Alex Laybourne's Blog, page 86

To Like In All Weather

This is another one of those things that I just can’t get my head around. Maybe it shows some hidden flaw in my character, but maybe not. There is a chance that others are just as stumped.

The cause of my confusion this early on a Sunday is this little blighter…

That’s right. I am confused by The Like.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand The Like, and (between you and me) I know how to use it… in happy situations.

“My book is free”- Like

“I am having a baby”- Like

“(Insert Title Here) Blog Post” -  Like

It is simple really, but is it. What about this sort of update.

“My mother just passed away”

“My daughter is in hospital”

“I lost my job today.”

Where does the wonderfully supportive Like button come into this equation. I have seen a few people Like these sort of updates, but not as many as normally would do the same for a positive update, from the same friend. I guess it goes beyond a matter of social protocol and comes more down in the realm of third-party perception. After all, every like or comment we leave is a small advert for ourselves too. This is nothing to do with selfishness  or even something intentional. Rather, it is a natural side effect of social media. Everything is an advert for ourselves.

Maybe you’re best friends with this person, this poster of sad news. Maybe your like will been seen by them as supportive and sympathetic. But what about the other people who see that status? Will these people, many of them probably strangers to you, see this like as a sign of affection or will they do a double take and think.That’s a bit harsh. Why Like that?

The last thing we want is for people to think we are cold and heartless. Whether we are authors, actors, or just a regular guy (or girl) looking to make some friends and enjoy the Facebook experience, perception is the key to making friends.

Maybe the use of The Like in these situations should be combined with a comment, a solid statement of condolence, or wishes of strength, maybe even offers of help or a should to cry on. This will show your true feelings and rest others assured that your Like was given with the best of intentions.

Maybe it is simply best to ignore The Like altogether, but then why do some people use it? Would you risk causing offense if you didn’t like a particular post from someone whose posts you always like, just because it is negative in context? Maybe it isn’t even the comment itself that we are liking, but rather the strength the person is showing by posting such a raw, painful, sensitive subject online for the world to see.

What do you all think of The Like, and how would you use it in the face of unhappy news.

How often to promote a post?

I am waaaaaay to tired to be writing a post this morning, My daughter was awake and as a result I had to sleep on the sofa because she refused to go to her own bed. Then she was awake around 5 and my brain just needs a little bit of coffee before it is really fired up.

But, I must take my writing windows when they come in the weekend and so here we go. Take my hand, because it could turn into some rabbit hole adventure even I didn’t see coming.

Ever since I started blogging, I have had one point that never really appeared clear to me. I have never seen a post about it (queue comments with links filled with posts discussing just this) and welll, it puzzles me.

Posting regularly is key, everyday if you can. Why, because you names gets seen and you will get more traffic. That’s it in a nutshell. But what do you do with these posts? That is what has me all flummoxed today.

WordPress is especially helpful in this area, because it gives you the buttons needed to promote your work at the end of each and every post. But how often do we need to press these buttons? How frequently should you send out a tweet for your post? Or a Facebook update.

Both of these are dynamic platforms and a few minutes after you have sent out your tweet or what-have-you, it is absorbed into social media oblivion. Not everybody has seen it,you need to tweet (read all social media update styles) again… right? Now… or now? Maybe later.

Not forgetting that Facebook has groups you can join. Do you post to each group when you write a post, or only to the ones relevant to the post itself? Do you post once to these but regularly to your own wall? I just don’t know.

I have often talked with other bloggers about stats, and I know that mine are low. My weekly total is the daily amount for others, but this it neither here nor there. Or is it? I tend to write my post, send out one round of social media alerts at the time of posting and that is it. Maybe, if I think it will get more people, I will send out another tweet around 15:00 as that is about the time in my day where the US starts to wake up. Should I be promoting more often? I mean is one post to each network enough to get regular traffic. The thing that always hovers in my mind is that I don’t want to force my blog down people’s throats, but at the same time, you need to get yourself seen and drive people towards you.

I am sure, as with all forms of promotion, the line that separates promotion from spamming is a fine one. I certainly can’t see it and so maybe I take the safe route and convince myself that my stats are good. Have I settled?? Once again, that is beside the point.

Let me end this sleep befuddled ramble before I go way off the topic.

