Ahh, Social Media

Social Media. Right.

They tell me it’s important for authors to have strong social media outlets. Blogging, Facebook, Linked In, Pinterest, Twitter—I should be active and posting to all these and more. What they don’t tell you is the massive time-suck that results. There are schedules to keep (post x times a week on FB, x times on Twitter), strict formatting rules to adhere to (Pinterest needs vertically formatted pix, FB square), and wording advice (get them to respond, dammit). Of course, you should also be creating meaty, multi-layered, insightful, linked blogs that will draw in readers and give you A Following. With pithy headlines and captivating images.

My question: When in the hell do I write?

It’s difficult for me to shift gears. Social media writing is very different from writing fiction. I’m not one of those who can bounce back and forth between the two with ease. It takes me time to ramp up and get in novel-writing mode. After writing, it takes me hours to unwind and leave my fictional world for reality. I have no energy or interest in talking about myself; I just want to have a glass of wine and veg.

How do you handle it? Help me, please!