Andrew Seiple's Blog: Transmissions From the Teslaverse - Posts Tagged "internet"

"Do not go lightly to the written page."

King's first rule. One I've tried to live by.

I broke that rule today, yesterday, and the day before. I got embroiled in a discussion of trade publishing vs. self-publishing with an author who has decades of experience on me. I did not argue well. I did not take percieved defeat well. I went hastily to the written page, forgetting that a web forum is also a page.

I felt cornered and criticized and stubbornly hung on, because I was emotionally invested, and as such I alienated an elder writer and rendered any point I may have had moot. I tried to keep things civil despite my mounting frustration, and failed.

Assessing the fallout... not horrible, but not good. I wasn't banned, so I'll have a chance to try and amend my behavior on those forums going ahead, but it's definitely going to color interactions with the other forumites for a while to come.

It may cost me some professional opportunities in years to come. See, that's the downside to the internet, when you're making a living with your name attached to your reputation and work. If you screw up and act like a jerk, then those words are there decades down the road. Worse, if you act like a jerk in a niche community, then OOOOoooooohhhhh they'll remember that.

:: Sighs :: I may get a little leeway for being relatively new and ignorant. We'll see.

Time to build up thicker skin, prioritize acting professionally, avoiding arguments, and being as pleasant as possible to everyone.

I'm beginning to see why so many writers drink.

It is a strange thing, purchasing your own name. Rather existential, when you think about it. The act of shouting "I exist!" into the wilderness of the net, and Godaddy or whoever counting your fee and smiling as they confirm "Yes. Yes you do."

Long story short, I attended a couple of self-publishing panels at Origins, and every writer on there was pretty adamant that having your own website was a necessity for long-term business.

I'm all about that long-term business, and really, this is something that I knew I'd have to do sooner or later. I plan to be writing the rest of my life, and this will help people keep up with me. Don't get me wrong, this blog's fun and all, but some things are better suited for websites. It's precisely BECAUSE I love you guys that I'm trying to expand the stuff out there that we can play with together.

Anyway, you're looking at the proud new owner of andrewseiple.com

Don't bother going out there, there's nothing there yet. I plan to fix that over the next three months or so, as other higher priority tasks get handled.

Lessons learned:

1. Getting an email tied to your domain name is easier than expected.

2. Once you purchase your domain, a whole lot of people in India who specialize in web design suddenly decide that you're their best friend. Thanks guys, really, but I already have plans there.

3. It's all right to take things in phases. You don't have to immediately have a website constructed and ready to go, you just need to grab your name before anyone else does.

4. When you're starting out it doesn't hurt you TOO much to wait on a website, if you have a decent online presence and the ability to check it daily.

Peace, and happy surfing!