Technology does not rule my life.
I have spent the day trying to figure out why I need two more program, Twitter and RSS Feed, to watch all the other programs that I already watch, such as my blogs, my Indie blog list, my Sideways blog list, real news sites, etc.
And now learning I “should” use Twitter and RSS feed to help market my ebooks”?
It is all too much.
I would rather write novels, revise, proof read, create covers, and Indie publish them and then blog about them.
Why would I want to spend time writing Tweets so others can like them?
I already have a blog where others can like it, even comment, and I will respond.
I already have a list of blogs I drop in and check out, some daily, some weekly, and if I feel the need, I comment.
Why would I need a Feed Reader to watch all day in case I miss a blog on the various blogs I follow and then, when I feel the need to either read comments or write a comment, I still have to go to the blog to read or write the comments.
It all seems like too much. Is technology trying to rule my life?
It seems to me that there is always one more thing to do taking time away from my writing.
Well, I refuse.
If readers feel like commenting, they already have the link to my author blog in my ebooks. They can click that and comment as much as they want. They can look at the blog to see when the next book is coming out.
I am happy for them to Tweet as much as they like with other readers. But, do I need to read Tweets?
The readers should be happy I am working on the next book, not offended that I have not got the time to waste reading comments that may not relate to the author at all.
What do you think? A total time waster? Helpful to market my ebooks?
What am I missing? I hope you know, because I sure do not.
D J Mills Writer 
Sigh. It does seem like there’s always one more thing we have to do. I don’t like or trust FaceBook, but there I am.
Twitter, on the other hand is lots of fun, like going to a well-attended roller rink or dance. Say hello to the people you know, and drop a nice remark on anyone who catches your fancy.
To make a living with your books, you are going to need plenty of readers. Our blogs are all situated on cul-de-sacs, and they will never get noticed unless we do something to bring attention to them. Our books won’t be noticed in the numbers we need unless we do something to help them.
Or, they might get noticed. Some do. I hope yours do. The covers look interesting–that will help a bunch. :)TX
Hey, Texanne. I thought I was following you on Twitter but I guess not. I think I found you and I’m following you now.
I know, there is always a logical reason to spend more time doing things that are not what I want to do.
I refuse point blank to enter FaceBook or the other one. When a company wants my personal details and then sells it to third parties I am not interested.
I will look at the Twitter sign up page and TOC and see if any of the info they need is harmful to my future life, and if not, I may experiement with the program for a bit, otherwise no. 🙂
I do use Twitter some, too. Not a lot cause it is a time suck if you let it be. For social bees it is a lot of fun; for those introverts it’s hard to do.
It’s also all about being a great multi tasker. However if it interferes with the writing it’s a problem although it can be argued that blogging and tweeting are writing.
Used judiciously it can be a good tool for promotion but I think it’s a fine line to walk. Social media guru Kristen Lamb says blogging is a must and Twitter is a must. It helps build a ready made audience before your book/short story is even written.
You can skip Facebook and others like it because they are flash in the pans.
In the end it really comes down to what you want to do. As you know DWS doesn’t necessarily advocate twitter, facebook and whatnot. He says write the stories, in particular short stories, and the audience will find you.
Personally I think it’s a mash between DWS and Kristen Lamb. A little of both should get you a long way.
I guess each of us have to find the way we are more comfortable with. I tried the blogs and they are working, somewhat. Well, this writing blog works.
My Author blog gets one or two hits a day, but nothing like this blog. Then again, I don’t blog every week on it. Ah, I think I have to change that. 🙂
I’m not going to “follow” any guru’s advice if it doesn’t fit me.
Are you following along with Holly’s HTTS walkthrough? If not, come and take a look. She’s in Week 6 now (Amazon river, remember?) and what she’s doing is dynamite. I think.
But don’t do anything that doesn’t fit YOU. People will know. My personal life has been rugged lately, which is why I’m not blogging now. People would see right through me–they might not know what was wrong, but they’d have a feeling that I wasn’t being genuine. They’d dump me. For me, right now, blogging doesn’t fit, though I still like to visit and support my friends who do blog.
Really, it is all about YOU and what fits YOU. No harm in looking into new things, but looking in is not diving in. Be gentle with yourself. :)TX
Oh, yes, the walkthrough is good and the reason for this weekend’s blog. 🙂
I won’t tough Facebook with a 10-foot pole. Don’t feel bad about that. There are a lot of us out there.
You’ve read my blog post about priorities. I throw something up on Twitter, maybe respond to someone else once in a while (I use Tweetdeck), but that’s it. I’m not interested in a new time-suck.
Writing is my time-suck, and I love it that way. 😀
Write more books and get them out there with good covers and descriptions. Time is on your side. Word of mouth will slowly spread and people will find your books. Simple (and as slow) as that.
I agree. I just have to get better at writing books, creating covers, writing blurbs, understandingTwitter, etc. 🙂
All the new technology does seem to be a major time-waster and definitely takes away from the writing. For some people it works. But it’s not for everyone. I hate when gurus tell you what you *have* to do.
We all have different comfort levels about this sort of thing. There’s no sense in getting into Twitter if you don’t want to. Your true feelings would probably show and possibly hurt your chances of selling your books. Which was the reason you joined in the first place.
I’ve only gotten onto Facebook to keep up with my family and friends. I don’t advertise it on my blog. I’ve considered joining Twitter several times, but I still hesitate. Why? Several reasons, but the main issue is time. Right now, I want to concentrate on the writing. And I’m so bad about new and shiny things to play with. I’d be checking it out several times a day. And that’s not good for the writing. I have enough distractions as it is.
Do what feels right to you.
I hve to learn it first, then decide if it is for me. The comments I looked at so far might as well be in chinese, I can’t understand them. 🙂