So I put my thinking crown on today, and to borrow a few words from Maria Shriver’s new book title, I’ve been thinking (too)…what in the crown jewels am I doing and when am I going to have time to write? Having bared my social media neophyte status in my last post (thanks very much to those of you who have taken your time to read it and reach out to me!), I’ve once again started to write (re-write actually) a synopsis for a special project I’m pursuing with my books.
In between words (and I do mean words, now and again I have enough to construct/re-construct a sentence), I check out Twitter, Instagram, WordPress, Amazon and Facebook, sending out follow and friend requests, hearting my likes, evaluating my rankings and ad performance, and getting up to the millisecond updates on what is happening with the world.
Who do I follow? Writers, bloggers, readers, artists, people with a wicked sense of humor—people I think have interests similar to mine, and people I think I can learn something from (and maybe I can contribute something in return). I do follow many British blogs, British writers, fashion gurus, royal watchers, castles, and foodies as I try and absorb the land of the Brits so that my main character Gemma doesn’t make too many faux pas as she navigates the grounds of Cherrywood Hall and socializes in an almost royal style 🙂 I use that British frame of mind as I write, and for me, it works!
For my featured picture today, I think the wired head with the gems and crown pretty much sums up pictorially what goes on in my little writer head during the day as I drink from the social media hose (doesn’t everyone have gems on their head?). Miles of lights blink on and off in my little gray cells as I read about politics (not even going there); pictures and blurbs of pregnant Duchess Catherine shopping for groceries and actually loading said groceries (in reusable bags mind you) in her car; celebrity break-ups (shocker—didn’t see that coming, not); writer’s tips (amazing sources, learning from the best real time–and the books and covers I’ve seen are amazing!); philosophical quotes and truisms; haunting pictures and paintings; fashions of the rich and famous; hair styles (I really want Meghan Markle to wear her hair in a messy bun for her wedding, don’t you? With the Strathmore or Spencer tiara?); and recipes (I was amazed at all the recipes featuring Cadbury crème eggs, who knew?) Oops, just blew a fuse…
OK, fully lit once more 🙂 I have decided to take some highly recommended advice on the importance of scheduling one’s time on social media, otherwise I just won’t get to my writing, and that I cannot allow. I keep reminding myself that I am in the journey, there’s no rush timeline to get to the finish line, whenever and whatever that will be. My unorthodox approach to writing and publishing the books before establishing myself on social media may not be the best approach, but it has certainly been interesting, and I want to enjoy the experience and not panic. Since I am responsible for inserting the social media firehose into my life, I need to take responsibility to manage it and use it as a tool to better my writing experience, and not drown my creativity.
Before the next post, I hope to make more progress on the outreach approaches for my books. There’s quite a few novel marketing approaches I’m evaluating (love the book marketing promo videos) as well as some more standard ones. I’m pretty amazed at the tools available on the social media platforms that target very specific clientele (for a price of course)—big brother doesn’t stand a chance against the cloud minds of social media (Cambridge Analytica anyone?)
Social media time will be scheduled. Marketing budgets will be set. Writing projects will resume. Maybe someday I’ll get a handle on the zillion tips and tricks to make my social media platforms a success. I still have YouTube to take on—and the family and friends I’ve found to connect with—how do you answer in 140 characters when someone you haven’t seen in 30 or 40 years asks you how you’ve been? That is one mystery this writer is still trying to figure out 🙂
Crowns and Kisses,
Veronica
P.S. Lots of questions on social media asking what you’ve been reading. Maria Shriver’s book, I’ve Been Thinking…Reflections, Prayers, Meditations for a Meaningful Life is a wonderful book, highly recommended! I’ve also subscribed to her weekly “Sunday Paper”, awesome! Gemma would approve 🙂
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