And So We Come to the End

This is the last post I’ll be making here at The Bluestocking Blog.

But never fear. This doesn’t signify an end to my writing or blogging for that matter. I’m just switching over to a new domain:

laurencteffeau.com

When I first started this blog, I had no publication credits and no real clue to what I was doing. All I knew is that I wanted to write and blogging seemed like a good way to plant my flag, so to speak.

But my ever-present insecurity demanded that I do so under an alias. I started posting, was pleasantly surprised as I made connections with other writers, and slowly built a platform for myself.

Now, however, that identity is starting to chafe. I’m not a beginning writer anymore. I still have things to learn, mind you, but I’ve progressed to a point where I feel comfortable with what I do and the skill level I’ve achieved. I’ve made two pro sales in the last two months and had accrued a respectable number of credits before that. It’s time to fully own my identity as a writer, and I feel I can best do that with my new site.

But first, a look back.

The Bluestocking Blog Stats:

1,452 days active (just over four years!)
214 posts
over 69,000 hits
over 7,000 unique visitors
10 short story credits
4 novels written

Top posts:

Nefarious Narrative Distance
Resource Roundup Part 1 – Finding the Right Word 
Resource Roundup Part 4 – Opening Your Story
Resource Roundup Part 2 – Conjuring Up Titles
Coffee Shop Etiquette 

Not bad for an alias.

So please follow me to my new site at laurencteffeau.com or stay connected with me on twitter. And, as always, happy writing!

Photo courtesy of Olivander of Flickr

The End of the Year as We Know It

And I feel fine.

I feel totally fine with saying goodbye to 2013.

It’s been a year of transition for me. I went into it with a lot of momentum—finishing and polishing another novel, writing four short stories, one anthology sale, two workshops, a Worldcon, a new crit group, and making handful of new writing friends. In fact, all told, that’s just the first half of 2013.

The rest of this year, I’ve been sidelined dealing with a family member’s illness. Productivity came to a screeching halt, writing time evaporated, and all that momentum has turned into regret at what-could-have-beens.

So yeah. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out, 2013. I’ve got my eye on the horizon and what 2014 will bring. It’s going to be good. I can feel it.

Image by Amodiovalerio Verde of Flickr

What to expect next January? Well, more natterings on about my writing process, some subtle changes to the blog, maybe even some good news. A girl can hope!

In the meantime, whatever you celebrate, have a wonderful next few weeks and a happy New Year!

A Secret Vacation from Social Media

I’m baaack…

If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, that’s a good thing. Because I worked hard to make it seem like I was here even though I wasn't.

I’ve taken time off the blog before—a week every now and again for vacation, the holidays, or whenever real life gets too crazy.

But when I found out I’d be joining my husband for a three-week trip to Germany and Spain, I was left with a tough choice. Either let the blog go dark for an obscenely long time or work harder than I’d like to keep the blog up-to-date.

I chose the later option while I spent the majority of this past month in Europe. And here’s how.

Get Organized

I was lucky in that I had advance notice of our travel dates. So I created a list of priorities that I wanted to accomplish before leaving town. Everything from reaching certain milestones on my various projects, ensuring all my critiquing obligations were met, and preparing blog posts in advance.

Knowing what I needed to run when was hugely beneficial. In my early blogging days, I always had a blog post or two ready to go in case I needed it. However, that fell off as my writing obligations increased. But it was good to remember just how smoothly things could go with the right preparations in place.

Get Tech

The post scheduling feature on Blogger (also available on Wordpress) also helped tremendously. Although we were told we’d have internet access at the hotels we were staying at over the course of our trip, who knew how that would work out in actuality (Spain had the worst internet b-t-dubs). That combined with the time difference and the fact that I would be more focused on having a fantastic time in Europe instead of micromanaging my social media, it made sense to have my posts ready to go in advance.

The other tool in my arsenal? Tweet Deck. Some of you are already familiar with it, I’m sure, but I just started using it this Spring, and it’s “schedule tweets” feature was hugely helpful in creating the illusion I was still around in the digital ether. Took the spontaneity out of my tweet stream, yes, but it was a big help keeping my Twitter profile active.

Get Help

But in the end, I didn’t do it alone. When I found out I’d be gone, I solicited help from a few of my writerly friends. I staggered their interviews between regular posts, which lessened the burden on me to create new content.

In case you missed them, be sure you check out the interviews with some great fellow writers I have the utmost respect for:

May 22^nd – Catherine Schaff-Stump

June 5^th – Lori M. Lee

June 19^th – Fran Wilde 

I was happy I could keep the social media machine rolling while I was away, even though it required a lot of work. What techniques or shortcuts do you rely on to stay on top of your social media obligations?

