This blog post is not me imparting wisdom. This blog post is me essentially asking for help.

Everyone is telling authors they need a platform, they need an audience, they need to leverage the Internet and social media. Right, okay. Consider me on the other side. Say I already have a considerable social media set up… Then what?

I’m going to list the various ways I currently have in place for meeting an audience. I’m not bragging, I’m more showing the mess I’ve gotten myself into.

• I Should Be Writing podcast
• ISBW blog
• ISBW PDF
• Murverse blog
• Murverse mailing list
• Twitter
• Tumblr
• Facebook (personal page and fan page)
• Goodreads blog (largely inactive)
• Amazon.com Author Blog (something I keep meaning to start cause I think it would be a good idea.)

Those are the ones I can think of. I also blog here and at Tor.com. So Mur, you may be thinking, what’s the problem? So many megaphones, so many different ways to reach audiences!

Yeah. That’s the problem.

Let’s say I have a thought. I have been known to have a couple from time to time. I want to share said thought. I then have to decide where it goes. Is it a thought that would be best stated in 140 characters? Twitter. Or facebook, maybe. Is it just a random thought or image or quote, longer than tweet length? Tumblr. Is it about writing? ISBW. But which one: blog, podcast, or is it long enough to add to my free PDF release? Or should I save it for Storytellers Unplugged?

My biggest problem is my home page, the Murverse. Originally meant to be an “all things Mur” hub, I filter all my podcasts through there, but not my blog posts. When I’m in the mood to blog, I usually end up putting the writing thoughts on ISBW or the SF thoughts on Tor.com. Writing rarely ends up on Murverse, which is odd, because writing is a huge part of my life.

The Facebook pages and the mailing list are the most neglected. I don’t like porting Twitter posts to Facebook for two reasons: different audiences (lots more real life friends follow me on FB) and regurgitating content feels insincere. This is why I haven’t started the Goodreads or Amazon blogs. They seem like a good idea, but how do I choose what content goes there?

I’m suffering from too many megaphones, I know. And instead of finding a way to trim them down, I’m wondering if I need more; if my writing podcast needs its own dedicated Twitter account where I just talk about writing (even though keeping a personal blog and a writing blog seems to be working so well for me right now…) I wonder if I should take the Murverse and make it a full hub, taking all my projects under that umbrella and giving each project, whether it’s a show or fiction project, its own feed. (Through the magic of feedburner, nothing would change on the listeners’ ends.)

I feel like Mickey as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. All of my social media megaphones are out of control, dancing around, mocking me. Well, not that they do anything without me working on them, but several of them are rotting from disuse and I don’t know how to deal with it. Cut them out? Use most of them to regurgitate content from my main Twitter and blogs? One site or many? Augh!

This is a problem you could end up having if you don’t have a plan when you start out. Sure, social media is a great idea, but if you just charge headlong, or join something because it seems like a good idea at the time, then it’s pretty pointless. On your blog or twitter, decide how much of your own life you’re going to reveal. Decide what you want each megaphone to do, who you want it to talk to. Remember that you never know who’s reading (Many agents and editors find angry blog posts and tweets about themselves from rejected authors. This does not endear them to the author.) and to always write as if your mom, your eighth grade teacher, and your pastor are reading. I’m not saying be a Puritan; you may not care if those people are reading, but always be aware that they might. And be aware that the audiences for the different places are different. High school friends will read my facebook, but not so much Twitter. If you have an Amazon or Goodreads blog, you know you’re being read by book lovers.

You can do so much with these tools. You can connect with readers, other authors, collaborate, or even use them as storytelling tools themselves. They’re definitely not something to be ignored or feared. I just need to stop sinking and learn how to swim.

So I know the last time I blogged here, I proudly proclaimed I had no fear. Well. That was specific to the new publishing wilderness.
I have tons of fear. I’m full of the stuff.

A nasty farmer inside me plants festering seeds that grow with my insecurities to fertilize. What if this story sucks? What if I get rejected? If it is good, what if it’s the peak of my career and I’ll never match it? What if my writing offends someone I respect? What if I hold back from writing what I want to because I’m afraid of offending someone? What if they all find out I’m a fraud?

The fears go beyond the writing career. I’m a podcaster, and I am dreadfully embarrassed recording or filming by myself in public. This is ridiculous, of course, as logic says, “Who cares?” But fear is not logical. If it were, we’d get no rush from reading scary books.

Some days I’m confident in my fears, at least sure that other writers feel the same. Other days I’m sure I’m the only one. But I can tell you one thing; the whole “fake it till you make it” thing is completely true. People tell me I seem confident, and my thought is, “Ah HAH! Fooled you, didn’t I?” The deal is, I understand fully that confidence is a key ingredient in persistence, the moxy you need to get along when trying to make a writing career.

One thing I’m glad about is I’ve gotten over the fear of submission. I still feel trepidation and anticipation, and disappointment when the rejection comes, but the fear hurdle is tiny at best. Logic wins out in this case- you can’t build a writing career without submission, so that desire beats fear.

