Monica Valentinelli's Blog: booksofm.com, page 97

The Idea of Limited Words

I have a few mentors that I touch base with from time to time. One of them recently said to me that I was smart to balance my workload based on free vs. paid and original vs. tie-in, because we only have so many words we will write.

The idea that a writer has a limited amount of words they'll write in their lifetime is, quite frankly, horrifying to me. What happens on the days that I didn't write? Should I feel guilty that I neglected to pour myself into a story?

Even though the idea of limited words has implications, I think those are worth exploring because writing on "borrowed time" raises several questions like:

Am I writing what I want to write? Or what others want me to write?
Have I gotten paid for what I'm worth?
Am I satisfied with the submission choices I've made?
Do I know what markets are a good fit for my work?
Am I stretching and experimenting with my limits?
How am I measuring progress? By my own publications or someone else's?
Where do I want to be as a writer in five years? Ten?
What form of writing do I enjoy the most? Least?
If I died tomorrow, would I be satisfied with my work?

The other thing that I feel this concept does, is help you shape how you spend your time. While you'll never know when you reach your limit of words, I suspect that the fear one day you'll run out of them may help shape not only what you write, but where you submit and how much you get paid for it.

[Recommended Reading] The Blogfather Speaks Out

This interview with MetaFilter founder Matt Haughey has some extremely grounded viewpoints on the future of blogging, it's value and all about the community that Metafilter has fostered. I think this is a good viewpoint to read — especially for writers.

The site still basically looks like it did in 1999, but in the meantime, all those Web 2.0 sites like Digg and Reddit have popped up. Do you ever worry MetaFilter will look old-fashioned?

It's tough; people don't want anything changed ever. We have a thousand or so hyper-fans who hate everything. Every tiny little change we make, we test out with everyone who works behind the scenes, then we talk about what we're going to say to everyone, how we're going to present it to them. There's a culture [former Harper's editor] Paul Ford wrote about called the "Why wasn't I consulted?' culture: WWIC. And [MetaFilter] is the ultimate example. We have an entire subsite talking about the site. So everyone is consulted on everything, and everyone has an opinion on everything. — SOURCE: The Blogfather at Willamette Week

If you have a few minutes, give The Blogfather at Willamette Week a read. I think, if anything, it confirms that the value of blogging is that it's not as fleeting as what you can find on social media. For a writer? Well, I'm sure you can see where I'd be going with that… *wink*

[New Release] Instant Antagonists: The Creepy Cottontail

I have a strange relationship with Lovecraft, because even though he's all about "your mind can't handle the horrible truth" I often obsess over think of all the things that could go wrong. What if the cultists were preventing Cthulhu from rising? What happens if the Necronomicon is read backward?

Or, as in this latest case of what-ifness… What happens if a particular Outer God screws up royally?

The latest addition to FR Press's line of Instant Antagonists was born after I penned a particular sordid tale called "The Curse of the Yellow Rabbit." I give you? The Creepy Cottontail. Incorporating reviews and feedback from the debut character in the series, you'll find expanded content and plenty of systemless ways to infuse this horrible hare into your modern horror game.

Introducing a New Instant Antagonist

Description

INSTANT ANTAGONISTS are systemless creatures or beings designed for use in existing modern supernatural/horror games. Many will be supernatural in nature; some will be (at least nominally) human. While one antagonist may be truly evil, others are simply selfish, immoral or may even be victims themselves.

Looking for a new twist on an old legend or trope? This product is a perfect addition to a GM's modern horror game collection. The INSTANT ANTAGONISTS line offers details on each monster's origins, powers and plenty of story hooks to include them in your campaign or evening's session.

The Creepy Cottontail

At first glance, Queenie looks like any other cottontail — but is he? Come a little closer and see for yourself why this nefarious hare has cultists (and non-cultists alike) running around in circles.

Is an Outer God really trapped inside the body of a fluffy bunny rabbit? Will he enslave the minds of pet store owners everywhere? Or will The Creepy Cottontail entice a small town's population to turn on each other in a bloody fight to the finish?

The Creepy Cottontail is one creature you can't fall asleep to forget…

Click here to check out The Creepy Cottontail on RPGNow.com

Written by Monica Valentinelli. Edited by Matt M McElroy.

