Saving Time with Twitter or I'll Follow you and You Follow Me

Before I started my twitter account, I believed this: "Like Facebook only a faster way to waste time." I'm still not sure I get it although I'm learning how to waste time connect with twitter.

Today I went through my dashboard to visit blogs I hadn't been to for awhile. I was procrastinating wanting to stay connected. Quite a few had twitter buttons. Aha! I follow & can now learn about their new posts through twitter instead of having to scroll through my dashboard. So yes, a faster way to waste time stay connected.

There's a lot I don't get about twitter. Like those who follow 10,000 people and somehow find my new account and start following me? He didn't look like a spammer. But, why? What's the benefit of following 10,000 people on twitter? So they'll follow you?

All this I'll follow you, you follow me, I'll friend you & you friend me, whether it's on twitter, Facebook or blogs has got me wondering: Are followers the new currency? *and btw I really really want to get to 275 here on my blog pleasepleaseplease*

Forget dollars, Euros or pounds. The new measure of success is our follower count. I'm waiting to hear this: "I want to be a millionaire hit a million followers by the time I'm thirty." (Correction: I won't hear it. I'll read it because it'll be a tweet.)

What I Learned Today from Blogging

Today I have learned that:

Living takes precedence over blogging 


People are remarkably different, quirky and how dull if we were all alike


Some so-called tough guys are really very nice guys


We're all getting sucked into Blogger's insidious Design Button (and what happened to Layout anyway??)


Some days admit it we got nothin'


We blog because we love it not just to sell our books


Maybe if I could storyboard like this I'd get an agent and a 3-book deal


A good writer can find a story anywhere even on a bus (and make it hilarious if they're Fran)


Cats make everything better  (most especially those like Charlie yes I'm in love with this cat)


I could have gone on and on but it's Monday and I do have to clean house. And take a shower at some point today.  So yes, this is why I love my blogging friends. I learn so much from your posts. Your cleverness, your voices, your personalities (and your cats) make every day beautiful.

Happy Birthday to Me, Xena and the Giraffe

I began this bloggy adventure a year ago last June. We have the same birthdays (mine's Sunday). Awhile ago I posted about the evolution of this blog called Establishing a Platform. So I won't recap any of that but I'm wondering if it's time to put Xena to rest.

JulieeJohnsonn, a talented artistic writer I met through twitter sent out this sweet tweet yesterday: "I really like the coziness of @KarenGowan 's blog site for writers. Feels like we're all sitting around having coffee." (Thanks, Julie!) And it got me thinking if maybe Xena isn't the best profile for my image here. Cozy and Xena don't really match up.


Let me explain Xena. The reclusive writer who had been hiding for so long (moi) needed to become a warrior. To go after things more, to not be so timid and backward and scared about stuff-- like blogging, twitter, doing presentations, and promoting my books. Xena really kicked my butt in gear. She helped me get more followers (thank you guys!) and refine my platform. But Xena didn't fool twitter friend Julie. Julie saw through the warrior princess to who I really am-- a cozy homebody who knits, reads cozy mysteries and who likes to have friends over for food, drink and conversation. And the blog is where my writer friends come to hang out. (Hi guys! Welcome! Thanks for stopping by! Want a cookie?)

Xena helped me get the courage I needed this past year as I ventured into social media and elsewhere. Thank you, Warrior Princess! 

But I'm thinking of retiring her and bringing out the farm girl, who is more simple, homey and more like the real me. Plus it's my book cover, and if an author doesn't care enough to promote their work then who else will?


I think Xena would approve, don't you? But here's what's really holding me back:  Xena and giraffe-- yes, nice mix. Nebraska farm girl and giraffe-- huh? no connection whatsoever. And I can't bear to lose the giraffe! So yes, I'm torn. Any suggestions? Should I retire both Xena and the giraffe? Ouch, that would hurt.

The Budding Author

I just got back from doing a library presentation at Pleasant Grove, Utah and there's this kid who I just have to tell you about.

This library does a Tuesday night book event for younger children. I talked about Farm Girl, two other authors spoke about their books, and the librarian interspersed it with bits about being an author, since the theme was "Author Night." (She was incredible btw, integrating what we said with her comments while keeping it all brief,  interesting and on topic.)

So afterwards a boy (about 4th grade I'd guess) comes up to me like he wants to say something. And I say, "Have fun reading books!"

His response: "You mean writing them!" And he proceeds to tell me about a story he's writing about a magic train-- "I'm on chapter three!"

His little brother pipes up, "He already published a book when he was only six!"

The mom explains it's the one where you send off an illustrated story and this company binds it for you. (I remember when my kids were in grade school their teachers did that for them. So fun and exciting!)

I asked the young writer his name and he gave me first, middle and last. I'll remember it. One day I hope to see that name on a book cover.

How old were you when you first started writing? When you knew you wanted to be an author someday?

Upon Craving Chick Lit

Lacking any chick lit to read yesterday, I picked up Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, the chick lit author of the 18th century.

Opening Paragraphs:

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

"However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters."

How can you not love this?

