Between raising two kids, working in healthcare, and training for an ultramarathon, Lesley Prosko doesn’t have endless hours to feed the social media algorithm, and neither do most authors. In this piece, she makes a refreshingly guilt-free case for letting AI handle the grind while you save your creative energy for what actually matters.
Let’s face it, AI isn’t going anywhere, and that does not sit well with many of the creative hive. There is this feeling of “Are we going to be replaced by robots?”. The truth is, the industry is about to get bombarded by AI-written books, AI-designed covers, but if you are anything like me, you can tell about two lines in if something has been written by a human or a computer, and nothing can change the creativity and imagination that is the human brain. At least not yet anyway.
But AI is not all evil; we can use it to help us as well. When I wrote my first book, I thought that was going to be the hardest part. Turns out, that was likely the easiest part if you actually want people to know about and read your book, not just your family and friends. It takes A LOT of time and brain power to create a campaign to get your book out there. If you are flush with money or a celebrity already, then hiring a publicist and letting them do all the work for you is your go-to. Unfortunately, most of us first-time authors are likely starting out at a deficit from simply editing and publishing our book in the first place.
Whether or not you use or even like social media, it is the fastest way, with the farthest reach, to gain an audience. It can feel overwhelming when there are so many platforms that it might be hard to know where to start. My suggestion is to pick the platforms that fit your genre. If your book is about business, use LinkedIn to your advantage. If your book’s target audience is seniors, TikTok might not be for you. Facebook and Instagram tend to fall in the category of universal reach.
Seems easy enough, right? Well then, you learn about algorithms, trends, hashtags, tag lines that will go viral, and that is before you even have an image/video to post. It can literally take an entire day to come up with a concept for, take multiple pictures/videos, edit, and make sure everything is perfect for one fifteen-second reel. And you are supposed to do this continuously three to five times a week for the rest of your life, for your pages to even have a chance of making the algorithm satisfied that your content will make the cut into more than your friends’ profiles.
The truth is, very few authors ONLY do that for a living and have endless hours to devote to marketing their books, so something else in your life often ends up falling to the wayside while you plug away on a computer. I am a mom of two young children, a wife, a casual healthcare worker at several hospitals and medical clinics, a runner training for an ultramarathon, AND an author who apparently needs to spend full-time hours on social media and other forms of marketing. It’s unrealistic.
This is where AI comes in. You create your brand, use your covers, your pictures, your videos, but then use AI as a tool to help save some of that brain power for other things, like deciding what to make for dinner…again. There are multiple apps and programs that range from free to monthly subscriptions. Most are cheaper than paying for ads on the platforms in any regard.
And thus, my analogy to fast food. Would making gourmet meals from scratch be healthier/better for you and your family? Sure, and if you have the time (and resources, because even food is getting far too expensive), then go for it. Fast food is the easier option, the “on the go” option, the choice between having time to eat or not. AI is the fast food, or the convenient option when you are already burning the candle at both ends, and you shouldn’t feel guilty about that. Use the tools that are there, create multiple ads, images, or videos all at once. Use the prompts so that they stay within your brand. Change the things that don’t feel right. The computer designs the concept, but you are still the human behind it, guiding it, providing the references, but not stealing all your time and brain power. You can even schedule your posts for up to thirty days at a time in most platforms. Keep the algorithm happy while you get to create content on the go without the pressure of a deadline to fulfill your weekly quota. It is ok to adopt AI into some aspects of your process without hindering your creative outlook. Have that chicken nugget every now and again.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lesley Prosko lives outside of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on an acreage with her husband, two kids, three dogs, tortoise, goldfish, and a varying number of wildlife that pass through the yard.
What began as writing for a mom blog, evolved into writing her first book “Instagram Moms are Full of Sh*t: To Hell with Mom Shaming.” From there she published her first children’s book “Mommy, Why?…” Unleashing the passion for writing has read to many more ideas, so look out for more books in the future.
Lesley has always wanted to make a difference. She has worked in healthcare for nearly twenty years, and a Primary Care Paramedic and a Cardiology Technologist. Becoming a mother made her want to create the “village” that seemed to be lacking in social media mom groups. Being a mom is hard enough, so let’s be the people that build each other up.
Lesley also does speaking events in the hopes of empowering women and mothers, and accepting each other in a nonjudgmental supportive way.
CONNECT WITH LESLEY PROSKO!
Website: https://lesleyprosko.com/
Social media:
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/lesley.prosko.author
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/lesley.prosko.author/
TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@lesley.prosko.author
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-prosko/
Links for purchase of book (print, e-book, and audiobook): https://lesleyprosko.com/pages/bookstore
INSTAGRAM MOMS ARE FULL OF SH*T
Some mornings you don’t even manage to brush your hair before the school run, and the reels of moms who make it all look easy aren’t helping. Have you been mom shamed, or even done it yourself without meaning to? Lesley Prosko, mother of two, is done with the unrealistic expectations social media sells, because the truth is no mom has it all figured out.
Drawing on her own experience and input from other moms, she digs into the most common mom-shaming themes across cultural, generational, and parenting style lines: birth plans, breastfeeding vs formula, vaccinations, sleep habits, working vs stay-at-home, screen time, and more.
Told with insight, humour, and a healthy dose of sarcasm, this is a practical reminder for real moms to stop comparing themselves to the ones who want you to believe every day is a great one, because those moms are full of sh*t.