[Announcement] Dork Tower Central and Invisible Me

[image error]Friday, I popped in at Dork Tower to shed my proverbial cloak of invisibility with this blog post.

Occasionally, you're going to get some updates from people that aren't John – LIKE ME, MONICA! – about what he's up to or his work, because I've locked him in his studio he's busy drawing at his table. So, without further adieu, I shed my cloak of invisibility to drop some hints about what's coming up. — SOURCE: And Now, A Note from Monica at DorkTower.com

I started working with John behind-the-scenes a few hours a week and wanted to share this with you because you may see the occasional fan girl squee update here. While I'm not at liberty to talk about the details of what I'm doing, I can tell you that I couldn't be happier the direction my life is taking.

Well, time to put back on my cloak of invisibility. What's this rabbit hole doing here? Now you see me? Now you – AHHHHHHHHHH!

Learning How to Let Go: Social Media Blackout Results

For my closing post in the series about the results of my 100 day social media blackout, I'd like to talk about one of the best side effects of this experiment. And that is? Learning how to let go.

As I mentioned in an earlier post this week, I talked about how I was hypersensitive to people using exaggerated personas on social media to sell their books. Today, I'd like to point out that you, too, may be hypersensitive to things online in the form of comments, articles and headlines.

In the grand scheme of things, what is a bad comment worth to your life? Your business? Would you let a crappy review ruin your day? How 'bout a headline that you never clicked through?

Forums, mailing lists, comments, etc. are going to incur negative comments along with positive ones. The more popular you are, the bigger your business is, the chances of less-than-ideal comments increase. It's not necessarily a sign of progress, it's a sign that you've attracted the other end of the bell curve.

Having worked with as much data as I have, I normally don't care about the one comment because I treat them as outliers. What I look for are patterns as opposed to the one-off snarky remark. Yes, I'm human — not an android — so comments made by people who obviously didn't read through an article or have a knee jerk reaction based on a crappy assumption get under my skin.

But not as much as before.

I now feel that a good social media strategy — whether it be personal or professional — needs to include periods of black out or times when the social media/community manager is not online. The idea of constant connectivity and notifications might sound like it'd benefit you, but after this experiment I'm finding that it will actually hurt you over the long haul. Why? Simply because you run the risk of overreacting the more connected you are. You become, as I did with personas or as others have with comments, hyper-reactive.

The consequences of being hyper-reactive aren't always good. Sometimes, people feel creeped out if they make a complaint and you've magically commented on their Twitter feed or Facebook page. Other times, it's "expected" that you do. Other times, your comment may come across as talking down to that person or be overly sarcastic.

The other toll that this takes on you, may be in your writing. Timing is important to social media, but for articles? That aren't ephemeral? It can really chip into the way your prose flows on the page and what words you use. This is especially true if you "trick for a click."

I've often mentioned to companies and individuals that the best way to manage expectations is to have a social media or community policy. I cannot stress enough how important this is for everyone involved in a social media profile. I cannot. If someone is obligated to log in offline or respond to something twenty-four seven — that needs to be clearly stated because the other side of that? Is that monitoring also comes into play and that takes time. Perceptions can ruin relationships, so having these things in place before disaster strikes can help facilitate better discussions and positive expectations.

For many reasons, if anything this experiment has taught me that there is value in being offline. Like anything, having a good perspective requires balance and the ability to let the small stuff go. Without that, well… that's when you may find yourself as frustrated with the tools as I was.

Hope you enjoyed the coverage of this experiment and the results.

Prioritize By Value: Social Media Blackout Results

So yesterday I talked about how all signs pointed in a positive direction during the one-hundred day social meida blackout. Today, I'm going to bring up something I saw in action: the need to prioritize by value.

When you're working in a creative field, it's not like being on an assembly line. You don't constantly produce every minute you're in front of your computer. Some writers, like myself, often research, plot and think without ever touching our fingers to the keyboard. Others are different. When I do write, I write very quickly and a lot all at once. Even then, I don't write the same way for every project all the time. Sometimes I have to change location. Sometimes there's a broken plot thread that I have to address, so I move on to another story in the meantime.

