Social Media


Social media — love it or loathe it — the bottomline is it’s a tool that can change the world, and change our place in it.

Authors are encouraged to use it — “how else will people find you?” we’re told. Some authors joyfully embrace the conversational power, and the sheer delight of joining fascinating communities of like-minded, geographically dispersed people. Other authors retreat, overwhelmed by the task of getting to grips with the tools and their etiquette of use.

Don’t worry! It’ll all work out.

The trick is to find the social media that best suit you. I love Twitter. This may mean I have a butterfly mind, or less elegantly, a goldfish’s attention span. But actually I think it’s a natural fit to my long-standing tendency to shoot off VERY short emails, then feel guilty that I didn’t write more. Twitter, with its 140 character limit, removes that guilt. It does more: It lets me celebrate my brevity.

[All those who have had the misfortune to hear me talk for HOURS, that is completely different ๐Ÿ™‚ ]

If you explore the various social media in a genuine and respectful way (the latter meaning: respect the established communities you’re trying to infiltrate!) I think it builds your brand. Sorry for the jargon, but you need to realise: Social media is how people will get a sense of who you are … and the bottomline is if you’re active online, you’ll have a much better chance of shaping (and promoting) that brand than if you leave it to chance.


14 responses to “Social Media”

  1. I don't twitter but about a year ago I set up a facebook page and loved being able to connect with other authors and aspiring authors. I've been added to all sorts of readers groups and have maxed out with fb friends (5,000)

    I'm unpublished so have nothing to sell yet but apparently this is a great time to hook up with people – rather than saying hi, I have a book to sell, friend me….

    • Hi Vicki

      Your comment came through!!! Yay!!! Ok, so maybe there's hope for my blog (and inadequate tech skills setting it up) after all.

      Wow! Max'd out at 5k friends is awesome — literally, my jaw dropped, eyes widened. I *knew* you were a super-friendly person. ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Gloop, gloop! Definitely a goldfish mind. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Facebook and I are reaching an understanding … which I think means I've stopped fighting it. *sigh* What's that old quote "resistance is futile"?

      • I'm with you, Shelley. Facebook does my head in. Just today it was hiding posts again and now it doesn't even put the people I want into my feed, which means I have to go hunting and that's time I don't have. But it is lovely to get comments from readers on there. Really makes my day.

        Twitter is great fun and I can dip in and out. Plus Tweetdeck makes it easier to handle, so out of the two Twitter is definitely the one I prefer. I don't mind Googe+ either but don't spend a lot of time there. A girl has to write, after all!

        • Tweetdeck is a saviour. Without it, Twitter would send me round the twist!

          Thanks for popping in, Cathryn. I think (all fingers and toes crossed) I've finally solved my commenting horrors. Why didn't anyone warn me that being an author required minimal tech-smarts? *wails*

  2. Ref: ME!!! You pay attention to me!!!

    I'm such a ditz. Of course, you're right. ๐Ÿ™‚ It would make Twitter much easier to read if I just concentrated on you.

    Problem solved.

  3. Ref: This may mean I have a butterfly mind, or less elegantly, a goldfish’s attention span.

    I think it means you're a genius! I have tried twice, but can't seem to succeed in Twitter. It's too scattered for my very linear brain. It feels like a million people talking at once and I don't know who to pay attention to.

    Facebook is far easier for me. I LOVE the photos you post.

    • "It feels like a million people talking at once and I don’t know who to pay attention to."

      ME!!! You pay attention to me!!!

      ahem. That's the attitude for Twitter ๐Ÿ˜‰

      and thank you for the kind words about the pictures I find. Aren't people wonderfully generous about sharing their creativity. Very cool images float around FB.

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