Today’s Me-Me Monday is all about how we approach social media. Navigating the social media world is a challenge. We each develop our own set of rules, whether we know it or not.
Today, I’ll share a few of my dos and don’ts. These are just my dos and don’ts. It’s not a definitive list or a set of rules for anybody other than me to follow.
courtesy of buzz.com
Do:
- Answer every comment left on this blog. People took the time the comment. I can take the time to write a good answer…as long as I don’t get too many comments.
- Respect my reader’s time. Make the content on this blog the best it can be.
- Share links to my blog on Twitter, Facebook, and G+. People don’t know it’s here if I don’t put it out there.
- Tweet links to other people’s blogs I enjoyed. @mention the blog’s writer/owner when possible so they’ll know I’m supporting them. When fitting, share other’s blogs on Facebook and G+.
- Leave meaningful comments on other people’s blogs. No “hey this is great!” one line drive-bys.
- Be sincere and try to make friends.
- Treat others the way I’d like to be treated.
Remember friendship bracelets? Maybe we need an online version.
Don’t:
- @mention twitter friends by name when I tweet my blog link. Using the hashtag is enough. Either people will visit or they won’t.
- Send every new Twitter follower a direct message. It’s time consuming for everyone involved.
- Click links in Twitter DMs, no matter how curious I am. Clicking can end in account hacking.
This dude is waiting in those Twitter DM links.
- Chat too much–be it on Facebook, Google, Yahoo…or even Twitter. It eats up time and can lead to an unproductive day.
- Reveal too much personal information. The right people don’t care to know that stuff anyway. The wrong people are always lurking and it might come back to haunt you.
- Publicly interact when I’m in a bad mood or upset about something. I always say things I regret later.
- Use vulgar language. Even though I’m not offended, some people are.
This last one is a biggie:
Don’t spent so much time on social media–blogging, Twitter, Facebook, G+–that the important things are left undone.
For me, the important thing is writing fiction. It’s why I’m here. Over the past few weeks, it has come to my attention that I’m breaking my own rule. I need to drop one of my blogging days to create more time to write fiction.
I’ve chosen to drop Mondays. It was a hard decision. Monday is a fun day. Lots of people read and comment, and I have fun reading and replying to comments. I may reconsider at a later date.
Here’s a huge thank you to everybody who made Me-Me Monday such a huge success.
Now’s your chance to share the rules you’ve set for yourself on social media. Who knows? Maybe I’ll learn something new.
Hello Catie Rhodes,
I am inspired to read your blogs and this one today is excellent. I agree with all your do’s and dont’s about social media. I commend you on seeing that a day needed to be taken off from blogging in order to focus on the main point why you are here. Fiction writing. I recently had to quit Facebook myself, because of to much time on my wall and other friends walls. Plus VIRUSES. For myself I like to take one day just to relax and do nothing with technology, however, I find myself sending or responding to a tweet on my android phone. LOL. I am working on making this one day a week totally technology free for me in order to focus on the main thing I am doing or led to do. To sum this reply up, social media can over consume our lives it we are not careful and we need to be productive in all we do no matter what it is. Thanks for this blog and I hope you have a great day ma’am.
You really have to watch for viruses. I’ve not that the issue on Facebook, but I’ll tell you something alarming I’ve had happen on both Facebook and Gmail. I keep getting pop-ups asking for my mobile phone number. I’m not putting my mobile phone number on those accounts. No telling who would end up with access to it. Settings change all the time on Facebook, and you don’t always know when it happened or what other people can see.
I am striving for a technology free day LOL Maybe it will happen. Thanks for your comment.
Excellent self-awareness Catie. We can only do so much and setting priorities is key. Thanks for inspiring me to re-examine my own.
Thanks for saying something so nice PJ. I was so scared about ceasing my Monday blog posts. I was afraid it would make other people whom I admire not like me. I was afraid people would decide just not to visit my blog at all. Your support means so much.