Recently I decided I just needed a day without fear. That I would wake up and, if I had a thought that had any note of fear or hesitation in it, I would say fuck that and go ahead with it. (I’m not saying I’m gonna jump into traffic; I still plan to be a reasonable, self-preservation-focused woman here.) Record in public? Other people think it’s weird because they wouldn’t have the moxy to do it themselves. Ask my idol to write an introduction? The worst they can say is, “No.” Start that project that I don’t have the time/funds/brainspace for? Well, even if I fail, I will likely learn something and be better off than I am now just wondering.

Seriously, all the Successories flying eagle tripe aside, it is true that fear does you more harm than most everything you’re afraid of. Sure, the reaction is set into our lizard brain to keep us from calm, created there from a time where our main threats were ANIMAL-GONNA-EATZ-ME or RIVER-GONNA-DROWNZ-ME. Neanderthals were not faced with performing a talk in front of 200 others. Well. Most of them, probably. I mean, we haven’t found evidence of a cro-magnan Toastmasters club, have we?

So I’m calling this Thursday, December 10, a day without fear. This day I will not hesitate, I will write what I want, record what I want, and see how my life can be different if I can manage to ignore fear for just one day.

Wish me luck. Join me if you like.

PS: The funny thing is, I nearly deleted this blog post, for fear of writing about such a silly topic.

Publishing is changing. And I am not afraid.

I’ll be the first to admit I can be myopic at times. I am often unable to see the ripple effects of something until the effect is fully cemented in place. So my lack of fear could simply be the cheerful blatherings of a fool. But I don’t care. I’m still not afraid.

As someone whose career is still in its larva stage, I’m watching with interest as publishing frets about the massive changes in the industry going on right now. Ebook pricing. Ebook piracy. Hardcover pricing. The death of the book. The death of publishing. The sneaking fear that maybe this Internet thing isn’t just a fad, and it will SPELL OUR DOOM.

I understand much of the worry. I’m sure someone else understands the rest of it. And still, I’m not afraid.

I don’t think books will go the way of the horse and carriage, as I’ve heard comparisons used. I also don’t think that treating the business the way “things have always been” is the wisest way to go. Things don’t have to die. Sure, some things die or become quaint, such as papyrus and horse-drawn carriages. Other things evolve–they get mighty and morphin’ and change with the times.

What really surprises me is when you hear publishing people say that they don’t know what to do, or that they refuse listen to Internet professionals. They seem to believe if they do what has worked in the past, eventually the storm will pass and the anchor of tradition will have kept them steady and safe. They look at the people who are succeeding by merging their digital plans with their traditional print plans and call them anomalies at best, or insane at worst. What they need to be doing is learning from them.

My career started when I began podcasting fiction, releasing in serialized audio format in 2006. Giving my work away has resulted in one small press deal, signing with an agent, and invitations to speak at several SF and new media events. At least three authors have gone from the unwashed unpublished masses directly to the elite authors with major book deals by giving away their work via audio serialization, building audiences first and then finding publishers. Many others have found publishing deals through small press houses.

A growing trend, started by Cory Doctorow, is to release a free PDF of a book when you launch the print version. Some, like Doctorow, release the whole book; others release a number of chapters. Still, it’s the concept of the free sample or teaser that works–check it out for free, if you like it, then buy. Sometimes recipients won’t like it. Sometimes they will like it, but just smile and move on. (I do this all the time in the grocery store.) Sometimes they will buy. Everyone I know who has given away free contents has said it increased sales. I’ve gotten more than one email from a consumer of my free content saying that they appreciated the free book and were buying several print copies to give away. It’s difficult to quantify, of course; you can’t say x people downloaded, and y of those people purchased, but there’s no arguing that getting your work in front of people reduces obscurity. People may or may not buy your book if they have heard of you. They will not buy your book if they don’t know it exists.

What’s to stop them from downloading the book, reading it, and never giving you a cent? Nothing. What’s to stop them from going to the library or borrowing it from a friend, reading it, and never giving you a cent? Nothing. Doctorow offers a “think like a dandelion” concept for growth of audience. Instead of nurturing your book in private and hoping it gets into the hands of a reader who will pet it and love it and call it George, you send it out in EVERY direction. Like dandelion seeds, your work will fall on some hard pavement or languish in an unread RSS feed. But some of it will get into the cracks in the sidewalk and find readers (who may become fans and paying customers) you never would have found otherwise.

The good thing is some agents and editors are getting wind of the power of online popularity, and thus they have developed the term “platform.” We all need this now–we need to come to publishing already proven that we can entertain an audience. The way you entertain an audience online is to give away content. When we bring along our audience, who loves us because we give them shiny trinkets, will publishers then refuse to let us give away anything else?

