Feb 22, 2016 |
Here’s a not-so-secret: I love social media. It’s where I connect with others, share my life, promote authors and their projects, and yes, play my fair amount of Candy Crush. I know. Gaming isn’t the same as social media. But when all you have to offer is candy life, it counts, okay?
But not everyone feels the same. I can’t quite get my head around what I’m about to say, but I hear tell there are actually people out there who dislike social media.
Can you imagine? People who would rather get a tooth pulled than post a status update, or swallow castor oil rather than share a photo. Yes, there are actually people like this out there. I’m not naming names, but I’ve met them.
Of course, by no means do I even pretend to fully understand them, but I try.
Then, of course, you have your people who want to wade into the water but aren’t sure how. Do they dive in? How deep? Which pool? Do they know how to swim, or at least stay afloat? Can they survive in the treacherous seas of social media?
Folks, I’m so glad you asked. That’s where I come in. For the better part of a year, I’ve been slowly developing a platform to assist others develop their social media presence, as well as managing media for other people.
How To Do Social Media for People Who Are Antisocial
It was going to be a blog post but I realized it’s so much bigger than that. I currently run a semi-monthly column for the newsletter of the California Writers Club, High Desert Branch. I offer one-on-one consultations to help local writers start their internet experience. And now it’s turning into a platform, presentation, and potential book!
Last week I was given a monthly contributing blogger spot on Edie Melson’s blog, The Write Conversation. [Check me out the third Monday of each month, starting in March.] As the social media diva herself, she’s one of my go-to girls whenever I have a social media question. We met last year at Blue Ridge and I was so thrilled to participate in her social media course.
Edie Melson, Social Media Steampunk, and Molly Jo Realy, Woman of Mystery, at BRMCWC
She told me
“I hope you’ll stay in touch. We’re cut from the same cloth, and you’re going places.”
Now how could I not share that with my social media world?
And since when it rains it pours here in the desert, I was also given the opportunity to lead this week’s Firsts in Fiction podcast. The theme? You guessed it: Social Media. I’m typically the heckler of the group, the one who keeps the chat room chatting and throws “shut up!”s to Aaron and Al as we converse on the art of writing fiction.
Last week we had a few questions on how to develop social media so Aaron suggested I take the next episode and run with it. Right when I’d gotten used to thinking of myself as just another pretty face . . .
How do you do social media? Join Firsts in Fiction this Tuesday at 6:30 PST and let’s have some fun.
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
Oct 13, 2015 |
So y’all know I hang with Aaron Gansky and associates, right? I mean, who could forget when Aaron, Beckie and I flew out to Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference a few months ago? [Read: And They Say Getting There is Half the Fun . . . ]
The Three Writing Amigos. . . and a Photobombing Flight Attendant
Long before the trip, I started running Aaron’s social media in exchange for his writing mentoring. Not a bad trade, eh? It has the added bonus of hanging with his family at least once a month when we play Magic The Gathering and eat food.
And, well, I am a social person. I know, I know . . . you’re shocked by this admission. What can I say? Not everyone is, however. Which makes me a great fit for Aaron’s social media ninja.
How To Do Social Media For People Who Are Antisocial
Yup. That’s a thing I’m working on. It was going to be a blog post. Then it evolved into a presentation. It’s been translated into workshops and now it’s growing up into it’s very own book. I’m so proud of my antisocial baby!
Ah, but back to the task at hand. Working for Aaron has its perks. Like pizza. Did I mention the pizza?
The Biltmore Pizza, Asheville Brewing Co.
So here’s how it all ties in together. I’m earning my way back to next year’s BRMCWC and more Biltmore pizza on my plate. See what I did there? Yeah, Naomi and Aaron are always mentioning how much I have on my plate, and how a great portion of it is his social media. But if it gets me more pizza, I’m so ready for more plates. Fine bone china, blue pattern, if you please.
I’ll take on as many plates as I can manage, if it means I’m being well fed. And let’s face it: Being well fed includes food for the body, the soul, and the creative part as well, yes?
So let me introduce you to Aaron’s Firsts in Fiction weekly podcast. Every Tuesday at 6:30 PM PST, we gather ’round the computer monitor and tell tales. Okay, sort of. We do meet at 6:30. Aaron and his dad, Al Gansky, interview guests on a live video feed while I facilitate the chat room. We cover all fiction-related topics from writing to editing to promoting to contests to favorite endings to overcoming writer’s block to . . . you get the picture.
I’m sort of a chatty cathy and I guess they picked up on that, because last month they made me official PRODUCER of the podcast. So not much has changed in what I do, just how I do it. Now I’m privy to early behind-the-scenes discussions. I get to video-meet our guests and do my ninja magic on air.
If you’ve seen the podcast recently (and by recently, I mean the last three weeks), you’ve also seen me looking at my phone a lot. No, I’m not bored. I’m tweeting. Sharing. Linking. Liking. Getting whatever visibility I can for the #podcast.
And then it dawned on me. DUH. I did. I literally said, “DUH.” To no one but the cats, but that’s another story and I’m sure Lizzie Cat will tell you all about when her computer privileges are restored. So anyway, I said DUH and figured, why not let my own peeps in on the fun?
All you have to do is follow Firsts in Fiction on GooglePlus and join the chat each Tuesday.
Which happens to be today. Huh. That worked out favorably, didn’t it?
Oh, and tonight’s guests? Bill Myers and Angela Hunt. Two of Al’s three writing partners for the Harbingers series. [Check out Al’s newest part, The Fog, at Amazon.]
So if you’re interested in writing, are a fan of Harbingers, or just like to hang out, you know where to find us. I’d love to meet you in the chat room. Let’s put some more pizza on that plate, okay?
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote!
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