Shifting Priorities

How is it March already?

What started out as a one-week break from the blog turned into two. And the only reason I’ve been remiss is because I’ve been slammed lately.

My critiquing responsibilities skyrocketed since the fall when I joined a new writing group. We meet monthly, and the week before, each member submits anywhere between 30 to 100 pages of their WIPs. Then those pages need to be read and responded to in time for the meeting. Needless to say, when that week rolls around each month, critiquing has to be the first priority.

My own writing often has to be put on hold, and that means my blog as well. I’m also a member of another writing group that meets weekly, so I sometimes have to be creative with how I divvy up my time.

This month another variable was added to the equation—my editorial pass on the collaborative project I wrote about a few weeks ago. 70k that needed extensive line and developmental edits. Hence the radio silence on the blog.

Now, I wouldn’t trade joining the new writing group or working on the project for anything. But sometimes something has to give, and more often than not, that’s this blog.

I’ve been blogging now for three years. When I started, conventional wisdom was that you needed to do social media all the time. Now, slowly but surely, people are starting to back away from that.

In fact, in a post earlier this week, Jane Friedman ofWriter Unboxed said:

If you’re a totally new, unpublished writer who is focused on fiction, memoir, poetry, or any type of narrative-driven work, forget you ever heard the word platform. I think it’s causing more damage than good. It’s causing writers to do things that they dislike (even hate), and that are unnatural for them at an early stage of their careers. They’re confused, for good reason, and platform building grows into a raging distraction from the work at hand—the writing.

Do I regret blogging? Absolutely not. I enjoy it and I’ve enjoyed the connections I’ve made because of blogging. But that doesn’t mean I always enjoy the time and energy it takes to maintain one.

Especially when it comes up against my own writing time and professional responsibilities.

So that’s where I’m at. If I’m not here, I’m writing. Which is how it should be.

Potpourri to Start 2013

So it’s been awhile. Between the holidays, houseguests, and a mystery illness during the majority of December, I haven’t had a whole lot of energy for the blog. But it’s a new year and a new beginning for all things writerly.

A few announcements to get me caught up:

• First, applications are now being accepted for Taos Toolbox 2013. I found it to be a great experience and made a lot of writer friends through it. So if you want to take your craft to the next level, expand your network, and spend two weeks in the mountains of northern New Mexico, get your application in. 

• I’m now reading slush for Masque Books, Prime Books’s new digital imprint. So if you have a great speculative story, check out the submission guidelines and send it in! 


• Duotrope is no more—at least not in a format I can support since they now charge for access to the most useful parts of the site. This is disappointing, as I was a heavy user and proponent of the site, but such is life. If you are looking for a Duotrope alternative, check out THIS POST for your options. Happy subbing! 


• Finally, be sure to check out L. Blankenship’s Kickstarter for the continuation of her hard fantasy romance series. After successfully funding Disciple, Part I, you can pre-order Part II. I was one of L.’s betas on this project, and I highly recommend it! Samples are available through the Kickstarter page. 

I hope 2013 is off to a fabulous start for all of you. Happy writing!

Rebuilding Momentum

I’ve been a bit of a slacker lately. At least as far as my blog goes. I haven’t been able to post for the last couple of weeks. In fact this place would be a ghost town if I didn’t have comments from spammers to keep me company. Thanks, guys. Or, umm, bots.

But although the blog may not show it, I’ve been rather busy this last couple of months. Lots of writing going on, and there’s also been an uptick in my critiquing responsibilities. Then I had family in town for Thanksgiving. I basically spent the week before the holiday cooking and cleaning like a madwoman and the week of trying to stay sane. I survived, but just barely.

And now? Now, it’s back to the writing routine and my much-abused blog. I’ll be dusting off the cobwebs so to speak these coming weeks, so please bear with me.

In the meantime, here are some helpful links to help you stay productive:

• Necessary Tasks Doesn’t Mean Productive Ones by the Daring Novelist
• When Bad Things Happen to Productive People from 99u
• 10 Tips for a Productive Writing Day by the Blood Red Pencil
• How to be Productive and Still Get 8 Hours Sleep from Work Awesome
• Adapting your writing routine for the holidays and, in a related way, kids’ summer vacations,  both by Elizabeth Spann Craig

Happy writing, and see you next Wednesday!

