Social Networking for Writers: To Do or Not To Do

B&B Whidbey Island Writer's Conference

Unpublished writers, would Social Networking work for you? Browse the pros and cons below:

Folks must budget time if they decide to network on line. I budget an average of three hours a day, checking email loops, writing and reading emails, blogs, facebook, twitter an LinkedIn.

No budget constraints? Hire a professional to set up the website and the blog, etc. The rest of us must learn as we go.

1st turning point suggest we get the learning curve out of the way before one is known and published. The fear factor diminishes when we know no one but family is paying attention.

We can learn to make posts crisp, interesting or helpful, not dallying with readers’ time.

Why did I start ahead of the game? Knowledge of how my mind works. My left-brain has one track, and that track needs repetition, using more time. Stress freezes my brain cells, and when my manuscript is picked up by an agent or publisher, I’ll avoid the learning curve angst. Published networking friends taught me pressure builds once published, as one marketing strategy is a network platform.

Ancient Whispers by Marie-Claude Bourque

Knight of Passion by Margaret Mallory

The clear message in an email discussion on the GSRWA loop by Marie-Claude Bourque and Margaret Mallory? Creativity and time redirects away from our manuscripts to social networking.

Whatever the decision, realize social networking cuts into writing time, and for some, dampens creativity.

Weigh the time pressures and alternate zones for creativity. Techies breeze through social networking, learning to link efficiently. In a former post on this blog, a pointed to a link ‘how to blog on wordpress for non techies.’ I suggest blog first, then graduate to a website if you must.

Agents admit that if two equal manuscripts in the same genre sit before them, and they must choose only one, the writer with a network wins. Consider the odds. Perhaps not likely. But a great story? I wager they’ll wait, and deal.

Social networking bumps your name up on the Google search. Something to consider when deciding when to choose a pen name. A writer wastes a lot of name recognition exposure, waiting to switch names. If you do comment or write blogs or have a website, Google yourself. You might be surprised. You’ll reap great motivation to make the first sentence count because it may appear on Google.

One last thought? Would I have reaped the same level of motivation, inspiration, support, encouragement, resources, & education, without social networking? No.

Would my passion for writing have continued to grow without social networking? Maybe not. We’ll never know.

6 Comments (+add yours?)

Marion Spicher
Nov 08, 2010 @ 09:48:26

You are so welcome, Mallory.

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Margaret Mallory
Nov 08, 2010 @ 09:29:20

Thanks for featuring my cover for KNIGHT OF PASSION! I do appreciate your social networking. 😉

Margaret

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Pam Beason
Oct 31, 2010 @ 16:08:15

I’m always walking a tightrope between networking (whether online or not), doing my day jobs, and writing. There are only so many hours in any day, and how can I call myself a writer if I’m not writing? I’m always slightly behind the computer curve but watching it from the corner of my eye. Meanwhile, I’m living a life of romance and mystery in my fictional worlds. Eventually my readers will get to share in adventures there, too.
Write on!

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- mspicher
  Oct 31, 2010 @ 17:03:55
  
  Yes, Pam … the balance is tricky, like walking on a swaying swinging bridge. Juggling marketing and product quality. For new visitors, I blogged earlier about two of Pam’s fiction adventures, titles “Wild” and “On Shaky Ground. “ I enjoyed the first read, and will read them again.
  
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Jacquie Rogers
Oct 31, 2010 @ 15:58:16

Well said, Marion! How about repubbing this on 1st Turning Point in January? 🙂 Email me, please.

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- mspicher
  Oct 31, 2010 @ 16:23:57
  
  It would be a privilege! Thank you. The email is on the way.
  
  Marion Spicher (Life is a treasure hunt) Blog: https://marionspicher.wordpress.com/ Webpage: http://www.marionspicher.com/
  
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