I Need A Clone

Before I wrote TWA I had no social media presence on the Internet.

I found an almost decade old account I must have created on Twitter, and figured I would start there.

It was like watching a game of double-dutch, given the incredible speed of the people posting. I could never quite time a post to coincide with the quickly advancing stream rolling up my computer screen. I didn’t realize you could click on the post and take your time typing in a response.

I have no idea how I stumbled upon the Writers Group, but I finally put my toe in the pool and started chiming in.

It was like being in High School. You could see who the popular kids were. There were some writers who had published numerous books. Some of their posts espoused the latest gems when it came to offering advice to the rest of the group. I felt like such a poser with this one dinky book that didn’t even fit into one of the popular genres.

But over time I began befriending some of the other newbies and then some of the more established writers. I made it a habit of checking out each of their home pages and reading down to see what they were up to beyond being a writer. If I found something personal, I tried to respond in kind, so I could connect beyond being just another writer trying to hustle their shit.

I’m not saying I wasn’t hustling my shit out there as well, but I didn’t want that to be all I was know for.

Over time, I started reaching out to an evolving group of regulars each morning just to say good morning. Its now congealed into a core group, with some dropping off my feed and some popping on. I don’t want to be seen as that creepy annoying stalker so if someone disappears from the regular feed, I wish them well. The Twitter Gods seem to shake up the collective every once in a while.

The great thing about Twitter is that you are limited in the number of words you can include in a post or a response, so you learn of say a lot in a few words. I like to use acronyms to save space.

So, over the past two years I’ve befriended photographers, artists and musicians and writers of all kinds – novelists, memoirists, poets – and even a few people who just like to read. I enjoy their company during those early hours of my day. And I have also evolved as a writer, from being that new kid in school to – through magic and luck – having published four best sellers. I’ve had to learn as I went along, but I also appreciated when someone along the way took a moment to give me advice.

It’s nice to have friends who are also colleagues.

And so I also try to help the newer writers by lauding their works and accomplishments, cheering them on, and answering any questions they have. Because it was only two years ago, that I was that newbie. Pay it forward.

I read some of their books and always post a review.

But it eats a lot of time.

Now I’ve expanded my social media to Face Book. And that eats even more time.

It’s all about making connections and letting people get to know you, so that they ultimately decide that you are interesting enough for them to sacrifice some of the little time they have in their day to purchase your book and hopefully enjoy reading it. And if you are really blessed, they will like you enough to post a review.

I do enjoy connecting with people.

But this kind of marketing eats up those early morning hours I used to devote to my writing.

So, as I anticipate starting to work on the sequel – Where The Ley Lines Meet – at some point over the next few weeks, I’m either going to need to clone myself, or cut back drastically on the social media.

Same with the morning blogs.

We’ll see how it works out.

Anyway, best to get moving. I’ve already done the kitty cuddle, rounds and dreadmill.

My real world beckons.

You fine, five readers are as important to me as all of my friends on social media.

I will be sure to let you know if and when I’ll be taking hiatus.

But until that happens, keep rocking your work weeks.

And most of all, make today a great one.