#SFFpit Again

Pitching the Baby

For writers, the opportunity to pitch their novel induces a certain amount of trepidation. Sending one’s baby, the result of months (or years, unlike a human baby), to an agent, brings the fear that the agent will not love the baby as much as its parent does.

So the opportunity for a pitching activity over Twitter is a blessing. It’s like one of those photo contest people enter their baby’s picture into, hoping for votes. With a Twitter pitch session, the worst that can happen is that no agent asks for a partial or full manuscript, just as if nobody voted for the baby picture. It doesn’t feel as much like a rejection.

To writers, “pit” means a pitching opportunity

I am taking part in a pitching opportunity, #sffPIT. This is a pitching opportunity for unpublished manuscripts in science fiction and fantasy, which is where I do most of my writing. I have three novels that fit this category (actually four or five, but one is not a standalone in a series, and another is a fragment which may never get finished).

To take part in a pitching opportunity, I must write twitter-sized blurbs for each of my novels and post them at intervals during the day of pitching. I have done this, setting them up using TweetDeck, so that they pop up at various times.

Now what?

All I have to do now is hope.

A World Too Big

My life on digital media two years ago

I can be found on Facebook, which to me feels like my small town, only populated with nerds like me. And on Instagram, which feels like going to a petting zoo, since I follow mainly celebrity cats. Those, for the longest time, were my only social media.

But then, because I’m a writer who needs to promote books (well, book anyway), I’ve been encouraged to seek out other media.

And now

Maybe it’s because I’m a Boomer, or perhaps it’s because I grew up in a small town, but the digital world suddenly seems too big to me. I have almost 5000 followers on Twitter (writers’ Twitter is very generous with its likes), and that was the size of the town I grew up in.

And now I’ve been advised to go on Tik Tok. Tik Tok seems like a really crowded circus sideshow in which I’m one of the performers but I can’t find my booth and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I’m overwhelmed, and wonder what one would do with 180k followers if one could get them.

So I’ve joined Tik Tok anyhow

I joined Tik Tok yesterday and will be putting up my first video today. I don’t know that I’ll be exciting — I’m a nerd who likes coffee and cats and writes occasional novels. I have four friends on Tik Tok. I have followed three internet famous cats. I have ordered a light ring. I remembered where I put my makeup so I look good (as good as I can) on camera.

We shall see.

Here’s a question:

Are any of you on Tik Tok? My username is @lleachie. Drop me a line!

Twitter as #writingcommunity (Personal development, Social Media for Writers)

Oh, that’s how you do Twitter!
I just wanted to announce that I’ve figured out Twitter. I even pinned a tweet!

#writingcommunity is my Favorite Place
I have fallen in love with Twitter, especially the #writingcommunity.

Why have I fallen in love with #writingcommunity?
#writingcommunity Twitter is different than mainstream Twitter (although I don’t have much knowledge of other specialty Twitters). It’s surprisingly social. Some of the discussion is about writing, but some of it is simply “tell me how your day went.” It uplifts, commiserates, and makes people laugh.

One of the activities in #writingcommunity is following each other.There are two reasons: one of the purposes of Twitter for writers is to add to one’s “writer’s platform” or media presence. One of the things many publishers and agents ask is about your writing platform, because that means potential buyers for your book. The more important part, though, is the interaction I mentioned above.

Is #writingcommunity for you?
If you’re a writer or an aspiring writer, a thousand times yes! Think about it — you have thousands of people who are good with words. Playing with words is a natural consequence. You have people with writing as a commonality; they’ll talk about writer’s block and rejection.

Trying to get Twitter

So I’m trying to up my Twitter game …
My guide to building a social media platform for my writing has been challenging. I find Twitter to be overwhelming.

Ok, Boomer
I’m aware that a good part of the reason I’m overwhelmed is because I’m getting older. As much as I hate this fact, it’s unavoidable. And everything I’ve heard says that the older generation has to explain technology to the younger generation.

The overwhelming factor

What I find overwhelming is the sheer size of the Twitterverse. How do people have time to read all these posts? It seems like posting is akin to throwing the message-in-a-bottle out into the endless ocean and hoping someone sees it.

It’s not so bad, people assure me. There’s always hashtags. If you can figure out the hashtags, people will read you. If. You. Figure. Out. The. Hashtags.

My husband just explained hashtags: You make a post; you create a hashtag. Other people notice the hashtag, and it trends, and then people notice, and then you get likes and retweets. Except this is the Twitterverse, which as I pointed out is a vast sea of hashtags.

To my relief, I know one of the hashtags people use to promote writing, or at least being a writer: #writingcommunity.

All is Not Lost

I did the thing I should have done a long time ago — ask people in #writingcommunity what hashtags I should use as a writer. I also participated in a #writerslift thread.

Maybe I’ll get the hang of this.

If you can help me get the hang of this, please email at lleachie@gmail.com

Dear Reader:

Thank you for reading this blog.

I know you as data — what country hits come from. I know what posts are being read (but not who is reading what posts), and I know what times random people are posting. Here’s what I know about my readers:

1) I have about thirty hits a day on average. About half of those are from the United States. The rest are from a variety of countries, with Germany holding second place. Other regulars have been from France, Canada, Ukraine, Portugal, and Unknown Region are the most regular.

2) Some of you find me through Facebook, which means I probably know you. Some of you find me from Twitter, and I don’t know if I know you or not. Some referring links are from bit.ly and IFTTT. I’d love to know how the IFTTT link works.

3) Some of you are probably bots. For example, I get about three hits a day from a web address that specializes in “web cam girls”. I don’t follow those links anymore.

4) I don’t know WHO you are. I would love to know who you are. If you’re a regular reader, you know I have said this before, because I mean it. I’m the sort of person who would not only like to sign autographs for readers someday, but chat with readers.

Please, if you know someone who would like this blog (writers, readers, my aunt Edna*) please amplify this and pass it on to them!

Love, Lauren

* I don’t have an Aunt Edna.