How many networks to you belong to?

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Christyp

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I was telling my husband this morning about how ecstatic I was over the critiques at SYW. I then proceeded to complain about the trolls wasting their time....well, trolling instead of writing. (speaking of the trolls who had fun at my expense). That got me thinking...how many networks do we really need to belong to?

I personally am on FB, Twitter, LinkdIn, SheWrites, Goodreads, The Book Network, AW, WD, and some I really can't remember. Now, I obviously don't interact with all of these everyday (or even every week), because I just don't have time, nor enough interesting things to discuss. My hubby challenged me to leave all but one or two. Sounds intriguing...

How many do you belong to? Do you find it useful? Or do you spend most of your time...you know, writing, instead of talking about writing?
 

Alessandra Kelley

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I belong to AW. I recently joined Goodreads because it was recommended and looked helpful. I used to hang around Kindleboards. I'm a veteran member over at eggtempera.com.

Beyond that ... Nah. Nor Facebook nor Twitter nor LinkedIn nor any of those. I finally signed up with a Google account so I could post on people's blogs, but here is where I spend most of my online social time.

But then I'm an artist, not a writer.
 

Maryn

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Just AW. I have a Twitter account, which I believe I've tweeted on two whole times.

I suppose when I have work to promote I'll investigate further what else needs to see my smilin' face. Probably GoodReads, but I'm not sure the others will pay back equal to what they draw from me.

Maryn, old fuddy-duddy
 

Hiroko

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I have a Facebook author page (with absolutely nothing going on there), a blog, this website, and...I believe that is it.
Obviously I get traffic to my blog largely from this website, and while I actively read/comment on other blogs, the Facebook thing right now is very lackluster. Of course, this might be because I haven't an actual following or anything up for sale yet...
 

Filigree

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I'm here as Filigree, on Google+, LinkedIn, and Artists Books 3.0 as someone else, and I've abandoned my Facebook page as a complete waste of time. Maybe when I have something solid to promote in my writing (and I know what name I'm using), I'll invest time into Faceplant. I don't even have a Twitter account (do I really need to know -- or share -- so many details of day-to-day life?)
 

kaitie

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Just this. And this takes up more than enough of my time as is. I couldn't imagine being on anything else.
 

GreenEpic

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I'm on AW, Facebook, Google+, and a never used Twitter acount.

AW has pretty much taken over my life, in a good way.
 

Becky Black

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I have a blog on Wordpress that I update every weekend (and inbetween if some news comes up, of course.) I've created a monthly schedule for it, so I have a particular type of entry for each weekend of the month, which as least gives me a head start on coming up with something to write about! I set myself a target at the start of the year to update it every weekend without fail and I've kept to that so far. (The "schedule a post for later" option, and being able to deploy posts from the WP app on my phone have been useful for keeping to that a couple of times!)

I've given in to the peer pressure and made a Page on Facebook for my pen name. My Wordpress blog automatically posts to it, and I post other things sometimes. I'm not that big a Facebook fan, but I'm getting more comfortable with it. I do prefer the Page rather than Profile for my author self, for people to Like rather than Friend. That just suits me more.

I've had a Live Journal account for years. It may be a bit old fashioned, but it's where I feel happiest. I use that a lot - though for some reason a little less than I used to. It's not for heavy "promotion" really, just sort of a "what am I up to and what am I thinking and wittering about right now" and to interact with other writers and friends.

Goodreads I joined back in 2009 and got an author profile in January this year when my first novel came out. I use it a lot, but still mostly as a reader. Like with Facebook it automagically picks up my Wordpress posts to be my author blog on Goodreads. I've never got too heavily into the groups on there, some of the likely ones would be a huge time suck for me.

I've marked my spot to Google+, but am not impressed with it and haven't done anything on it so far. LinkedIn doesn't really seem like it would be useful to me. I've got a Tumblr, but only just started to play with that. Not done much with it yet.

AW I'm on, obviously. And the NaNoWriMo boards, especially in NaNo season - like now!

Twitter is where I'm especially active. I love Twitter. I will post promotional tweets of course when there's some news, but mostly I'm just, well, twittering on. Sort of promoting myself - or at least my writing persona - as (I hope!) someone interesting, engaging, funny, approachable.

