IT GOT ME!

Dear Readers,

I just looked up the meaning of the word - Syndrome on WordWeb -
This is one of the meanings I found -
Syndrome: a complex of concurrent things.

And now I think I'm suffering from a new syndrome. 

They call this new syndrome SNAPOS.
Short for:
               Social 
               Networking 
               And 
               Promoting  
               Overload 
               Syndrome

(No one really knows who "They" are)

SNAPOS makes one tired, irritable, lethargic, and basically - sick of the computer.  For a writer, that is a very BAD thing.

This is a fairly new syndrome, so new in fact, that most physicians are completely unaware of it. At the current time, the main carriers of this syndrome tend to be indie writers who spend far too much time on the internet doing all sorts of things in the name of MARKETING. Some of these things may include, but are not limited to:
Blogging, Networking, Face-booking (posting-sharing-liking), Pinning, Tweeting, Google-plus-ing, YouTube uploading, Goodreads-reviewing, Linking-In, and last but certainly not least, having a WEBSITE of their very own.

In addition to a regular Facebook Profile, some writers have set up a Facebook Page specifically geared for their writing and/or individual Book or Series. Perhaps they even have two or more Google+ pages, one Personal and one for their Book Series. Many have uploaded their book-trailers to YouTube. And most of them have a Blog and Twitter accounts as well as Pinterest, GoodReads, and LinkedIn accounts.  All in the hopes of advertising their books...having an "Online Presence" AND...Getting their NAME out there...



But here's what's really happening:

Raring to GO!

Here we go...

Going...going...

almost gone...

GONE

Just looking at all this work  networking is making me dizzy...

By the way; Social Networking and Promoting Overload Syndrome (SNAPOS)is no respecter of race, ethnicity, religion, creed, color, gender, level of education, genre choice, or planet of origin.  If you are an Indie Writer, SNAPOS will get you in the end, and you will wonder why you have no energy left for actually living your life, much less doing what you love the most: Writing.

Since there is no cure for SNAPOS, I suggest you  Do nothing for 2 minutes  at least once every day. It may help... and it's quite relaxing. (Turn you speakers on)



THIS is my new ♥ favorite picture/meme: 

Try to have a great (productive) week!

And thanks for reading/commenting/clicking on the blue links.

   

The Power of Words

I posted a video from YouTube a few days ago.  I posted it on my personal facebook profile and on my Writer's Page - which automatically posts it to twitter as well. I was surprised at how little response it generated.  I have no way of knowing how many people bothered to look at it, nor how many saw it and scrolled right on by as they looked at their homepages. But it made me wonder.  Am I wasting my time with all this "social networking" ?
                                                      

     My facebook profile shows that I have 169 Friends and my Writer's Page says that 90 people Like this.  My twitter account says I have 137 followers.  Out of all these potential lookers, there were only 4 comments and 4 likes, with 3 of those being the same people. Does this mean that most people just don't take the time to click 'like' or make a comment - even if they are actually reading and not just scrolling?


It's not like I was the creator of that video or anything.  But what it had to say in such a short amount of time was absolutely astounding. ( 1 minute and 47 seconds) As a writer it showed me how important words can be, and as a human it showed me there is yet hope in this world of ours.


Perhaps waking up to another dreary, gray day has dampened my outlook on social networking.  When I looked at today's weather on my computer it said: drizzle.  Now they have upgraded it to: Overcast.  Yay.

Perhaps I am spending too much energy wondering why people don't care enough to interact within this social networking world.  Or maybe I am spending too much time clicking like on my friends updates and videos and photos and quotes - making comments when I am moved by something they have posted or Blogged.  Lets face it - it is hard to keep up with all of it.

Looking up right now at my Google reader notifier, it says I have 30 blogs to read and my Google mail  checker says there are 20 emails, some of which will be Blogs I have subscribed to from WordPress. That's not counting both of my facebook account updates, twitter tweets, nor my Writer's Circle group posts.

I think I am trying too hard. And when so few people interact back, I tend to take it personally.  Or, like I mentioned earlier, perhaps it's just the bleak day.  It is only 29 degrees.  And did I mention how gray, bleak,  drizzly and overcast it is?  Oh, I just looked outside.  It's snowing.  Sideways.

In case any of you missed it, and are interested in the video that got me started on all of this...here it is:

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DHzgzim5m7oU&h=b5cc8

There are over 3 Million hits on this video. 3,700,755 to be exact.
What did you think the woman wrote?  Were you surprised?  How did the video make you feel?

And now I am going to get off of all the social networks and spend some time editing and writing.  That always makes me feel better, no matter what's going on outside.  Not to mention the great feeling that comes with knowing I am not wasting my time!

As always, thanks for reading!

♫ Bloggin ♪ Twitterin ♪ Facebookin ♪ Writin ♫

My Blog

Okay, so I've taken loads of advice over the past two weeks regarding the importance of blogging- getting yourself out there and visible to the world.  I've written only two blogs so far (this being the third) and I have gotten some feed-back, a few nice comments, and met many new friends. Yay!

I am also following roughly  29 blogs here on Blogger Dashboard...and about 16-18 more from Networked blogs and miscellaneous other sights.  I love reading blogs!  I love learning new things about writing and publishing and how other writers spend their busy days.  It's really exciting to hear when they have a new/first book coming out! I share their joy!  :)

I've gotten a little better at Twitter too.  Learning all about the #ff and the @so and so, the difference between the home page and the Profile page, re-tweeting and messaging people.

My Twitter

So far, I have 30 followers and I am following 63!  Awesome, right?  The most awesome thing about Twitter is that if you are following someone who is "in the know" they will help you understand what the heck is going on.  Oh, and through Twitter, I found out how important it is to have an Author Page on Facebook!  My friend's link took me to another author's page who gave fantastic directions to set one up!  And so I did...  Why wouldn't I?  Many authors that I follow have two FaceBook profiles...one personal and one for writing.

My Author Page

So last night, about 7p.m. or so, I go to the Page section of Face Book and begin filling out the data for my new Author Page! Whoopee!  About 8 1/2 hours later...I go to bed.  Yes, after 3:30a.m.  I am far more computer/face-book/twitter/blog- illiterate than I ever realized.  But now I know.  And after all, we should never stop learning.  What I've learned is this:  I have not spent nearly enough time actually writing lately.  (Other than my three blogs)  I have met many wonderful new friends, and hope to meet many more.  I have gotten excellent information and advice from being so "connected."  And for that I am grateful.  But my new goal is to get on a better schedule.  To set aside specific time just for writing.  Because after all, that is what I want to do above all else.  Write!

But heck - as long as I spent the time setting it up, feel free to check out my Author Page and Like me!  :)

There's a link on the right side of this blog ----------------------------------->

Again I must ask:  Wish me luck!
PS.  I just looked up at my Google-Reader-Notifier...There are 20 New Blogs waiting for me to read.  I think I may need a bit more than just luck. :p

How do you other writers out there schedule your time to include reading blogs, writing blogs, tweeting, face-book updating-- and still find enough time for writing? I'm thinking the answer may be not getting online until the writing goal is met for the day.

Here's a link to the awesome Nathan Bransford whose blog tells you how to "Facebook for Authors"
http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2011/02/facebook-for-authors-how-to-get-started.html

For reading! 

               Sharon :)