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Who I am versus what I do:
May. 26th, 2014 06:40 amWas reading a book called Horror 101 which is a collection of essays about working in the horror industry. One of them suggested that in social media, topics like politics or religion are best avoided. If you're trying to build up a following, it's best not to be "preachy" or angry or aggressively passionate about such things--essentially for the same reason it's inappropriate to discuss such things at a day job.
I think that's probably accurate. That the blander and less forthcoming you are, the less likely you are to piss people off. But really, who the hell wants that? If I want people to buy the things I write, hiding who I am doesn't seem like the best way to encourage them to do that. After all, my books aren't just stories I thought up, they're things I feel deeply. It seems obvious to me that if you don't like me, you won't like what I write. So if people don't like my books, it might just be because I am an asshole.
Unrelated: Damn, I hope I'm not an asshole.
Slow growth is what they call it when you build your name (or Brand, if you must) by being yourself, interacting with people, and mentioning what you're up to professionally. By doing this, I have gained a small but loyal following of people who seem to like what I do, often sharing or even participating in my scary shenanigans. That is awesome. But I seem to have plateaued. I know I'm doing something wrong, or failing to do something important--but what? It's very frustrating. Not so frustrating though, that I'd be willing to stop talking about things like equality and poverty.
That said, I'm making a concerted effort to be more positive online. More agreeing with people, encouraging them, and much more scrolling past stupid memes and religious crap--while still not letting the big issues slide. Once someone crosses a certain line of dicketry, I begin to feel complicit if I say nothing. But overall, I want to focus more on the positive.
Earlier this week, a man very much like Mikey Goretti in Kiss Me Like You Love Me killed some women for the same reasons Mikey killed them. Part of me actually felt like I should somehow mention that in all the places people pay attention to me--as a way to sell books.
I actually sat down to see if I could think of a way to do that where I wouldn't retch or hate myself afterwards. No luck. Is that what I'm missing? I admit, it would be comfy to claim that I'm not a mega popular writer because I refuse to capitalize on the news of the day.
You know, because morality...or something.
While I have your attention, Buy My Books! Or hook yourself up with a subscription to the mag.
Your first month is FREE.
Still looking for peeps to review the 2nd edition of A Stabbing for Sadie which has some marked improvements from the first version. Right now, it still have zero reviews on Goodreads, which means finding marketing partners is infinitely more difficult. If you bought the first edition, I'll be happy to slide you an eCopy of the new ed for free. Hit me up.
I think that's probably accurate. That the blander and less forthcoming you are, the less likely you are to piss people off. But really, who the hell wants that? If I want people to buy the things I write, hiding who I am doesn't seem like the best way to encourage them to do that. After all, my books aren't just stories I thought up, they're things I feel deeply. It seems obvious to me that if you don't like me, you won't like what I write. So if people don't like my books, it might just be because I am an asshole.
Unrelated: Damn, I hope I'm not an asshole.
Slow growth is what they call it when you build your name (or Brand, if you must) by being yourself, interacting with people, and mentioning what you're up to professionally. By doing this, I have gained a small but loyal following of people who seem to like what I do, often sharing or even participating in my scary shenanigans. That is awesome. But I seem to have plateaued. I know I'm doing something wrong, or failing to do something important--but what? It's very frustrating. Not so frustrating though, that I'd be willing to stop talking about things like equality and poverty.
That said, I'm making a concerted effort to be more positive online. More agreeing with people, encouraging them, and much more scrolling past stupid memes and religious crap--while still not letting the big issues slide. Once someone crosses a certain line of dicketry, I begin to feel complicit if I say nothing. But overall, I want to focus more on the positive.
Earlier this week, a man very much like Mikey Goretti in Kiss Me Like You Love Me killed some women for the same reasons Mikey killed them. Part of me actually felt like I should somehow mention that in all the places people pay attention to me--as a way to sell books.
I actually sat down to see if I could think of a way to do that where I wouldn't retch or hate myself afterwards. No luck. Is that what I'm missing? I admit, it would be comfy to claim that I'm not a mega popular writer because I refuse to capitalize on the news of the day.
You know, because morality...or something.
While I have your attention, Buy My Books! Or hook yourself up with a subscription to the mag.
Your first month is FREE.
Still looking for peeps to review the 2nd edition of A Stabbing for Sadie which has some marked improvements from the first version. Right now, it still have zero reviews on Goodreads, which means finding marketing partners is infinitely more difficult. If you bought the first edition, I'll be happy to slide you an eCopy of the new ed for free. Hit me up.
