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Winners List & How Do You Manage Your Social Media?

First, I'd like to announce the winners of last week's giveaway.

The winners of the 5-page critiques are:
First crit: Natasha Hanova of 'Writes By Moonlight'
Second crit: Hope Roberson of 'Writing With Hope'
And the third crit--two crits actually (because I'm feeling generous = P)--go to...
Sara H. & Joel P., two of the OYANer students who are studying writing using the One Year Adventure Novel curriculum. Sara & Joel are home-schooled students, both in 11th grade.

The winner of the $15 Amazon gift card is:
Jamie DeMoville Adams

Woot!!!

Here's proof Rafflecopter chose -- not me:
= )


To everyone who participated - Thank you!

And to C.B. Wentworth - Thanks for the award and the kind mention. ; )
Visitors - if you haven't started following CB's blog, you should.

I also wanted to throw this in...
For a super-interesting post on indie publishing by Susan Kaye Quinn, click here.

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Now for today's blog topic...
Once again, I don't have a guest scheduled and I'm feeling fairly uninspired, so I've decided to ask you for your opinions.

Thanks to Carrie Butler and Melissa Sugar's Get Fired Up blog contest combined with Rach's Platform Building Campaign, I was suddenly thrust into the world of social media.


Don't think I'm not grateful! I'm very thankful for these ladies and their help. I mean, it was the perfect storm. I would have been a fool to say no. But that didn't make it any easier for this forty-something mother of three who barely manages a couple of emails and a personal Facebook account to be launched into the world of professional writers and serious social media.

It was only last week I figured out--as I was staring at my Google reader with the 65 blogs and their collective 600+ unread posts--that I could click a button labeled 'mark all as read' instead of scrolling through each and every blog post to clear the numbers. Ah HA! Now the title of the blog only turns bold when there's a new post. So much easier to see whose blog I need to visit! (I know some of you are laughing, but that really was a woot-out-loud moment for me. = P)

Now that my blog's up and running and my nerves are settling back down, I need to come up with some kind of social media schedule so I can keep up with what's new and form those important relationships in the writing world while, at the same time, not letting my writing time suffer. Since my main blog posting day is Wednesday, I decided to make that my social media day, too, and spend more time than usual visiting blogs and sifting through tweets on Twitter. Still, I could use some suggestions.

  • How do you organize your social media duties and incorporate that with finding time to write?
  • How do you keep up with a Twitter feed that speeds by faster than the winning car at Daytona?
  • What do you set as priorities when you delve into the social media jungle?
  • And how do you not get lost in there?

Tell me, please. I can't wait to read your answers!

Comments

  1. Congratulations, winners! :)

    [Blog]
    - My phone is set to ask if I've done my blog post every Monday & Thursday.
    - Whenever possible, I write posts ahead of time and schedule them.
    - I keep a freebie planner on my desk for planning post themes, blog hops, etc.

    [Twitter]
    - Between TweetDeck and e-mail alerts, I'm usually set. Oh, and thank God for "lists"!

    [Other]
    - Right now, my priority is to make lasting relationships in the industry/blogosphere and promote other writers.
    - I'm sure my priorities will shift after my book is published (whenever that happens), but not much. I refuse to spam! LOL

    I hope that helps! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great list - Thanks! *grabs tablet to take notes* I'm not kidding. You listed a couple things I still need to do. = )

      Delete
    2. PS:
      Carrie said, "My phone is set to ask if I've done my blog post every Monday & Thursday."

