The following essay originally appeared in a blog I wrote for Spalding University last spring. But it seems fitting to repeat it here as I launch the first post on my personal blog:
A while back, I led two
workshops and participated on a panel at a local writer’s conference. One of
the workshops was to be a Q&A session on writing for the young adult
market. Fully armed with my usual arsenal of craft tips and networking
suggestions, I was more than a little surprised to find that my audience wanted
to talk about social media and how to make the most of it when marketing their
books. Never mind that these books had not yet been published. Some, I suspect,
hadn’t even been written.
My initial reaction to this
unexpected shift in topic was that I’d fallen into one of those unnerving
dreams where you’re on stage, the curtain opens, and you realize not only have
you forgotten your lines, but you can’t even be sure what play you’re in. My
audience had no way of knowing how woefully remiss I am when it comes to using
social media, both professionally and personally. The truth is, earlier this year I
finally—and reluctantly—signed up for Twitter. So far I have tweeted only a few times---once
to share a favorite mantra: “Fall seven times, get up eight” (Japanese
Proverb). Facebook’s daily emails, reminding me that I have “notifications,”
feel like a slap on the wrist. I am not staying connected. I am not paying
attention. I am, it would seem, a sorry excuse for a young adult author. Let’s
face it. Teens live online. This is where they blog about their favorite books,
music, and movies, among other things. They are downloading eBooks in record
numbers, far more than adult readers. If you want to get the word out about
your latest book, social media is the best game in town. Almost all of my
friends who write for children and teens are savvy self-marketers when it comes
to connecting with their young audiences through cyberspace. I am in awe of
their ability to balance their writing careers with extensive self-promotion (a
must if one’s voice is to be heard above the clamor of millions of others
competing for the attention of teen readers).
These days, publishers of
children’s and young adult books expect their writers to engage with their
audiences as often as possible through—at the very least—Facebook and Twitter.
If you have a trailer for your book on YouTube, even better. Websites—once the
go-to place for information on a favorite author, (usually updated and
maintained by someone else)—are slowly being combined or replaced with blogs.
All of these resources are an excellent marketing strategy for capturing the
young adult audience—any audience, actually. But keeping up with them can be
exhausting.
While I’m a solitary writer,
like most, I enjoy meeting and talking with my readers. Over the years I have
spoken at conferences, visited schools, done book signings, and served on
panels, all of which are part of being a professional writer. True, this means
time away from writing, but it’s also an opportunity to connect with readers on
a more personal level. Many authors would argue that this is no different than
interacting with their readers through social media. And they would have a
valid point.
The dilemma for the solitary
writer is, of course, finding a balance between writing and self-promoting in
this brave new cyberworld without letting the latter consume too much time and
creative energy. I’m still trying to figure this out. In his essay “The Poet as
Teacher: Vices and Virtues,” Stephen Dunn observes that “The writer’s burden is
somehow to keep alive and vital amid all that’s dangerous and deadening in this
world, and this is difficult wherever one is.” He reminds us that Wallace
Stevens managed to do it while working in an insurance firm and T. S. Eliot in
a bank. To some writers social media is a burden, to others a boon. Either
way—like the insurance industry and banks—it’s here to stay.