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Friday, June 29, 2007


Why Social Network?

The majority of writers are introverts. It's something that I've read as well as personally observed over and over. Yes, we dig down deep inside to write words and get them out to others. A few writers are extrovert in personality but the majority are not. An editor from a well-known Chicago-based company told me their entire office took the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory Test a few years ago. This company has many different print and online publications. Of the group of editors something like two of them were extrovert and the rest were introvert.

Even someone who is basically an introvert can rise to the occasion. It's what I do when I teach at writers conferences and in other situations. Yet selling books is about creating relationships. You have to reach outside of yourself to create those relationships. The more relationships, the more people who know about your writing and you as a person.

John Kremer at BookMarket.com included a tip about the Book Marketing Network in this week's Book Market Tips. I’ll admit when I read it my curiosity got the best of me—so I went to it and joined. John is the creator of this social network which is a growing network of people interested in the topic of book marketing. If you get real fascinated with social networks, you can even create your own social network. It's another free networking spot. I've not spent a lot of time on my particular page but I have added a few links to some of my resources. There are several hundred people on this spot--and it is growing all the time. I exchanged greetings with a few old friends and have been meeting some new ones. It's another resource to check out and become a bit more social.

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4 Comment:

At 10:51 PM, Blogger Lexie Left a note...

Because there are so many social network platforms available, it's hard to decided which, if any to participate in. Then there's the issue of spending even more time online than I do now. What's your take on that?

For the time being I have to focus on blogging while being open to eventually getting involved in SNS.

 
At 11:58 PM, Blogger Terry Whalin Left a note...

Lexie,

You make a good point but social networks are just like joining yahoo groups or writing groups or critique groups or any number of other possibilities. You have to pick and choose the ones that work for you. I blogged about trying the Book Marketing Social Network for just that reason--to show that I'm trying it out. I may stay. I may not participate much. The verdict is out but I'm continuing to form new relationships is the idea.

Hope that helps you,

Terry

 
At 7:03 AM, Blogger RedWritingHood Left a note...

I am definitely an extrovert, so I could social network until the cows come home. But wait, I'm a writer! So sometimes I have to actually, you know, WRITE.

And yet, sometimes social networking is still difficult for writers like me who need to market themselves but don't quite feel worthy enough of marketing. I may be an introvert, but I still have the challenge of not feeling like I'm pushy when I market.

I started an online writers group and we have around 300 writers, that's helped me feel connected to other people during my solitary writing days.

Extroversion and introversion basically refer to how you recharge your batteries. Being an extrovert, I recharge by interacting with others. My husband is an introvert and recharges by being by himself.

 
At 10:53 PM, Blogger Lexie Left a note...

I stopped by the site to check it out. It has a nice feel to it and definitely lots of opportunity to learn.

Looking forward to seeing how it works out for you.

 

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