I’m a fairy introverted person. Dealing with social anxiety makes interaction with groups or strangers a difficult experience for me. With the exception of the behind the screen anonymity that blogging or tweeting gives!
However, if you’re writing a book and want to gain a following, occasionally you need to put yourself out there. Live and in person. *shudder*
I started that journey with what I consider warm-up exercises. Going “live” on Facebook was my baby-step. When I first started, most of my Facebook followers on my author page were still friends and family. I chose to “boost” my first live and managed to snag some new people, but mainly I was interacting with known people. It did draw me to a cool writers/book/readers group though! Which lead to me getting to do my first live interview on Facebook on January 19th, 2022.
The group is Story Time With Varden, hosted by one amazing guy, Varden Frias. I cannot tell you how nervous I was. He was awesome enough to offer me the questions ahead of time, but I felt I might be more authentic if I “winged it”. It was a truly fun experience! Varden has an amazing, eclectic group and style. With a natural way of engaging you and making you feel comfortable. For a first time experience, it was a true winner.
With that, I have even more confidence that I’m ready to start my journey into podcasting and a YouTube channel. A friend has offered to teach me the ropes, and my best friend has agreed to co-host with me! So stay tuned for when THAT comes!
I will say again, to all you writers out there… FIND YOUR TRIBE! It exists, it helps, and you have no idea how they’ll help you grow. With that, let me drop some critical links to help you out.
The Bard’s Corner https://thebardscorner.wixsite.com/tbcwg This is an informal gathering on the first and third Thursday each month, with writers of all ages, skills, and genre. Visit the website and get signed on for our meets!
Story Time with Varden https://www.facebook.com/groups/349378516541780/about
And of course, my Facebook authors page, where I’m happy to continue building my tribe. https://www.facebook.com/writeramylong
“Beginning a novel is always hard. It feels like going nowhere. I always have to write at least 100 pages that go into the trashcan before it finally begins to work. It’s discouraging, but necessary to write those pages. I try to consider them pages -100 to zero of the novel.” —Barbara Kingsolver
Amy Long- Writer 