(11/10/2023)
“Have you noticed a slowdown in sales since leaving social media?” –Brooke, via Contact Link.
Oh, I have indeed. When I had made the decision to largely erase my social media presence, I knew I’d also be losing a major (and for the most part free) resource for marketing my work. It’s not a decision I made lightly, as described here.
However, I have yet to regret that decision. My days are now mostly filled by pursuing personal interests or spending time with loved ones–rather than defending my various opinions or bathing in political drama. It’s also worth noting that I haven’t had a single threat to my (or my family’s) welfare since doing so. It’s been a nice change.
Now, it’s important to understand that I have not completely left social media. After all, this is my blog. It’s attached to my website. Either presence does indeed place me solidly within the public eye. The thing is, blogs have a very different feel to them than mainstream phone-app offerings. That’s because blog readers tend to have a different attitude about what they read: most of them click “like” and move on. Others leave a comment and move on. And because turn-about is fair play, if any of those comments are mean-spirited or aggressive, I refuse to approve them and I move on. If someone uses the “contact” link on my website to spew venom my way, most generally I’ll delete it from my email and go about my day. The poison doesn’t snowball the way it tends to do on whatever Facebook is calling themselves these days, or on whatever Twitter’s calling themselves these days.
The result is that I’m much happier. I highly recommend that those who are addicted to such platforms give it a try. You’ll be amazed how much more you enjoy life when you’re not pissed off all the time.
Also understand that this standpoint is only what works for me–as Brooke mentioned in her message, she is also an author, and I will never assume the position of telling her or anyone else what to do. It’s a fine balance, maintaining a social media presence is. Your audience may never have heard of you, so it makes sense to put yourself out there. It’s a fine place to talk about what you’ve already written, and it’s an even better place to tease upcoming projects. That’s why nearly every writer’s workshop will strongly encourage authors to have as many social media platforms as possible.
On the other hand, there’s only so much shop-talk your audience wants to hear. Most people don’t want to follow accounts that spam and solicit them mercilessly, so they don’t. They’re on social media for that whole “social” part. Strange, huh?
One thing that’s always floored me is that my readers want to know about me as a person. They want to know how I feel about certain social topics. They want to know my hobbies. They want to know of my interests which don’t involve wrestling with a keyboard over the perfect way to say something. A human touch that perhaps they can connect to, if only for a short while.
For the most part, I was happy to indulge them as well as myself: we’re all human beings, and whatever we do on our little spinning rock, we do together. I think it breaks a layer of crust off the old soul to realize we’re more alike than we are different. I’ve met so many interesting people in this manner, and–whether they bought my books or not–it remains one of the things I miss.
However, there’s a growing number of folks on the internet who are using this information to make sure they don’t support an artist who is not a pure and upstanding member of their tribe–and they’ll go to war against anyone who doesn’t quite fit that mold. It’s a “agree or die” mentality. Too bad I’m not tribal.
At the risk of rehashing things I’ve already said in other blog entries, I’m not that old, but even I can remember a time when disagreements could be handled gracefully. There was no need to “own” anybody. There was little need to threaten a person into compliance. It was more like the end of a tennis match: you shook hands over the net and appreciated their challenge in the game, whether they had bested you or not. You learned the peace that could be found in agreeing to disagree. You grew from the times you admitted you were wrong.
(Of course, during this rose-colored era of which I speak, even if you found a person to be insufferable… well… you usually weren’t inviting him or her into your home. On social media, they pretty much move in with you.)
No, I don’t wish to repeat myself, and my feet hurt whenever I stand on a soapbox for too long. But I bring all of this up since Brooke and other authors like her will have to sort this mess out for themselves. Because my writing is a hobby which occasionally produces a little “ha-ha” money, I decided that, for me, it just wasn’t worth it to stay all-in. I’m here in this capacity to entertain, not to nurture outrage, thus I cut my social media presence down to just this blog and my website. My work’s still out there, and it’s still being discovered–albeit, now at a much slower rate. If you are of a mind to make writing your sole profession, it’s only natural that you would make a different decision. My financial welfare doesn’t depend upon my writing, so I’m completely fine with my own choice. You might not be rowing that same boat, and that’s perfectly valid. Just be warned that free doesn’t always mean free. Everything has a cost.
Speaking of costs, that’s my .02¢, and I probably overcharged you.
Thank you, Brooke, for your question. I hope this not only answers it, but also provides something useful for others who are faced with the same conflict.
The Official Website for Author Jeff Kalac 