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Battery drain

I understand how tiresome it is when someone talks, talks, talks about social media use, the struggle of it, the do-we-really-need-it questions.

Over the years, you know my tendency is to rage against the algorithm. It’s my passion. I’ve deleted apps from my phone. Put them back on. Deleted certain accounts. You know the cycle; it’s the cycle of an addict.

A few weeks ago, I experienced a revelation regarding social media: It drains me. It makes me sluggish. I saps my motivation. It was a physical reaction.

The Simple (But Not Easy) 3-Step Way to Build a Platform without Social Media

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By Brendan O’Meara

So often I see people on social media doing all they can to get attention in some capacity. A lot of time is wasted on what the person says they want to do: write.

They might be begging for advice, or complaining about what to put on their website, or otherwise shouting frustratingly into the void hoping the algorithm will place them in front of readers and suddenly they will be famous and make a living from writing … books? Blog posts? Who the hell knows?! (I’m particularly sensitive to this because I was very much like this in the 2012-era.)

Here’s the TLDR version of this blog (!) post:

1. Start a permission-based newsletter available from your website

2. Write for as many publications as possible with your signature pointing people back to your website/newsletter

3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2

But you want more detail, right? Read on, friend.

Episode 311: Jane Friedman

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Jane Friedman came back, CNFers!

She’s practically running a school for writers with the incredible offerings she has over at janefriedman.com. If you want to be a better writer and, more importantly, have a greater understanding of what it means to marry your art with commerce, Jane’s work is required.

Though we didn’t delve into book proposals, a CNFin’ faux pas if there ever was one (my b), but I had taken a book proposal refresher with her as part of Creative Nonfiction Magazine’s offerings. She’s a pro. (@janefriedman)

So we dig into plenty of stuff that’s germane to your journey like author platform, building a newsletter audience, social media (and its trappings) and the tension you can glean from a show like Better Call Saul.

Yeah, But What’s In It for THEM?

By Brendan O’Meara

I’m a newsletter junkie and the best ones are the ones that have the reader in mind. And even something as simple as phrasing goes a long way.

What works for me, and I hope you keep this in mind for your readers, is when the author frames his or her suggestions in terms of what she thinks the end user will most benefit from. Austin Kleon does this perfectly.

Others, and I won’t single anyone out because I’m not about that noise anymore, will say things like: Song I’m listening to. Quote I’m pondering. Article I’m reading.

I. Don’t. Care.

That’s implicit in the recommendation and saying you’re pondering a quote is superfluous and downright egotistical.

I guest this is a rant of sorts, but when I see that I see someone who thinks he’s Moses coming down with the tablets.

But there is a lesson here that if we get by the stifling nature of always thinking about the audience, that keeping that in mind is a way to be of greater service, because all art must be in service of an audience. That audience, of course, is up to you.

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER!: Once a Month. No Spam. Can’t Beat It.