It's that time again for sharing with the Insecure Writer's Support Group.
What is that you may ask, well their mission statement is this:
The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a home for writers in all stages; from unpublished to bestsellers. Our goal is to offer assistance and guidance. We want to help writers overcome their insecurities, and by offering encouragement we are creating a community of support.
This month I'm tackling the scary beast known as social media. When I started my self-publishing journey, some of the 'advice' found on other help groups was be active on social media. This is something I've not done. Honestly it's a matter of 1) where to do I find the time and 2) do I really have anything to say that people want to read about.
If you read my last post, it was about my issue with procrastination. I feel like if I'm spending time on social media then I'm feeding into my procrastinating ways and not writing. How to find a balance?
Also what to talk about? I know it's not all supposed to be about your book or current work-in-progress because you don't want to feel like you are always marketing yourself, but really getting involved sounds easier than it is. At least for me. I don't understand Twitter, or how you even get anything worthwhile across in 140 characters or less. I don't Snapchat or Instragram, so all of these things make me feel like a fish out of water. Trying to get involved, and be active in groups is a scary thing. Makes me feel like an interloper when a group is already established and I'm trying to just push my way in (in a friendly way of course) to be part of the 'in' crowd.
Social media is a scary thing. Outside of blogging and a little Facebook interactions, I don't know what would my best fit or even how to get started. It's something I know I need to add to my list of to-dos on figuring out as I continue my journey.
~Meka
Been there, and still am. I have no credibility with the online social networking stuff. I have a blog, that's where I'm comfortable. I do twitter and am learning that game. Lexa Cain gives great insight into how to make it work on her blog. Look her up. It's a struggle and I assume for many of us one we don't think we'll ever win. But making headway is good, right?
ReplyDeleteI wish you all the best in your efforts and with your goals! Chrys Fey is another blogger who seems to have the online networking down. Check out her how to blogs too! Good luck!
Yep, that's me. I blog, but even that has fallen off lately. I will look up the blogs you mentioned, any tips will come in handy for sure. I just feel like there's not enough time in the day to do it all.
Deletethanks for stopping by
Blogging is pretty much my form of social media. And I don't consider my blog followers as readers - we are all writers after all even if we do read a lot. I used Face Book to keep up with family and friends.
ReplyDeleteI will, when I have something to market, leave all that to a paid publicist. I use my blog to interact with and learn from fellow authors.
Nudge in. My only advice would be to pop around and visit people on the IWSG list when you post. Don't wait for them to find you - unless you are wanting to remain alone in your blog-cave. Its not necessary to talk to everyone all the time; just visit around and find people you want to get to know (virtually) better.
Gook luck Meka. Welcome to social media :)
Blogging is how I got my start into writing. It's still my go-to, but I need to do a better job of putting content on this blog. I have a personal facebook account, but I don't post on there often. I just don't feel like my life needs to be on display like that.
DeleteI have been doing the monthly blog hop, although this month I didn't hit as many since I was on vacation until a few days ago. I have interacted some with the group on Facebook, and maybe should do that more. I've been in and out of different groups and have yet to find a place I've felt really comfortable with. Hopefully IWSG will be that place.
thanks for stopping by
Social media is my bane. Seriously, it makes me crazy and I grew up with this sort of stuff becoming a thing. I know about it, understand how it works.. still cannot get it to work for me. I have a Twitter.. the tweets are sparse, but I try. It's just so fast paced I can't seem to keep up. I have a Facebook page and it's slowly inching up in views and likes.. I'd say this is the easiest social media thing for me to keep up with - because I can schedule posts well into advance, so when I think about it, I'll do that. I don't blog anymore, so I dunno about that. Some posts it felt like screaming into the void while others got traffic for I don't know why. It's frustrating, but i guess it's just trial and error?
ReplyDeleteNice to know I'm not alone. I have another writer friend who is very dedicated to the whole social media thing. She updates her blog nearly daily, tweets, facebooks, the whole nine yards. With all that she still manages to get some work done on her book. You can call me a little envious of that. LOL
DeleteI think my last tweet was when I did this post. Before that, not sure. My author facebook page is sorely neglected. I don't like the changes they've made to how those pages work. :( I understand the feeling about blogging. A lot of times it does feel like I'm talking to myself. :( One day maybe I'll figure it all out.
thanks for stopping by
The right way to do social media is to have fun. Find something you love, share things you love. Share things your intended audience will love. And have fun. Welcome to the ranks!
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm looking at it the wrong way. It doesn't seem fun at this point, but more like work. :( Something I need to do to get my name out there. I'll stick to blogging for now I guess. Try to find fun and interesting things to post. I also need to figure out how to update in one place and have it cross post on my other outlets so I don't have to do all that linking myself.
Deletethanks for stopping by
One beast at a time. Build up your stamina, eh? I started will Facebook, then blogging, Twitter after a couple years, Pinterest tentatively, Goodreads (where I'm not super interactive), Linkedin, tried Tumblr (tried and bombed--too similar to other social media), and recently, Instagram. Loving that one so far. Truthfully, I'm most active on Facebook and blogging, but I do get on Twitter quite a bit, and Instagram is awesome for image sharing. Get your feet under you on one platform and then augment it with something new.
DeleteI blog, but not often on here. I have a twitter and a facebook but at this point both are very covered in dust and cobwebs. LOL With the way they have the pages set up on facebook, it's hard for me to really interact with people so it's a debate on setting up a 'personal' page under my pen name instead of having the business page attached to my 'real' account.
Deletethanks for stopping by
I totally understand how social media can be distracting and be hard. When you focus most of your time doing one particular thing (like writing), how do you not talk about that thing on social media when you feel required to post on social media? Complications! If you ever figure out the answers to these questions, please share! I'd love to hear. I definitely struggle with social media too!
ReplyDeleteLOL I'll gladly share if I managed to figure things out. Another writer I know seems to have it down, she posts daily on her blog, twitter, all of it. Not always about her writing and it seems to work for her. I just can't seem to make it work for me.
Deletethanks for stopping by
I keep my social media limited. My blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and a little but not a lot of LinkedIn. That's it/ After that I don't worry about it.
ReplyDeleteStephen Tremp
IWSG Co-Host August 2016
www.stephentremp.com
Yep, mine is super limited and I'm not overly active on any of it. Can't figure out that balance.
Deletethanks for stopping by