SquarePeg Books

So…

FP Dorchak lauded my awesomeness on his page.

I guess that means I’ll have to name a character in a book after him or something. I suppose Frank Dorchak could be a criminal mastermind somewhere in my steampunk series. Or maybe an engineer. Ooo… there’s a kid in the second one I was thinking about bringing back in his 20’s for another book later on. The gods know I struggle to find “real” names for that series. For some reason, I want to name every character “Gary” or “Aloysius.”

But aside from the obligatory recognizing and one-upping back and forthness, the lauding put my brain in a bit of a pickle (One could argue that my brain is always in a pickle, since I hide it from my kids in a pickle jar at the back of the fridge behind the milk). Which wasn’t FP’s intent, I know, but it still happened on two levels.

1. Now that I’ve been recognized by one of my self-publishing heroes, I have to… you know… actually produce something of halfway decent grandeur.
   1. No pressure. Really.
2. He confirmed one of my greatest fears:
   1. Authors don’t get anywhere without Facebook, apparently.
   2. I’m going to have to do that Facebook thing in a few years (Shut up – Something else might come along that is new and hot for social media and… Okay, yes, I remember the flop that was SecondLife that I also never participated in…).

This totally sucks (The second point more so than the first. I was already sweating it out over the first, it just amped the pressure a bit.).

Saying Facebook (or Twitter or Instagram or what have you) to me is akin to saying “Humperdink” to Miracle Max in The Princess Bride. Which if you have not seen, you need to, because it’s ridiculously funny and quite relaxing in its simplicity. A little dated, but still fun.

I’ve read articles – 2-4 posts a day. Meaningful content. Pictures – gotta have pictures that relate to the post and what-not. Relate to the community you’re trying to reach. Don’t spam. Spam is bad. Keep your posts shortish. Interact with your readership. Don’t forget to comment or “like” back on everything. Don’t repeat what’s on your blog. Don’t just post a link to your blog – keep the material fresh and interesting. Don’t constantly talk about your book . Good gramar and speelling (oops) are a must. Short posts. And on and on and on.

I’m trying to apply some of it here (don’t judge me – it’s a process).

I’ve lurked on author yahoo groups in which some authors talk about how well they “know” their 3000+ fans – “One told me her daughter just picked her nose today for the first time and posted a picture of it and it’s so cute!”

Uhhhh… that’s kinda creepy to me. You’ve never met that person physically, and yet ya’ll are sharing details on that level.

I know not everyone does it, but so many of them do, and some expect you to do it too.

This original post was a lot longer – I went on for something like 1100 words. But cutting it here, I think, is best. I’m dealing with a lot of kattywampus in the brain, and it isn’t a good thing right now, as far as my writing goes.

Some of us are just luddites, and while we don’t fear change, we’re kinda excessively cautious about it. And some of us… well…

It takes longer for us to adapt, I guess.