How important is social media to a writer?

The afternoon is half gone, and I have spent it all on Twitter, Facebook, and now blogging.

Why?

For one thing, I wanted to remind people of the Carolinas Writers Conference, coming fast now--April 20. We had our last planning meeting this morning and we're as ready as we can be. For my readers who say, "Oh, I'm not a writer," let me add that the morning session is author talks, and will be of interest to anyone who likes to read. We have four great authors with four disparate topics.

Also that evening, Back Porch Stories will return to the Ansonia Theatre. Come on down and listen to three story tellers spin their verbal magic.  (Details on BPS and the conference are at www.carolinaswritersconference.org

To get this news out, I posted on my Twitter account, a writing loop, and both Facebook accounts.

Wait--both Facebook accounts?

Yes. I have one that I use to connect with friends and family. I try not to bore them with my writing life, so I seldom  post about my books or writing activities there. I personally don't believe that Facebook is a place to push your business, political beliefs or other agendas. In fact, I'm getting kind of tired of scrolling through posts on getting stuff free, fashion, snarky cartoons (I mean the snarky ones, I love most cartoons and frequently share them on my page) and all the other junk that clutters up the page. I don't mind posts that raise awareness, but those that say "Type 1 in the comment box and see what happens to the picture" really turn me off. Frankly, I've tried and nothing happens. Big waste of time.

So.... that brings me to my second Facebook page, which is a fan page and is strictly used to promote my books and share posts about writing. It's tricky to remember to sign out of one and sign in to the other, so sometimes my fans may see a comment about a restaurant I've visited and my friends may yawn, "OMG, she's pushing her durn book again."

After posting about the conference I posted  (on both FB sites) about the Carolinas Romance Writers meeting I went to on Saturday. Mostly because I was in a picture--way in back, but you can make me out--so I wanted to share that with friends AND fans.

Oops, I forgot to Tweet it. But I did remember to Tweet the conference.

So what is the purpose of all this, you might well ask? And why is it important to me, as a writer?

It's called building a platform. It's letting people know I am a writer, and I am serious about my craft. It's letting readers know about my books and me letting people know about books I love (yes, I am on Goodreads, too).

It's letting people get to know me, and letting me get to know you.

It's all about connections.