Hope sales with the new book are going well. For those of you who don’t know, PJ is the author of Heaven is for Heroes. It is available on Amazon.com and other places.
Thanks for stopping by.
Wonderful list of dos and don’t's! I especially don’t like the auto direct messages, no matter how nice they are. I never know what to say back or if I should say anything. I do all right not spending too much time on Twitter and FB, but the most time consuming thing for me is blogging/and replying on others blogs. It’s a catch-22. You want to grow your audience and support other authors, but it sucks up time. Definitely a fine line to walk.
As much as I love your Mondays, I think it’s a good decision. Good job on making it!
The thanks for the follow DMs are a pet peeve of mine. I have my account set up to send an email every time I get a DM. This is for a reason. Sometimes somebody is trying to get in touch with me and has something important to tell me. However, it also means that I get a DM about 50% of the time when I follow someone new. Ugh.
The time crunch. You can’t imagine how much I hated to give up my Monday posts. IMHO, they are so much fun. I might occasionally do a Me-Me topic on Wild-Card Wednesday, though. So the idea and spirit of Mondays is not dead. However, it came down to either blogging or writing fiction. If I wasn’t going to write fiction, why blog?
Thanks for your comment.
Great list of do’s and don’t's, Catie, and I agree with limiting your blog posts. I’ve always admired your writing so many blogs a week, what with all the research that’s involved. And they are always interesting. I’ve cut back on the number of blogs I’m reading because I started writing again – YIPPEE my writer’s block has finally been overcome! – but I must admit I sometimes do take the time to read someone’s blog but will only leave a one-liner, just to let them know I enjoyed it. Sometimes I just do not have time to leave a meaningful comment, but I did visit the blog and want to at least let the person know I’m a follower.
Hey, I’m rambling. Thanks, Catie.
Patti
Patti, your reason for leaving one-liners is perfectly valid. You have to do what you can do. That is something I am slowly beginning to realize.
Thanks so much for your praise of my blogs. A lot of research goes into my Friday posts. I always have more than two sources, and it’s time consuming to read all this information and, then, condense it into something both entertaining and informative. It is so heartening to see that people enjoy the effort.
Thanks for your comment.
Balance is key and only you know what that is for you! Love your dos and don’ts – very useful and good to follow! I can definitely struggle with burning up too much time reading/commenting/tweeting blogs so finding ways to juggle everything is key!
Good luck and keep us posted on how it’s coming!
I will keep you posted on how it’s coming. You know Monday’s topics were really pretty quick to write. It was the tweeting, reading other blogs, and other promoting that was eating up my time. That was the reason Mondays had to do. I just needed an extra day of no social media.
As for my dos and don’ts…I always tell people my advice is worth exactly what they are paying for it…nothing! Use what works for you and discard the rest.
Thanks for your comment. : D
*flies by*
lol.
Great list!!
*flies away*
I appreciate the way you interact on social media. Kind, supportive, fun…youre someone I can trust.
What a nice thing to say. I am flattered to be someone you trust. Though I might seem weird, I’m completely harmless and fairly loyal. I can’t believe you think I’m fun. LOL
Thanks for your comment. ::flies away::
Hi, Catie. Your piece really hit home. I am a total grinch when it comes to anyone wasting my time. True, it’s up to me how I spend my time, and part of that is not being totally ‘plugged in’. Glad to hear you’re spending more time on your true love!
DeeAnna
DeeAnna, sometimes people waste your time before you realize what has happened. Like you, I’m a grinch about it. My family is so important to me, and I take time away from them to do this writing thing. When I realize my time has been wasted, steam comes out my ears. LOL
Thank you so much for your support on my ceasing Monday blog posts. It was a lot of things all wrapped into one. I am hoping this will make true difference. I miss writing fiction so much.
Thanks for your comment and support.
First, where do I get an internet friendship bracelet, I want one, in green please.
