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No Appetite for Social Media
Jul. 18th, 2023 07:13 pmAhhh, I've finished polishing up the second draft of King Eyes! It's taken me sooner than I expected. I dedicated the entire month of July for it, but I'm 13 days early! Just in time too, because I came across an editing service on Sunday night, and I was really excited to submit an application. But I didn't want to go through with it until the manuscript was ready. And now it is! And now I can go ahead and apply!
Normally, this would be something I'd post on Tumblr, and in fact, I had been readying a post asking for beta-readers. I actually even saved up to pay for beta-readers this time around, because let's be honest, it's been a tough financial climate for everyone. Seeing that King Eyes is almost 50K words long, I felt bad relying on just voluntary goodwill, the same way I did with Metalmade.
However, I am on a Tumblr diet. I mean, I think I've had a love-hate relationship with Tumblr from the very beginning. Jumping on that social media at the heels of LiveJournal, it took me an embarrassingly long time to even figure out how the platform worked, let alone to acclimate to its unique culture. And once I did get the hang of it, it took me an even more embarrassingly long time to build up a network. I do have to admit, however, that out of all the platforms I've ever been on as a writer, Tumblr was the one that got me the most exposure. And I'm not talking about lots of exposure. Just more exposure than I got anywhere else, and for a small-time writer like me, it's a big deal.
That said, I'm getting really annoyed with a certain side of Tumblr. You know the side, the self-righteous we're-better-than-the-other-social-media-platforms-out-there-but-i-aint-paying-for-nothing side; the we-support-labourers-and-unions-but-everyone-should-pirate-their-books-and-movies-and-software side; the social-media-should-be-fast-and-reliable-and-perfectly-functional-and-haha-also-shouldn't-pay-their-developers side. That side. The really really obnoxious, entitled, arrogant, hypocritical side.
And... I just don't want to be there. I tried curating my experience, I really did, I have no qualms about blocking anyone, but the experience still leaves you quite porous to posts and users that you don't specifically follow.
I've logged out of the site and deleted the app on my phone. This isn't the first time I've taken a break from Tumblr, but this is the first time I'm seriously considering fully stepping back. I am sad it's come to this point. I talked about how isolated I still am, and I feel like Tumblr was one of the few places where I did make some meaningful connections with a handful of mutuals. I'm a little worried if I'm just letting my pettiness isolate me even more at a time when I can't afford to be. But on the other hand, I'm already so isolated, that perhaps it will just be more damaging to my mental health to be in a place filled with people like that.
I wish I had another social media platform, but Tumblr really was the only one I regularly used. I tried cohost for a time, but it feels very much like Tumblr 2.0 (with discussion-threads functionality!). A part of me feels like what I need probably isn't another website with endless content coated in snark. I need something quieter but more meaningful.
I also worry about what this might mean for my writing. Whatever limited reach I had on Tumblr was still more than I ever had anywhere else. I came across this self-published author who decided to also quit social media. I'm trying to look for others who are in the same situation as me, hoping I can find techniques to still share my works with people who would enjoy it, while not getting caught up in the toxicity of social media. Unfortunately it seems like for self-published fiction authors, social media presence is one of the only few ways to do marketing. There's blogging too, but that seems to work better for non-fiction writers. I love to blog, but mostly about my feelings and thoughts, which aren't exactly SEO-worthy. And let's not even get into email marketing. Honestly, "build your email list" has got to be the most frustrating marketing advice I ever heard! Who's going to sign up to your newsletter if they don't even know who you are??
Normally, this would be something I'd post on Tumblr, and in fact, I had been readying a post asking for beta-readers. I actually even saved up to pay for beta-readers this time around, because let's be honest, it's been a tough financial climate for everyone. Seeing that King Eyes is almost 50K words long, I felt bad relying on just voluntary goodwill, the same way I did with Metalmade.
However, I am on a Tumblr diet. I mean, I think I've had a love-hate relationship with Tumblr from the very beginning. Jumping on that social media at the heels of LiveJournal, it took me an embarrassingly long time to even figure out how the platform worked, let alone to acclimate to its unique culture. And once I did get the hang of it, it took me an even more embarrassingly long time to build up a network. I do have to admit, however, that out of all the platforms I've ever been on as a writer, Tumblr was the one that got me the most exposure. And I'm not talking about lots of exposure. Just more exposure than I got anywhere else, and for a small-time writer like me, it's a big deal.
That said, I'm getting really annoyed with a certain side of Tumblr. You know the side, the self-righteous we're-better-than-the-other-social-media-platforms-out-there-but-i-aint-paying-for-nothing side; the we-support-labourers-and-unions-but-everyone-should-pirate-their-books-and-movies-and-software side; the social-media-should-be-fast-and-reliable-and-perfectly-functional-and-haha-also-shouldn't-pay-their-developers side. That side. The really really obnoxious, entitled, arrogant, hypocritical side.
And... I just don't want to be there. I tried curating my experience, I really did, I have no qualms about blocking anyone, but the experience still leaves you quite porous to posts and users that you don't specifically follow.
I've logged out of the site and deleted the app on my phone. This isn't the first time I've taken a break from Tumblr, but this is the first time I'm seriously considering fully stepping back. I am sad it's come to this point. I talked about how isolated I still am, and I feel like Tumblr was one of the few places where I did make some meaningful connections with a handful of mutuals. I'm a little worried if I'm just letting my pettiness isolate me even more at a time when I can't afford to be. But on the other hand, I'm already so isolated, that perhaps it will just be more damaging to my mental health to be in a place filled with people like that.
I wish I had another social media platform, but Tumblr really was the only one I regularly used. I tried cohost for a time, but it feels very much like Tumblr 2.0 (with discussion-threads functionality!). A part of me feels like what I need probably isn't another website with endless content coated in snark. I need something quieter but more meaningful.
I also worry about what this might mean for my writing. Whatever limited reach I had on Tumblr was still more than I ever had anywhere else. I came across this self-published author who decided to also quit social media. I'm trying to look for others who are in the same situation as me, hoping I can find techniques to still share my works with people who would enjoy it, while not getting caught up in the toxicity of social media. Unfortunately it seems like for self-published fiction authors, social media presence is one of the only few ways to do marketing. There's blogging too, but that seems to work better for non-fiction writers. I love to blog, but mostly about my feelings and thoughts, which aren't exactly SEO-worthy. And let's not even get into email marketing. Honestly, "build your email list" has got to be the most frustrating marketing advice I ever heard! Who's going to sign up to your newsletter if they don't even know who you are??