How often do you promote your posts, are you doing enough?

The Fiction of Future

We often criticize people for living in the past. For hanging on to past glories or treasuring old memories while spurning the change to create new ones. Dare we say even better ones (on occasion).

However, there is a worse waste of time than living in past, and that is living in the future. At least those aforementioned souls have been there. They put themselves out there, for whatever reason, and have earned the right to live in their memories. Regardless of how we perceive it, or how we would like them to live differently, at the end of the day, these people can stand up and say… I was there.

People who live in the future cannot do this.

You all know these people, Hell, we are all these people, It seems to be a sort of mental epidemic within modern society. We are always planning; planning for the future. For that time when we can stand up and do whatever it is we look forward to.

For me, it is my Coffee House / Book Store dream - as I detailed in my short story earlier this week – for others, it may be writing that book, or getting a degree. It can be anything. That is what makes living in the future so dangerous. We spend so long gazing at it, waiting, that we miss the whole point.

There is no future. The future does not exist. What lies ahead of us is nothing but the present that we have made fact. What we consider the future, is merely Fiction.

Our lives are not planned out, they are ours to do with what will. Our choices impact the direction our lives take. This is no different to how writing a book works. We start writing, and maybe, just maybe, we have a complete plan for ourselves, but suddenly, something comes along that throws a twist into the plot, or maybe shatters that plot completely, and we end up having rewrite our novel. Sometimes this is for the better, and sometimes we need to stop and change direction again. Another decision, a new plot line.

Those who live in the past could be seen as the type of writer who spends their whole time editing one manuscript, never being satisfied with what they have. However, they have at least written. Unlike those who live in the future, for they are forever planning on starting that novel.

In order to truly live in the future, you need to live in the present. The future is nothing but the present you have yet to reach out and grasp.

That book will never get written unless you start it today. My coffee-house (Indie’s) will never exist unless I start actually working towards that goal. Whatever it is that you have been living your life waiting for, stop. Stop waiting, because the future is here, the future is now, because the future as society has trained us to think of it, does not exist.

 

ROW80: Mid-Week Update 18-04-2012

I simply must begin this update by saying my Epic Fantasy / Epic Horror novel Highway to Hell is FREE on Amazon for the next two days (Wednesday 18th through Thursday 19th April). If you already have a copy, then firstly thank you very much, and second, please feel free to tweet or share the information in any other way with your friends, colleagues, neighbors, strangers you pass in the street…. ok maybe not that last one.

Now on with the check-in.

It has been another strange week for me. Very little free time has come my way, the kids were awake before my alarm the last three mornings in a row. Including a rather unwelcome 02.45 rising time today. That being said, I have managed to crack on with the line edits, and while I am not as far along as I would have hoped, progress is being made, and I feel better and better about the book with each page I go through.

Also, I have been blogging a lot this week. I don’t know why, I just seem to have a lot to say and the blog is the perfect place for me to do just that. As you would expect, I have seen a sharp increase in my daily visit totals this week, and can clearly relate it to the increased input, but the problem (as with all blogs) remains, how do we keep this visit rate high when the blog posts slow down a little. After all, around publication time and during various other periods where ‘real life’ gets in the way (… I mean… um.. anyway) and we cannot post with such regularity.

My blog visiting is still high, but probably not as high as I would have wanted given the wording of my goal. However, I have found myself on a run of terrible blog posts (found via Google searches and not subscriptions) and so I cut back a little.

Reading is going great, I have almost finished Slaughterhouse Five and am loving every word. The mix of real history and science fiction is great, the time travel and the dry humor and social commentary being made all fit together perfectly.  Not sure what I will read next, I should finish this book tonight, tomorrow at any rate. I think I will go back to something Indie written. I have a whole host of things lined up.

My super secret project has kind of fallen still. I know what I want to do, and it is just about setting the time aside to do it.  I had originally planned it for NaNo this year, but then yesterday, I had an idea for a short novel that would be the perfect NaNo project, so may move the secret books up in the schedule and start working on them later in the year. Until then it is just a case of keeping my eyes and ears open for inspiration and waiting for the time to come that I can make a start.

I know I had a lot more goals listed, and know that I have done well on all of them, but these were the main points, and the ones which can actually be written about. I mean, interact more with my social media friends, that is being done (with a worrying gusto) but besides this, there is not much more that can be said about it.