I’m quite aware it’s easy for me to talk about this — my career is still developing. I can afford to take chances and experiment. I have nothing to lose. More experienced people may be looking to be safe, to view giving things away as anathema. Experienced businesspeople think they can still herd the sheep where they want them to go. But the truth is, with the Internet, the sheep are running the show. They’re used to free content, and if made to pay, they will look elsewhere for the freebies.

I believe a successful merging of digital and print content is the way to keep publishing alive. I don’t believe in a kumbaya lifestyle that claims art is meant to be given away always; I want to make a living by writing. I am of the opinion that enticing people to consume my content for free will sell more copies. So I release stuff via audio, blog, PDF, and soon iPhone app, desktop widget, and any other way I can come up with. The more people I touch, the more people will buy my books.

So I’m not afraid. Publishing is changing. I’m ready to see what it turns into and change my expectations with it.

Publishing is changing. And I am not afraid.

I’ll be the first to admit I can be myopic at times. I am often unable to see the ripple effects of something until the effect is fully cemented in place. So my lack of fear could simply be the cheerful blatherings of a fool. But I don’t care. I’m still not afraid.

As someone whose career is still in its larva stage, I’m watching with interest as publishing frets about the massive changes in the industry going on right now. Ebook pricing. Ebook piracy. Hardcover pricing. The death of the book. The death of publishing. The sneaking fear that maybe this Internet thing isn’t just a fad, and it will SPELL OUR DOOM.

I understand much of the worry. I’m sure someone else understands the rest of it. And still, I’m not afraid.

I don’t think books will go the way of the horse and carriage, as I’ve heard comparisons used. I also don’t think that treating the business the way “things have always been” is the wisest way to go. Things don’t have to die. Sure, some things die or become quaint, such as papyrus and horse-drawn carriages. Other things evolve–they get mighty and morphin’ and change with the times.

What really surprises me is when you hear publishing people say that they don’t know what to do, or that they refuse listen to Internet professionals. They seem to believe if they do what has worked in the past, eventually the storm will pass and the anchor of tradition will have kept them steady and safe. They look at the people who are succeeding by merging their digital plans with their traditional print plans and call them anomalies at best, or insane at worst. What they need to be doing is learning from them.

My career started when I began podcasting fiction, releasing in serialized audio format in 2006. Giving my work away has resulted in one small press deal, signing with an agent, and invitations to speak at several SF and new media events. At least three authors have gone from the unwashed unpublished masses directly to the elite authors with major book deals by giving away their work via audio serialization, building audiences first and then finding publishers. Many others have found publishing deals through small press houses.

A growing trend, started by Cory Doctorow, is to release a free PDF of a book when you launch the print version. Some, like Doctorow, release the whole book; others release a number of chapters. Still, it’s the concept of the free sample or teaser that works–check it out for free, if you like it, then buy. Sometimes recipients won’t like it. Sometimes they will like it, but just smile and move on. (I do this all the time in the grocery store.) Sometimes they will buy. Everyone I know who has given away free contents has said it increased sales. I’ve gotten more than one email from a consumer of my free content saying that they appreciated the free book and were buying several print copies to give away. It’s difficult to quantify, of course; you can’t say x people downloaded, and y of those people purchased, but there’s no arguing that getting your work in front of people reduces obscurity. People may or may not buy your book if they have heard of you. They will not buy your book if they don’t know it exists.

What’s to stop them from downloading the book, reading it, and never giving you a cent? Nothing. What’s to stop them from going to the library or borrowing it from a friend, reading it, and never giving you a cent? Nothing. Doctorow offers a “think like a dandelion” concept for growth of audience. Instead of nurturing your book in private and hoping it gets into the hands of a reader who will pet it and love it and call it George, you send it out in EVERY direction. Like dandelion seeds, your work will fall on some hard pavement or languish in an unread RSS feed. But some of it will get into the cracks in the sidewalk and find readers (who may become fans and paying customers) you never would have found otherwise.

The good thing is some agents and editors are getting wind of the power of online popularity, and thus they have developed the term “platform.” We all need this now–we need to come to publishing already proven that we can entertain an audience. The way you entertain an audience online is to give away content. When we bring along our audience, who loves us because we give them shiny trinkets, will publishers then refuse to let us give away anything else?

I’m quite aware it’s easy for me to talk about this — my career is still developing. I can afford to take chances and experiment. I have nothing to lose. More experienced people may be looking to be safe, to view giving things away as anathema. Experienced businesspeople think they can still herd the sheep where they want them to go. But the truth is, with the Internet, the sheep are running the show. They’re used to free content, and if made to pay, they will look elsewhere for the freebies.

I believe a successful merging of digital and print content is the way to keep publishing alive. I don’t believe in a kumbaya lifestyle that claims art is meant to be given away always; I want to make a living by writing. I am of the opinion that enticing people to consume my content for free will sell more copies. So I release stuff via audio, blog, PDF, and soon iPhone app, desktop widget, and any other way I can come up with. The more people I touch, the more people will buy my books.

So I’m not afraid. Publishing is changing. I’m ready to see what it turns into and change my expectations with it.