Unashamed Writing

Authentic writing from the gut - the studio of a self-taught writer

Social media – trying to find some kind of balance – my personal plan as a new writer

social media overloadLet’s say you’ve recently discovered that you like writing. Next step? You want to write your own novel. That’s really great until you read that, along with crafting an awesome piece of fiction, you should also get busy building a social network that will be eagerly looking forward to reading your masterpiece.

In other words, you need to build a writer’s platform.

By now, those are two words that can instantly give me a headache.

If you are someone who prefers actual writing to spending time on Facebook, Twitter, and the likes, you’ll probably get sick to your stomach. Especially at first, when you read all the advice from people who already have successful platforms. You look at them and try to … reconfigure what they did into something that makes sense to you. Yes … I’m ready to pull my hairs out.

It’s not that I’m anti-social. To some degree I actually am. But I can’t see myself spending countless hours interacting with people I hardly know. A little meaningful, interesting interaction is good. The right kind of “talk” can inspire, motivate, or even help me through a rough patch. But, as my physics teacher used to say, “What’s too much is not too little!” You had to know him to really appreciate that bit of wisdom.

Back to the platform now. Here’s what I’ve decided:

There are a lot of writers and entrepreneurs I admire actually, but I will get overwhelmed if I don’t somehow limit my reading on social media. Better said, I’ll get even more overwhelmed than I already am. This is what I’m starting with.

  • Step 2. I’ll share that blueprint on my website, piece by piece. This will force me to be focused on what I’m reading and make sure I understand it enough to be able to share it forward. Maybe someone else will get some use out of it too.
  • Step 3. I’ll cut, dice, and repackage everything I’ve read into something that the minimalist in me can happily live with. I have four social media accounts now. We’ll see which ones survive after all is said and done. I’ll be ruthless. There’s an evil grin on my face right now. Considering that I haven’t smiled all day that’s almost a good thing. Some grin is better than no grin … right? Right!

I feel a little better now that I’ve written down my plan. I’m ready to get back to reading about social media. But first, I’m taking some Ibuprofen for the headache I already feel coming on.

 

 

 

 

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