Bringing this back around to the topic at hand, after being off of social media for so long, I wound up restructuring my time without even realizing it. I was, in a sense, performing the same consulting tasks I've done for other people based on the value or the activity's pay-off — financial, emotional, etc. — to myself.

In this way, when I got back online, I was able to manage not only how much time I spent on it, but whether or not I could learn how to use Google+ or care about the latest "fail" or "trend." That information is still valuable — especially for content creators that rely on that information to be relevant. While some trends are important to me, the micro-trends that happen hourly or daily are "here today, gone tomorrow." Since I am not writing about trends, if I come across them I take them into account. If I don't? I'm not missing anything.

Although I've been writing from my perspective, I recognize you'll have a different idea about all of this than I will.Check out an article on ApexBookCompany.com called: "Beaten to death on the social network." It's a different perspective on this, but I think you'll find it interesting.

[My New Column] Dice Castle: From Commoner to Freelancer…

I am pleased to announce that my first column has been published at Geek's Dream Girl. Since the site already had articles written about the topic, I decided to take a different approach and turn a commoner into a freelancer. For once-a-month we'll be headed to Dice Castle.

This first column talks about character creation.

Before we head out on our quest to Dice Castle, there are a couple of things we need to figure out. First? We're going to take a look at your character sheet to see what's already there. Oh, and for those of you who decide to min/max this process? There will be some opportunities for that, too. You're a Commoner at the moment, but with any luck you'll be a Freelancer in no time. So sayeth the GM, so shall it be done. — SOURCE: Calling All Freelancers! Adventure to Dice Castle at Geek's Dream Girl

Then, I go on to provide some tips and insight into the industry to help a budding freelancer dispel some of the myths and figure out what they want to do.

Things like:

Penning fiction is not the same thing like writing flavor text.

I think this series will be good for people who need something a little more hands-on when they're thinking about freelancing. By turning it into a workshop, I hope I'll be able to reach a few writers and help them plan for their future.

Check it out!

Bump in Stats: Social Media Blackout Results

I don't have a ton of time today, so I won't be able post a ton of graphs like I wanted to, but I did want to talk about the fact that all of my stats: e-book sales, RSS/web traffic and social media followers (with the exception of Twitter) went up.

My RSS feed subscribers increased by twenty percent.
My newsletter subscribers increased by fifteen percent.
My overall traffic (comparing the same time frame to the previous) went up by ten percent.
Book sales for Paths of Storytelling, which was a collaborative work I contributed to, hit a milestone sales status on DriveThruRPG.
Book sales for non-new releases like The Queen of Crows continued to trickle in.
My Twitter followers decreased overall by 50 followers whereas my Facebook friends increased by 125 (combing personal and the fan page I set up).

Combined, what this data tells me is that the conventional wisdom holds true. Content is valuable and to get more "out of" your content — you need to watch where you put it.

Before I went on this blackout, I said that it's not a good idea to put content that is archive-worthy on Twitter or Facebook. It's better to house it on your own website because then, by owning the content, you draw people back to "your house." You're not partying in someone else's mansion with your own crystal. To me, these stats prove that. Content is worth something.

The Twitter followers could have gone down either because I wasn't engaging people in conversation or Twitter updated their spam filters. I'm assuming Facebook went up because the way their algorithm works? You only see a fraction of the people you've friended anyway and you have to keep futzing with the controls to get your view working right. Not to mention, the abandonment of a Facebook friend takes more effort than a simple "unfollow." In some ways, FB is harder to maintain once you get into it.

The other thing this tells me, is that now when I figure out a cost/benefit analysis for the work it takes into increase social media followers versus website visitors — I can better assess what's worth the effort and what's not.

Monitoring, measuring, accessibility and analyzing social media are a few of the hidden costs of being ON social media. (With or without e-mail notifications, you still need to know the trends to stay relevant and sound genuine.) But, like research for an article, it's a cost that can be taken for granted.

Then add the money statement on top of that: List three reasons why I am using these tools.

Here's mine BEFORE the blackout:

1) Connect with readers

2) Network/Communicate with industry folk

3) Touch base with family and friends

Here's mine AFTER the blackout:

1) Be a part of the community

That's it. Why?

