Social Networking and Its Benefits
On June 22nd, 2009, I had brain surgery for my epilepsy. This left me with no energy and in the bed. So what does a person do when laid up like that? Well, Margaret Mitchell began writing Gone With The Wind after breaking her leg, but I don't expect to write the next great american novel just because of brain surgery. While I am a writer and was able to finish my book You Found Me, I hardly compare that to GWTW. I did, however, get to work on building a network just in case I was lucky enough to get published. Having people reading what you post can be very helpful.I started with my Twitter, building it up to a total of 2,000 followers at the time of writing this article. I added contacts with my LinkedIn Account, became of member of PEN, and joined various groups on my Facebook page. So has this produced any benefits for me? Believe it or not, the answer is yes.
The first thing these connections landed me was an article in Epilepsy Today , a European magazine, concerning my history with Epilepsy. The article is set to be published this December. This came from my connections with LinkedIn.
The second thing this did was land me as a guest on an online literary radio show about getting a self published book in bookstores, how to set up and handle book signings and more. This aired this past Labor Day and was also a result from the contacts I had on LinkedIn.
The most recent thing for me is being sent an advance copy of a book in order to write a review for it. This came from my connections I built up with Twitter.
Among other things with my Twitter, I have several major publishing houses and literary journals following me, which is definitely a step in the right direction for someone trying to be a published author.
Another site I like is Writing.com. I've posted numerous short stories and a book in order to get other peoples opinions and critiques on them, which have all been helpful. I also write for examiner.com as a movie critic; something I love and deeply passionate about is movies.
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