Improving My Social Media Presence.

I've been out of the writing game for a week or so. Writer's block has struck again, as has a period of low mood which has not helped my efforts in anything besides poetry. On the brighter side, we've had a friend staying with us for a few days, who has been a far more welcome distraction and has brought some sunshine to proceedings. Anyway, despite the aforementioned difficulties, it's time to get my nose back to the grindstone if I'm ever to achieve my word target by the end of Camp NaNoWriMo.

Lately, I've been thinking that my writing, though at a small sticking point, will sort itself out. I always find a way to pull something out of the bag when I go through periods of not knowing what to write or how to fix a particular detail of my work. I'm getting there, even though I go through periods of slower progress. What I really feel I'm failing at is creating and maintaining my social media presence.

To some, this might not seem important, but I've come to realise that building up a following can make a tremendous difference to the success of a book. I'm not big on posting every detail of my life even on my personal Facebook account, so it doesn't come naturally to post every day on my writer's pages. It's something I need to spend more time getting the hang of, while not letting it dominate my life. Judging by the amount of activity on some people's accounts, I'm really not sure how I'll manage to strike the right balance. It's just another plate to spin amongst ones that are already in real danger of falling.

It relies on coming up with interesting and eye-catching content for a start. It's the same thing that makes me slightly worried about my blog and whether it's likely to attract an audience at any point. I guess I'm still working on the assumption that other writers in the early stages might feel better to know that they're not the only ones struggling to make something of themselves and their work.

I guess I need to consider what types of posts attract my own attention. I've found a few memes related to books and writing. It's a start, but some posts need to be more detailed. Some of the more interesting posts I've seen on other people's accounts are the ones that ask questions and inspire dialogue. One author occasionally puts up a picture and asks followers to describe it. Others ask questions about other people's writing, characters and process. This is the kind of thing that gets people on board because it's an excellent way to build connections that work both ways. It allows others to share, which creates conversation and networking opportunities for all parties. I need to do more of this.

NaNoWriMo could make for quite good subject matter for some posts. It's definitely a conversation
started amongst writers who take part. Maybe I could start there for the remainder of this month.

At this point I'm going to make a commitment to be a little more active on social media. It's unlikely to ever be something that takes up a great deal of my time, but I definitely need to put some effort into building connections.

If there's anything you would like to see more of on my social media, please send me a message. I'm open to suggestions.

V.