I'm trying. I'm really trying to get into the whole social media thing in regards to promoting my book, but it's just not working. I have a twitter accout, FB page, Goodreads profile, Shelfari too. Hubpages, and a blog. My website, Youtube, and this I'm being told is still not enough! WTF??? I'm only one person. I have to keep up with all of this and write too? If I didn't have a 9-5, maybe it would be easier. Funny thing is, I really enjoy being on FB. But that's because it's fun. My personal profile under my real name is fun. Even the FB fan page is fun. Twitter, however is another story. OMG! It's such a mean and unhappy place.
I'm trying to figure out exactly how to use Goodreads and Shelfari to my advantage. I think part of the problem is, I feel fake and forced. I hate the feeling. Don't get me wrong. I love seeing reviews for my books, but I don't really know how to interact with people there. When people email me, or inbox me on FB, I get it. I understand where they are coming from. I'm so glad to interact with them. It feels good. I guess it's the familiarity. It's just people, but they seem to act differently depending on the media they're on. I guess I do too, huh?
Hubpages, is it's own beast. It's cool writing opinion articles and picking out pictures and stuff. But I realized, I don't know shit. What do I know about anything that's of interest to anyone else? What help do I have to offer? Doesn't seem to stop anyone else on there, so I keep on writing. Maybe someone can relate to me.
I love my website, because I can just create pages on there, and leave bits of info without any rules. It's like writing, or drawing. I do what I want. I love my blog because of the same reason. I can do what I want. Of course no one visits my website or blog LOL so that's also why I feel free:).
I don't want to be a sales person, looking for buyers. At the end of the day, I'm just one human trying to connect with others. But I do want the others to buy my book. I want to buy their stuff too. Why am I more comfortable being sold to than selling?
All of this social media, is probably difficult for me because I'm not social in the first place. Who I am of course pours into who I am online.
Guess I just needed to vent. Get your shit together Kitty! The world will not wait.
Sorry for any errors. I have not read my babble.
Peace!
LMAO @Michelle! I agree! How many places do I need to be at one time? I get the need, and I know it’s a big world, but I’m thinking, maybe, just maybe, I don’t need to be touched by all of it, nor for all of it to touch me. Shewrites is the only writer’s site that I’ve joined. I just can’t get with ALL of the other sites out there. It’s way overwhelming, and I wonder how necessary it is to connect with all of these people. I’ve made some great connections on here. I’m sure here are more to be made on other sites but I simply don’t have the mental means to deal with them—and write, work eat, sleep, live….
Thank you Gabrielle for the update! I’ll need to look into that. That sounds like an extremely helpful tool. And yes please let us know how it works out for you. I’m going to look into it.
I’m struggling with the shifting of the hats Alexandra. Going from writer to marketer is absolutely NOT what I want to do, but I know I have to do it. Like you I’m far from a social butterfly. Though I love being around lots of people; I don’t want to deal with them. I’m awkward and I don’t know what to say to strangers. I like to observe, and listen. I’m on Hubpages – I think that was a mistake. I’m all over the place with that thing. I’m proud of the pieces I’ve written there, but there’s a forced feeling about it, that irks me. It’s because it’s for money. Really it’s not even that so much as the way money is made on there. I doubt I’ll make any. All the SEO & PPC & other acronyms that I’d wish I’d never heard of, just take all the fun out of being able to simply write. But it’s a good place to be if you want to have a forum for your expertise. I’ve found that I have no expertise LOL! But my name is there in perpetuity.
I totally understand your frustration with social media. I just braved the social media waters this past August by joining Facebook. I just joined this site last month. I am not a social butterfly. I am quite the introvert, preferring words and my imagination over interacting with people. Ahh, the trademark of a writer, right? But I guess social media is needed because as the poet Tomas Marin advised me, you have to shift hats as a writer, shifting from creative mode to business mode. My main apprehension is making sure I put quality or helpful content out there because once you start posting stuff, it becomes a part of your internet presence
Since my last reply here I have discovered Hootsuite.com which can have your FB, twitter, linkedIn, and a few others all on one dashboard for you. So one site, manages all. Make one post and send it out on all those networks. And it's a free account. May help out. I'll let ya know how it goes for me.
I can respect that technology has changed and if I wish to become successful at writing I have no choice but to learn, participate and endure it.
Unfortanately I have two complaints which I don’t see being corrected or going away any time soon.
1 – Why the hell do there have to be so many places to join? I have a FB account and most of the people on there I grew up with and love dearly but I really don’t need to know what they are doing on a day to day basis, and in some cases hour by hour. Is it really important to anyone in the universe besides Starbucks that you “like” Starbucks, if you are visiting me and want a cup of coffee, speak up then.
How is it that if I am on one site for writers another icon appears which leads me to another site for writers that I should join. Must we have so much repetition? And just when you are enjoying something it starts to die out, Querytracker comes to mind. I like the discussion groups there, they are like the one’s here. When nothing seems to be happening on SheWrites I can see what being discussed there, but now they are dropping their discussions because of lack of interest, properly due to so many sites exactly the same.
2 – So many sites don’t stay on topic.
I join someplace to discuss writing, which is going along fine until someone mentions they haven’t written because of their husband’s knee surgery. That leads to someone talking about the same surgery, then someone brings up when their mother was in the hospital and so on and so on.
Or you guest blog about writing on a writing blog, follow it for a while, and go back to send a hi to the host only to find the host has had her first child and turned the whole site into a mommy and me dialogue, without even the courtesy of changing the site’s name.
It wouldn’t be so bad putting all the effort into social media if I didn’t get the feeling that social media is somehow determined to fight against me.
Yes we will:) It is all very distracting. I lose entirely too many hours dealing with social media. It's always that I intend to go on to update, and end up chatting, or being nosey. I lack discipline. But yes, as you said, we willl get the hang of it. We have no choice LOL!
It can be very overwhelming, for sure! I feel like such a newbie. There's got to be a happy medium between being ourselves and being business-minded, without losing ourselves in the process.
All these social media outlets can be so distracting, too. I need to keep my objectives clear in mind.
We'll get the hang of it eventually :)
Thank you for reading Gabrielle:). I've been reading everything I can about social media. I don't have the time, nor the wherewithal, to become a social media queen. I guess I can work on both of those. I just really don't want to be fake. Whatever I partipate in, I must be real with myself and the people I'm socializing with. I just need to figure out the best way to do that. I don't even post my book in any FB groups I'm in because I feel uncomfortable. Apparently, a lot of other authors feel more than comfortable doing that. I don't know. I'll figure it out. Just be true to myself no matter what.
I totally get where you're coming from. When I realized that selling my book means that I now have to promote myself as an author I was terrified. I still am. That's not me. But like you said, the world will not wait. I want to be a success and I'll do what it takes to make that happen. Even if that means breaking out of my comfort zone and learning strange new things, like twitter. I have no clue about that place! I don't even think I have any followers :) Best wishes to you!