It’s like one week wants to outdo the previous one for levels of suck. The weather was terrible, which caused everything else to fall apart. Keep in mind that I work in the house and have no personal space, so a full house means I get nothing done. There were other incidents too that I can’t get into here.
I do want to unleash a grievance and I’m using that word without looking it up. On second thought, I’m going to look it up. Okay, I think it will work:
To me, the LIKE button has a different meaning on different sites. On WordPress, I see it as an acknowledgement of a post when someone doesn’t know what to say. A sign that someone saw you within the ether of the Blogging Sea. I do this especially with poetry lately because I’ve been mentally numb and I feel stupid for saying ‘great poem’ twenty times a day. Anyway, there is also the Reblog button, which helps spread your post around and gets you added attention. People love the reblog button and that’s a good thing as well as the smile from the LIKE button.
Then there’s FACEBOOK . . . ugh. For some reason, I hate the LIKE button on Facebook because it seems much more impersonal. Maybe it’s because it feels less personal when somebody does that. With blogging, you’re putting stuff out for people that you only know through the computer. In Facebook, you tend to have real life friends and family there, so you expect more. To be honest, I hear more from my blogging friends on FB than I do from people I’ve smelled in person. Yet, I think there’s an author-based reason I’m having issues with FB.
When I make an FB post about my books on the Writing Groups, I sometimes get LIKES, but I rarely get SHARES. There’s a freaking SHARE option on FB, but very few people that I know hit the damn thing. That is unless it’s political, cat-related, bacon-related, insulting Justin Bieber or Miley Cyrus, Firefly-related, Dr. Who-related, Sherlock-related, and other things that I’ve come to ignore. My raffle for this month has yet to be passed around. It makes me think there’s no real point to promoting on Facebook since it doesn’t seem to get me anywhere. I’ll hang around a few groups and SHARE sales that I stumbled onto, but this action is never reciprocated. On Twitter, I see some back and forth, but that’s harder since you have to find a Tweet to Retweet and the feeds can be really messy. With Facebook, it isn’t that hard and it takes very little effort. That LIKE has a sense of ‘good luck, but I’m not going to help’. An Indy Author depends on Word-of-Mouth, so every SHARE is precious. One could say that on FB, nobody cares unless your book is about a bacon-eating cat who is on a quest to rescue Dr. Who by teaming up with Sherlock and the cast of Firefly. Guest appearance by Tom Hiddleston as himself. Seriously, do most of my friends do nothing more than fanboy/girl the day away?
I know what some people are thinking and some have said it: I have no friends who like what you write. Doesn’t matter. Think of it as a chain reaction. You SHARE a post of an author to help and one of your friends sees it and thinks ‘I have a friend who loves these kinds of books’ and they SHARE it. It doesn’t have to be something you or your friends enjoy if you want to help. I SHARE a lot of historical drama and erotic romance sales and events on FB, but I’m not a big fan and I’ve gotten one or two complaints from friends about the erotic stuff. I tell them that I’m helping fellow authors because that’s how this thing works.
Now that the rant is over, here’s the plan for the week:
- Avoid duct taping toddler since this is his week off from school. Mountains of snow and no spending money means library when possible.
- Avoid duct taping wife when she’s home unless she fixes her volume button.
- Avoid duct taping father by end of week when the two of us have been driven insane by toddler and wife antics.
- Write a chapter of Sleeper of the Wildwood Fugue, which is becoming a headache. My outline has become more of a suggestion by this point. Nyx wiped out an entire chapter, Luke did something with his powers that I didn’t think of, and the sixth hero has demonstrated that her powers are different than I’ve thought for the last 13 years.
- Outline a few things if toddler doesn’t allow for full writing.
- Really try to keep the biking up.
- Get over the mental exhaustion that has made me want to close up shop. Everyone has a limit and I passed mine a while back with no time for recovery.
Legends of Windemere 
Step away from the duct tape. Just leVd the room. Looking at it will tempt you and make it easier to use it.
