It’s been an interesting week for me, to say the least.
After more than two years of being virtually non-existent as a writer, I’ve
started to come back online with my work goals firmly in place. One of the
things I’ve been doing behind the scenes is studying, a lot! The craft of writing
is an art, despite the vast multitude of people who think it’s only words on a
page. I know this because I used to be one of the people who always said it
wasn’t a special talent, just something I did – putting words on a page. Time
has taught me it is so much more than that, and I want to do it right, and do
it well again.
Over the past few days one of my “goals” has been to
streamline my social media. Back in 2006 or so when I created my Facebook page
and my Twitter account, and all that good stuff, it was all so new and exciting…
so many people wanted to be friends or follow me, etc. I thought it was
wonderful. Time has taught me some lessons there, too, of course. So, the past
few days have begun a change in how I do my social media presence, too. I
tackled Twitter first, because I’ve loved Twitter much more than Facebook over
the years, but I could no longer pull a live conversation out of the
light-speed streams via my Tweetdeck. I’ve talked to some pretty awesome people
via Twitter over the years, and I wanted to get back to that, to a slower
stream filled with people I really wanted to “tweet” to and hear from. With
that in mind, I began cleaning house, and my list of following went from 2700+
to less than 300 after several hours of sitting here and looking over all the
accounts I was linked to. Now my Twitter stream is readable again, and I’m able
to actually speak to people and see what they’re saying in return – what a
concept!
Today, I started the Facebook clean up, and that one is
going to take a number of days to complete. No one has 4900+ friends, so it’s
time to be realistic. I’m working on moving the business of writing to my
business page, so please do feel free to connect there, I’ll be using it a lot
more than I used to!! (Denysé Bridger, Author)
My personal profile is being left for people I actual know or talk to for the
most part. My first day has already decreased the list by 800, and tomorrow is
another day.
I know some people will see this as me shooting myself in
the foot, and they may be right, but in truth, I need to start separating work
and personal. Too much of my life and struggles have become public property,
and I’ve reached the point where I want my books to speak for themselves. I don’t
want to have to beat people on the head and beg them to buy books. I have a
huge presence, but it’s never resulted in people buying my books anyway, so
really, there’s not much to lose at this stage.
Apart from this change of approach to social media, I’ve
taken a new approach to my books, too. No more writing what I think will sell, or
stuff that I really don’t like on any level myself. It’s time to go back to the
beginning and start fresh. The books that are in the works are novels, good ones!!
My forté was always romantic suspense, or mainstream romances, and that’s what
I’m doing again. Exciting, sensual romance with edge… I hope you’ll continue to
walk with me on the journey – I have a strong feeling the best is still in
front of us, my friends!!
May your days be Blessed, and your hearts smiling… today and
always! With my gratitude for your friendship and support... A new era begins….
I can't tell you how ecited I am to read this and watch your journey unfold with you! I love the novels you have in store for us and look forward to seeing your excitement as you complete them every step of the way! Love you bunches, beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, April. It's been a difficult journey to get here, but in the end, I think it's where I'm meant to be. I love what I've been working on for the first time in many years, and it makes such a difference. I love you, too, lady. Always.
DeleteI'm restructuring much of my life as well. I've taken long looks at priorities and made major changes. Congratulations on taking steps toward a more manageable life.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kayelle. We've been on this path together for a lot of years, haven't we? I have such respect for you and all you've accomplished. The business itself has undergone so many changes and fads over the years, and we've adapted to them all, but there is always that time when you look at things and realize you've lost your way a bit and it's time to go back. I wish you great success as you move forward, too. No doubt we'll be seeing each other on the way, as always.
DeleteCongratulations on moving on, in a great direction that I think will help you immensely, both as a writer and as an individual person. I have always liked and admired you, and I think you are more than capable of taking this journey. Romantic suspense is a genre you have a great gift for, and I think staying with it is a wonderful decision.
ReplyDeleteRoberta Stuemke
Thank you so much, Roberta. We've seen a lot together over our 20+ years friendship, and I know the next 20+ years will be just as interesting.