It's also a great place to collect interesting links, especially if you follow lots of writers, as I do. I save up those and other links in One Note and post a list of the best ones once a month on my Wordpress blog. So that gets me some continuing value out of what is otherwise "here now, gone in ten minutes" content on Twitter.

I've also set it up so that when I post to Live Journal, Wordpress or a Goodreads update it automatically tweets a link to that, to hopefully drive people from my Twitter feed to my sites with more permanent content on them.

Also, Twitter is just FUN. I was on a while it before I was published, though I ended up creating a new account for my pen name and leaving my old one behind. (I know, I could have just changed the name, I did with Live Journal, but a new account was just the way it worked out.

I think there's no set rules for which sites you have to use. And trying to use all of them just takes too much time and makes you start to feel like you're repeating yourself. It's better to find a couple of sites that you're actually comfortable on and use them, than try to use one you don't really get and have no enthusiasm for using.

If you do use more than one, I think it's good for have to be different purposes to each of them. My Wordpress blog is one where I do regular entries once a week, of fairly formal blog posts. Live Journal I update ever couple of days usually, with more personal stuff about how the writing is going, and other things on my mind. Facebook is (or at least heading that way) primarily news. Twitter I'll be on several times a day posting the usual nonsense people post on Twitter, and replying to other people's nonsense. So anyone following me on all of those shouldn't feel as if they are reading the same thing over and over. For example, I'd post on my Live Journal that I've put up a blog entry on Wordpress, but I wouldn't actually cross post the whole blog entry on Live Journal. I keep some separation between the different venues and what I do on each.
 
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AW fills all my crack-laced internet needs.

I'm on Goodreads but I recently deleted my blog links there, friends, groups I'd joined. Why? I never use it. I don't see the point. As readers we're told to voice our opinions. As writers we're told not to. So I don't know whether or not to review books there. There's plenty of erotic romance I read that's shite, but you know my luck -- I'd end up having to work with some special snowflake someday after giving them a one-star.

So anyway. I'm thinking of deleting my author profile there altogether.

I'm on Twitter and I have a blog.

Can't stand Facebook, don't 'get' Google+, don't know what LinkedIn is, don't want to know.

I'd rather just spend my time writing. Or, y'know...pissing away a few hours on AW. ;)
 

jeffo20

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I'm here, and I have a blog. I try not to spend too much time on either one. My facebook page has the security settings maxed. I look at it at most once/day, usually less often than that, because it mostly seems so inane, and there are a couple of friend requests that have been languishing on the vine since I created the page.
 

heyjude

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I'm on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Goodreads, but I mostly use those for personal stuff. AW is where it's at. :)
 

Linda Adams

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In addition to AW, also Forward Motion and HTTS. I also have a blog I update about once a week and a Twitter account, both of which I'm using to build my brand and figure out how to market my book. I am a member of Good Reads also, though not a frequent poster there. Plus I'm on FB, but that's because most of my family across the country is on there.
 

AlwaysJuly

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Here, Twitter, and I have a blog.

I do Facebook, but that's just for me and my high school/college friends to stay in touch. No writing related stuff (though I did get one friend request from a fan... once... it seems a wee bit early for a writing FB account).
 

Christyp

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What I'm curious about is the exposure. Is there such a thing as too much? An agent told me once to make sure I "get out there. Make sure people see my name. Make it easy to google" myself. Well, you can most definitely google me, but I'm still sitting here with no agent, and no big publishing deal.

Then again, that may very well be my fault for taking bad advice and self pubbing...
 
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I don't know if this applies to everyone, but there are readers I won't buy because they keep banging on about their books, their books, their books. It's all promo, promo, promo and no engaging with others.

That's the trick, I think. Treating people as people, not potential readers. Which they are of course, but there are plenty of authors, some on this very site, who treat followers/friends/contacts as minions rather than...you know...people.
 

Christyp

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I don't know if this applies to everyone, but there are readers I won't buy because they keep banging on about their books, their books, their books. It's all promo, promo, promo and no engaging with others.

That's the trick, I think. Treating people as people, not potential readers. Which they are of course, but there are plenty of authors, some on this very site, who treat followers/friends/contacts as minions rather than...you know...people.

