Katie Bartlett, Author

Break Time

With all the social networking tools available today, it’s hard to find time to do work.  By the time I’ve finished updating my status on Facebook and read through the 1000 tweets since yesterday at 11pm when I go to bed and scanned my Google reader for exciting new blog posts, my free time is done. 

So I took a break – from everything – even my own blog.  I just didn’t have the time to do it all and writing my novel had to take priority.  One of the editors at the RUCCL conference I attended spoke pretty passionately about the evils of social networking for a new writer.  Contrary to some of the beliefs at the conference, she stated a new writer should be doing one thing and one thing only – writing. 

I don’t fully agree – there are some benefits to the social networking.  For example, writers share information on which agents are open to submissions or what a certain publisher is looking for.  You can learn about great conferences or seminars.  But, to validate her point, when I cut the social marketing out of my life, man was I productive!  All that time, spent on writing.  What a treat!  I didn’t realize what I had been missing (meaning writing time, real writing time) until it was back.

So now that I’m back “online” I’m going to try to balance a little better.  Maybe check the tweets and Facebook updates on a weekly basis, you know, something in between never and obsessively.  But the priority will continue to be the writing.  I hope.