Because no one is "just" one thing. As much as people whine and moan about hearing what someone had to eat or listening to them talk about their illnesses or grandmother's community or stamp their feet about the so-called rules of engagement… it wouldn't be social media otherwise. You can't build networks of people and expect them to follow all of the social rules that typically don't incur negative results.

Now, if you started charging people for being trolls on the other hand…

I think the interesting thing for many people isn't figuring out what they want to get out of social media, but how best to interact within the neighborhoods they feel most comfortable in.

By the way… I was curious to see if anything changed, so I was watching my Twitter stream on my second monitor today. Three fails. Oy.

I have to tell you, even though I knew intellectually what was valuable and what wasn't, I didn't really feel comfortable sticking with my own advice until I removed the tool I was abusing myself.

Cutting Through the B.S. – Social Media Blackout Results

And now for a special announcement: today's post is written with Sarah Peduzzi in mind. Sarah? This one's for you…

It took approximately one week for me to strip out all the noise, de-people, and refresh my mind. After seven days of social media silence, I started to feel like I was missing out and that second week was rough. I felt like I was on walk-a-bout and I left a community.

Then another week went by and something weird happened. The random thoughts that entered my brain had nothing to do with the latest "fail," privacy policy debacle or the latest book release. They didn't even relate to my stories, even though they're always there.

I started seeing color — and not in that psychedelic-you're-doing-acid kind of a way. And then I started drawing again and designing jewelry and painting and…

Somewhere in between a jump ring and a stolen paintbrush (one of my kitties really likes them…), I reached that moment of nirvana. "This is [f-bomb] cool," I said.

And then? (insert drum roll here) I looked at my work. And I was in awe of self. I was back, baby. All that stupid b.s. I was going through where I'd freeze at my monitor and second-guess my work was gone, gone, gone.

And all I needed — all I ever needed — was to put down the shiny tools and breathe. Pay attention to my surroundings. Listen to the voices in my head.

And just be natural about it.

I'm the type of writer who loves the word "interstitial." I draw maps. I draw characters. I have all the tools to start crafting a grimoire for my urban fantasy setting. I've got a song I wrote for that zombie story you may have heard me mention several bazillion times before.

None of these things have been released to you, the reader, but they exist in my haven. I need/crave/live on stories because they have a life of their own. They become meaningful in a way that I can't even begin to explain. But it's right there, it's attached to me and it's something that has gone beyond the pale. At that point, it's not about making money or getting published or being famous or whatever… It's about being a storyteller and understanding what. that. means.

Sometimes, the business stuff gets in the way of being a writer. Sometimes, the potential or the promise of business stuff gets in the way of being a writer and it kills you. Sometimes, constantly hearing about other people's work or successes or failures or frustrations gets in the way of being a writer — if you're not whole.

After a few weeks of silence I realized that one of the reasons why I was using social media was to replace something that was missing. Call it justification or validation or whatever you will, but there was a gaping hole I was using the community-at-large to fill. I was looking to other writers to console me, to understand my frustrations, to see how they're making it.

Without thinking about it, I was looking for ways to feel confident that I had a chance — a snowball's chance in hell — of "making it."

And it's all b.s. It honestly, truly is because you never, ever stop writing or telling stories. For many of us, it doesn't end with one publication or one novel. If you want to be a writer, all you have to do is write and keep writing and keep submitting. That's it. It's exactly like playing an instrument. Once you learn how to play it, you keep practicing. Sometimes you get a tip or a lesson to hone your technique, but if you record yourself you can self-correct and keep improving.

Even after you get to a point where you're a good writer, fit can hit the shan. A part of your mind takes over and screws everything up. Publishers won't buy your books without readers. And marketing. And a platform or else they'll give you less money and publish someone else's book. Then comes the "oh-my-god-can-I-earn-a-living-at-this"?

Then, you start feeling obligated to be accessible 24-7. Or else. Because your social media platform is work and you have to maintain it.

To quote The Last Samurai: TOO MANY MIND.

NONE of that stuff matters. None of it. It doesn't matter who's promoting what book or who is popular right now. It doesn't matter what the new shiny tools do or how they'll save your life someday because you've now shaved off 4 minutes of your time. What does count? What I found out?

