Q. How can we as writers harness the power of these new technologies to develop a presence and use the tools to create, communicate, collaborate?
Well, that's the question. It seems like the writers (mostly midlisters) who post on my listservs are all asking this same question. There are experts and marketers galore who love to share their advice. Some even think that most of this Web 2.0 isn't useful to marketing (or developing a presence).
The general wisdom seems to be that a writer should pick a few technologies and use them well, rather than use all technologies in a half-assed way. They (is that the royal they?) say to be sure to measure your responses, so you can track what works and what you should put aside. The downside is that every minute you spend updating your blog or your wiki or creating your YouTube video or posting new pics to your website is a minute you aren't writing. For those trying to make some sort of living at writing, it becomes a balancing act. How much time do I spend at what marketing activities to sell enough books so that I can keep writing for a living without starving to death. Most of the writers I know agree that publishers aren't going to market for you unless you happen to make the bestseller list regularly.
And, tying in my title, there are statistics that show we're all in a race against time before people give up reading for pleasure entirely. So I've decided to formally change my name in order to help market my work more effectively.
Henceforward, I shall forever (or at least for now) be writing under the name . . .
Victoria Sue Janet Clancy King Evanovich Grafton Wright
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Congrats on kicking off this project!!! As you say, it is so important to identify the tools that will work best for promoting and marketing your writing. The best salesperson for a book is the author. At least, that's what publishers will say. Writing and publishing are the first hurdles, building a readership is the next. No readership, or a limited one, equals no future book deals. J.A. Konrath spoke to our group a couple of years ago, prior to his second multi-book contract, and he talked about the intense work he does to market and promote his books. Web 2.0 will give us many ideas for how. Love your reflections. Gives me much to think about.
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