Are You Giving Readers Only The “Minimum Amount” Of Your Attention?
By Dan Blank | May 24, 2013 |
“You have the minimum amount of my attention.”
How does that phrase make you feel? This is a quote from the movie The Social Network, where the character of Mark Zuckerberg explains why he is not focused on the legal proceedings of those who are suing him:
When I work with writers, I am focused on helping them find their ideal audience, and develop communication and trust with them. I tend to call this “platform,” but others refer to it by other terms.
What sometimes surprises me is the missed opportunity by those who want to give their readers only the “minimum amount” of their attention. In other words: I will give you JUST ENOUGH attention to get you to buy my book, and then: nothing more.
Sometimes, these are just fearful justifications from overwhelmed authors. Someone who is:
- Trying to master the craft of writing.
- Publishing their first book.
- Navigating the publishing process (traditional or self-pubbed)
- Um, they have a day job.
- And a family.
- And a home to maintain.
- And they want to sleep…
I never want to forget that writers don’t practice their craft in a vacuum. The context of their entire lives is ever-present.
But is it okay to phone it in? To do only the minimum amount of what is expected? To show up, but just barely?
To be honest, this looks different today than it once did. It is easy to feel like we are fully engaged when we really aren’t. It is easy to:
- Schedule 3 tweets per day to be posted on Twitter, and do so weeks in advance.
- Link to every TED talk that is posted, and feel smarter for doing so, especially if you shared it a few minutes before your friends did.
- Mention Amanda Palmer a lot, because suddenly she is the model of cool (and deservedly so.)
- To “curate” an ironic Tumblr of cats reading, and feel the cool wash of validation with every reblog you get.
Writers sometimes come to me looking for the “best practices” for using social media or crafting a platform that require the minimum amount of their attention. And while I respect their very limited resources in both time and energy, my first response is usually: “Why bother?” Why bother doing what everyone else does in only the minimum amount? How will this serve your writing, your own goals, or connect you with readers in a meaningful way?
So I often talk to them about crafting their voice, about connecting one-on-one with others in a way that builds relationships, about what it means to develop a platform that considers the next 5 years of their life, not just getting someone to repin something on Pinterest today.
I was listening to a webinar with Seth Godin the other day and someone asked him why he doesn’t actively engage with Twitter. His response was that to do it well – to really put his creative energy into honoring it – that it would require 2 hours of his time per day. And that means he would need to take 2 hours away from some other activity, and he wasn’t willing to do that.
Could Seth do the “minimum amount” of engagement on Twitter? Sure. But why bother? Why be more noise in the lives of those you truly want to serve?
On the flipside of that is someone such as Susan Orlean, who does fully engage with Twitter. Here’s how she explains her reasoning for finding the time & creative energy for it:
“I didn’t say ‘I want followers.’ I am a writer, I write because I want to be read. Because the private act of writing doesn’t feel sufficient to me. What is sufficient is for the circle to come around, and to feel heard. I am excited by the idea of being heard. Of making someone think or laugh.”
There is a responsibility in these actions, to yourself and others. You can view this as a heavy unwanted weight, or as an opportunity.
When you consider giving your readers something more than the minimum amount of your attention – I feel that it tends to expand how we consider the effects of your writing. That it goes far beyond the sale of a book, to truly helping readers craft an identity, take actions, and make connections that become the fabric of their lives.
Thank you.
-Dan
What does being “fully engaged” mean to you? And if you fall into the minimum-amount-of-attention camp, we’d love to hear you speak to that, too, for better and for worse.
Dan Blank is the founder of WeGrowMedia, where he helps writers share their stories and connect with readers. He has helped hundreds of authors via online courses, events, consulting, and workshops, and worked with amazing publishing houses and organizations who support writers such as Random House, Workman Publishing, Abrams Books, Writers House, The Kenyon Review, Writer’s Digest, Library Journal, and many others.
“…truly helping readers craft an identity, take actions, and make connections that become the fabric of their lives.”
I love this phrase!
Our actions on social media should be about what our readers experience in the interaction, not what we get out of it. By showing we are generous, engaging people we encourage our readers to *want* to spend more time with us – leading inevitably to the tribe who will want to purchase our writing.
Thank you for the reminder. ;)
Jessica,
Thank you!
-Dan
Thanks, Dan. Well said. “… going beyond the sale of the book” is the most significant message in your post for me. I sometimes think writers are about biography as well. Writing may be the art, but the business of being an author (not just a writer) is about sharing ourselves as authors. Besides our stories, tweets and blogs are paths to our audience. I enjoy connecting my followers with tweets of fascinating info I stumble across, blogging about a great short story I just discovered, or sharing a tidbit about how I discovered my newest character.
I met author MJ Rose the other day when she gave a talk about her books. Knowing her makes her novels that much more fascinating … and maybe just a tad personal. Gosh, wouldn’t I have loved to meet Poe or Dickens!
Paula,
Thank you. I’m sitting in a session with MJ Rose right now at the Backspace Writers Conference! Thanks for the kind feedback.
-Dan
Awesome post! Really made me think and brought up a great question. I especially liked the Susan Orlean quote. Being a writer really is about making others think and feel.
Jessica,
Thanks! Indeed, Susan does such a good job of expressing the value of connecting with readers.
-Dan
Interesting piece. I interact with people on a variety of topics on twitter. Maybe all those topics don’t advance my writing career, but I believe strongly that writers, like any other professionals, are individuals and citizens too.
I’m also curious about the advice to pre-schedule tweets. Does anyone else worry this can backfire? E.g., Nothing crasser than promo tweets in midst of massive tragedy…
I personally don’t like those scheduled repeating posts made by other authors. In fact, once I notice the same pithy quote being regurgitated again and again by the same person, I start to subconsciously skip right past all there other Tweets! Hmm, I’m not sure that was their intended outcome….
