Are you a Survivor?

What does it take to be a Survivor in publishing? What traits do you think are most important?

I’m working with my critique partners on a panel presentation for the upcoming Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers conference, aka Colorado Gold Conference, scheduled this year for September 10, 11, 12 at Denver’s Renaissance Hotel. Actually, Kay Bergstrom is doing all the initial planning, and the rest of us are offering small suggestions.

The panel will be based on one of my favorite television shows, “Survivor.” “Where Do You Get Your Ideas?” will cover beginnings, middles and ends, and contestants (my fellow critique partners and I) will try to outwit and outlast each other and make it to the end without getting voted off. Should be great fun!

When I first heard the concept of “Survivor” (from Kay Bergstrom, actually, years ago, so this is coming full circle for me), I thought the idea of voting people off an island was repugnant – ill-spirited and insensitive. Watching the show, I learned quickly that it’s a game. And what can be more of a game, more of a competition than writing to get published?

What does it take to be a Survivor in publishing? What traits do you think are most important?

Twitter – Social Media Marketing Tool, or Time-waster?

Twitter-will this birdy's air stream help you fly?

Part 2 of the Twitter series by Janet Lane

(See prior post for part 1)

My survey
I surveyed eighty members of RMFW, asking (1) How long have you been Tweeting? (2) how many tweets do you generate per day? (3) How many Followers do you have? (4) Do you Tweet for just your novel writing, or do you have multiple brands/objectives? (5) What have you found to be the most helpful aspect of Tweeting? (6) Your final answer: Is Twitter a  /__/ time-waster or /__/ worthy promotional tool?

Survey says …
Out of eight author/writers, I heard from only four who have harnessed Twitter’s power to network and accomplish specific promotional goals.

The responses from non-Tweeters ranged from “never heard of it” to deep concerns that it would be a terrible time-waster.  One especially incredulous statement: “As an introvert, I’m just appalled.  Who needs to be in touch with people every moment of the day?”

What Twitter is
http://twitter.com  Twitter is an on-line networking group of over seven million people. Messages (tweets) are limited to just 140 keystrokes, so it’s what Associated Press writer Michael Liedtke calls “a potluck of pithy self-expression simmering with whimsy, narcissism, voyeurism, hucksterism, tedium, and sometimes useful information.”

Why Twitter is bad
The brevity of just 140 keystrokes severely limits your messages. The messages may never surpass mind-numbing chatter. It can be a huge time-waster, with no useful outcome. It can be a distraction from your more meaningful work and promotional activities. If you’re successful at building an interesting collection of people to Follow, you’ll never have sufficient time to listen to all of them. At the opposite end of the spectrum, you may send out a Tweet and receive absolutely no response. It’s hard to find people that you should be following. You may get obsessed with Twitter and become effectively chained to your computer or phone.  There may be negative Tweets about you or your company that may devastate.

Coming next – why Twitter is good, and how some writers have tapped this latest promotional tool’s strengths to promote their brand.

Like what you see?  Please credit me.  Thanks.