DeleteBest of luck, Denyse with your new direction. Romantic suspense is a rich genre and I'm certain you will find it rewarding. I agree about technology overwhelming one's life and writing if the author is not careful!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lindsay. Facebook clear out ended up with over 4000 people removed from my personal profile. Given only 35 moved to my business page, I think it's safe to assume I wasn't any more important to many of those "friends" than they were to me... ;)
DeleteI have similar goals. Best of luck with this. Once you have some order again, the words will flow. Looking forward to those new stories. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rose. Order has been restored, and things are moving forward at long last!! It felt very freeing, and I didn't realize until I'd done this just how much it was weighing me down.
DeleteCongrats on the changes you have made. It seems overwhelming but you are doing it right with goals in sight! I wish you all the best!
ReplyDeleteDear Melissa, my thanks, as always. You are always a bright presence and so encouraging. Thank you for stopping by.
DeleteIt's good to know that others feel overwhelmed by social media. I started building my twitter and Facebook followers years before my first book released, thinking it would really pay off when it did. All of the social media experts led me to believe this was the way to go. Boy, were they wrong! I recently reached 5k twitter followers, and more FB friends I don't know than those I do. No matter how much I retweet or share other peoples books, I get few in return. It's very disheartening. I think you have the right idea, and I've had doing the same in my mind for awhile. Thanks for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteMia, thank you. Social media is both blessing and curse to most writers. A long time ago I made the comparison of social media, and Facebook in particular, being like the information booth at a shopping mall - it doesn't sell books, it offers information on where to find them. With that in mind, many people jump on each new release, tell you they can't wait to buy it, but it ends there. The moment you accept that no matter what is said, most won't ever think about you or your book again, you can start to focus on what matters. Build your audience one person at a time, ultimately, it's a lot more satisfying.
DeleteAwesome, Denyse! Go for what is best for you. Always!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Stanalei. I'm working on it, slowly but surely....
DeleteI love to read about your goals as they can teach us so much!
ReplyDeleteDorothy!! Thanks for coming by. I am, if nothing else, very verbose about this business we're in, huh? *lol*
DeleteCongratulations on making some changes in your life. It may seem difficult right now but a year from now you'll see how this very moment transformed you. I'm proud of you and look forward to seeing what you create. Romantic Suspense is one of my favorite genres so I'll be on the lookout when it comes time to publish. Write what you want to write and your passion will shine throughout your stories. :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful website, by the way. I love it!
If you need anything, reach out (email, Twitter, etc.). In the meantime, I'll send you some positive vibes and huge doses of Light. :D
Thank you so much. We see each other on social media, and it's always a pleasure to chat with you. The coming year is going to be filled with a lot of changes, I know, and I expect most of them will be for the better.
DeleteThe blog site here is gorgeous, thanks in part of the talented Fiona Jayde for her gorgeous work on the title banner. I love blogger, it's so versatile, and I've gotten pretty good at making it work!!
Love and Light back to you, too, with my gratitude, N.N.
Denyse, I liked your author page. I think it's great that you're streamlining your life and writing what gives you pleasure. I wish you lots of luck and lots of sales.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cara. With the social media straightened out, I'm looking at HQN for the first time in years and working on a proposal for them. The dream just might come true after all... :)
DeleteYour gratitude is a beautiful thing to behold, Denyse. And getting clear on what can stay and what needs to go is so empowering. Like spring cleaning, your purge will improve your focus and productivity, and make writing more fun again.
ReplyDeleteYou know what they say about clutter, and all of us who use social media on a regular basis feel the overwhelm. I've wanted to purge many followers too, but don't want to delete the wrong ones!
Here's to the new chapter in your life. And yes, we'll continue to walk the journey together.
My dearest Gemma, thank you for stopping by, love. As I mentioned to someone else, this clear out was freeing, and it felt like the weight of the world being lifted off me in many ways. I have a clear idea of what I want, and now I can start working toward those goals.
DeleteI cleared out over 6500 people between Twitter and Facebook, my rule was simple - if I didn't recognize your name, or remember speaking to you, you were unfriended or unfollowed... that simple and clear... :)