Next Big Thing Meme

I was recently tagged by Fran Wilde, a fellow writer and friend I met at Taos Toolbox, to talk about my current Work-in-Progress. Be sure to learn more about her WIP Bone Arrow, Glass Tooth, which I had the privilege of reading part of at the workshop.

1. What is the title of your Work in Progress?

Fireproof

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

Well, for starters, it wasn’t always a book. It started out as a short story. My response to a particularly bad season of wildfires—one actually got very close to my house. I wondered what it would be like to live under threat of fires all the time, how that would define you as a person and shape your culture. And the idea evolved from there.

Around that time, Wily Writers announced their YA post-apocalyptic theme, and I wanted to submit Fireproof. But I soon realized that wasn’t possible—my short stories are often novels in disguise, and Fireproof was one of them. So I set it aside and wrote Chicken Feet (which was accepted by Wily Writers and later reprinted in The Shining Cities anthology). I then returned to Fireproof with the new goal of fleshing it out as a novel.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

YA Science Fiction

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Let’s see if it gets picked up first.

5. What is a one-sentence synopsis of the book?

I hate writing these. How about a paragraph?

Tanwen’s father trained her to be a survivor, but the colony will train her to be a spy. When a rogue collective takes aim at the colony’s water supply, she’s ordered to infiltrate enemy territory. Away from her family and friends, Tanwen must come to terms with all she thought she knew about her life. And when her mission objective changes from recon to sabotage, she’ll learn what’s really worth saving.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Representation, I hope. One day. Fingers crossed!

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

The idea was kicking around in my head Spring/Summer of 2011. Starting in Fall 2011, I started treating it as a novel and had a full draft by late Spring 2012. It’s complete and polished and I’m largely pleased with it, but still making the occasional tweak.

8. What other books would you compare this story to in your genre?

The dreaded comparables question? I think this meme hates me ;)

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

See Q2. I also wanted to explore a couple different themes:

• Sacrificing what you want for the good of the community
• How specialized education/skillsets can lock you into unwanted trajectories
• We don’t have to repeat the mistakes of our parents
• Grief and all the different shapes it takes
• And, of course, hope in the future

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

The southwestern setting is a huge part of the story, despite its SF trappings. Many elements are rooted in the culture and the people who make the high desert their home—and some things were ripped straight from the headlines. Granted most readers won’t care about all that, but it was important for me to have that extra layer of authenticity.

I also wanted to present a possible, if not probable, apocalyptic scenario because so many other books gloss over what happens in the past. In Fireproof, the connections between what happened and its impact on the resulting society are tightly drawn, showing the messy transition from apocalyptic event to resulting post-apocalyptic society. One of my trusted readers called it a pre-post-apocalyptic story, which is awkward to say, but in some ways accurately captures my intention.

***

Thanks again to Fran Wilde for tagging me!

Delayed Miscellany

I forgot to post this Wednesday, but life and writing happened, so I’m not too repentant.

If you didn’t know, Gearing Up to Get an Agent (#GUTGAA) is going on right now, and I’ve been busy polishing my own pitch and critiquing others this week. And I got the good news this morning that I successfully entered the preliminary round for agent judging. Yay! Even if I don't move on to the next round, my pitch has already benefited from entering.

I was also bestowed the Very Inspiring Blogger Award by the wonderful Jen McConnel. If you haven’t checked her out, you need to as she blogs about the writing life and provides insightful book reviews.

As a Very Inspiring Blogger Award recipient, I need to post seven interesting things about myself. Since I’ve done variations on this before, I’ll stick to writing-related things this time around.

1.  My Wily Writers story "Chicken Feet" is being reprinted in Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s The Shining Cities: An Anthology of Pagan Science Fiction. "Chicken Feet" is about a young girl who makes chicken foot ornaments, an aspect of Hoodoo culture, to survive a post-apocalyptic world. So please check out the anthology and the other great stories it contains.

2.  I won a partial request in this month’s Secret Agent contest through Miss Snark’s First Victim. Here’s a hint—it was for my YA SF story I’ve been working on. Keep your fingers crossed for me. And get your logline ready for the Third Annual Baker's Dozen Agent Auction coming up later this year.

3.  I’m joining a new in-person writing group. I’m still keeping my current group of course, but this new group is comprised of members a little further along in their writing journey (think pro sales and book deals). I’m lucky to have been invited, and the first session is this weekend. Hopefully I’ll have more to share about this soon.

