might have appreciated Instagram's visual storytelling or crafted perfectly measured threads on X. Perhaps she would have delighted in reaching readers directly, or she might have maintained her preference for anonymity, creating engaging content under a clever pseudonym, a digital version of "By A Lady." After all, social media offers the unique possibility of building a substantial audience while keeping one's personal identity private, something that might have appealed to Jane who valued her work being known more than herself. Her keen observations of human nature would have made her content irresistible, I'm sure.
But would she have enjoyed the constant technological shifts? The pressure to maintain visibility? The endless platform changes? I suspect not.
Jane valued her writing time above all. In her letters, she describes writing at a small table in the family sitting room, often interrupted by visitors or household matters. She wrote on small sheets of paper that could be quickly hidden if an unexpected visitor entered the room. Every minute at her craft was precious.
As today's authors juggling writing with marketing, we understand that every minute spent deciphering algorithm changes is a minute not spent creating. This is precisely why we created the Social Media Navigator at The Austen Pathway, the business I created with Melissa Makarewicz (The Literary Assistant, social media expert) to help authors and creatives build sustainable sales.
For just $10 per month, our monthly Social Media Trends Report distils the complexities of platform changes into actionable insights (May’s report is out now, click the image above), while our Weekly Workshops help you apply those insights to build your sales. We monitor emerging situations (like the current uncertainty surrounding TikTok in the U.S.) and provide clear guidance on how to protect your author platform during turbulent times. We do the research and analysis so you can focus on what matters most—your writing.
Jane may have faced rejection and publishing challenges, but she never had to contend with algorithm updates, shadow banning (where your posts are restricted by the platforms without you even knowing), or the pressure of maintaining daily online presence across multiple platforms. Today's authors do.
Navigate today's complex publishing landscape with confidence, connecting with readers in ways Jane could only have dreamed of, without sacrificing your precious writing time.
Jane once wrote to her niece Anna: "I am very much obliged to you for sending your manuscript; it has entertained me extremely...I hope you will write a great deal more, and that I shall go on liking your novels as I have done." I believe she would have appreciated any tool that helped more writers focus on their craft while still finding their readers.
As Jane's niece, I'm committed to honouring her legacy by supporting today's authors with the tools they need to thrive. The Social Media Navigator is exactly the kind of resource I believe Jane would have valued in our fast-changing world.
Caroline
If you'd like to learn more about The Social Media Navigator and how it can help you focus more on writing and less on deciphering platform changes, visit The Austen Pathway on Substack. For $10 per month, you will access our Social Media Navigator and all of the exclusive content available to our paid subscribers.
As a lifelong Jane Austen fan and a professional social media marketeer for 15 years, this was such an interesting read! I love the idea of offering an easy way to keep up with current trends, so that the most time possible can be spent on writing.