Although time was a barrier, particularly with trying to hit my target for NaNoWriMo in April, there's been a great deal of fear holding me back too. The social media side of things can be a huge undertaking for a blogger who wants to stay well-connected with their readers, and I seriously wonder whether I'm up to that task. I suppose time will tell.
My biggest fear is of failing for all to see. Now I can't pretend my blog (and, therefore, my writing progress) is only seen by two people at most. That's a scary prospect, but maybe it's just the kind of accountability I need to get shit done.
On Monday, I also found the courage to advertise my blog on a couple of writers' groups on Facebook. One person commented that she loved it and was saving the address to visit regularly. That absolutely made my day because I almost didn't advertise it at all, scared that a blog all about my inexperience and general lack of direction would seem laughable to other writers.
I do have this tendency to be quite self-deprecating, as you've probably noticed. My default setting is to assume I'm the inferior one of the bunch. Going into these writers' groups, I convinced myself they'd be full of published and self-published authors, seasoned and accomplished in the game. There are loads of those, I'm not going to lie, but there are also lots of beginners. This mixture of different levels is great, making for a fantastic support network for all.
In case you're curious, the two groups are called 'The Writer's Link' and 'The Inner Circle Writers' Group.' From what I've seen so far, most people seem pretty kind and constructive with their feedback towards others. There has been only one occasion over the past week or so when I've seen someone slag off another person's work without offering any useful pointers. Yes, it needed a lot of work, but to say something is terrible without any further comment or advice on how to improve isn't helpful; it's just unkind.
I'm always of the opinion that feedback on work should be constructive or not given at all. I've left a group before after standing up against this kind of thing. I realised the anger I was feeling on someone else's behalf was taking up headspace I just didn't have, so I walked. This time, I'll have to watch myself and make sure my sense of fair play doesn't interfere with my inner peace. Whatever we do, some people are always going to be dickheads over social media; it's the nature of the beast. The last thing I want is to be drawn into a keyboard war. I had enough of that to last me a lifetime when I was younger.
I don't live for social media. Granted, I can't see myself ever giving it up entirely, nor can I see myself not checking Facebook at least twice a day. But I'm not someone who enjoys putting a running commentary of my life on there either, and I like to limit the amount of time I spend scrolling through my news feed. As such, I think this is going to be a bit of a challenge.
It's not just about taking a couple of minutes a day to post my own stuff, after all. It's about using it as a networking tool for when I finally get my book(s) out there and helping other people do the same. That means connecting with people, reading their posts, clicking their links, joining their discussions etc. I'm quite looking forward to that. I say all the time I love seeing other people's creative stuff. And there has to be some give and take. You can't expect anyone in the business to support your work if you're not willing to support anyone else's.
My one concern is getting the balance right and fitting it all into the schedule without neglecting other important things. I guess it'll be a learning curve and I'll figure it out along the way.
If you're already following me on social media, thank you. If not, please do. Shares of my pages and/or blog posts are also greatly appreciated. And, if you have a page, I'll reciprocate.
You can find links to my social media pages on my profile.
Much love.
V.
No comments:
Post a Comment