      My laptop is set to alarm when it's time to wake the kids and watch for the bus. Does that count? = P

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    3. Hah! Yes. It means your memory is just as reliable as mine. :P

      Delete
  2. In the beginning I tried to read every tweet. The first 3 days I was on twitter I barely sleep. I quickly started seeing the redundancy. Now I use HootSuite to create separate streams. It includes a stream for DMs and another for when you've been mentioned. I check those out first to make sure I don't miss any directed at me. I have another stream for the people I have found to be most valuable to follow, so I can scan their tweets first. Then I scan the total feed for what sounds like interesting articles and reviews. I've cut down to about 1.5 - 2 hours/day for Twitter and Facebook. I'm sticking with just those two at this time. I also blog 2x/week now. I try to write some in advance. I don't think I've completely found my rhythm yet, but I feel I'm getting close. I hope this helps.
    Richard Alan

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congratulations to the winners!

    How do you organize your social media duties and incorporate that with finding time to write? All my writing is on my train to and from the city. All the social media stuff gets done in the evening when I get home or I schedule it in transit while I'm out for family activities.

    How do you keep up with a Twitter feed that speeds by faster than the winning car at Daytona? I have group set up in Twitter so it's relatively easy to keep track of those who matter...like you! :)

    What do you set as priorities when you delve into the social media jungle? My priority is Twitter first, blog second. Twitter has more of an impact on building a trust with those who follow. Blogger is a great outlet to let loose when an idea hits me that is greater than 140 characters. And Facebook is for family.

    And how do you not get lost in there? Very carefully! :D I enjoy interacting with people--connecting--but ultimately my WIP is why I'm on social media anyway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great comment! (And FINALLY I find someone else whose Facebook is only for family.) Thanks for stopping by. = )

      Delete
  4. Writing Priorities:
    1. Write
    2. Revise
    3. Repeat
    4. Take five minute breaks to visit blogs and comment
    5. Write, revise, repeat
    6. Take a one minute break to visit twitter or facebook
    7. Control the urge to spend more time on social media
    8. Write, revise, repeat

    :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL. It's the limit of minutes in #s 4 & 6 and the entire #7 that's giving me problems. hahaha *sits on surfing hands* I'm trying...

      Thanks for visiting my blog, Margo. = )

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  5. Thank your for the kind words! :-)

    Social media is a bit of new thing for me, too. Twitter is like learning a new language and I'm slowly getting the hang of it, but watching others and trying something new each week.

    As far as keeping up with blogs, my e-mail and wordpress's wonderful "live" subscription list really help me keep track of what I've read and what I haven't. I try to squeeze in blog reading whenever I have a free minute. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have to admit, I also occasionally click the "mark all as read" button on Google Reader!
    I should probably have set days where I blog and visit/comment on other people's blogs, but I don't. So I do it every day. And it takes a LOT of time! I think I need to change that after the April A to Z Challenge...
    Oh, if you're looking to ENTER a giveaway, now that you're finished HOSTING one, I've got one happening at the mo that's a little different from my normal type of giveaway :-)

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  7. YAY for the critique! Amazing skills you have! And as far as time management and blogging, I used to use it as my reward for getting my other stuff done. Now with the A to Z challenge, I've spent more time getting ready for that instead of writing and reading other people's blogs. I hope to find the balance again soon :) Thank you so very much for the critique :) So excited for the changes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, thanks for such a ringing endorsement! (Can I call on you to repeat it when I advertise for more crit partners? LOL) = D Seriously - I'm glad you found it helpful. I was happy to do it. And I loved the story! Y'all keep your eye on this one. ; ) We've got some serious competition on our hands.

      About the A to Z, I considered it, but I didn't want to post every day. I decided to focus on taking time to follow more people on Twitter and surf around for interesting and educational blogs.

      Thanks for the kind words, Hope, and thanks for visiting. = )

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  8. I'm on Twitter, but never use it. I'm not on FB. My social media is purely blogging. I'm sure this isn't 'right', but it's what suits me. I already spend too much time reading blogs as it is :-) I have set times when I write or revise, otherwise I'd never get off the net!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think each person has to find what works for them. Writers also have to factor in how they plan to publish, too. That will decide how much of a platform they need to build. If blogs work for you, then do that. And I'm glad you took time to visit mine. ; )

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