Second, this IS fantastic advice and I agree with your rules. Especially about the personal message to all new followers, too tedious and annoying when it’s that auto send “buy my book” message.
Lastly, I respect your decision to cut back a blogging day. Sonia recently did the same and I may be looking at that decision too, at least during Nov./Dec. because working in retail I’ll have 14 hour days, 6 day work weeks. I don’t want my blog to become something I HAVE to do during the next two months, but rather something I WANT to do. Plus I plan on doing nanowrimo and let’s face it, the book should come first. SO, long rambling over, my question to you is what is your plan for still interacting with the blogs/writers you enjoy so you don’t lose that awesome momentum you’ve built for yourself? (Cause I think you are one of THE best bloggers to find her voice and audience so soon after starting your blog, which means I think YOU ROCK!) I’m seeking advice. How do you juggle it all?
Will that be booger green or mildew green, Ms. Witkins?
I am not a regular reader of Sonia’s blog (that time crunch thing). How nice to know I’m not the only person who decided to cut back a day.
As for your cutting back a day, I noticed that Cid Tyer has announced on her blog that she’ll be taking a hiatus through NaNo.
http://cidtyer.wordpress.com/2011/10/17/hiatus-until-nanowrimo
There’s nothing wrong with it. In the end, I had to ask myself, “Catie, are you a blogger or a fiction writer?” because all I was doing was blogging and promoting myself on social media.
As for your question:
Well, for one thing, Wednesdays and Fridays will be business as usual. The thing that was eating up so much time for me on Mondays was tweeting other people’s blogs and promoting my blog. From now on, I might comment on a few Monday blogs, but there will be no tweeting. My decision is based on the fact that I’m getting no fiction writing done right now. I may lose some momentum in social media, but I hope I have more salable fiction to query and submit as a result of this new direction.
Thanks so much for your comment and support.
Thanks Catie for your thought process and advice. It makes a lot of sense and I hadn’t been working on my WIP in forever. So will you be an active member in WWBC now? I’m going to do my best and try.
I plan to be active in WWBC. I’ll look forward to working with you there. I think we’re going to learn a lot.
I appreciate your last DON’T. It is one I practice on my blog, and sometimes feel like I am going to offend people by NOT cursing. (Weird, right?)
Amber, in real life I have a filthy mouth. I try not to say the effword in front of my mother, but I know I do it sometimes. It’s like a tic. Otherwise, I am usually turning the air blue and without even realizing I’m doing it. I was that kid who *always* got in trouble for saying wirty dords in school. LOL
Thanks for stopping by.
I have a potty mouth too and made the decision to leave the F-Bomb off my blog unless I’m directly quoting a conversation. I do still say crap though…does that count??
I still say turd and fart. I guess crap falls along those lines.
Thanks for your do’s and don’ts. I’ve been blogging since August and I still have a lot to learn (for some reason I thought sending DM’s to people who followed me was good manners. Not sure where I got that from. Hugs for saving me some time! I like that you’re brave enough to step outside the box and do what’s good for you by dropping your Mondays. In the end, it’s all about the book. I blog twice a week, it’s enough for me, my fiction writing and my busy life. Plus, no one talks about how the creative aspect of blogging can also take away creative energy from your fiction writing. I like what your other respondent had to say about taking one day and having be technology free…it’s something to consider.
If sending “thanks for the follow” DMs works for you, keep doing it. We all have our way of wading through the social media sphere. There is no real right or wrong.
As for the Mondays, I will miss the interaction. As you said, being creative here at my blog does suck away a lot of creative energy. The bottom line is the book is the main event. If I’m not working on it, what am I doing? Also, I don’t think a technology free day would hurt me at all.
Thanks for your comment.