How old is the toddler now? He should be old enough to entertain himself for small amounts of time. Ear plugs might help with volume control.
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He’s four, but he talks nonstop. He does entertain himself and a lot of it is loud singing and talking. Being the only kid in a house with 4 adults, he isn’t used to not having attention. He always gets one of us to play and he’s been introduced to Youtube, so he demands videos from the computer.
The problem stems from two things. One I can’t get into here. The other is that by the time I get him to entertain himself, I have a bunch of emails, comments, and other things to clear out. I might be able to write a single chapter section if we stay in the house all day, but I’m already being told to get out of the house and go ‘somewhere’.
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Reblogged this on Beneath The Headstone and commented:
I share the same thoughts about FB. I feel like I make a lot more effort with eff-bookers then they do with me. With WP, I’ve received some very helpful feedback from time to time and interact with some very cool people on a regular basis.
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Thanks for the reblog. I definitely think WP is more interactive than FB, which is strange since FB is supposed to be all about making friends and being a community.
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My lad is five and he’s off school this week too. He does entertain himself quite well though. Then again, it’s just me and him during the day so I’ve always made a point of giving him periods when he entertains himself because when he was v small and not at nursery, and it was me and me only, I needed the head space.
We invited the in laws down and they’re coming next week. Two weeks without authorhol then or at least, one without and a second with not much. I have to pretty much rewrite my w.i.p. And it’s not going well. At all. I’m hoping that ignoring my book for a week will act like scales from the eyes when I return to it. I can delude myself.
In short, except that was quite long. I feel your pain.
Cheers
MTM
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I’m just hoping to get the nights. My son used to be able to entertain himself without a problem, but certain things happened. One thing that sucks about a blog is when you find out that people are spying on it and reporting when you mention certain things. I hate being vague. Basically, certain people opted to hover and make sure he is never alone, so now he has trouble entertaining himself because he expects constant attention.
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Ah. Yes I can imagine that’s harsh. Our nearest relies are over 150 miles away. It’s a curse in some ways but a blessing in many others. That said mine are all agreed that me time for both myself and McMini, is important.
Hmmm….. Good luck with that one.
Cheers
MTM
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Thanks.
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I wish I could help understand FB. I am totally in the dark. As far as the rant is concerned I fully empathize. It is hard to stay focused when distractions are present. I am beginning to understand your early thoughts on Beginning of a Hero when it appeared as if the world has decided to ignore all efforts to publicize. Have to wonder.
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I wouldn’t stress FB. Every time I think I get it, I don’t. I think it’s because I’m not up on the latest interests of the world.
The funny thing about Beginning of a Hero is that a lot of my non-Internet friends helped spread the word. Then many of them dropped out by the time Prodigy of Rainbow Tower appeared. None of them stepped up to spread Allure of the Gypsies. I’ve had a lot more help and support from bloggers like you, Ionia, and a list too long to put here. I think it’s because you guys have taken the time to know me as an author instead of ‘the guy who wants to be an author’. Also, many of us are in the same boat with trying to publish books. It hurts that most of my friends don’t even follow my Author Page and that probably adds to my disdain for FB.
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Silence is golden. Duct tape is silver.
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Like the Force, it has a light side and a dark side.
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lol. nice.
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I read that on the Internet years ago. 🙂
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Bit of a theme going this week… you’re not the first to touch on this subject in the last couple of days. Take heart – the beach reader season is nearly upon us, and duct tape prices are coming down… 😉
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I wonder if this is part of the season. I knew of slow periods, but this is becoming stagnant and a lot of authors are telling me the same thing. The cycle of reading can be a nightmare for Indy Authors.
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Hmm. Never thought of “the cycle” before, but that would make sense. Even those with contracts with publishing houses have mentioned slow (non-existent) sales this past week. 😦
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I’ve seen mention of last year being weaker than the year before too. Though, I think some people are building up more panic than is necessary.
