Social Media

You can't turn on a computer these days without being bombarded by social media. There's Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, forums, discussion boards, etc. - all clamoring for your attention. And that's the problem. You have to learn to balance the time you spend on these things.

Finding a balance is easier said than done. You log in intending ONLY to check one thing and you know how it goes....oh, that looks interesting, let me click on that. And the cycle begins, when you glance at the clock, you realize that 2 hours have passed. What did you accomplish? Did you make a new contact? Did you learn something new?

Authors are a unique breed of workers. You don't go to the office, network a bit, then go back to desk and write. You usually write at home, in a coffee shop or in the library. It's a lonely business, but it's the nature of the beast. Social media relieves some of the isolation and I certainly enjoy connecting with fellow authors on the discussion boards, but we have to be our own social media police. Otherwise, no writing will get done and our readers will be left without any new stories to read and that would be the real shame.

So, fellow authors, how to manage your social media time and writing?