One of my favorite authors replies to every single comment left on her FB page. It takes her days at times, but she still does it. I assume she sets aside a specific time just for talking with her fans.
 

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I've got my URL/blog, FB, Twitter, GoodReads, and I'm here.

AW for me is more for lurking and learning (look at my join date and post count). I do the promo stuff (just did a heap of it, as it's launch week for my latest), because what the hell, why not.

I also promo here because every book I finish can be at least slightly attributed to the community here. Encouragement, what-not-to-do, boosts over the my-god-I-suck days, etc. When I was just starting, I got a lot of energy from seeing other travelers succeed, and the law of energy conservation means I have to put the energy back into the system ;)

My URL exists mainly to control my own Google results. I blog when I remember/have the energy.

FB profile page is an animated corpse. The FB author page is a little more lively, but not much. I'm pretty active on Twitter because I'm on Twitter for clients all day, and it's easy enough to click over to my author tab in HootSuite and horse around with people.

Goodreads... I've got my author profile, and I've reviewed a bunch of books not in my genre. But to be honest, I'm a lot more active on GR under my real name with my full book collection.

I dunno how much I buy the "gotta be super active" advice. Some of the most successful writers I know have no presence online that their publishers didn't pay for.
 
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Duh. I said 'readers' in my above post. Should have been 'writers' of course. My bad.
 

Linda Adams

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What I'm curious about is the exposure. Is there such a thing as too much? An agent told me once to make sure I "get out there. Make sure people see my name. Make it easy to google" myself. Well, you can most definitely google me, but I'm still sitting here with no agent, and no big publishing deal.

Then again, that may very well be my fault for taking bad advice and self pubbing...

What you're probably looking for is branding. Something that when people see your name they instantly know that they're going to get X and X in their books. It's tough because there is a lot out there for people to sort through, and you have to be able to stand out. Plus, it's not something where you can just post something and overnight people will find you. You have to keep getting yourself out there, even when it looks like no one is paying attention. After all, how can someone Google you if they don't know you exist. You have to make them aware you exist by consistently working social media.
 

Polenth

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The ones I use regularly are my blog and Twitter. My Facebook fan page is just for bare bones announcements, for those who don't want the extra stuff that gets posted to the blog and Twitter. AW is the only forum I post to regularly (I do post to the NaNoWriMo boards, but only in NaNo season).

I have accounts in various other places, but I'm not active in all of them. You can link some to show Twitter or blog feeds, so the account acts as a redirection for people interested. For some, it's just good to have control over what's shown (such as Goodreads... taking control of my author page means I get to write my bio). The other places don't take very long to sort, as they need minimal maintenance.

I think it's best to pick a couple to focus on, or you'll end up spreading yourself too thin.

What I'm curious about is the exposure. Is there such a thing as too much? An agent told me once to make sure I "get out there. Make sure people see my name. Make it easy to google" myself. Well, you can most definitely google me, but I'm still sitting here with no agent, and no big publishing deal.

You're not going to get a book deal on social media alone, unless you have an amazingly popular blog. It does help when you start publishing though. It's a way of keeping interested people around, rather than them drifting away and forgetting about you. Each time I publish something, my network grows. This is obviously useful... but it doesn't replace writing a great story.

And there is the issue of what you post. People like useful content (for blogs) and socialness (on Twitter). They don't like being promoted at. If you want people to stick around, you have to provide something valuable to them. Which basically means you have to talk about something other than your work, and talk to people about things they're interested in. Approach it more like you would if you were at a party and wanted to meet people.
 

Shadow_Ferret

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I don't network. I don't even like the term. I'm a human being, not a computer hooked up to an impersonal set of electronic systems.

I'm a human being.

I socialize.

That said, I have AW, Facebook, Twitter, G+, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Goodreads, NetworkedBlogs, Blip.fm, and used to have MySpace until it went to complete crap, to name just a few.
 

juniper

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One of my favorite authors replies to every single comment left on her FB page. It takes her days at times, but she still does it. I assume she sets aside a specific time just for talking with her fans.

That might be her assistant, or a publicist, who posts messages. A lot of famous folks do it that way. Just like in the old days, when the movie studios had people in the mailroom who answered fan mail.
 
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