Even though I own a smart phone, laptop, have a Facebook page, website and blog, I fear irreversible errors I might make in the upkeep of these devices. My brain works in big picture creative mode, not in the minutia of technical detail.
The first time I heard a guest speaker at a Tri-Valley Branch meeting promote the value of social media I felt overwhelmed. Fear enveloped me and I went home discouraged. It reminded me of the years I worked for a high tech firm in the eighties. I didn’t have a degree in computer technology, but the expectation by the company meant I had to learn a high level query language in order to give statistics to the marketing department. I took a couple of night classes, and they helped. But I never quite conquered the desire to flee the technology of computers.
Over time, I’ve observed the progression of writing peers who established professional Facebook pages, websites, blogs, and tweets. This encouraged me and I made up my mind to embrace social media in order to promote my poetry, essays, short stories and novel, which is in its third rewrite.
I also had to change my thinking about self-promotion. Would family and friends think I bragged about my ability to write? I decided to, as the cliché says, “Let the chips fall where they may.” A few publishing credits have increased my confidence too.
I’m learning to feel more comfortable with social media and I’m thankful for the encouragement from my writer friends, CWC Tri-Valley Branch and our newly formed social media group.