Picking Flowers Off the Wallpaper

In the interest of potentially finding more people to read the books I write, I'm beginning the journey of trying to be more sociable online.  (There's not much I can do about being more social in person.  I'm a hermit, for pitysakes.)

So, here's what I've been doing this week:

I've been commenting more on other people's posts.  It's not much and I'm not being especially profound, but if I have something nice to say, I say it.  "Way to go."  "That book sounds intriguing.  Thanks for posting about it."  

I friended like 3 more people and I'm looking for people to friend in the comments sections.  So it's not willy-nilly or friending without reason.  If they make a comment and it sounds like someone I might enjoy being around online, I send them a friend request.  Hopefully, they find something of value in me, too, and accept my requests.

I'm trying to remember to post on the blogs every day.  Actually, I'm trying to have these posts scheduled at least the night before, so I don't fall down on the job again.  Last night, I fell down, so here I am at 7am creating a post.  Come on, coffee.

And I'm trying to remember to post links to my blog posts on FB and MeWe.  This was a thing I used to do, but got out of the habit of.  Back at it again.  :whipcrack:  

Like I said on Wednesday, the point of this is to gain more potential readers, BUT it's not to post more about my books - which is kind of counter-intuitive.  So, while I have posted a link or two about the books being in wide distribution, I'm making that a rare type of post.  Sprinkle it here or there.  See if anything grows.

I've thought about starting to be active in the forums at KDP.  I used to be very active at the AbsoluteWrite forums, but then they pissed me off and I left.  The thought of going back to that kind of thing sort of makes me nauseous, but if I have to do it, I have to do it.  I wouldn't mind having a little hangout online somewhere, where people of like minds can get together.  Unfortunately, with the world the way it is, finding people who have minds like mine is a crap shoot.  Is there anywhere a body can talk about life and writing without political stuff getting in the way?  Or is that like locating a unicorn?

Now, I realize that stating here why I'm suddenly being more social and the self-serving nature of my socialness could turn some folks off.  Sorry about that.  I could be all fake and junk and say I'm giving in to my herd-beast nature, but that just wouldn't be my style.  If I'm out there and I find people who could truly be my friends, then great.  If not, that's okay.  The purpose of this is to find readers.  Anything else is sprinkles on the icing on the cake.

I am what I am - a wallflower.  Or a flower on the wallpaper.  Time to pick it.  If I have to.  I guess.

(And yes, I know that 'picking flowers off the wallpaper' is a euphemism for being nuts, but I thought it was funny.  And I'm feeling a little nuts these days.)

On Being Social

Recently a writer I follow on FB has been doing a series of posts on how being more social online is helping with book sales.  According to him, interacting with other human beings is actually gaining him sales.

Yeah, it sounds kind of obvious, but I admit that it's the last thing I think of when I'm thinking about marketing.

You know me.  I am not social.  I'm a hermit.  Oh, I used to be more social online.  I commented on blogs and belonged to forums and interacted on FB.  Lately?  I've been crawling into my hole.  My safe, warm, cozy, comfortable hole. 

And that ain't good.  At least not when it comes to getting my face out there and people buying my books.

When I first published Dying Embers, I was out there - online and in person (to a certain extent).  I was schmoozing and stuff like the dickens.  Okay, not as much as I could've been even then, but loads more than I am now.

So, I'm trying to be more social.  Not in a 'in your face, buy my book' sort of way, but more natural like.  Commenting on FB statuses again when I feel like I have something to say about the topic, contributing to the NaNo local forum by being a cheerleader...  I need to start going back and commenting on blogs again.  I read a lot of them, but I don't comment much. (As I suspect readers here are doing, so I'm not getting after any of you.) 

The problem now is how does one restart being social after having been silent for so long?  "Oh, hey, remember me?  I used to comment here, but I stopped and now I'm back" seems weird.  As does "You don't know me, but I'd like to talk, too" in writing forums.  It's all very daunting.  It's not like you can just jump in anywhere and not have people looking at you like you're the foreign exchange student from Greater Dorkistan. 

