After a teaser of spring yesterday, this morning is pure damp and gloom.
This week I thought quite a bit about social media, the concept of “platforms” and followings, blogging and tweeting. Mostly tweeting, because so far it’s the thing I’m having the hardest time catching the rhythm of.
I keep saying this, but I just don’t get it. I hop on dutifully most days, but usually end up feeling like the girl who needs electrolysis and a better girdle at a 1961 dance. There are the cool kids, the nerdy kids, the popular rah-rah we’re running your student government kids, and the wallflowers. Then there are the spammers. Please, for the love of all that is holy, stop it! I will usually follow links from new followers, check out blogs, etc. But if you’re tweeting multiple times a day for days, weeks, months on end about how I should buy your book, just stop it. I will start to remember your name/title of book, but only to make a note not to purchase it. But they say it’s a good thing to do, have a Twitter account and tweet, so I keep trying. I favorite, I retweet, I reply, occasionally I send out a tweet. Somehow it isn’t shocking when no one cares what I ate for dinner. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s not going to be the thing that gets me/my writing noticed.
Is blogging going to help me? I have no clue. As I query, some agents want to know about “web presence,” a more common term than platform when querying fiction. My stats won’t make anyone drool, but hopefully won’t make them cringe, either. If anyone looks closely enough, I think it could help that I tend to have long term followers who are engaged (thank you!). Maybe an agent or two will like the content, think I’m someone they’d be interested in working with. Or *gasp* become a follower. Maybe not. Maybe they’ll click onto the blog and be disgusted by my appalling language. (If so, they probably wouldn’t be into my fiction, either.) Maybe they’ll think, “Wow, this woman is a fucking fruitcake, I’m steering clear.”
If you hadn’t noticed, I like blogging. Mrs Fringe isn’t an overnight sensation, but I’ve got Fringelings, and gather more on a weekly, sometimes daily basis. Many can relate to that feeling of living on the fringe. As a wannabe writer, I should be keeping a blog about writing. Yawn. Pretty sure I’ve said this before, but I find most blogs on writing to be tedious. Writers, their individual lives and processes? Interesting. A good blog with an thoughtful or entertaining voice will compel me to follow links and click the little buy button for a book. Does this make me a voyeur?
No longer needed (Photo credit: eric.r)
Could be. Blogging lets me ramble with no pressure. I look at the blogs that hit it big, and the blogs that barely get any views, and sometimes, not always, but sometimes, it’s hard to see why one way or the other. My buddy kk blogged about this yesterday. I enjoy different bloggers and blogs, like making connections through reading and commenting. I don’t read and comment as frequently as I did when I started. Honestly, it gets harder to do the more followers I have, and I apologize to those whose blogs I’m not stopping by often enough. Every view, every like, every comment is important and valuable to me, thank you. It’s a process, I’m learning the curve. So I’m saying to kk and anyone else trying to figure out this blogging thing, relax. Figure out what you most enjoy blogging about, the voice that feels the most comfortable.
It’s Friday again. Not sure if Fatigue will come for Friday Night Madness, his pup has been sick. But if he does, we’ll have dinner and our usual routine discussing the trials and tribulations of being a wannabe in New York, trying to make it; one pen/voice/monologue/dance routine trying to hold firm and be noticed among millions. Funny, because I grew up here, pretty much always lived here, I always knew I wasn’t special by virtue of being a wannabe, having a dream I didn’t want to give up. Maybe the internet and social media have done the same for everyone everywhere.
mrsfringe 
I’m gathering it’s one of those introspective periods…the moon in Capricorn lined up with Uranus or something…
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Yes, with Twinkletoes tapping across O’rion’s belt. 😉
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I go back and forth with twitter, I use it more to follow celebrities (guilty pleasure) I am following over 900 people and interests and somehow I have 148 followers. I have a feeling we are skipping spring this year. I am very happy you blog, I enjoy every one of them! There query/writing process is just as bad, if not worse as an actors audition life. Keep on!!
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I could see you being a great tweeter, quick one liners, in, out, done. 😉
Querying, trying to get an offer from an agent and then secure a deal from a publisher is the same as acting, music, all the arts. A gazillion wannabes, many of whom have real skill and talent, but few spots.
Thank you (((((Susan))))) as always, for your support.
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Trust.
I nodded to many things.
Tweeting- I do it mostly to see funny pics and beautiful pics of earth. I retweet some cool tweets authors/bloggers put out. No one cares that my sister sometimes wears one sock and won’t add another nor take that single one off, but I still tweet it. It’s definitely hard. I don’t know how people grow a social media presence AND write and put out books. Like WTF!
Blogging – I’m just learning.
Basically that’s me right now. I am just learning.
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I think we’re all always learning, especially given the quickly changing landscape of the internet.
🙂
So…is your sister’s one sock bright and colorful? 😉
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Too funny. I tweeted this a few days ago:
Michael McDonagh @MookyMcD Mar 29
7 months, 547 tweets 108 followers, and I still secretly wonder what the hell the point behind twitter is.
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LOL, I’m glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t get it–but now I’m going to follow you 😀
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I don’t tweet I find it hard enough to find time to Facebook and blog
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It’s so true!
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I bloody love Twitter. I’m still not really sure what it’s for either, even having been an active member for five years. I like it because I can talk to like-minded people, and find content I like, and have a laugh, and build an audience. It’s honestly been invaluable for me in terms of getting my writing out there, and developing relationships and rapport with other writers, editors, publishing houses, agents, etc.
Come and tweet with me. I’ll try to say something interesting.
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All the things you mention are things I would love–not least of which is having a laugh.
I will tweet with you, thanks ❤ and I will keep trying. 😀
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Interesting thoughts about the impact of social media on increasing your odds to be published. At writing conferences we all hear about the importance of gathering an ‘audience’ before submitting. I would say that it depends on what kind of writing you are pursuing. For adult nonfiction, I would say yes.
For children and YA? The people who read the blogs are possibly the buyers.
Also I was recenlty reading a flyer from a conference targeted for children and YA writers and the general advice was to pick your favorite social media venue. If you are more comfortable at blogging than tweeting, then stick to your blog. I don’t tweet either. Keeping up with my blog in two languages, visiitng the blogs I like and answering the comments I receive on mine is already plenty enough. I want to keep some precious time to write fiction.
Best to you with your writing.
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Thanks for weighing in–and the good thoughts 🙂
I haven’t been able to squeeze a writers conference out of the budget in a long time, so it’s interesting to hear that idea of focusing on the one that feels the most comfortable. It makes sense to me.
My hat is off to you, keeping up with your blog in two languages 😀
I write adult fiction, I’m guessing the general wisdom would fall in line more with the advice for YA authors than non fic, where platform is everything.
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Thank you, for replying, Mrs. Fringe. I take the opportunity to tell you that I found you and your blog not so long ago, and I’m glad I did. I like your photos from NYC, a city I enjoy to visit each time I get a chance. As fascinating (if not more) as my familiar Paris.
Perhaps you could check what your favorite authors do in tems of social media and see what works best for you.
Best of luck.
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Thanks Evelyn.
I’m glad you found the blog too. 🙂 NY is a hard life, but it is a great place to visit and explore.
Not a bad idea, I’ll take a closer look at who’s doing what online. There are several authors I follow on Twitter already, maybe I’ll see who else is active 🙂
Wishing you the best,
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I think you do just great on Twitter! In fact, you’re someone I’ve noticed as interacting in a really engaging manner and always having interesting tweets. 🙂 (In fact, I was quite surprised to hear you say this!)
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LOL, just goes to show…
Thank you! 🙂
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