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Good point well made! As indie authors it’s so important that we support each other. But it simply hadn’t occurred to me to a) read some of the posts on FB of authors I’ve liked (I’m always doing other things and forget) and b) to share their posts. Maybe I’ll start today. I hope you have a good, relatively stress-free week. 🙂
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Thanks. I hope we start a revolution of FB sharing. Though, I’ve heard FB has begun to make it difficult, so we’ll see what happens. As for the week, the toddler is home the whole time, so stress-free might not happen. I’ll be exhausted by Wednesday.
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Sounds like a lot of hard work. I hope you survive it with your sanity intact!
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Thanks. I hope so too.
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Hide the duct tape. I visit FB twice a day for about fifteen minutes. (Because it can suck away my time really severely.) Seems on FB most of friends and family SHARE stuff they think is cool, like pictures of strange houses and interesting places. Lately I have seen more SHARE stuff to purchase. With recent changes to FB, meaning things have to be liked, commented on, or shared to get around, I have become more conscious of sharing and commenting. LIKE, to me, is an indication I saw it and thought is was pretty neat or I empathize with the poster. Having always used FB as a tool for keeping up with family and friends, I am just beginning to utilize it as a marketing tool (much to the annoyance of some family and friends, but they are adjusting). I haven’t seen a post on FB about the raffle copter. I will gladly SHARE when I see stuff. that’s one of the problems with FB, not all of your posts get around. I have looked back on my author home page to see some posts were seen by three people. It’s disheartening.
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I post about the raffle on my own blog and it never gets attention. It’s also a spot on my Author Page. For those involved, it’s a great idea to make a blog post too with a link to it. Only 376 entries, which isn’t much if you think that one person can net 76 of them by doing everything.
I do see more funny and news stuff get around than anything business-based. The times I get frustrated is when several people LIKE one of my promo posts and nobody SHARES it. The LIKE doesn’t pass the word around as far as I can tell. I’m guilty of this too at times, but I’m really trying to cut it down or add a comment.
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Liked. 🙂 As in, tag, you’re it. There should be a national Meh Week. We should schedule it each year.
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I would so do that. Then, I’d be like the guy who never takes his Christmas lights down and the ‘holiday’ keeps going. 😀
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I hear you about the ambiguity of the Like button. On Facebook, people announce a serious family illness or loss of a job. Are we supposed to Like this? I wish they had a Sympathy button. But of course it could become ridiculous pretty quickly if they have a Like button, a Sympathy button, a Rage button, etc. Because the true intention is that people don’t just click Like but do take the time to post an actual comment.
The Internet has such a rep for being instant access, instant recognition, but my response has been much like yours… Silence. People tell me in person they liked The Seven Exalted Orders, but I have no reviews. What can you do but comment more yourself and hope people reciprocate.
And, don’t count Likes.
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I am surprised how hard it is for people to write a comment in situations like that. I find them awkward, but I still try to give some condolences.
I’ve gotten into a few debates with people over the liking issue. It never gets me anywhere. Most of my non-Internet friends haven’t even read the books, which tells me something else.
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Facebook is overrated and impersonal. I prefer the likes on here to that because I feel it’s much more significant in this community. Having said that, I don’t have an FB for that reason. >_<
Also, lol @ the duct tape portion.
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The only reason I keep FB is because I have a handful of friends and family who only post events on there. I would never have known about several births, engagements, and deaths without FB. Kind of sad in a way. In terms of book marketing, it has a great pitch and facade, but you need other users to interact. That’s where it falls apart because most people can’t be bothered.
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Yes, and birthdays are missed because you’re not on FB so they weren’t alerted. *sigh* People just need to communicate more, and like read a good book or two. Is it just me or do people not do that kind of stuff by being distracted with trivial things such as Farmville or Candy Crush?
The internet is a wonderful thing, to be able to spread marketing like wildfire. But it only works if people pay attention and care; which unfortunately doesn’t happen for important things. I wish you the best of luck and hopefully things will turn around in regards to share fails.
