Social Media Is Such A Drag
Social Media Is Such A Drag
A bane on one's mental existence
Excuse me while I clear my throat.
Full disclosure, I am only on substack for one purpose. That is to push three books that I have written. (To learn more, click on the link below.) In a publishing world gone by, as soon as I would have finished these manuscripts, I would have acquired an agent with connections to a major or medium-sized publishing house. A place that has editing, book development, and marketing all under one roof. I would get paid upfront for my manuscripts, and work out a deal with them to pick up a percentage of each copy sold. During the latter process I just described, I could start on the next book from my brainstorming list.
But we live in the 21st century when it's all about social media. And I can't get a literary agent to breath in my direction unless I have tens of thousands of followers across all platforms, so I've been told. To be honest, I have seen some other first time authors whom are not required such a following. That… That…! That is something else let me tell you.
So ok, no social media following for me. “I'll put it out myself,” I thought. Off I went, conversing with book development firms who can handle the editing, layout, ebook formatting, art work, etc. Also, on the list were literary marketing firms. Everything sounded good, like I was making progress…until I asked about the price tag. Which, let me tell you, is high. But, thats not what fazed me. No no, what made my eye twitch was the fact that they wanted one third to ½ of the budget up front. Which I can't do. My attempts to persuade them into a loan situation, so I could pay them after I start selling books fell on deaf ears. I mean I think this is a great option, and incentivizes both parties to do a stellar job and make sure the product is high quality. But nope, they need to get paid.
So here I am on substack trying to build my audience and get paid for my writing… So I can sell books, and get paid for my writing… So I can write more books, and get paid for even more of my writing.
Recently I had an industry professional mention to me how authors these days leverage exposing their personalities via social media for a following, in hopes for book sales, brand deals, etc. And of course this is nothing new.
To my recollection, personality driven media started with reality television where we were forced to watch other people live their lives. Well kinda their lives. And I say forced because there was hardly anything else to watch for an hour or two before bed. Scripted shows had gone by the wayside a bit. It became more about kind of sort of being wealthy. Kind of sort of being attractive and relatable. And kind of sort of putting out a sex tape to get a reality tv deal. I was in my mid late twenties when all this went down.
Kids who were growing up then are now in their twenties. Modesty is out the window. Instagram came about shortly afterwards, and another ever more potent avenue for people to create the ultimate facade took hold. What you are on the inside, what you had to offer deep down… That no longer mattered. It's all about what you look like, or how interesting you can make your life look via social media. Covering all the flaws. Hiding the truth. In an attempt to will it away, to facilitate a false identity.
This is the landscape to which I must generate an audience…?! A land dominated by clickbait, 30-second video clips, and thirst traps. What on earth does this have to do with literature…? Nothing really. But, it sure does put the onus of advertising and marketing on the content producers, or author in my case. Not the literary firms that the authors hire or work with.
Check out this painting at the modern museum of art I once saw. It synthesizes my feelings towards all this.
One message is clear. If you choose to enter the space of the arts, entertainment, and literature of any kind beware of the following. If you do not, or are not comfortable with, sell(ing) your personality along with your talent then things will be difficult. What matters less is the information you have to share, or the talents you have to display. What matters more, much, much more, is exposing in full view what goes on behind the scenes.
And this is where I pause and leave the rest for a part two…
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