4.  I went to my first SF/F convention two weekends ago. And I lived to tell about it! It was a local convention, and much more focused on books and trends than fandom, which I appreciated. Worldcon didn’t make sense for me this year, but I’ll definitely be attending next year when it’s in San Antonio.

5.  I received my print of the cover illustration for the Fat Girl in a Strange Land Anthology – a reward I received for supporting their Kickstarter campaign to pay pro rates and bring back their magazine. I’m going to frame it and hang it along with the illustration for my story in the Memory Eater Anthology in my office. Cuz yeah I’m a dork like that—and I need all the inspiration and encouragement I can get sometimes.

6.  Elizabeth Craig will be interviewing me in an upcoming edition of the Writers Knowledge Database newsletter. If you haven’t signed up (which you can do here), you are missing out. The Writers Knowledge Database is a great way to find resources on craft, publishing trends, you name it.

7.  Finally, I picked up a copy of Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence after reading Janice Hardy’s interview with author Lisa Cron. This is the first craft book I’ve felt compelled to read in a long time. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Okay... That's it for me. Have a wonderful weekend and happy writing!

Kreativ Blogger Award

Last week, I was awarded the Kreativ Blogger award.

Yay! But the award comes with a price.

RULE 1 – Thank and link back to the awarding blog.

Thanks goes to Elizabeth Twist, a blogging buddy of mine, who has been equal parts entertaining in her posts about some of the more esoteric and creepy parts of our world (check out her A to Z challenge series) and inspiring in her ability to take some of the weirder calls out there and make story magic.

Thanks so much, Elizabeth!

RULE 2 – Answer the following seven questions:

1. Name one song you listened to over and over as a teenager.

George Gershwin's Cuban Overture. I'm not kidding. In fact, I listened to only classical music until my freshman year of high school. That's when my friends had an intervention, and it was alternative and indie rock from then on out. Now I listen to just about anything that's not super hard-core rap, metal, or country *shudder*

2. What's your favorite dessert?

Anything chocolate. This is usually a good place to start (and it's as good as it sounds). Though now that summer is less than a month away, there's nothing better than a slice of key lime pie on a warm evening.

3. What do you do when you're upset?

That depends. Are we talking upset-sad or upset-mad? The former involves some sort of alone time where I read or listen to music to distract me. The latter usually involves me playing a shoot-em-up video game so I don't bite someone's head off.

4. Which is your favorite pet?

Umm...I have just the one. And how could she not be my favorite?

5. Which do you prefer? White or whole wheat?

Whole wheat. Unless it's Thanksgiving. My family's traditional stuffing calls for white bread. Nom.

6. What is your biggest fear?

Failure. That and spiders.

7. Do you think it is better to help people or leave them alone?

My initial thought is that people should have the freedom to fail (or succeed) on their own terms. You learn a lot more that way. And some things can't be taught, only experienced. That said, there's a greater potential for karma points when you help others. So it depends, on both the person needing the help and the situation.

RULE 3 – Provide ten five random factoids about yourself.

• I really hate talking about myself.
• I can crack my jaw.
• I only get pedicures for the calf massage.
• I was born on Good Friday.
• I am allergic to cats. Plus they take over your mind.

***
Thanks again, Elizabeth, for the Kreativ Blogger award! Be sure to check out her blog or on twitter.

Balancing Promotion

We’ve all seen the twitter streams that read something like: Buy my book. Check out this review. Buy my book! Pretty please? Tell your friends.

I usually don’t bother following back folks like this because, for me, twitter is all about content. If I don’t like your content or find it to be redundant or annoying, I’ll delete your follow notification without a second thought. Same with blogs that are solely focused on promotion.

I used to think these people were desperate and/or looking to make a quick buck. But as I started getting some of my own stories published, I realized promotion is hard.

Well, yes, I know that is rather obvious. But knowing it and experiencing it are different. At least for me.

I was fortunate enough to have a couple of stories come out around the same time. And of course I wanted to share the news with the readers of this blog. Since I’ve been posting approximately once a week, these more promotion-oriented posts became more prominent, simply because there wasn’t my more standard content to balance them out.

I could have delayed the announcements, spread them out a bit more, but there’s also the publisher’s expectation that I’ll be promoting my work as well to support the publication.

What to do? On the one hand, I’m diluting my own content with promotion posts. On the other, I’m not exactly forcing you to visit the blog from your google reader or what-have-you, so there’s no reason to not post what I want to post.

Then with the Kickstarter campaign for the Memory Eater anthology (which was successful!), I not only posted an interview with the editor and a contest opportunity, but I was also tweeting just under once a day about the anthology and the crowdsourcing campaign.