I like seeing your rules. I don’t know that I’ve thought about my exact do’s and don’ts, but I have formed habits. I acknowledge new Twitter followers, but 4-5 at a time. I have gone down to blogging twice weekly, for the same reasons. I want to keep my blog a PG kind of place, and NO politics on Twitter or Facebook. I also spend a bit of time preparing blog posts because I want readers to either feel informed or entertained (or both?) when they visit.
By the way, Blogger does not have a good format for replying to comments. After struggling with some other issues recently, I’m about to leap over to WordPress. I like the comment/reply format here.
Oooh, politics and religion are both big no-nos to me. I try as hard as I can to stay away from those. It rarely fails to turn nasty. I think you had a post about that recently, didn’t you? LOL
You know that I spend a fair amount of time preparing these posts. I want them to be entertaining but accurate. The things I post about are usually real, even though they deal in the paranormal. It is exhausting to research and write these posts.
I am looking forward to seeing your new wordpress blog. Stacy Green (who comments here) recently switched. I am sure she’d be open talking with you about what she likes and hates.
Thanks for your comment.
Catie, while the selfish me is sad that your Monday posts are going on hiatus, the writer friend me is SO HAPPY you are realizing that the most important thing right now is to write the book. While a good platform is good, it isn’t much use unless it is supporting you as you reach for the next level.
I love the pictures illustrating your dos and don’ts, epsecially the one of Sysyphus (spelling?) I feel like that daily, and not just in writing!
I’m just glad you are keeping up the Wednesday and Friday posts. See you later this week!
Jayne, I could not agree more. If I don’t have a book to sell, who cares if I have an ace blog and a bazillion twitter followers? My original intent–to give an agent or editor something good to see if they googled my name–got lost in my usual desire to overachieve.
I love that Sisyphus picture. I love the concept of that myth anyway. I think about it a lot when I am struggling.
See you later this week.
Great “Do & Don’t” rules, Caties. While I love your Monday blogs, I understand why you need to cut back. It’s why I’ve chosen to only blog once every two weeks (with the occasional short post in between). As Susan Elizabeth Phillips says: Protect the work.
I’ll miss your Me-Me-Mondays, even though I haven’t been here that long, but I do love your Freaky Fridays, too. You always have such great stories to share!
Oops, didn’t mean “Caties” … typing and rereading functions are apparently not working very well today!
No worries.
I think Nora Roberts has a saying about protect the work, too. I’ve heard an excellent story about Bette Davis and what she had to say about protecting your work. Bette said you would know your enemies because they were the ones who would try to get in the way of your work. In a lot of ways this blog had become my enemy…or at least an enemy of my writing.
I hope to see you on Freaky Friday. It is my favorite blog of the week to write.
I don’t really have a set list, but I already follow your list of dos and don’ts. For Row80, I’ve seen lots of people make goals on how many blogs to support, and limits on how much time they’ll spend on social media. Balance really is important. I was actually thinking of taking today off and reading a book. (I know, I say that while commenting here, but I’m drinking a cup of coffee! When the coffee’s done, I’ll turn the computer off.
)
Ooooh, reading a book sounds so nice. I have been reading The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner. It is good-creepy.
Yes, you do have to set social media goals and time limits and what-all. If you don’t, it can take over your life. And it’s good to be able to track your goals–like visiting 25 blogs and commenting each week.
The bottom line for all of it, though, is finding balance. I hope that’s what I’m doing here.
You aren’t just whistlin’ Dixie. This is a great list! And I’m sorry I’m late to the party, but I’ve been teaching and then writing — all the things I’m supposed to do. But these are true words. Social media is wonderful, but it can be a time suck.
I’m trying really hard to get to bed before 11 pm these days, but it’s hard when so many of my blogging buddies are on PCT and they don’t show up until 10 pm!
No problem on being late to the party. That’s the good thing about commenting on my blog. The comment is here whenever I get back to it. It’s like haven’t a nice surprise waiting for me.
Social media can suck away every bit of time you have. It has been very hard for me–obviously–to find a balance here. I hope this is a step the right direction.
