I do think being on-line and connecting with people can help an author's exposure. I think contests are great. I love reading people's blogs. I love seeing authors support other authors.
However, I really think we need to maintain perspective. I don't think we need to be here ALL the time, in hopes that our tweets, our blogs, our status updates, our comments, etc. etc might sell one. more. book. The world is so much bigger than the on-line world. Certainly this is one way to reach people, but really, isn't it just a drop in the bucket in the scheme of things? And life is short!
I just think it's important we remember the big picture. Or maybe I should say - it's important to ME that *I* remember the big picture.
"There's a whole life and world outside of publishing, and if you get too caught up in mirror-gazing, you can forget that. Then, when hard times in your writing/industry life come, it's hard to have perspective.
A book is a wonderful, miraculous thing. But in some sense, it's also just a book."
I completely agree! I read a study not long ago that a blog tour of 60 blogs did not put a dent in sales. SO there you go.
ReplyDeleteI am new to blogging and writing fiction, so I am no expert. But these two posts are interesting and provocative, so I will chime in (and become a follower).
ReplyDeleteI have purchased books because I read about them on a blog, but mostly I browse shelves, picking up books and reading a bit to see if it speaks to me.
I think the advice is excellent to not allow blogging/marketing to gobble up real life and writing time. I can see how it could. There are an awful lot of blogs and contests out there. Thanks for giving me something else to chew on.