When I saw how much the Memory Eater tweets were taking over my stream, I started being more diligent by including other types of content (daily writing observations, RTs and other resources) to better space out the promotion tweets. That way I was still doing what I could to support the campaign, but I wasn’t totally drowning my followers with promo either. At least that was the intention.

And all this hand wringing and promotional effort went into just a couple of short stories.

I’m beginning to understand why folks with a book (or books) that they’ve devoted so much time to creating get so darn aggressive in promoting the hell out of them.

So here are my (admittedly limited) insights into balancing promotion:

Promotion is sometimes necessary, and that’s ok. After all, why blog or tweet in the first place if you’re not promoting yourself? Give yourself permission to celebrate your victories. Publishing is hard enough without feeling guilty about promoting your achievements. The people who are interested in you and your work will be interested in learning about your successes.

But don’t forget about your primary mission in blogging and tweeting. Here, my goal is to talk about the writing life, which covers a wide range of topics. I need to remember that some people appreciate my more resource-oriented posts versus ones where I talk about my story ideas. So we’re back to balance, in all things.

When gearing up for a promotion blitz, try not to dilute your normal content/brand too much. You don’t want to be that person people start to unfollow because you got too aggressive pushing your work. Remember the line: “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” Consider promotion as the medicine, and your job is to have enough sugar going on, people don’t mind the medicine part so much.

Try to find ways to add value to your promotion efforts. This can feel like a transparent strategy, but it is a good way to talk about your publications without lowering your standards for quality content. Interviews with an anthology editor, the submission process for finding the right fit, the worldbuilding behind a particular story… These are all posts with more substance than just “Read my work.”

***
Best of luck in your own promotion efforts and finding the balance that works best for you! And if you’ve had the good fortune of having something to promote, what strategies did you employ to get the word out?

Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ!

A smile. An encouraging word. A thoughtful gesture. Each day people interact with us, help, and make our day a bit brighter and full. This is especially true in the Writing Community. 

Take a second to think about writers you know, like the critique partner who works with you to improve your manuscript. The writing friend who listens, supports and keeps you strong when times are tough. The author who generously offers council, advice and inspiration when asked.

So many people take the time to make us feel special, don't they? They comment on our blogs, re-tweet our posts, chat with us on forums and wish us well on our writing journeys.

Kindness ROCKS! 
 
To commemorate the release of their book The Emotion Thesaurus, Becca and Angela at The Bookshelf Muse are hosting a TITANIC Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ. And because I think KINDNESS is contagious, I'm participating too!

I am picking L. Blankenship, who has provided me with invaluable feedback and insight into my short stories and novels. For my RAOK gift, I'm sending her an autographed copy of Jane Lindskold's Through Wolf's Eyes, since I know she is such a fan of hard fantasy! 

So be sure to check out L. Blankenship, who blogs at Notes from the Jovian Frontier on Tuesday and Thursdays as well as contributes to Science in my Fiction.

Do you know someone special that you'd like to randomly acknowledge? Don't be shy--come join us and celebrate! Send them an email, give them a shout out, or show your appreciation in another way. Kindness makes the world go round.

Becca and Angela have a special RAOK gift waiting for you as well, so hop on over to The Bookshelf Muse to pick it up.

Writing in First Person - Revisited

A long long time ago, I said I’d start writing solely in first person as my New Year’s resolution for 2011:

Based on feedback and my own instincts, I know character voice and reader empathy are weak points in my other stories. I’m just not going deep enough. And for a long time, I wasn’t sure what more I could do besides revising and reworking until the words blurred into nothingness. I made progress, yes, but it’s an arduous time-consuming process.

But now I think I know how to tackle this issue: by writing in the first person, even when I know I’ll revert back into 3rd person at some later stage of the project. By stripping away the artifice of she’s and he’s and making it all about me me me, I hope I’ll be able to strengthen my own engagement with my characters and up the emotional intensity and interest for my readers. (From First Person Works For Me)

Recently I received this comment from Motormind on that post:

And thought it was as good a time as any to revisit this and talk about this shift in my writing.

Yes, the writing in first person has worked quite well for me. I’m also writing a lot more… So it’s difficult to say whether experience hasn’t also had a hand in my improvements. But it’s also telling that the short stories I’ve sold so far, and have written since, have all been in first person.

I’m better able to get into my characters’ heads and get at the emotional content of the story that much faster thanks to writing in first person.

