Self-promotion SUCKS

For years and years (and years and years), I have been writing for the fun of it. Sometimes it seems like a shame not to have someone reading it, and so this year I made that jump to putting some of those stories out there publicly. I guess I forgot that the internet is fucking huge though. Putting something out there doesn't by any means guarantee it's going to be read.

So I did some looking at how to fix that. Self-promotion probably doesn't come naturally to most people. The world kind of demands it of us. That's what resumes and interviews expect of you, right?

Social media seemed like the easy, effective choice, right? Shit blows up on Facebook CONSTANTLY. But Facebook is already swamped with indie authors pimping out their stories, both shitty and underrated. It's easy to connect with other authors, but finding readers is trickier. There are a couple of people I see who are managing this effectively. One of them has a lot of incredibly revealing pictures on her page and as her profile picture. No disrespect for going with what works, but I kind of want to keep my writing world separate from the one where I have to actually maintain employment, so that's out. The other is just crazy active. I could manage this one, but it feels so obtrusive. Maybe I need to just get over that.

I don't really get Twitter. I'm told it's a good way to go, but I really just use it to read 140 char or less jokes.

I'm not sure where this is going. I just wanted to rant that self-promotion is hard and counter-intuitive for me. Now you know.

You might be an asshole

Are you one of those people who very aggressively says good morning to everyone?  If they don't respond to you with the level of enthusiasm you would like, do you get upset or angry?

If you answered yes, then I have some bad news, friend.  It sounds like you're an asshole.

Expecting someone to drop what they are doing to exchange pleasantries with you isn't courteous.  It's entitled and it's rude.  Bitching about them afterward is even worse.  Even if your particular victim isn't busy, maybe they're just tired.  Maybe they're having a bad day.  Maybe they think you're an asshole and don't want to fucking say good morning to you.  If you're just being nice because you think everyone should follow your script, then are you really being nice at all?  It sounds like you're just being fake.  And heads up, that snotty undertone is probably a lot less subtle than you think.

Don't get hung up on it and make it a thing, and don't think you're the last vestige of chivalry in a cruel, cruel world.

Day One

I want to keep a blog.  I have wanted to start blogging for a while now because it seems fun and I have the time.  I have a job with a lot of down time between tasks and I desperately need to fill that time.  I don't know that "I'm bored" is a very good blog topic, but here we are anyway.

This is just going to be a bunch of random shit.  I have some posts I would like to get done with specific interests.  I will probably rant a lot just chat sometimes.

Should we start with an "about me" talk?  Let's do that.