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I think trivial is the point of the FB game. I don’t see a lot of games being played, but I do see a lot of Internet memes going up about the things I mentioned in the post. I admit that it’s weird thinking some people my age are spending more time posting about their favorite TV Show than communicating about their lives. Some tell me that their personal life is private, which is great, but makes me wonder why they do anything on FB then.
The key to on-line marketing is to go viral. Many people don’t realize that to go viral, the word has to be spread. They think it happens automatically or that they’re not part of it.
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I’ve never looked at the ‘Like’ button on WordPress that way. I like how you described it. I wish they had a like button and an acknowledge button.
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I thought of it like the FB button when I started. So I felt bad if I read a post, hit LIKE, and couldn’t think of a comment. Now, I’m more accepting that I don’t always know what to do, but it’s nice to see a reaction. Though, I always try to respond when someone asks for feedback.
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I agree that all of the liking/sharing can be frustrating and sometimes uninformative. Even my adult children don’t share my updates; everybody is too busy taking Zimbio personality quizzes. I like that you used one of my current favorite words ‘meh’ in your post. We have so much in common—I’m from Babylon, Long Island and was born on April 7…
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‘Meh’ is such a great word and even better that it isn’t overdone. I’ve seen those personality quizzes too where they connect you to a famous character or historical figure. Not sure what to think when a person is proud or upset about the results.
Small world this Blogosphere. Though Long Island is currently one long, fish-shaped snow drift. Not sure we can claim towns until they’re dug out.
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I don’t spend much time on FB – I’m a bit nervous there for some reason. I find G+ much better for sharing, and also the +1 (Google Like) is just as good as a share, and any Liked post will go into the public stream. Hope your next week is better.
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I get lost around G+ and I don’t have many friends on there. I find FB easier to work with, but it might be so easy that people simply get lost in their own stuff.
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I find that the FB newsfeed doesn’t show a lot of what my friends post, but I generally try and share what I see. Where is the link to your event now?
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The raffle is here: http://bit.ly/19xKVbM
I can’t figure out how the newsfeed works. There are some days that I see everything from the day before, so I can’t see any current stuff. No idea why it does that.
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Ugh…Facebook. Well, I have an account, and got it about I don’t know maybe 6 years ago or so, because my elder sons said…open an account so we can hear each other more often…bah. Anyway, I rarely use FB since i started blogging. Point in I can do one or the other, I stop by every once and awhile to see what’s on my home page…and also on the home front…otherwise, I just don’t bother much. However, I have shared things that have had nothing to do with cats. Albeit I am the Goddess of cats 😉 I also have a G+ account, and didn’t know I had it until somebody put me in their circle…I don’t even know how to start handling that one! Hope they’ve taken the duct tape away from you…
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I have a G+ account and played with it for a day. Now I leave it to fend for itself while my blog posts appear there. I have a better feel for FB, but it isn’t as social as people are led to believe.
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I must agree…not very social at all. Clicky actually.
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A lot of scrambles for attention too.
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I’ve never seen that aspect, but I’ve heard many say it, so must be true. I’ve got the feeling though that with or without Facebook people sometimes ten to scramble for attention. I was talking about that with my son the other day and he brought this idea to my attention.
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A lot of people do the vague status update. For example, ‘some people need to shut up’ is a common one. No idea what happened, but it causes people to ask out of concern or curiosity.
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Ah…know the type of tactic it’s a way to fish for attention I guess.
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Definitely. It always causes eye rolling.
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Sigh…an to think that there are actually adults doing this at times. Oh well, can’t say I’ve never seen ithis done among some of the people I know right there in real space…at least among some of the ladies I’ve met over the years, though I also know some politicians here in Italy, both local and National who more or less play the same stupid game…doesn’t make it any less a bother though…
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Well, politicians have made a career off the ‘look at me’ and vague statements. At least over here. As for Facebook, I’m always surprised at some of the things I see adults post.
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Ditto.
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