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Get Fuzzy Potty SM Chat
I could tweet all day about last night. Thanks first to Melodie Tao a.k.a. @MyMelodie on Twitter. She arrived at the SDbloggers Meetup bearing gifts. As soon as I hear the words, "Who wants...?" My hand shoots up, in this case, to grab the "Get Fuzzy" desktop daily calendar Melodie gave away. I was so busy marveling over my good luck, that I didn't hear which generous company donated them -- maybe it was MarketingMelodie as the online marketing specialist bills herself.
Just before the meetup started, I was staggering through Lowe's (warehouse stores disorient me 'til I'm sick, bad sick). I tried to see the distinctions among $99 toilets and ones that cost up to $500 but are still without a plasma screen and Internet connection. That's as far as I could tell, because the models were all mounted above my head on tilted shelves, and I feared the headline if an earthquake shook them down on me:
"Woman Dies in Potty Tumble"
I felt my way back to the customer service counter (weirdly vacant of customers), to learn that the company delivers for a fee, even if I hire them for installation. Separate trucks, separate crews, separate charges, I guess.
Preceding this plumbing excitement was a Twitter Chat on balancing your time between building an online presence and actually writing the damn thing. As usual I questioned the question. I'm all about the context and data. The notion seemed to be that all the publishing industry and related personnel (agents) want all writers to have a burgeoning existence on the Internet. No data were offered.
Yes, I know you can cite some agents who advise this tactic. And I've read of a few authors whose publishers expect it. And do the majority? Throwing up a blog, Facebook page, Twittering, etc. seems fairly easy to start. But wait! These are for people who have already acquired an agent, sold a manuscript. It's for established writers more than people trying to break in to the publishing industry as writers. Show me the data that say it helps beginners.
Here's what I think happened. When the Web became available (early 90s) many rushed to put up a "personal page," to link a few together for a site. It was a fad until marketing people latched on. A new medium to exploit! They brought in businesses. Internet use exploded. People with products to sell shifted to pages/sites about products. It seems to me that the same cycle repeats for each new social medium (SM) introduced. Eventually, if you have anything to sell you were/are required (by social pressure) at least to have a site.
Then pundits (myself included) warbled praises of digital devotion, forgetting that we were watched by beginners as well as established writers. No wonder newbies are so confused about platforms and which SM to use, and exhaust themselves trying to do it all. One at a time, it seems easy, at least to jump in. The work is in the long haul, and now in coordinating your broadcasts.
What is the result of all this self-promotion for people who want to become published authors or establish themselves as writers: a lot of time lost. Not all wasted, but nothing productive accomplished in terms of producing writing to sell. SM tidbits are not credits in the writing world. Tweeting is not writing poetry. Maintaining a FaceBook fan page is not enticing people to buy your work. It's all playing around. "Time suck" is a term I see more often in discussions about this arena of battling media.
Sometimes I think a better term would be "social seduction."
Just before the meetup started, I was staggering through Lowe's (warehouse stores disorient me 'til I'm sick, bad sick). I tried to see the distinctions among $99 toilets and ones that cost up to $500 but are still without a plasma screen and Internet connection. That's as far as I could tell, because the models were all mounted above my head on tilted shelves, and I feared the headline if an earthquake shook them down on me:
"Woman Dies in Potty Tumble"
I felt my way back to the customer service counter (weirdly vacant of customers), to learn that the company delivers for a fee, even if I hire them for installation. Separate trucks, separate crews, separate charges, I guess.
Preceding this plumbing excitement was a Twitter Chat on balancing your time between building an online presence and actually writing the damn thing. As usual I questioned the question. I'm all about the context and data. The notion seemed to be that all the publishing industry and related personnel (agents) want all writers to have a burgeoning existence on the Internet. No data were offered.
Yes, I know you can cite some agents who advise this tactic. And I've read of a few authors whose publishers expect it. And do the majority? Throwing up a blog, Facebook page, Twittering, etc. seems fairly easy to start. But wait! These are for people who have already acquired an agent, sold a manuscript. It's for established writers more than people trying to break in to the publishing industry as writers. Show me the data that say it helps beginners.
Here's what I think happened. When the Web became available (early 90s) many rushed to put up a "personal page," to link a few together for a site. It was a fad until marketing people latched on. A new medium to exploit! They brought in businesses. Internet use exploded. People with products to sell shifted to pages/sites about products. It seems to me that the same cycle repeats for each new social medium (SM) introduced. Eventually, if you have anything to sell you were/are required (by social pressure) at least to have a site.
Then pundits (myself included) warbled praises of digital devotion, forgetting that we were watched by beginners as well as established writers. No wonder newbies are so confused about platforms and which SM to use, and exhaust themselves trying to do it all. One at a time, it seems easy, at least to jump in. The work is in the long haul, and now in coordinating your broadcasts.
What is the result of all this self-promotion for people who want to become published authors or establish themselves as writers: a lot of time lost. Not all wasted, but nothing productive accomplished in terms of producing writing to sell. SM tidbits are not credits in the writing world. Tweeting is not writing poetry. Maintaining a FaceBook fan page is not enticing people to buy your work. It's all playing around. "Time suck" is a term I see more often in discussions about this arena of battling media.
Sometimes I think a better term would be "social seduction."
Labels: marketing
Listen to this article
posted by Georganna Hancock M.S. | 11:10 AM
4 Comments:
You ARE the voice of reason!
I am surprised by the time I spend on SM. I say to myself, "Oh, I'll just check Twitter for a few minutes," and find that I have spent several hours (is embarrassed by this admission).
Hours not wasted, yes, but hours taken away from writing.
And not having any writing to "show" all those professionals out there who presumably will pop by and help me?
Madness.
You may not know this but I still remember your advice during one of the chats last week.
Everyone was talking about what they did to get into writing mode. All the tricks and the charts and the journals, etc. etc.
Then I see this from you: "Just write the damn thing!"
It resonated. I did laugh. But you speak the truth.
Because that's really all it takes.
Great meeting you at the SDBloggers Event. Yes the calendars I gave away are from Marketing Melodie :). I like to give things away that are of value to others. I'm so glad you're enjoying the calendar. Thanks for the mention in your post. I appreciate it!
I'm still laughing at "Woman Dies in Potty Tumble". You crack me up Geo!
You are so right - what good does all this SM do us if we have nothing to show when someone asks to see our work? Our what? You know, what you write. Oh, that....
I had a rough time last week for various reasons I won't go into here, but it caused me to stay off Twitter for four days straight. One of the best things I could've done for myself. I didn't write anything "productive" per se, but I Did write, almost filled up a notebook in fact.
Thanks so much for this wonderful post Georganna! Oh, and by the way, I love the advice Marisa recalled - "Just write the damn thing!" Indeed!
Thanks all, for the visits and the comments. I went to sleep last night pondering this matter and thought, "Do as I say, not as I do." I foget which parent pounded that into my psyche, probably Mama.
Anyway, I think I should point out that as much as I attempt to teach by example, perhaps I haven't been clear enough about all the time I spend online: it is part having fun and part self-promotion for my editing business. I am no longer freelancing nor am I an Author. So, I am not a model for others on the path to publication success.
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