The computer is not what keeps me awake nights. My husband is a night owl and he loves to sit up watching TV and heckling the characters. So my late evenings are always time with my hubby. I’m still just as exhausted and crabby the next day. LOL
Hi
Do you thank Twitter posters who RT you, for example, with a follow-up tweet of your own that sez something like “tnx @_____ for the RT”?
I can see that it would give both parties twice the exposure on Twitter, but is it considered a best practice? It may just be a waste of bandwidth.
Your view?
tnx
Jon R-G
I do believe in thanking people who RT me. I also thank people who #FF and #WW me. Generally, I do several mass tweets per day. They look like this:
Thx for #WW & RTs: @JohnDoe @SallySmith @JayneMansfield @TommyHillfiger @StevieRayVaugn @PaulNewman
(the names, by the way, are made up)
The reason I do a mass thank you is to keep from clogging up the stream. I often have enough RTs and #Follows that I have to do 2-3 mass tweets anyway.
Good luck on your tweeting, Jon.
One of the things I’m really wary of is over marketing your work when interacting with people on any social media sites. Certainly pushing your book is fine, as is blogging, doing interviews, blogfests, etc., but when you meet someone for the first time and their introduction sentence includes a ‘buy my book’ segment, it can be a little off putting. I’d rather make an effort to meet a person, instead of just lobbing hollow marketing pitches at them. If you build genuine relationships and then tell them about your book or let them discover it on their own, chances are they would be more receptive to actually checking it out. Plus, it’s a lot of fun to actually meet people instead of just sending out an endless barrage of DMs for people to buy your book. That behavior is often mistaken as desperate, and I don’t think it really help your sales all that much in the long run.
Conor, I could not agree more. I tend to mass follow on Twitter, usually one day a week. Invariably, I get at least one (usually more) DMs with something about “buy my book” in them. It’s not a great approach. I’ve never bought a book because of it, and it usually annoys me enough that I don’t even look at the book. However, if it were someone I *knew*, I’d definitely go take a look and possibly even buy. So yeah. I totally agree with you.
Hi Catie! I’ve enjoyed your Me-Me Mondays and will miss them. I’ll continue to read your horror posts, although I’m often unfamiliar with your topic and don’t have much to offer by way of comment. I may not be a fan of the genre, but I’m definitely a fan of Catie Rhodes.
Oh, what a sweet thing to say. I’m glad you are willing to read Freaky Friday, given that you are not a fan of the genre. Usually, I do movies, books, or TV on Wednesday. If that’s more your speed, you might want to give Wednesdays a try.
I am hoping some Wednesday in the near future to talk about layers of conflict in Sons of Anarchy. I’ve been watching and deeply admire the way there are all these stories and tragedies that connect to the same conflict.
Thanks for your comment.
Similar to your comment rule, I remind myself to leave comments on the blogs of those who comment on mine. It may not happen same day, or same week even, but I make it a point to hop over.
I TOTALLY agree on the vulgar language. I was raised in a sailor’s house, okay not really, but you catch my drift. I sometimes have to remind myself that some words that I consider normal are vulgar to others. Keep it clean. G-rate it. Blog or talk on social media as you would talk to a small child.
GREAT post, Catie.
I’ve noticed your making a point to comment, and I appreciate it. Though I will say this: I consider you a friend. When you don’t have time to hit this blog, I totally understand.
I COMPLETELY get what you’re saying about being raised in a filthy mouthed house. My daddy has a nasty mouth, and I learned at the hand of a master. He thought there was nothing funnier than teaching a pretty little girl to have a dirty mouth.
In blogsphere, though, this is my professional image. ::said in appropriately snotty tone::
Thanks for your comment.
A good post on some simple do’s and don’ts! The only don’t I would add (and it could be because this is a personal pet peeve of mine) would be “don’t hashtag excessively”. I see SO many tweets with four or more hashtags, and I find it unnecessary. Two or three is enough (and really, three is pushing it, I think). If the content is GOOD, people will retweet. You don’t need half a dozen hashtags for your information to be found.
