Blog Interruption Over

Apologies for the unexpected blog hiatus here. It's something I let get away from me. Whenever that happens, quite a gap can build up, especially given the murderous way time flies. Anyhow we should be back to normalcy.

This is also an opportunity to remind everyone that you can find me over on Twitter and Facebook if you happen to frequent those venues.

You have a writer web site, don't you?

Not all writers do, it turns out. But you should. Okay, perhaps if your writing is a private, self-indulgence, then a web site is extraneous. For all other writers, consider it a necessity.

You can find lots of excellent references for how to establish an effective web site for your writing persona. Carrie Cuinn recently posted some great advice on her blog, with various examples for reference and illustration. Check it out.

In my case, my web site is due for another overhaul. I've been remiss accomplishing that because I built it using an old Microsoft tool (Publisher). My intent is not only to modernize my web site but also modernize my web development tool and methods while I'm at it. So it's on the To-Do list. Unfortunately it's keeping company with quite a number of other entries on that list.

Don't let my predicament deter you, though. There are tools that make simple web site development, well... simple. Many are free. Or you can hire out the work. I chose to take on the responsibility myself because I expected to evolve it. Often. With gusto. Also, HTML/XML coding comes in quite handy for creating e-books. But that's a completely different topic.

Finding a social media balance point

I see a lot of writers challenged by social media. How much is enough? How much is excessive? Which ones are important? What contributions to make? When to make them?

I'm no different. I've got the same struggles.

I've been neglecting my primary blog for a while, not by choice really. The main reason is because my Facebook fan page has been serving--for the most part--like a blog. That wasn't what I originally intended for my fan page. It's certainly worked out that way, though. So, is that wrong?

Nope.

Is there a 'right' way to be using social media? I mean as a writer.

I think the simple answer is: in whatever fashion works best for you for the purposes you have in mind.

Yeah, that's a cop-out answer. It doesn't help resolve 'how much?', 'how little?', or 'how often?' type questions. Really only you can render verdict on those. I promise no matter what you decide regarding them, there will always be reasons to think otherwise too. Very good reasons.

So keep an open mind then. Change what you do on occasion. Or not. The point is: control rests with you. Which is where it should be.

You decide. Whatever it ends up being, then that's what is right for you. Period.

Since I'm in control here, I'm going to make an adjustment. Henceforth I'm going to shift my mostly blogging-related actions away from my FB page back over to here. It won't be that big of a change either, because one thing more social media sites make darn easy is linking to just about anything else on the Internet.

Of authors, the web and Facebook fan pages

My Facebook author page is now live. I admit I’ve been holding off putting one up for a while. Laziness is partly to blame for that. Another reason is... oh, I’ll call it social media overload. Allow me to explain.

Information is plentiful these days and thank the heavens for that. I love being able to obtain any fact, figure or piece of nonsensical trivia the very instant I desire it. It’s an empowering and liberating feeling to know you can suck from the straw of collective knowledge and understanding whenever and however you like. Whether we're talking data, news or entertainment, all of it is there at your command.

Therein lies the rub.

The more you use that proverbial straw, the more seems to try to flow back through it. Whether it is via cross-links or “Related Items” or “You Might Also Like...” interconnections, you can find yourself drawing from that straw many hours after that first drink. Suck, suck, suck, and there’s always more there for you to consume.

Ever notice your first few tastes of something are the most delightful? But keep at it for very long and the appeal drops off significantly, doesn’t it?

Now consider social media in this context. How many blogs, tweets, IMs and newsfeeds are pointed at your straw? How often and for how long are you really able to suck up all that information? Most of all, how much do you really get out of it?

Obviously there are some people who can’t get enough. More power to them. I’m certainly not part of that group. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to sit on the receiving end of that massive stream.

So that’s just in one direction, coming at you. Imagine trying to interact then with all those sources and in some meaningful way, not just tossing off frivolous replies or retweets. Which is an intrinsic value of social media: outreach and connecting via interaction. Build your network. Then, as a writer, you tap it.

Except, a goodly number of writers are doing that or else trying to. A goodly number of readers are probably like me, struggling with how much there is out there to drink up. It’s an overload.

A writer could try to overcome that. Use tactics and various methods to somehow rise above and stand out. I think if you had a marquee author name already or else an endless supply of minions, you might be successful at that. But there’s actually a better way.

Write.

Keep producing what people want.

That’s the way to ensure they’ll point their straws at you. OK, bad image, but you get the idea. You win by doing what you’re fundamentally supposed to do as a writer.

So I’ve been in that mindset for a while: more writing, less marketing. Which has delayed me considerably from finishing many outreach type tasks, like my Facebook author page.

But it’s live now so before you point your straw elsewhere on the web, how about popping over and giving me a Like?

Thanks and happy slurping.

Slow Blogging Writer

I'm a slow blogger.

Duh, you say. A quick peek at my blog post calendar reveals that big secret.

I suppose I should have said that I've made a conscious decision as a writer not to spew forth volumes of word-spray across the various social media streams one is supposed to use to reach one's audience and fans. It's all summed up nicely by Anne R. Allen in this blog post.

Which flies in the face of plenty of tribal advice urging authors to post more, not less. After all, more content pushed by an author equals more chances to make impressions, more prospective readers to touch with at least one post / one thread, more of your noise drowning out the surrounding din. Hopefully.

It's folly though.

Think about it. In a connected world chock full of endless streams of infotainment of all stripes, do you find yourself craving even more variety, more ways to fritter away one of the most precious commodities you have: your time? I don't. I have too many already.

So I heartily agree with Anne R. Allen's points regarding slow blogging. She's spot-on and makes a strong case.

I'm going to add my own spin though, invoking something that's the bane of every entertainer. Most in the business try hard to connect with their audience, drawing an emotional reaction from them, informing them, challenging them, amusing them, or generally touching them in some tangible way. An entertainer tries to never, ever bore the audience though. That's the kiss of death.

This, then, is what worries me regarding pounding my thoughts out through social media channels. The harder and more frequently I do so, the faster my decent into the pit of boredom and irrelevance.

Brrrr. What a terrible thought.

I'll stick with slow blogging.

Home on the range, where the deer & the jackalope play

After 4 years of blogging on LiveJournal as my primary spot, I've decided to transition over to Blogger. Other than occasional performance problems and a stray issue every so often with select web browsers, I can't complain much about LJ... with one exception. Cross-posting from LJ as the source is simply fraught with challenges. Enough to make me switch.

I'm probably destined at some point to take the Wordpress plunge. Until then, Blogger is my prime choice.