Keeping up with the times or Getting left behind

How the internet has changed my writing

I've been writing for a long time.  Longer than I care to admit.  I started writing when the internet was just beginning to take off.  I know for some people, I think they call you millennials,  it's hard to imagine writing a manuscript and physically having to put it in the mail to send to an editor. I remember the knots in my stomach as I waited for a reply from the post office.  That tiny pink slip of paper in the mailbox telling me to come pick up a package.  Which always meant a rejection.  

Yeah, those days were rough.  Driving home from the post office through a veil of tears was no easy feat.  Now, we just check our smart phones or tablets wherever we are, and we get to see that big R in the middle of the grocery store or the doctor's office.  Talk about a sucker punch! Technology has changed a lot of things for writers over the years.  From the way we communicate with editors and readers, to how we get those rejections and The Call.  I like change.  I really do, but some of these changes have let me floundering in a sea of social media, blog posts, tweets and emails.  Getting on board has felt more like being dragged behind.  So where does one start? I don't think anyone has a real answer to that question.  At least not an answer that fits us all.  

I hope you're not reading this to learn something, because frankly, I haven't got any ground-breaking advice on how to tackle the world of author self-promotions on the internet.  But I'm not totally technically challenged, either.  I can make a website, tweet, post, share, tag and blog (okay, I'll admit I'm not great at blogging).  The hard part is knowing when to do what, how often to do it, and is it effective? The last thing a writer wants to do is waste time.  So, what is too much?  I guess only you can answer that question.  If you're spending more time on the internet than on your manuscript, then it's probably too much.  If you've just sold a great book, I'd say get out there promote like crazy.  I equate this algorithm to the one for losing weight.  Eat less=lose weight.  Yeah, it's simple like that.  

Writers analyze too much. We think too much.  We think too much about how we over-analyze and over-think things.  We're introverts and introspective by nature so jumping on the bandwagon has been hard on some of us.  What I do know is that writing should be fun.  Submitting manuscripts should be fun.  Stress is not.  I for one am tired of stressing about what to tweet about, blog about, post about, etc.  I'm just jumping in and having fun with it.  Life is too short to stress out all the time. I'm going to go enjoy and use the talents God has blessed me with, and I hope you do the same.

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:10 NIV)

Next blog post: Why should we use our talents faithfully and without fear?