As to the second part of Motormind’s question about circling back to third person, I have a confession: I haven’t yet. Stories I’ve written in first person have stayed in first person. And the novel I’ve started since the original post is also in first person (and will stay that way).

I still have novel projects on the back burner written in third person, and will probably write in third-person again (else I’d cut out a lot of stories I could write), but I haven’t felt the need to yet. I will say the times I’ve gone back to tinker with the third person stories, it’s been easier to identify areas where there’s too much narrative distance or find opportunities for going deeper. It’s all anecdotal right now, but I think writing in first person has helped me a lot, even when writing third.

Happy writing (regardless of which POV you use)!

Unforeseen Cirucmstances

Today’s post has been indefinitely delayed because I found this in my house this morning!

That's a 10in diameter glass bowl btw.

I must make sure this isn’t a sign of the impending apocalypse and is just a hazard of living where I do. Needless to say this has derailed my plans for the day.

Brownie points to anyone who can id this…thing. (PS, I had to call the county extension office for help with that.)

Until next week!

Lucky Seven Meme

I knew it was inevitable, and sure enough, I was tagged by Lori M. Lee and Laura Lee Nutt to participate in the Lucky Seven Meme.

The Lucky 7 Meme Rules
• Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP
• Go to line 7
• Copy down the next 7 lines--sentences or paragraphs--and post them as they're written. No cheating.

So here we are without further ado, seven lines from the first draft of my ya scifi adventure. Emphasis on first draft.

I hear rustling, then Dad’s muffled voice. “Not yet.” It’s like Christmas morning when he goes downstairs first to see if Santa’s come. But I’m pretty sure there are no presents up there. There’s more rustling and a few grunts before Dad’s masked face appears over the hatch. “All clear.”

I’m a bit wobbly when I reach the top – it’s the first time I’ve exerted myself in weeks, and my heavy new clothes aren’t helping.

I swear it makes more sense in context... Everyone probably says that :)

If you wanna play, consider yourself tagged.

Happy weekend!

SOPA Delayed Today's Post

I'm delaying today's blog post until tomorrow to protest the Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA), like many other sites like including Wikipedia, REDDIT, and countless others. To learn more about the blackout, go here.



To learn more about SOPA, CNET provides a nice overview in How SOPA Would Affect You FAQ

Social Media Considerations

The digital age has given writers amazing opportunities – connecting them to other writers and potential readers, facilitating the exchange of information and resources, and creating new channels to distribute content.

But there are implicit assumptions we all make about social media. After my Social Media Guilt post a few weeks ago, I said I wanted to explore this topic in greater detail, so here it is.

People engage in social media to connect first and foremost.

• to find like-minded individuals. Ex. I like to write, you like to write, so let’s be friends.
• to find experts and tastemakers. Ex. I want to stay on top of the writing industry, so I follow publishing professionals.
• to find consumers for their own content. Ex. I’m a writer so I’m going to build a blog to reach out to potential readers.

In all of these cases, writing could be substituted with, say, knitting or Civil War reenactment, or French cooking, or what-have-you. Most of us have interests outside of writing, and use social media to stay on top of the things we care about.

It is also important to note that there is a degree of self-interest associated with each of these reasons to connect with others. People use social media because there is a benefit to them using it. If there were no benefits, or if the benefits didn’t outweigh the negatives associated with social media, it wouldn’t work.

And there are degrees of involvement:

• Invisible consumer – Someone who seeks out content but does not engage with the creators/sharers of the content. Your classic lurker.
• Masked consumer – Someone who seeks out content and engages with creators/sharers of content on some level but uses an online persona to do so. For example, people who leave comments or follow people, but don’t use a real name or have any contact information.
• Visible consumer – Someone who seeks out content and engages with creators/sharers of content without hiding their true identity.
• Masked creator – Someone who creates content but does so using an online persona (like me).
• Visible creator – Someone who creates content and does so without hiding their true identity.

These are simplistic categories, and not mutually exclusive. And chances are, if you have a blog or a website or what-have-you, your followers are combination of all of these types of people.

So what does that mean?

Well, we have people connecting with each other for different reasons with different levels of involvement on the one hand. And on the other, we have analytics that only capture (or imperfectly capture) parts of the activities that comprise social media use and consumption. Things like blog hits, number of followers, RTs and mentions, likes and +1’s. Numbers, quantities, that supposedly illustrate the value of someone’s blog or twitter stream, whatever constitutes their social media presence.

And frankly, regardless of whether they are right or accurate, numbers matter in social media.

We are told ways to increase our followers, comments, etc. We are told that the numbers don’t really matter so long as you have an online presence. We are told numbers only matter depending on what stage of your career you are at.