I’ve also taken time off here and there — lately it’s more because of pregnancy and being tired than anything else — and I think it’s important to evaluate how your time is being spent every now and again. One thing that helps me (when I do it, anyway) is to schedule my blog posts ahead of time. Spend one day a week writing and scheduling the next week’s blog posts. It really helped me out…and I should go back to doing it, but I’m playing up the preggo card.
Ag! The hastags of doom. When you get too many, you can’t even tell what the original tweet was supposed to have said. I try to keep it at three. But I may go down to two after reading what you’ve said here.
I have a hard time writing all my blog posts in one day. Both my Wednesday and Friday posts are research intensive. I like to show people a good time, but I like to be informative, too. By the time I write a Wednesday or a Friday post, my brain is jelly. I just want to sleep. Maybe someday I’ll get faster or it’ll get easier.
Pregnancy is a good reason to take time off, it’s not even like playing a card. LOL Thanks for your comment.
Saw this on Twitter and love the lists. I ESPECIALLY love this one: “Don’t @mention twitter friends by name when I tweet my blog link. Using the hashtag is enough. Either people will visit or they won’t.” It is SUCH a pet peeve when people tweet AT me . . .very spammy! A conversation or response to my tweet in one thing, but a “Come read my post” type of tweet really bugs!
What you’ve said here is why this is such a big DON’T for me. Some people may not mind. Others are very offended and consider it spam. Spammer is one of the worst impression you can possibly make in social media. If people think you a spammer, they don’t trust your material. (And to tell the truth, I don’t like it when people to do it to me.)
Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting.
I cut a day from my posting schedule when I realized that I was starting to dread each blogging day. It was just too much for me. Cutting that one day has really restored my sanity and my creative flow. I have to admit, though, it’s sometimes hard for me to reply to each and every comment. Sometimes I don’t get a chance to check back in with my blog right away on a posting day and the comments get ahead of me. I do my best and I don’t beat myself up (anymore) for not being able to always reply.
Sonia, it was a similar thing for me. By the time I got one blog written, it was time to write another one. It seemed like a never-ending cycle. I tried to write my blogs all in one day and just didn’t have the stamina. Stuff like this post is pretty quick to do, but stuff like my Friday posts takes a loooong time to write.
If I got too many more comments, I’d have to rethink my reply to every comment rule. If I got, say, the volume of comments Kristen Lamb usually gets on her blog, there would be no way. Right now, it’s manageable, though.
Thanks for your comment.
By the way, I only blog once a week and it’s worked well.
Thanks for sharing that. I know a couple of other folks who are only blogging once a week and say it’s working out for them. I might be there with you before it’s all over.
Catie,
Anne R. Allen swears by blogging once a week – she calls it “Slow Blogging” and you can search out her post on it…it’s wonderful and she has a good point.
I hadn’t heard of it. I’m off to look her up. Thanks for the tip.
Great list! Yes, yes, yes and yes! I can get behind all of these.
Another thing that really mucks up my deck and makes it hard to sort through the feed are the thousands of #FF, #MM and #WW. I love my friends but I can only do so much and I don’t want to clutter my friend’s feeds by forwarding the 100′s I receive. Wow.
I am new to blogging but already it is taking a huge chunk of time I didn’t have and my WIP is suffering greatly. Where do you find that happy medium while maintaining a successful blog?
One of the greatest skills you will learn on Twitter is how to ignore what doesn’t apply to you. I suggest using something like Tweetdeck or HootSuite. Those services allow you to set up feeds. I have a feed for my @mentions and a feed for the #myWANA hashtag. I have a separate feed for all my followers. You can also make lists of people whose tweets you want to be sure to see and make a feed for that. This appears in a series of columns spread across your browser.