Ugh, that moment when you realize you’ve posted a comment with a glaring mistake, and you can’t fix it! “Their” not “there”, oh the humanity!! Haha….
Oops. Should having added this unrelated point on going beyond the sale of the book. So important. One of my favorite things to do is visit book clubs.
Mari,
Indeed – I think people need to REALLY consider what they craft, and the downside of “best practices.” Much appreciated.
-Dan
Should the tweets be about your book or life in general? Should readers get to know you personally or through your books?
Mary Jo – this is a question that each author must answer for themselves. Usually – you want to craft an identity as an author, and understand how your voice aligns with what you write about.
Thanks.
-Dan
Great post! I struggle trying to reach readers and potential readers through social networking. It’s taking too much of my time, as is blogging and commenting on blogs (no offense). I have been rethinking my strategies. If I keep putting the amount of time and energy into promotion, I’ll never finish the third book of my trilogy.
Perhaps it’s time to develop more one-on-one relationships with a select few rather than trying to shower the masses with my posts.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Dan,
Thanks for taking the time to comment here, I do realize that we each only have 24 hours in a day. Yes, I think that WHO you connect with matters, and often find that too many writers spend time developing relationships with people who are NOT readers and cannot connect them to readers.
Much appreciated.
-Dan
To qualify the term “fully engaged,” I guess I would have to compare my own posting and activity to that of my most annoying and over-achiever writing friends. (Most of them Pisces – sorry if you are one). I am a slug in comparison. But even slugs win (or tortoises) if slow and steady, right? At least that’s what I’m banking on. It’s all I have the time to do.
Elisabeth,
So much about “time management” is really energy management, to your point. It does just so happen that I am a pisces, and I do consider how some people are naturally predisposed to certain actions, whereas others resist. there is no “one way” for everyone, especially when there are so many potential actions a writer can take each day.
Thanks so much!
-Dan
More thought-provoking than usual, Dan :). Since taking your class and reading your blog, I’ve started engaging more one on one (although I’ll admit to phoning it in from time to time still and not happy about it).
Interestingly, my blog traffic numbers have decreased, which bothered me at first. The several closer relationships I’ve established, however, have more than made up for that. I want to transit to full-time writing by retirement age in eight years. I’ve plenty of time! Taking it slow and trading relationships for numbers has made all the difference. Thanks for another great post.
Thank you Debra!
Life is much too short. I enjoy blogging and connecting with other writers here and on Verla Kay’s blueboards, and I do so wholeheartedly.
Thanks!
Dan, as I said in an email earlier today, I’ve been more active on Goodreads lately. I’m enjoying the friendships that come with frequent interaction. Have my new friends read my book or even know it’s there? IDK – and it’s okay. I agree that developing relationshis is the important thing. Still want that movie, though! LOL
I may never do the automatic tweets – but that’s okay, too.
“It’s okay” is a phrase many creative folks need to become more familiar with. Thanks Marilyn!
-Dan
You just hit on one of my pet peeves–the fake love given out there (I call platforms that sometimes.) When people ask me about social media & I tell them I have over 100,000 twitter followers & 10s of 1000s of people who watch my videos AND retweet them, the majority say: “how can you make money off of that?” Huh? What? What does that have to do with love? I say “all I know is that I’m making people happy, one tweet at a time or during 2 minute mini-vacation videos. I’ve also helped some of my best “fans” rewrite or edit poems/articles/blogs FOR FREE. They’ve got published because I’ve my FREE help! (Keep in mind I haven’t even published a book yet, still finishing final edits). For some weird reason I can’t really explain, I just KNOW this is all gonna be OKAY. We all all connected, I believe, they are all ME. So if they do better, I can’t help but do so too. Anyway, what else have I got to do with my days? I am living my dream and refuse to be miserable doing it. I try anyway. Relax & take it easy. Keep it simple. Keep it love. xo
I like “happiness” as a measure of success SO much more than # of Twitter followers.
Thanks!
-Dan
I follow a lot of blogs from writers I like, and I’ve noticed a lot of variance in their level of engagement. I think a blog is a place to get to know them better as a person, and I always like the ones that blog a lot and about a lot of different subjects the most.
Some of the writers I follow only post things like new book announcements and their tour schedules, and it really leave me with a negative perception of them as a person. Sometimes I get the impression that they are just shy and don’t really know how to use blogs and social media, but mostly I end up believing that they just aren’t interested in engaging with their readers. That they just don’t care about us as anything else than consumers of their work. That may be completely untrue, but it’s the image they present.
Thanks Tina. I try to have A LOT of empathy for writers because I know how much they are juggling. There is no way that a writer can do EVERYTHING at 100%.
Thanks.
-Dan
That’s the way I felt about my book–I gave it little attention after it was published. I didn’t on purpose. Why? I wrote a good story, maybe not great, but that would come in time. It had good characters, action, and a touch of humor. My excitement died when I got my author’s copy. The reason: the self-publisher I used printed it in 9 font. The book was useless as far as I was concerned. The cover was great. People picked it up, but put it back down fast when they saw the print size. The publisher would not correct it unless I paid $200. It was not my mistake, so I refused. I put it out there and did a few book signings. The disappointment I felt made it truly hard for me to sell.
Connie,
Sorry to hear that was your experience. I suppose that illustrates the beauty of ebook! (font size changes, etc)
Thanks.
-Dan
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Great article. I spend many hours a week on social media, especially twitter. I use it to post link to my blog but also to discover other writers like me. I makes it a point to read and comment on at least 5 posts a day. Through this, I’ve made friends. I enjoy spending time on social media. I does mean that I have less time for fiction, but I think it’s time well spent.
Stephanie – thanks!
-Dan