September 23, 2011

I admit it. I don’t enjoy changes outside my control.

I can change, and I seem to be adapting to some kind of personal or professional change on a weekly basis. [I'm going to ask you for a favor at the end of this post concerning one such change.]

As Jack Canfield says in The Success Principles, “When change happens, you can either cooperate with it and learn how to benefit from it or you can resist it and eventually get run over by it. It’s your choice.”

Old Dog, New Tricks

He points out that there are cyclical changes (like the seasons) and structural changes (where there is no going back to doing things the way they were before)–neither of which you can control. The last few years have shown structural changes in publishing.

Frankly, I had hoped the changes in publishing were just a cycle–I’d seen recessions in publishing before that “righted” themselves. But with the whole social networking phenomenon–and the ability of writers now to do a lot of marketing online from home–it’s a whole new ballgame.

“Structural changes are the kinds of changes that can sweep you away if you resist them,” says Canfield. “Will you embrace these structural changes and work to improve your life–or will you resist them?”

Another Change

Recently the marketing manager at one of my publishers asked me to set up a Facebook Fan Page to replace my current Facebook page where I have my “friends.” There are different rules and you use different apps on fan pages–and I’m slowing learning the new system.

Before long, I will shut down the “friends” page where many of you connect with me. After that, we will connect on the fan page, where you can still leave comments like before. IF…

The Favor

If you do me this one small favor…I’d really appreciate it. Could you click on the Facebook “like” button on the left of your screen, underneath the book jacket of More Writer’s First Aid? It will add you to my Facebook Fan Page called KristiHollBooks. [This truly sounds absurd to me.  I feel like a wallflower at a junior high sock hop asking someone to please "like" me and ask me to dance.]

If the button doesn’t work for you, click the Fan Page link, and you will see a “Like” button at the top of the page. Please click it to add your name to my page of friends. [You will probably have to sign into your Facebook account also.]

Like many changes that I have made (mentally kicking and screaming), this new Facebook change will probably work better for me. It will be a place where I can consolidate news about all my writing and updates from my three websites and two blogs. I think it will simplify and streamline my marketing efforts once it all gets under this one “umbrella.”

Thank you for helping me out–and when you set up your own writing fan pages, let me know. I already like you–but I’ll be glad to make it official!

8 Comments »

1. 

   Love ya Kristi! No Way am I losing you! Gonna go clic right now! Congrats, and hope this does simplify matters! Should we send new “housegifts?” LOL!

   Comment by jen — September 23, 2011 @ 3:52 pm

2. 

   Jen, love the idea of house gifts! Never thought of that. Glad you’re willing to make the switch.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — September 23, 2011 @ 4:22 pm

3. 

   I hear you, Kristi.

   If it makes you at least a little better, I only just started using Facebook myself.

   For someone my age (Under 30) to not be on Facebook is certainly a bit unusual, if not unheard of, and I’m seriously not anti-social, but it just took that long before I felt comfortable with it and enjoy it now.

   I only got an account at first to find an old friend of mine, and I found her, but didn’t use my account much until recently.

   Since I had to put regular blogging on hold due to personal difficulties, and just plain overwhelming writer-centric challenges, Facebook and now Google+ makes me feel like I’m doing something constructive, since progress on my WIP and new website are at a slow crawl. Promising, but slower than I wish were the case, but it’s better than staying stagnant, right?

   I’m not against social networking in general, but as you’ve warned here often, it does intrude on writing time, and if you’ve experienced the agony of going from one failed project to the next, the call of anything that doesn’t involve words like “Platform” or “Revision” and “Queries” is like an instant holiday, minus demonic security and no need for passports.

   Just remember what you’ve told me in the past, one step at a time, one day at a time, and if you’re really in crisis mode, take a unapologetic personal day, or hour.

   If deadlines don’t allow it, try the next best thing for you, and do it as long as possible, hopefully enough to calm yourself a little.

   For me, it’s either a snack break, or listening to the most angst ridden or emotionally charged music I’ve got for a few minutes, that helps me.

   Take Care and Hang in There,
   Taurean

   P.S. I’m moving to your new page shortly.

   Comment by Taurean Watkins — September 23, 2011 @ 4:48 pm

4. 

   Taurean, thanks for the encouragement! It hasn’t turned out to be as bad as I thought it would be. There are several free apps you can download that make it all pretty simple. For example, Twitterfeed automatically posts new blog posts to Twitter, and a similar feed app posts it directly to Facebook. It’s almost too good to be true–but it seems to be working. Maybe it all won’t take as much time as I feared if I don’t have to do it all manually. We shall see!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — September 24, 2011 @ 4:20 pm

5. 

   I understand what you’re going through Kristi. When my book was published last year, I had to break into the Social Media Network myself. I swore I would NEVER use Twitter…well, guess what I use now? I’m also on Facebook (Andrea Buginsky, Author). I don’t go nuts with it, just an update here and there when there’s something worth mentioning. I’m sure you will embrace the change with your usual grace and strength. Hang in there!

   Andrea

   Comment by Andrea Buginsky — September 25, 2011 @ 11:36 am

6. 

   Andrea, as I mentioned earlier, there are lots of free apps that help you post to various social networks automatically. That is going to be a great time saver, I think. I hope I can live up to your comment about “grace and strength”! Good luck with your own socializing online!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — September 25, 2011 @ 4:26 pm

7. 

   Hi,
   (That was all I was able to leave as a “like comment”)
   I’m with you. I now have 2 Facebook pages, my author page & my private family page. I only got a Facebook page to try and stay connected with the more “social media” savvy family & friends and I still feel like I’m being dragged when I do log on to see who’s done what where & with whom…
   If this new fan page simplifies your life – awesome, anything that saves time & simplifies is wonderful.
   Please blog more about how it has helped – I’m interested but fearful of adding “one more thing” to be babied to my already long list of ToDos.
   Ally

   PS: I’m still using the fractal thinking method & have found that even though I still don’t have “all” my tasks written into my berry it has changed my way of thinking & I really am less stressed about things. I just take a minute for myself to breathe & look at the overall big picture to see that what was trying to stress me out really wasn’t that all encompassing & there were other ways to deal with that nagging thorn. Cheers

   Comment by Ally M — September 27, 2011 @ 10:11 am

8. 

   Ally, it is already simplifying my life because of the free apps I got. I just posted something small to my fan page, then discovered it had been automatically posted to Twitter and my other FB page. That alone saved me a lot of time. I will keep looking for ways to “work smarter, not harder”–and save time.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — September 27, 2011 @ 3:41 pm

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