This method allows me to keep an eye on what I want and to just sort of skim the rest. When I just used basic twitter off the web, I had the same complaint as you, though.
As for balancing blogging and writing your WIP, I have no real advice. Some people say they are able to write all their blogs in one day a week. Some of the content on these folks’ blogs is pretty stellar. I don’t see how they do that in one day a week. I have gotten faster, but I’m still not fast enough to do that. The only thing I can tell you for sure is to make time for your WIP. If necessary, set a timer for 30 minutes or an hour and work as hard as you can until that timer goes off.
Best of luck to you.
Catie, I can see why it takes so long with your blog…your responses to those who leave a reply are so personalized. But that makes for loyal followers! And, there are a couple of things on your Don’t list that I need to follow….like write more and Twitter less!
Thank you for your kind words about my responses. I know how good it makes me feel when I visit someone’s blog, leave a thoughtful comment, and they respond in kind. You’re right. It makes for a loyal follower.
Here’s an idea. Set a timer for your writing. Do 30 minutes at first. Write as hard as you can for those 30 minutes. Then take a 20 minute Twitter break. At least you will get *some* writing done.
Thanks for your comment.
I understand social media can get so overwhelming. One thing I read which helps- when I go onto hootsuite I only read tweets that are an hour or so old. I don;t try and catch up on all of them it’s just too much.
Alica, I never thought of trying that approach. It’s a good suggestion, and I will try it. You’re right. There is no way you can keep up with all the tweets unless that’s going to be all you do. I generally pop over, see who’s taking, make a comment about coffee and/or chocolate and chat for about 30 minutes. I have to make myself leave, though.
Thanks for your comment.
Good set of rules, Catie. Thanks. I always like it when the writer replies to the comments, it makes a me feel my time/comment was important to the writer.
Your reasoning for liking replies to your comments is the same as mine. It takes me time to read and comment on people’s blogs. So I know the people who read and comment on my blog are using valuable, irreplaceable minutes. I want to reward them in some way, to let them they are appreciated. My readers are very important and interesting to me. I often feel as though I don’t give enough back.
Thanks for your comment.
I’ll miss Me-Me-Me Mondays but am sooooo glad you aren’t dropping Freaky Fridays : )! And I totally understand why you need to reprioritize where your writing time is going. I know my own longer WIP is languishing because I divide my time too much, and am in the process of figuring out what gives to make it all work too. And I so agree with you about chatting. I always stay in “hide” mode when I’m on FB as far as the chat option goes, because it is far to easy to get pulled into banter and conversation and find out you’ve lost an hour or more!
Pam, I totally didn’t want to drop Freaky Fridays. I enjoy researching and writing those more than I probably should. But I knew something had to go. I was spending three valuable days a week pretty much caught up in blogging (answering comments, helping other people promote their blogs, promoting my blog). I was getting to, you know, write fiction once in a blue moon.
Good call on staying invisible in FB chat. But now I know you’re there. ::wicked laugh:: Don’t worry I’ll leave you be. If I have a real question, I’ll email you. I wish you the best of luck finding balance for yourself. If you ever want to talk, feel free to email me.
Very smart, Catie. I can comiserate with regard to the fear of upsetting your followers and just missing blogging on a particular topic. Blogging is fun! Interacting with your readers is even more fun. But, we began blogging to build support for our books, granted we’ve made friends since then, but if we don’t write the books, we’re left with just a fun pastime.
I’ve been gradually cutting back on the blogs I subscribe to, since I feel guilty if I get their blog in my email and then i don’t go comment on it. 40+ blogs takes a lot of time to read and comment. I cut back from 5 days of blogging to 3 days in July and it helped immensely. I may need to cut back to 2 days at some point. I work hard at getting ahead on my blogs, figuring i’ll be able just write, but then I have to get ahead on blogs again. Time for a new system, though I’m not sure what that is yet.