How are all of you doing so far this week? Sticking to your goals, or have you already had to broach the topic of changing the goalposts to something more manageable, or perchance widening the posts because you are steaming ahead of what you had planned?

ROW80: Mid-Week Check-in 11-04-12

Well, I am a day late with my check-in but only because I had written up a very eloquent post only for it to be deleted when I click on save draft. So here I go with my second attempt.

It has been a damage limitation week for me in a way. My good progress has been stopped by work, not limited to just being busy but rather by being strained as a result of office politics and a strange personal vendetta that it quite effectively not only hindering my progress in my day-to-day activities but has actually moved me backwards. But that is a rant for another day.

I have finished my edits on Trials and Tribulations. All that remains now is a line edit and maybe another final beta read. This was my main goal for the round, and now with only the line edits to go I am more confident than ever that this will be ready in good time. I am refraining from working too much any more on my next novel as I want no more distractions. The finishing line is in sight and I will keep my eyes on the goal.

On the reading front, I am still devouring books. A little slower than over Easter, but of course I am now at work for about 10 hours a day including the commute. I am currently enjoying the second of the Dexter novels. I won't read all 6 novels in one go, in fact this will be the last one, for a couple of books. I have Slaughterhouse Five sitting on my Kindle and it is demanding to be read so that is next on the list.

My blog visits are down the last few days, but I have a lot of stuff I want to read up on so I am hoping to find some nice new blogs related to these issues and effectively kill two birds with one stone.

I have recently become interested (read obsessed) with speed reading. I know it isn't that much good for reading for pleasure, but there are plenty of things out there that need to be read and understood and could benefit from such a skill, not to mention it would help me in my job. It is probably stupid but it intrigues me.

For the rest, things have been quiet, I have just had no time to get everything done. My children have been awake at .5.15 and 04.45 the last two days. Today was a bit better at just after 05.30, but it still eats into the one super productive hour of the day that I have. My 'Me' time from 5 - 6 each morning. But never mind, I keep moving forward and never back, and will never complain about being able to spend time with the kids. Before I know it they will be grown and I will have to be kicking them out of bed to get off to school or work haha.

So, how is your week going? Are you still going on that strong start to the round, or pushing yourself even harder this week to make up on a disappointing first week. Now that we have the first week out-of-the-way we know where we stand with our goals and their feasibility. I am confident in mine and don't think I need to change them at all, and I hope the same can be said for all of you.

 

Have a great week!!

To Link or Not to Link, That is the Question

In my post from a couple of days ago I wrote about blogging. About the importance of not only writing your own blog buy of visiting the blogs of others. You can read that post here if you missed it, or feel so inclined to read it now.

Today, I want to expand on that original idea and raise the topic of links in blog posts. I mean, I have written but three lines and already managed to include one link in my post. Granted it is merely a link to one of my older posts but you see how easy it is to slip them in.

There are obviously pro's and con's to adding links into your posts. I mean, let's face it, the internet is, to put it as mildly as possible, a vast place. You can find practically anything you wish. Therefore, if you want to write a post inspired by something that you have read or seen online, to assume that your readers have all read or seen this same thing would be rather foolish on even the most novice blogger's part.  The importance of links at this point is vital. You can start your post, add a link to what it is that inspired you, and then, having read that piece people can then come back to your blog and get a better understanding for what you are talking about.

The downside of this is however, if that original blog post inspired you so much, maybe it will inspire these new readers you have forwarded that way and they will not return to your post. Maybe there are other links inside this post which will take them even deeper into the labyrinth. Every link they follow takes them further away from your post, yet at the same time deeper into the subject you raised.

The way around this could be to add the link at the end of the post. Start with a brief summary for your readers, tell them the highlights of the post or the bits that inspired you, write your post and then put the link at the end for them to follow if they are interested. That way people will read your post before venturing into the linky wilderness.

Avoiding links in your posts is next to unavoidable, especially if you blog about more than just one 'specialty' subject that you know about. If you blog, as I do, based around either a large ranging topic or on an inspiration basis, links can provide an important arsenal.