We are numbers-obsessed as content creators, but consumers of content also rely on numbers to determine how relevant the content is to them. Especially with the glut of writing-related content out there, the importance of numbers and the endorsement of influential experts in the writing blog-o-sphere is huge.

As a content creator, I pay attention to:

• my number of blog and twitter followers
• comments on my blog posts
• RTs and mentions of my tweets
• Overall blog traffic
• Referring/incoming links
• Relative influence of my followers (based on, in part, you guessed it, numbers)
• Relative influence of people who RT/mention my tweets (based on numbers)

As a content consumer, I pay attention to:

• Who created the content (how visible are they?)
• Who endorsed the content (how influential?)
• How many followers do they have?
• How many people commented?
• Quality of blog layout
• Quality of content

Quality content, for me, is always king, but I’m more likely to give a post a chance to grab me depending on the other, primarily numeric, factors.

Lots of followers? I think, hmm, maybe this person really knows what they’re talking about. Lots of comments? I think wow, what an engaged following they have. But if I scan the comments and they are all clones of each other or bland “I agree” or “Author, you are so awesome,” I tune out.

Same with Twitter. I don’t auto-follow back someone. I see if they are relevant to me, and then I look at their followers to tweets ratio. Lots of followers but a small number of tweets? This is someone on a follower blitz, relying on people’s autofollow policies to inflate their numbers.

These are some of the things I look at when evaluating online content. There’s no right or wrong here, and I’m sure you look at content in different ways or weight things differently than I lay out here.

But I think it is important to analyze your own behavior when it comes to social media consumption, not only to better understand yourself and your online habits, but to also examine your own content and the way it can engage consumers.

So the next time you engage in social media, ask yourself what are your implicit assumptions in consuming and creating content. How are you really evaluating what you consume online?

Digital Archaeology and More About Me

I was bestowed two blogging awards last week thanks to Laura Marcella of Wavy Lines and L. Blankenship of Notes from the Jovian Frontier. I meant to post this on Friday, but life got in the way as it is wont to do. Anyway, here we go.

Laura gave me the 7 x 7 Link Award. Laura posts writing prompts, inspiring quotes, and other factoids that help keep you motivated. The 7 x 7 award asks the winner to sort through old posts that match the criteria below. Kinda like digital archeology. Thanks, Laura!

MOST BEAUTIFUL: Anatomy of a Story - Not beautiful in a traditional sense, but it was one of my better early posts and the ideas I put forth in the post still resonate with me.

MOST HELPFUL: My Resource Roundup posts, hands down: Finding the Right Word, Conjuring Up Titles, Crafting Dialogue, Opening Your Story, and the NanoWriMo Edition.

MOST POPULAR: Best of the Best: The Writing Blogosphere’s Major Players - A little dated now, but still has some good resources here.

MOST CONTROVERSIAL: Social Media Guilt - Not controversial per se, but I got a range of comments and have long-term plans to explore this issue in greater detail.

MOST SURPRISINGLY SUCCESSFUL: Coffee Shop Etiquette - Thought this was a silly post at the time, but got tons of traffic (for me).

MOST UNDERRATED: A Case of the Not Enoughs - Still relevant. At times it seems no matter what we do, what we produce, it won’t be enough.

MOST PRIDE-WORTHY: Acknowledging My Fears of Submission - This is particularly poignant as I plan to query my novel (again) later this fall.

***

L. Blankenship gave me the Versatile Blogger Award. She writes both science fiction and hard fantasy and blogs about writing, with particular attention to worldbuilding. Check her out. For the Versatile Blogger Award, I must share seven facts about myself.

1. The only states I’ve never been to are: Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Florida, Wisconsin. 39 out of 50 ain’t bad.

2. My parents took my sister and me to Paris and London for a two-week vacation while I was in high school. It was an amazing time. A London cabbie made us blush and we learned that drunken dirty old men in Paris aren’t stereotypes. The only international trip I’ve ever taken (so far).

3. My husband and I never had a proper honeymoon because he was still in grad school. We spent a couple days at my family’s beach house, but that doesn’t really count. So we are saving up to a trip to Peru to see Machu Picchu.

4. I run with my dog at least three times a week and I make her wear these because of the terrain. She’s not a fan of them, but she loves the activity.

5. I hate getting dressed up. Skirts and dresses and suits and dress slacks are the bane of my existence. I’m eternally grateful I never worked in a profession that required business dress all time.