A few interesting facts about Jane Austen:

She started writing in her teen years.

Her first novel was Northanger Abbey, although it wasn't published until after her death. Reading it, you can see her development as a writer.

Her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, was self-published in 1811.

She published it and Pride and Prejudice anonymously.

Her stories were based loosely on her own and her family experience.

She had one proposal of marriage, which she accepted then retracted the following day.

She died at age 42.

Her popularity is greater today than ever before.

My own observations:

Austen writes with POV all over the place. Within chapters, even paragraphs, the point of view will change suddenly.

Sometimes it's necessary to reread a section because you really don't know what the heck anyone just said there.

These people are obsessed with money. Everyone talks about how much everyone else has to live on.

It doesn't matter what rules of writing she follows-- it all comes together so well, who cares? You just want more. Give me more Jane Austen. Oh, dear Jane, why did you have to die so young and leave us with only seven novels?

I lOVE a Challenge

The incredible Jackee of Winded Words set out a May challenge that dealt with blogging (adding new blogs & commenting on old and new) and writing x-number of words a day. And the idea was not just to meet goals but to learn things along the way. What I learned:

That I can post 3 times a week instead of 5 and still be happy.

That I can limit my comment time to an hour a day and still keep in touch with my blogging friends. I don't have to comment on every post every time. (Even though I want to, I restrain myself to save time.)

That my world won't collapse around me if I join Twitter and Facebook. (Which I did!)

That I can write an average of 2000 words a day and still keep up with my other responsibilities.

And here's my prize:

Yes, folks, I survived the May Scramble, I got more balance in my life even while adding more social media and writing more words per day. Plus I got a cupcake!!

Thanks, Jackee, for throwing down the gauntlet. Because I can't resist a challenge. Or a cupcake.

Social Media a Must for the Aspiring Author!

It's funny because everywhere I'm reading about blogger/writers unplugging, desperate to find balance, and I'm posting today about more stuff you need to do if you want to get your name out there and develop a following prior to publication, as well as get attention for your book after.

(And prior means NOW, don't even wait until you have an agent or publisher. Don't wait until you finish your manuscript!) If you doubt my word look at what Elana Johnson has done to get a following eagerly waiting for her book to be published. And Talli Roland. Those two ladies rock the blogging world, and we love them and can't wait to buy their books!

Alright, I admit it, I finally joined Twitter. It's not the time suck I thought it would be. I can't tell yet how effective it is for the time spent since I've not experienced it long enough to make a judgment. But it's fun. And fast. I plan on doing more with it. If any of you have input on how well it works as a social media marketing tool, please share in your comments.

I love to see Goodreads icons on blogger/writer sidebars. It's truly one of the most underrated and underused social media sites available for authors. Because it is all about books. You can't say that about Twitter, Facebook or even blogs. IMHO every author and future author must have an account on Goodreads! And work it. Add books, friends and reviews. Don't just use it to plug yourself and your book. Or set up an account then ignore it. (The same principles apply everywhere in social media!)

Can I tell you how excited I was this week to see that several of my blogger buddies had added my books to their Goodreads to-read list? I wanted to turn cartwheels of joy, I felt so loved and supported. Talli's The Hating Game is also showing up everywhere on Goodreads to-read lists, and I'm turning cartwheels of joy for her, too!

If you have a book out, be sure to set up your author profile on Goodreads. It's quite easy to do. Here's mine if you want to check it out, and while you're there please click the friend request! I love to know what everyone's reading!

Another book site is Shelfari, lesser known than Goodreads but pretty much the same deal. I have a shelf of memoirs, etc. on my From the Shadows to the Page blog, since my platform there is about writing from life. So I created the Shelfari shelf specifically for those types of books to be displayed on that blog.

I recently joined Facebook to view family members photos. Other than that I don't plan on doing a lot with it, other than directing traffic to my blogs. Right now I'm all about reading, writing, publishing, marketing books and supporting the author community, not touching base with old friends from high school. Although that might be a pleasant diversion, at this time of my life I don't have time to spend on Facebook.

I've done nothing on You Tube except post the Farm Girl book trailer.  But how many of you saw this the past few days on various blogs? If you think this guy was just having a moan about signing at Waldenbooks, you're mistaken. He's  promoting himself and his books in an entertaining way that has probably gotten lots more attention than any book signing ever would. (I've never heard of him. I'm assuming he's really an author.)

We all have limited time and resources, but don't neglect what will help promote your career as a writer. And right now it is social media. There's lots to choose from. We don't have to do it all, but we've got to really work at what we choose.

Did I leave anything out? What is your preferred social media outlet?

ANNOUNCING THE WINNER!!

Thanks to everyone who supported the Pay it Forward Contest!  Out of over 225 points submitted, we have a winner!

Susan, you win either the $15 Borders gift card, or an analysis of your first three chapters of a manuscript plus query, or I will buy your published book if you have one and do a review on my blog. Email me at karenjonesgowen@gmail.com to let me know which prize you choose.

Congratulations, Susan, and thanks to everyone who participated!