For writers, links are also a very effective weapon in the fight to build your author platform. Sharing the works, websites or individual posts of fellow authors is a great way to not only spread your name, but to help the whole indie author community strengthen its footholds in the writing world. Let's face it, author's talk. It is what we do. We exchange ideas, we brag about our word counts and daily totals, we chronicle our progress and talk to each other about characters as though there were alive and living next door. We are a special breed of people and need each other. Who else would listen to our conversations and not want to have us committed after the first few minutes. So, expressing your appreciation via a link is a great thing. You can either use a post as inspiration, or you could just give a small aside.

Hey guys, you just have to check out these awesome blogs by amazing writers LM Stull, and M.R. Mathias

Two other popular link usages are the Weekly Mash up which I see more and more authors doing. A short round up of the best blog posts that they have read in the previous week. It is a great way to spread the word, and of course the more links to an authors specific post, the more chance of them spreading the word of your blog in return. A kind of Quid Pro Quo sort of thing (not the Hannibal Lecter kind). Think along the lines of cross promotion in your novels. A little sneak peak at another author's work at the end of your novel helps them spread their name and increase sales. They return the favor and suddenly you have a whole chain of cross promotions taking all of your names and putting them out there for a much wider audience to see.

Of course you don't want to over do the links, not only would it make someone feel less inclined to link back if you have simple copied and pased twenty links into a post simply for the sake of having something to post, but also, if you continually post links to the works of the same author, the novelty wears off. Also, you run the risk of looking like a stalker.

What about advertising via links? I was talking to a fellow writer friend of mine the other day and they said that if it hadn't been for links, they would have never found the piece of writing software that they currently use. Storybox. It was  as the result of a search for some other piece f software they were struggling with that they found, after a small link train, this piece of software. They tried it and haven't looked back since. The is a prime example of both side of the linkage coin. In searching on one product, she found her way to a competitor and chose that. Ultimately my friend, the wonderful Andrea Flory is happy, but at the same time, the software she was using lost out.

So tell me, what do you think of links in posts? Do you use them in your own writing? Do you link to products also, or only to posts that inspire and interest you? Also, do you click on links inside the posts of others? I do, but not all of the time. Why? Because I find myself getting distracted and lost in the internet.

Review: Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I came to the Dexter books having seen all six seasons on the series first. So there was, unfortunately the need for me to re-read the first few pages several times, to familiarize myself with this character and to remove the images from the show out of my head.

With this done, I love the book. I thought it was sharply written, and the narrative style it was written in, really made me think I was inside the head of Dexter Morgan. The reader is not just being told that Dexter thinks or feels something, but rather we live it, we experience it with him. The small mental notes and comments that Dexter makes during the course of normal conversation with others really helps enhance the style of the book.

Having seen the first season of the Dexter (all six actually) I knew what the big reveal was going to be at the end. I won't give it away for anybody who has not seen it or read this book yet, but maybe that did detract a little from the build up on tension. Not that there were not moments that made me thing, wow, I didn't really see that coming.

However, at the same time as having seen the show ruing the big reveal, it did open my eyes to a lot of subtle hints that the author worked in with regards said moment. (See absolutely no spoilers)

The one thing that disappointed with the book was the lack of interaction with others. There was very ltitle time spent in the police station or with Dexter looking at blood, as is his career. I hope that in the following books, this side of Dexter is developed a little more.

Once I started reading the book I couldn't put it down, and I cannot wait to read the second installment of the Dexter series. Certain things happed that make me fairly confident that the following books don't follow the series which makes my very own dark passenger – a devourer of books – very curious indeed.

View all my reviews

Blogging: It's About More Than Just Having Something to Say

This topic is one that has been giving me a lot of pause for thought recently. I subscribe to a lot of blogs. I get an email telling me every time a post comes through, and I really want to read them. I don't just subscribe to a blog for no reason.  However, when these emails come through, I read but a select few. This needs to change.

I am aware of the importance of reading blogs. I am a big believer in the saying ´You have to be a reader to be a writer' It therefore goes without saying that in order to be a good, and effective blogger, you need to read other people´s blogs. Obviously, the two theories are not mutually exclusive. One can blog about anything, that is part of the beauty of it. However, to be a writer, one must, in the modern-day also be a blogger. This is especially imperative with regards to Independent Writers.  We few, we few we happy few we band of nut-jobs. We undertake everything on our own, and so need to be, not just the wearer of many hats, but the master of all trades that these items of headwear represent.