John Locke blogs once a month which I think is too infrequent, but somewhere between 1 x and 12-15 x per month there should be a happy medium.
Glad you’re keeping Freaky Friday..my favorite!
This
Is almost the exact conclusion I reached. I’ve also had to be very careful about my blog reading. I do follow quite a few through WordPress, but I pick and choose the ones to visit.
This
is almost identical to what I experienced. Blogging is a circular task–like housekeeping, grocery shopping, laundry–it has to be done every so often. I kept thinking I could get ahead and the Mondays could stay, but it just wasn’t in the cards.
Some good advice I received recently: Blogging will not put your fiction on the bestseller list….especially if you blog so much you don’t have time to write fiction.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
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Hi Catie. Your list of do’s and don’ts left me feeling guilty. I sometimes don’t have time to write meaningful comments, even in response to the comments on my own blog, but I want people to know I was there and I cared enough to say something. It’s a dilemma for me and has been for a while. I’m starting to use the “like” button more often, but I’m left feeling guilty over that, too, because I actually feel the need to leave comments. Lol. Ok. I’ll stop now.
Great list. One thing, though. If I have an article that I know would probably interest a friend on Twitter, I @mention them when i tweet the article. Also, if I have a blog that is particularly meaningful to me, I will @mention my best Twitter friends and ask them to RT for me. They always do. It’s just another way we support each other. Like the #WWBC hashtag.
Please @mention me when you tweet your blog because you are one of the people I always RT. You will save me the trouble of looking you up to RT your links, which I have been known to do.
Awww, Piper, don’t feel guilty. We all do what we can. I think you get more meaningful stuff done than I do. LOL
Re: the @mentions, I don’t mind getting them from people with whom I interact. Like, I wouldn’t mind getting one from you. However, I get them from people with whom I’ve never had any kind of exchange. I’ll have a tweet that says, “Hey @catierhodes, come visit my blog [with address].” Usually, they’re writers using the #mywana hashtag, but nobody in my circle. I think, “Should I go visit? Maybe they think I can help them. But why did they pick me?”
I’ll start @mentioning you when I post my blog link. But you have to promise to tell me if it gets on your nerves.
Thanks for stopping by. I know you don’t have much time for this, so I consider it an honor.
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OK, now that I’ve tromped all over your comments section, I thought I’d leave my own. I agree with Piper that sometimes I @ mention my peeps when the post mentions them or is about something that interests them. I’m glad it doesn’t bug you when it’s us.
Catie, if I put the amazing research time in that you do, I’d be at ONE post a week. I am so impressed by you every time I read your posts. I’m sure you’ve noticed that I do more in line with opinion pieces, with tech and writing stuff thrown in here and there. Most of my blogs take 30-45 mins to write and about that long again to tweak and post. That means by the time I’m done writing a blog, I’m warmed up for the WIP, so blogging actually helps me write more. However, that’s a rare thing from what I’m hearing.
The point of this is that if your blog isn’t adding to your fiction writing, I think you are right to cut it down. Even though I’ll miss the Me-Me Mondays.
You keep rockin’ girl. You’re doing a GREAT job.
Jenny, I like your opinion pieces. When I first accepted that I needed to blog for my author platform, I was twisting in the wind about what to write. One of my favorite hobbies is cruising the internet researching random–freaky–things. If something interests me, even in a minute way, I research it. This has been true all my life. It’s how I learned who James Dean was and why he was important in pre-internet Podunk, Texas.
Even though I hated grades K-12, I loved college. And I loved writing research papers even more. A lot of what you see on Fridays are my informal research projects. Sometimes that’s also true on Wednesdays. So, for what it’s worth, I’m having fun doing those.
I’m miss Me-Me Monday, too. But don’t worry. When an idea hits me, I’ll do the occasional We-We Wednesday. After all, what’s the point of calling Wednesday a Wild-Card if I can’t throw something random in the mix every once in a while?
Thanks for your comment. Glad to see you here.
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