Life must have been a lot simpler when writing a book was accomplished with one of these:
(This is a typewriter, in case you weren’t sure.)
Simpler without computers and the internet, I mean (though I am grateful for things like “cut-and-paste” and Dropbox — where would I be without Dropbox?). I’m mostly just thinking about this past week and one of the decisions I had to make regarding writing. It didn’t even have to deal with actual writing, but it had to do with whether or not I wanted to set up a separate blog.
At the moment of deliberation, it seemed like I might be one of the only six writers on the planet who didn’t have a blog. Should I take the leap? Alternatively, some of my writer friends were quick to point out that I could go with a more “static” website that would require relatively more initial effort in setting it up but less regular maintenance when compared to a blog. So I started counting on my right hand all of the media sites that I use that already require regular input and maintenance:
Thumb: Facebook personal page
Index finger: Facebook author/book page
Middle finger: Goodreads account/blog
Ring finger: Group blog
Pinky finger: Twitter account.
(Note: I deleted my Pinterest account a while ago. And I used Tumblr for one whole day before deciding that it’s not for me).
An official handful. Ultimately, I decided to go with the website. I used a free application called Weebly (www.weebly.com) and bought a domain name. Weebly is amazingly easy to use, by the way, if you’re ever thinking of going this route. It took me just a few hours (split up over three or four days, because that’s just how busy life is) to set it up. And I’m happy I have it for the following reasons:
- Low maintenance now that it’s set up (but I can add updates anytime I want).
- I have a place to direct traffic if anyone wants to know more about my writing.
- While I still enjoy using Facebook, someone recently reminded me of the once highly popular but now relatively defunct site called MySpace (I abandoned the MySpace ship only about four years ago). Having a blog or a website is yours, not Facebook’s.
- And maybe most of all… I think it’s pretty.
I may decide to do a blog someday when I feel a little less overwhelmed. Anyone else feel a little overwhelmed with all of the social media sites they use? How do you decide when enough is enough?
Thinking Through Our Fingers 
Amen to overwhelmed! And I only do the blogging part. I love writing, I love creating. I'm not fond of all the time for social media. *sigh* Guess it's just the way of a writer's life now.
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Just a tad busy. I've been spending about equal time networking on goodreads & twitter AND actually writing. However, I've met lots of great people and I also feel like part of a community.
For my blog I've been setting aside a few hours per month and writing multiple posts as once. Then you can schedule them to be published in the future. I once set up 2 months worth of posts at once.
I would be nice if we lived in the old days of the 19th century. Back then, you just found someone who would sponsor you. They'd give you a yearly salary and all you had to do was write.If only!
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