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My social writers and their online presence

May 4, 2012 by 4 Comments

I read and article (complain) not long about writers who develop a social following via Facebook and Twitter mostly, if not entirely, to promote themselves. I would say the blogger was partially right. After all, that’s what authors have to do. Even big publishers expect their signed authors to go out and promote themselves. It can be time-consuming work, which obviously takes away from the true passion of an author.

So, I’m all for the authors I’ve met online who are working hard on their craft and then hoping to share their work with readers. It’s kinda what we have to do.

But . . .

Connections online are not about rising to the top by climbing over as many connections (friends and followers) online as you can get. For many of us, the people we meet online become friends in the true sense of the word as well as resources and best of all, It think, inspiration.

So, to all my inspirational friends, keep on getting your name out there!

Filed Under: Marketing, Publishing, Writing Tagged With: , , , ,

The simplest and best writing trick

April 7, 2012 by 4 Comments

I’m always ready to find that magical nugget of advice that will help me crash through my writer’s blocks. Sorry, I have to refer to writer’s block as blocks, because I have more than my fair share. So what’s the best advice?

Simply write
Yes. I wish I had some clever advice no one has ever discovered. But the simplest and most effective way to get past that wall is to write. It doesn’t have to be great prose. It doesn’t even have to be good. Let’s not even worry about quantity. (While I like the idea of word count goals, sometimes life just gets in the way for me.)

A while back I made a resolution to write something on my projects every day, whether it was a good day or not, or I was too tired, or I only had a few minutes to write. I wrote, and I continue to write daily.

Secondary and diversionary projects, not such a bad thing
Further, I resolved to write on my main project every day, despite my many writing diversions. I confess, I have a few projects I have started, and on any given day, some generate more creativity and productivity than my main project. Since our minds often work in mysterious ways, I figure it’s not such a bad idea to write on a project where the creative juices are flowing, build up some momentum, and then use that momentum to meet my writing goal on my main project.

Sometimes forced writing is better writing
The whole idea of having to force ourselves to write even when creativity has taken a hiatus suggests that whatever hits the page is going to be crap. I disagree. I have learned that some of my better writing occurred when I was trying to fight through  writer’s block. Could it mean that our best writing doesn’t come without some hard work and frustration? I think so. I submit that inspiration isn’t synonymous with easy. It doesn’t magically appear for a few lucky authors as soon as they sit down to write.

Rather, inspiration is the result of hard work, self doubt, persistence, education, and experience.

 

 

Filed Under: Authors, Books, eBooks, Writing Tagged With: ,

Tweeking Twitter: Why pushing a sale isn’t for me

April 2, 2012 by 2 Comments

I realized something today. My welcome greeting was all wrong. By all wrong, I mean, it’s not really the way I wanted to project myself as an author. What prompted the realization was a post by Nick Thacker, a blogger I respect and who is creating, I think, a positive influence in the world of self publishing.

Nick has a post titled, The Ultimate Social Media Guide for Writers. The general theme of the post is that Twitter, and other forms of social networking, can be a pleasure and benefit to use if you figure out how to use them effectively. Nick refers to it as “add[ing] value to the conversation.” He draws from his experience in marketing and what he professes were a lot of mistakes starting out, but what he brings to the table now is certainly worth noting.

There’s something about Twitter that’s always bugged me. It’s a great platform, don’t get me wrong, but it seems like so many people treat it like it’s a gigantic networking event.

You know the type–slick salesmen walking around throwing their business cards at people like ninja stars, and forty thousand Avon or Sensy candle reps trying to get your attention.

Sometimes people treat Twitter like that as well. For those of you who think Twitter exists solely to slam your wares down other people’s throats, let me be clear:

Stop.

Sure, I would like to sell a few (more than a few) books. But, I know those books will eventually sell themselves because they are well written and have an interesting story. They probably won’t sell themselves, however, if all I do is tell people to buy them, which is why my greeting became something of an embarrassment to me.

I didn’t really want my first interaction with someone to be for them to check out my books. After all, I know how it feels to receive a greeting telling me to buy something. I don’t think I have yet clicked on a “buy this” link someone told me to go to. I have, however been intrigued through my interactions with fellow social media users to see what they’re all about.

I certainly have been pleasantly surprised by many of the people I have met through Twitter. And after meeting many of you, I decided that the best use of a greeting isn’t to push you to buy something, but to wish you the best in wherever life takes. you. After all, no one ever gets there alone.

Filed Under: Marketing, Publishing Tagged With: , ,