Anyway, I'm going to try to be more social.  And if it fails miserably, I can always crawl back into my hole.

How about you?  Are you a social animal? 

Being a Hermit and a Writer

I may have explained before that I am, for the most part, a hermit.  Not literally, of course.  I mean, I don't live in a cave or anything, and I do occasionally have contact with the outside world.  I have to shop and stuff, so there's a bit of social interaction there.  And I socialize on the internet.  And there's Hubs.

But yeah, other than that, I'm a hermit.  And with the world the way it is, my hermitude is getting worse.

That's neither here nor there, though.  What I want to talk about today is how being a hermit clashes with being a self-published writer. 

Two and a half years ago when I started the self-publishing thing, I was faced with some crucial decisions about how to proceed with the marketing portion of the business.  I was encouraged to attend conferences and book signings and stuff.  :shudder:  The thought of being in crowds makes me want to crawl into a hole and pull the rocks down over myself.  I did do some face-to-face, one-on-one stuff.  I went to the local libraries and introduced myself and donated books.  I went around to the places where I was known and told the people I knew about my book. 

Since then, the people I knew at the libraries have left and everyone I know already knows about my books.  :shrug:  And I can't make myself start the process all over again.  Get out in the world and meet more new people?  :shudder:

I've pulled back on my internet stuff, too.  I mean, I was already shrinking away because socializing is exhausting, but last year's election hoopdedoo helped shove me further back into my figurative cave.  For a while there, it seemed like I was unfriending people on a daily basis.  I ran away from Twitter because I couldn't scan through the feed without wanting to hurl. 

And I'm pretty sure my sales have suffered as a result.  Being a hermit and a writer is not a path I recommend for anyone who really wants to succeed at this self-publishing thing.  (For varying definitions of 'success'.)  However, I can't make myself step up to the social things I would need to do to whip up more sales.  I guess when it comes down to it, I value my hermitage more than sales. 

So, as my profile on FB says, 'Here I sit, hermit-like, in my cabin in the woods banging away at the keyboard and creating worlds.'  Feel free to grab a cup of coffee and join me.  Online.  From your own hermit-holes.  ;o)

Twitterpated

Scrolling through my Twitter feed this morning, I noticed someone saying that no matter how interesting a person sounds, they won't 'follow back' if the person isn't engaging with their followers.  I took that to mean doing things like having conversations in tweet form.

Ummmmm...

Yah....

Totally not good at that.  Hell, I'm not good at starting conversations with the people I follow on Twitter, let alone engaging in witty repartee.  Sometimes, with friends, I can achieve something like that.  Banter.  Chat.  Whatever. 

I can do that in person.  Sometimes.  Occasionally, 'hey, can I help you reach that?' at the Walmart (because I'm tall and they aren't, or they're old and I'm not) turns into fifteen minutes of conversation.  Yes, I can turn an offer of aid into a conversation if I encounter the right person. 

I can do that via email. 

I haven't yet found a way to do that on Twitter.  I'm wordy, for one.  Trying to encapsulate everything I want to say in a 140 character blurb is exhausting.  And I detest longer tweets that are broken into segments (pt 1 of 3? Do they have a program for that?) because I have a tough enough time following a tweet thread without having to piece together a sentence from disconnected parts. 

I do enjoy chat.  Facebook chat.  Gmail chat.  The problem with that is when someone wants to chat and damned if I don't have something else I have to do right when they want to chat.  I'd chat all day, if I could.  Heh, that's pretty much how I managed to bomb my last year of college - too much time chatting on the mainframe.

Another part of the problem with all the socialization stuff is that I don't want to be a bother.  Or sound stupid.  Or be weird.  If I don't know you that well, I'm less inclined to take the risk of coming off like a total freak.  If I know you well, you already know how much of a freak I can be, and you're either okay with that or not.  LOL

Anyway, I guess whoever that was on Twitter won't be following me back.  And I'm okay with that.  I am who I am.  If you're out there and want to engage with me, I'll engage right back, but don't expect me to start the ball rolling. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be sitting over here against the wall, watching the world go by.