Today I wrote up a questionaire for an important book review site and sent it off.
I also read, considered, and in some cases answered, a whole lot of posts from all over of writers who are feeling overwhelmed with the amount of STUFF they're supposed to do on the internet. Blogging, Twitter, Facebook, forums, journals, emails, groups, blog tours. Not to mention Goodreads and Shelfari and the like.
Must we really engage in some kind of internet social interaction and promotion to build our platforms and our audience? Yes.
Must we do it ALL? Heck no!
The problem is that once you start this stuff, it's hard to stop. It's like potato chips and cookies. Especially since you get little rewards in the form of "analytics." Tweet something, and golly, you just got more visits on your blog! And a new subscriber! Tweet some more. Nothing. Um. Okay, maybe you should tweet something different. If you do it right you could have a lot of subscribers, couldn't you?
And that's aside from the satisfaction you can get from just making contact with people all over the world.
The internet is a time sink - but it's an important activity, so you can't completely stop. You will always be in a battle over your time.
So here is my wisdom. I post it somewhere every single day on the Kindleboards and other places, but it bears repeating:
If you need to promote your book, your brand, or your career or yourself, the single best way to do it is to WRITE MORE BOOKS.
So I wave goodnight and go off to write....
Daring to live life as a full time writer, with or without success.
4 comments:
Camille - You're absolutely right about the vital importance of internet promotion - and about how much of a time sink (love that phrase) it is. There's a delicate balance, I think, between writing, and writing more, etc., and promoting one's work. That's sometimes very difficult to achieve, but as you say, both are important.
Good point! Writing more books, and better books, is the only way to really make it in the biz!
I still do all the promo stuff. But it takes a ton of my time.
"If you need to promote your book, your brand, or your career or yourself, the single best way to do it is to WRITE MORE BOOKS."
Thats a bold statement of advice for all aspiring writers and established writers. Thanks for sharing your insights.
It's a form of vacuuming the cat, too.
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