Social media is part of my life as a writer. I blog, both here and for Gadling, the leading travel blog on the web. I also have a Twitter feed and a public Facebook page.
I do set up certain limits to my social media presence, however, because I recognize that it can only do so much for my career and can easily become a waste of time. If you look at my feeds you'll notice that I don't use them as often as some people, and have fewer followers than most.
The main reason for this is that I don't play the "follow me and I'll follow you" game. I don't see a point to that. I want followers who are actually interested in my writing, and I only follow feeds that I'm genuinely interested in. Even then I don't read them on a daily basis. I simply don't have the time. And even when I do read them I only comment when I have something to add to the conversation.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm trying to get beyond the indie author's echo chamber. While I love my fellow indies, our community runs the danger of being a closed one. That's one of the reasons I'm also getting more into Goodreads. I like the conversations on there and I think it offers a great way to connect with readers.
You might also want to look at my post on Twitter for writers.
You're completely correct about Goodreads. I've been spending a little more time on there myself. And yes, cyber-space sucks you away from your writing time.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Tweeted and shared!
Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly
That's why my commenters are more important than the total of my followers. With those people, I've made a connection.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on keeping a handle on social media presence, Sean. It can be time consuming and a waste of effort if the followers you have are just there for the numbers. The whole idea of building a good social media presence is connecting with people who are interested in what you can offer, so the content of your posts are much more important than the number of posts you make.
ReplyDelete