Both as a fiction writer and as a freelancer I need to be connected in to social media. Sadly I can’t rely on the quality of my writing alone to sell it, or on the structures of a traditional workplace to provide me with productive, paying things to do. As a naturally humble person this is something of a pain. I don’t want to be getting in people’s faces, but I need to. And it can lead to interesting conversations and opportunities, as well as helping me grow by getting outside my comfort zone.
But there are so many ways to do social media these days it feels overwhelming. Should I be tweeting, linking or pinning? Is Google+ the great leap forwards its advocates claim or the backwater some still believe it to be? If I tried to follow every piece of advice I’d lose my mind, not to mention every waking hour. It feels ridiculous, but it’s the life I’ve chosen, and I must pay the price.
I’m sure in a few months, once I’ve spent some time properly testing social tools for my current lifestyle, I’ll feel a lot better. But right now I just long for verbal conversations and sales by merit.
Of course I’d also like a golden house and an endless supply of chocolate biscuits, but that isn’t happening either.
Anybody got any advice? What works well for you? What do you love or hate social media-wise? Help me find the forest, because right now all I can see is these blasted trees.
Gail Whitman peered through the one-way glass at the small, barren room. A man sat alone amid the whitewashed concrete walls, neon striplight buzzing above his head. If the furniture wasn’t bolted down he would have tipped himself over onto the floor by now, but instead he sat chewing on one pink dreadlock, rocking back and forth to the rhythm in his head…