I'm on facebook (as myself, and as Tamara Siler Jones), on Google+, and on Twitter. Some of these activities are professional while some are purely social - I have quite a lot of friends and extended family who use some or all of these services, and, frankly, it's kind of nice to know what my cousin in Georgia is up to - but they do take a lot of time to monitor and update and such. I'd really like to cut back.
But, as an author and a somewhat public person, I need to maintain an online presence that's easy for fans and new readers to access. I've been thinking about re-starting the TSJ website again, that was certainly easy for the readers to find me, but interactions were difficult and often mired by spam. This blog has not yet received one single spam comment, and I've had no trouble with any of the social networks or their affiliates spamming me, not yet at least.
I am going to sell mainstream/thrillers under a different name, so there's that diversification, too. Do I have two unrelated sites? Put both under the 'tambo' banner somehow? Maintain two separate everythings? I've already made a blog, email and a G+ account for the pseudonym, but what about all the rest? Heck, am I better off, for sales and my sanity, to just write the mainstream books as Tammy Jones (or Tamara Jones) instead of a totally different name?
I love talking with all of you, comments and emails and other interactions (in some ways, that's the best part of this job, and many of you have become good friends over these past years), and I don't want to become a hermit, I'd just like to find a way to manage all of these 'internet presence' responsibilities without spending so much time doing it.
I'd love to hear any suggestions you might have, and remember, you can always email me at tambowrites AT gmail DOT com. :)
{{huggs}} and have a great week, everyone!
2 comments:
I was actually watching something on my local news tonight about small businesses and their social media presence but I think it would be apropos to you. :) They said to pick one thing, focus on it and do it well. That makes a lot of sense in a lot of ways actually. Stability is important I think.
As a reader and a fan I look for a few things from 'my' authors.
-Clean, easy to navigate web-site
-Clear, easy to find and read book-list (separated by either reading order and/or series)
-Coming soon section
-At least one active social media outlet
Let me explain that last one. If an author mostly blogs I want it to be updated regularly – even if it's not about their writing. If you are going to focus on an author page on Facebook or G+ keep it current. I think a lot of authors have websites that get left to go stagnant. I see 'coming soon' stuff that was released a year ago and no updates. Drives me bat shit crazy! If you can't maintain a website maybe it's not the best way to go. If you are going to Twitter, do it lots and about everything. :)
Personally, my problem with Facebook and/or G+ is that I, as a person, don't seem to have the sort of privacy controls I want. I like to read erotica. I don't necessarily want my family or some of my friends to know that. So I don't follow those authors on FB or G+. I follow them on Twitter and on their blogs. If they don't have a blog or don't have a Twitter…um, not much following from me. I am working on being more interactive on blogs (see, I'm commenting on yours!) because I generally read via Google Reader and blogs allow me some more privacy in terms of who sees what I follow.
One of my favorite author's website is an excellent example of a site being reader/blogger friendly. Moira Rogers (http://www.moirarogers.com/). There is a shit ton of stuff but it's easy to navigate. It's actually a writing team and both of them are very active on Twitter. And I love that insight into them personally and professionally. Their blog is frequently updated too.
My blog is a WordPress blog. The platform is clean and very user friendly on the back end. You can easily update static pages (like book-list, coming soon) while having the dynamic content of a blog. There are very good spam control plug ins and other cool widgets that make a website both visually appealing and easy to navigate. I'd be more than happy to set-up and/or admin a WordPress site for you. I do so for Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog Tour (http://csffblogtour.com/ )(and that stuff doesn't mesh well with my enjoyment of erotica! Call me bi-polar) and also did so for my friend's campground website. It's something that I am good at and I really enjoy! I think you had someone else who maintained your TSJ site didn't you? Maybe that person is familiar with WordPress. Just let me know if you need any help and I'm more than happy to do so.
So pick one or two things and kick those things asses. Delegate to someone tech savvy and responsible if you need to.
As for the pseudonym? I've seen authors that combine them on one site very successfully. Cara McKenna is one (http://www.caramckenna.com/). Actually her website is beautiful all around. I *heart* it.
And…this has turned into an epic post of epicness so I'll wind down now.
TIna!!!
Thanks for the links! :)
I figure I'm going to need a website again, as much as it, frankly, frightens me (I dunno what it was, but I had nightmares about the dang thing) and I had one good friend hosting it while another did the updates and things, so really, all I did was supply content and create the graphics.
And I need to be better about updating things in a regular schedule. That's what I find especially hard, sharing with people I don't know. And Twitter. Aaack. lol
Thanks for the comments, hon. {{huggs}} I'll do the best I can.
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