6. I hate bananas. The smell, the taste… gives me the heebie jeebies.

7. I love seafood, but I’m starting feel guilty about it after doing research on overfishing for one of my specfic stories. It doesn’t help that a lot of the tasty fish are labeled as “do not eat” in many guides like this one.

Thanks again to Laura and L. for the blog awards! Happy Writing!

First Campaign Challenge and Blog Award

For the first challenge as a part of the Writers' Platform Building Campaign, hosted by Rach Writes, we were asked to do the following:

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “The door swung open” These four words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), use the same beginning words and end with the words: "the door swung shut." (also included in the word count)

For those who want an even greater challenge, make your story 200 words EXACTLY!

So that's what I did. Behold:

The door swung open as Mrs. Fawcett took the rattling tea service out to the parlor. Bright bursts of laughter invaded the kitchen before the door cut it off, swinging back on well-oiled hinges.

Kitty caught the sickly-sweet whiff of roses from the funeral home bouquets, set out like trophies in the hall. They would need to throw them out, but Madam enjoyed her life as a widow too much to destroy the evidence just yet.

Kitty couldn’t blame her. The Master was not well-loved in life, nor would he be sorely missed in death. The increase of afternoon teas was the only impact his death had below stairs. But talk of gambling debts and unrealized investments made Kitty wonder just how secure her placement at Bethany manor was.

She had gotten better at interpreting Madam’s imperious tone, knew how to avoid the son’s roving hands, and which cook didn’t mind her sneaking a bite here and there. She didn’t want to start over. Not again.

Mrs. Fawcett pushed back into the kitchen with a look that said “Mind yourself, Kitty.” The only thing she knew how to do.

More laughter. More roses.

Kitty shuddered as the door swung shut.

200 words exactly. Boo-yah!

***
Also, I learned today that Gail Shepherd who blogs at Paradoxy gave me the Versatile Blogger Award. I met Gail through the campaign and have been impressed with her series of interviews with other writers. Thanks so much for the award, Gail!

In accepting the award, I must share seven random facts about moi:

• I'm a big fan of tennis and I've been trying to catch US Open matches this week in between my writing and reading time.
• I have a freckle smack dab on top of my right foot. Growing up, my parents used to take a marker and put a polka dot in the shoe intended for my right foot, so I'd know which one went on which foot -- just connect the dots. I contend that this is why I still have trouble distinguishing between right and left today.
• I got a little verklempt last week when I went to my local Borders to buy books for the last time. I've been going there since middle school and have fond memories of the place despite all that's happened.
• I tripped getting out of the limo at prom. I tripped and nearly fell on my first date with my now-husband. I tripped and fell on a run with my dog last year. I fell off the sidewalk walking around the neighborhood with my husband and my dog. Clumsiness is a constant in my life. The good news is I know how to fall without hurting myself. Usually.
• I love spicy food. Not so hot I can't feel my tongue -- no hot wing eating contests for me -- but I love a little heat and bold flavors in my food. So bring on Mexican and Thai food.
• I'm allergic to cats. The only thing that I know of that I'm allergic to.
• I have never broken a bone in my body. Pretty amazing given #4. Let's hope it stays that way.

Thanks again for the award, Gail!

Happy writing!

Writer's Platform Building Campaign

Just a quick note to tell you about the Third Writer's Platform Building Campaign, hosted by Rachael Harrie of Rach Writes.

The goal is to connect bloggers with one another to foster networking and genuine connections between writers in similar areas. The Campaign will run from August 22nd to October 31st, with campaign challenges scheduled over the next few months. There's even a twitter hashtag for the group: #writecampaign

To learn more about the campaign, go HERE.

To sign up to be a campaigner, fill out this FORM.

Whether you choose to join the campaign or not, happy writing!

Liebster Blog Award

Thanks to Caitlin Vincent at Musings of an Ordinary Mind for bestowing upon me the Liebster Blog Award. Liebster means "friend" in German.

This award is intended to connect bloggers, specifically those with less than 200 followers. In accepting the award, I must:

• Show my thanks to the blogger who gave me the award by linking back to them.
• Reveal me top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
• Post the award on my blog.
• Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the internet—other writers.
• And best of all – have fun and spread the karma.

And behold. Here are my blogging buddies I am happy to share this award with:

1) Anonymeet of By Anonymous Writer
2) Jen McConnel at Carolina Yankee
3) Sophia Chang at Sophia the Writer
4) K.B.Owen, Mystery Writer
5) M.E. at Sticking to the Story

Have a good weekend and happy writing!