As a result, I need to make sure that I visit more blogs in the coming months. Not that there is a time limit in terms of duration. Really, I should just say that I need to pick up the pace effective immediately.

I should start reading more blogs, especially the ones I subscribe to. I should leave more comments. Why? Not because it is good for me, or for spreading my name… oh wait, it is… but I do it because it is a sign of recognition. You are letting the writer know that you have read their post, that you appreciate their effort.

The other thing is, it doesn't just do to visit the same ten blogs each week and leave comments. Sure people will see your name, but after a while the well of new visitors will begin to dry-up. Migrant traffic will keep the bottom damp but that is it. It is vital to ensure that you visit different blogs. You don't have to subscribe, just pop along and read a post of two.

#Hashtag searches on Twitter are a great place to start. I would recommend #ROW80 if you are looking for some writerly conversation and a general sense of literary companionship, #Amwriting for general writing themed articles, or #MyWana for a range of topics that can provide not only great reading, but also create friendships and result in very entertaining (and occasionally random) conversations.

Facebook is another tool. There are so many groups out there, you can easily find a few that have topics that interest you. Join them, or give them a browse and you will soon find a new world of blog posts opening up before your eyes.

The one thing I have always been bad at, is searching for blogs. A good old Google search on a subject that you enjoy is all it takes. Yet, for some reason I always forget about it. That being said, as I am making an effort to improve, I have already bookmarked a number of posts I intend to read.

What i have done, and may possibly work for you too, is to combine things. I am interested in getting more traffic to this site, in increasing sales of my novel Highway to Hell  (which is now just 99 cents… oh that was shameless) and also about a secret project I am working on. Well, lo and behold, there are literally thousands of blog posts out there that meet or at least hold the promise of meeting my requirements.

This gets me reading blogs, and commenting of course, it expands my online social circle and also helps me move forwards in other areas.

So tell me, other than this incredible source of information and entertainment, are you a good blog visitor? Do you click the links that blogs offer, or do you just read the information on the page in front of you?

HAPPY EASTER

ROW80: Week One is Done

Another day, another completed week of ROW80.  Way back on Wednesday, I laid out my plans. My goals for this round. It was a long list, and so I won't bore you with it again. You can find the post here in case you missed it or want to refresh your memory.

The first week of a new round is always an interesting period. You have set your goals and are now having to put them into practice. Finding time in your normal schedule to fit them in. Now, for those of you that have children, you will fully understand and appreciate the near impossibility of sticking to a schedule. The more children, the harder it becomes.

Yet, I have had a very good week. I read a book. A whole book, in just three days. A Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson. My review can be found on Goodreads. It was an ok novel, but not as good as I am Legend.

On the writing front I have made great progress with my Beta Comment changes, and should get it all sorted by the end of the week. If I get a good run going, then maybe even tonight. I just need to re-work one scene and make a few small changes around it. The one thing I then need is to send it to my editor for a final grammar check and it is done. Ready for my Beta reader to take a final run through it. I will admit I am nervous about sending it, not because of the book itself, but rather because I don't want to have missed something and have her thinking I didn't listen.

I have been pretty good about blog visiting, I have hit my three blog posts pretty much ever day. I haven't ready anything yet today, but I have a couple of posts bookmarked to read so it shouldn't be a problem.

My secret project has been a bit slow, but most of the blog posts I have bookmarked to read are in part research for this project. Killing two birds with one stone. Now that is good time management.

I still  hold very high hopes for this round and am heading into week two with my head held high.

One a note separate from my goals, I was talking to a friend of mine about website visits dropping over easter. They said that theirs had dropped and then quoted me their figure for yesterday. It was about a weeks worth of visits for me. So, I also need to figure out how to get more visitors to my blog.

The one aspect of my goals that I did nothing on was sales. My sales have once again dropped down to nothing. 2 in the last two weeks. What I need is to not only get a sales tactic down, but also figure out how I can actually promote myself. This is a major stumbling block for me. As I am sure it is for a lot of other writers out there. Represented of fully independent it makes no difference. Writers are being forced to become salesmen(women) and there is nothing we can do about it other than adapt.