A writer needs to have a good relationship with his/her work. If you don't have that? You don't have squat.

If you have to apologize for the fact that your story got published by small press, or that you offered it up on a fan fiction site, or that it's available for free, or that you self-published… If you have to APOLOGIZE for getting published in non-traditional venues or explain away to the author who thinks your work is crap because it's not at a "big house" — then you do not have a good relationship with your work. You don't. Because you are doing the same thing I did. You are apologizing for the fact that you are not as big as the next guy — when all that matters is that you're telling a story and you're going to tell another one… And another one… And another one…

And the worse part about it? This is especially heinous if it's a damn, good story.

Nothing else should become between you and your writing. For me? I was cheating on my work with social media because I am not a rampant self-promoter. I want my readers to read, to review, to engage without ramming my work down their throat. It's soooo easy to Twitter or Facebook or update a one-liner to spread the word and take care of that self-promotion thing. Only that's not the only way or the best way. You know it. I know it. We all know it. Yet, we still think it's that important.

So sometimes? You have to have "the talk." With yourself. I did. And while I still find myself apologizing sometimes because it's a hard, hard habit to break? I'm writing my ass off, people.

The rest of it? Money, fame, fortune? It may come. It may not. But I am past the point of caring. To worry about how many readers I don't have rather than concentrate on the number of readers I DO have is a huge disservice to anyone who's taken an interest in my work. I apologize.

And that, my dear Sarah…is how I found "me." It took getting off of social media to know how to cut past the b.s. and get funky with my stories in the best, absolutely greatest way possible. By setting aside other people's expectations I didn't even know I was reacting to, I got down to basics before I made up a few of my own. And that's what I'm sticking with. Right now? It's my rules, my way, my stories.

I couldn't be happier.

100 Days Social Media Experiment: The Results

All this week I'll be releasing a five-part series about the results of my social media experiment. 100 Days: Turning Off the Lights on Social Media kicked off the series in early April and I've been blogging about my observations here and there. Now that I'm drawing this experience to a close, I'm happy to share my conclusions and results.

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When I first started this experiment, I had no idea how much social media played a role in my life as an author and a friend. I was frustrated and overwhelmed, because I felt obligated to use the tools and be connected at all times. I didn't realize how much of a perceived burden this connectivity was until I wrote this article entitled Hunting Down the Value of Social Media on SFWA.org and had a frank chat with my friend Matt Forbeck.

After being in e-commerce and online marketing for so many years, Matt had pointed out I was hyper-sensitive to certain sticking points. So, on a surface level, I was getting really annoyed with day in and day out personas of people I knew that were trying to present themselves in a different light to get visitors or clicks. Remember, I travel in many creative circles, so it's not just "one or two" friends and acquaintances that place a lot of value on their web presence. It's — quite literally — hundreds.

While I have "unlearned" something often preached about in online marketing — the idea that there are best practices and one must not (typically) deviate from them — at the time I was more opinionated than I wanted to be and, without realizing it, I was really angry with myself about that because I've always prided myself on being fair. If anything, this experiment has allowed me to return to my core philosophy: do what works for you.

I've made my peace with rampant self-promoters and exaggerated personas, in part because I didn't see the micro-trends and the near constant "fails" for a few months. The sheer lack of critical comments, opinion and feedback from hundreds of people allowed me to simply…be. The voices in my head returned, my writing is back to the level where it needs to be, and I'm taking calculated risks with my work.

Once I realized that my frustration with social media was the real reason why I felt compelled to stop using it, I dug a little deeper. I wanted to know whether or not it had any real, tangible value to my website or my work.

Three Questions I Wanted to Know the Answer To

1. Did getting off of social media hurt my book sales or my chances for publication?

No.



2. Did getting off social media hurt my website traffic?

No.



3. Did getting off social media kill my social media presence?

No.

This week I'll explore these answers and questions more in depth. I'll also be talking about ways I'm going to manage my social media presence since I'll be back online more regularly on Wednesday to prevent that feeling of obligation from ever happening again.

If you have any questions or comments about this experiment, feel free to post them and I'll try to address them this week.

Thanks for being such a valued part of my readership!