I left Facebook in 2017 and Twitter in 2018, for many reasons but most because I don’t like who I am on social media, the person I become when I engage too much: snarky, judgmental, every now and then downright mean.
This is my eternal struggle. I think the hook that social media keeps in me is when organizations pay me to do a panel, or any kind of event, I feel an obligation to do my part to promote it. And there aren't too many other ways to do that. I'm curious to know how much pressure your publisher put on you to promote your book via social media?
That's a really good question. I'm sure they would have been grateful if I'd done a lot more on that front. It probably would have helped to still be on Twitter but I'm not sure I'd be sane if I still had Twitter. I didn't get any pressure in particular, but that might be because I didn't have FB or Twitter anymore by the time it was published. There was a lot more about finding high-profile people to blurb and using as many connections as I could for interviews, spreading word, etc. I'm afraid I wasn't very effective on any of those fronts, though I did try really hard. Actually, talking about social media with my agent was partly what got me thinking about it -- books are hard to sell, so if you have like 100,000 followers on Twitter there's a good chance that at least a percentage of them will buy it. But if you don't already have that following I'm not sure what good it does you. Like many writers (!), I'm terrible at self-promotion.
Thank you for this, Antonia. Social media is a personal choice, of course, but I've found on balance it is a timesuck that distracts from life and creates more harm than good. And... the siren song of "building a following" or a business doesn't pan out for most.
Thank you for all you do, including your thoughts and insights! I think and hope that future generations will figure out a better balance for themselves, but yes, for me it's just not a healthy relationship. I'm glad to be connected in other ways, though :)
This is my eternal struggle. I think the hook that social media keeps in me is when organizations pay me to do a panel, or any kind of event, I feel an obligation to do my part to promote it. And there aren't too many other ways to do that. I'm curious to know how much pressure your publisher put on you to promote your book via social media?
I feel the same regarding events, talks, etc.
That's a really good question. I'm sure they would have been grateful if I'd done a lot more on that front. It probably would have helped to still be on Twitter but I'm not sure I'd be sane if I still had Twitter. I didn't get any pressure in particular, but that might be because I didn't have FB or Twitter anymore by the time it was published. There was a lot more about finding high-profile people to blurb and using as many connections as I could for interviews, spreading word, etc. I'm afraid I wasn't very effective on any of those fronts, though I did try really hard. Actually, talking about social media with my agent was partly what got me thinking about it -- books are hard to sell, so if you have like 100,000 followers on Twitter there's a good chance that at least a percentage of them will buy it. But if you don't already have that following I'm not sure what good it does you. Like many writers (!), I'm terrible at self-promotion.
Thank you for this, Antonia. Social media is a personal choice, of course, but I've found on balance it is a timesuck that distracts from life and creates more harm than good. And... the siren song of "building a following" or a business doesn't pan out for most.
Thank you for your writing!
Thank you for all you do, including your thoughts and insights! I think and hope that future generations will figure out a better balance for themselves, but yes, for me it's just not a healthy relationship. I'm glad to be connected in other ways, though :)