Writers Need Social Media

I am introverted, although that may be too mild a word for it. Except for the company of my kids and my husband, I prefer to be alone.

It's not that I don't like people, or that I don't need friends. I just don't need them all the time. I don't feel the need to dissect my day, relate my conversations with people word for word, or complain about how long the line at the grocery store was. I have friends who need that, and I listen politely, but I don't reciprocate.

I also don't like to bore people with the minutiae of my life. Maybe that's part of why I'm a writer - I can write all the minutiae down, and people can either read it or walk away. There's no force involved.

Writers, however, need a large social network to be commercially successful. My dad currently has 836 friends on Facebook. "Do you know all these people?" I asked him.

"No," he said. "Most of them, but some are friends of friends, or are simply interested in the same charities as me. It's a great way to get exposure for the charities." He told me to start a new Facebook page for my writing (up until now, I've been selective about my 53 friends), and add anyone who will join. "Just get your name out there. Post some short stories. Generate interest." Easy for the master networker to say.

I know I have to do it. I started my blogs a couple of months ago, first as something to get me writing everyday, and second as a way of getting my feet wet into the whole social media thing. I was excited when I saw that I'm consistently getting 10 new, unique visitors every day (don't laugh). According to the experts, though, I need 1,000 followers and at least as many hits a day to be taken seriously.

Uh, yeah. I'll get right on that.

So all I have to do is push down that squishy, nauseated feeling in my stomach, start a fan page on Facebook (and invite everyone I've ever met, starting in preschool), start tweeting, open a MySpace account, create a unique website (www.andrearingrocks.com, coming soon) with a cool Flash introduction, continue my daily blogs...oh, and keep cranking out 2000 words a day on my novels.

Musn't forget the actual writing.

How do working, struggling writers do all that? Where do they find the time? My family does need clean underwear too, you know.

What's a writer to do?