Ending the social media adventure
As you may recall, back in 2023 I dipped my toes back into social media after several years away. You can read all my thoughts about the first ten months of that experiment here.
We’re now out 18 months from that last post, and things have continued to evolve. While I still love Mastodon every bit as much as I did when I made that post, and while I really support everything that the Fediverse stands for, unfortunately, almost everyone I’d had such a great connection with on that platform fled as soon as Bluesky took off in November of last year. As I said in that blog post, Bluesky seemed to be aiming to recreate Twitter circa 2017, and they succeeded. And as I said in that blog post, that’s not an environment that’s healthy for me to be in.
I’ve been hanging in there for over a year trying to make it work, but I’ve been gradually checking in less and less, not just on Bluesky but on Mastodon too. It’s more than just the lack of connection on Mastodon post-Bluesky migration, it’s also the ongoing toxic nature of Bluesky itself.
But, moreover, over the last year I’ve been going through a period of reconnecting with myselfβthe IRL me, not just author me. After spending almost ten years chained to Iamos in a state of panic that I’d never get the series finished, I was completely disconnected from my real life and as sick as I’ve ever been. With the pressure of a big series finally off my shoulders, I’ve been freed up to write at a much more sustainable pace for my health, and this means the health problems have been less severe this year, which means I’ve been able to actually leave my house and do things for the first time in years.
(And yes, I am admitting that I was indeed making myself so ill through writing that I was basically not going out. Work-life balance was very poor over the last decade.)
At some point I’d like to write about the liberating experience serializing JLTFT has been, giving myself permission to write just a chapter a month instead of frantic grind sessions that burn me out mentally and crash my health. But that will need its own post. For now, the point is: I have a life.
And I would like to be able to continue to maintain the balance I’ve found this year where I can have that life, and also get some writing in and publish new books at a reasonable pace for my health, and while I still have small flares, I’m not smashing my body into the ground and then taking months to recover. So, as part of that work-life balance, I’m going to be phasing out social media again.
- My lovely assistant Esther will still continue to update my Facebook page.
- I will still post updates to Bluesky and Mastodon whenever I have news, such as: new book releases, sales, availability changes (such as the Kindle Unlimited thing), the Kickstarter campaign, etc.
- I’ll try to remember to keep Instagram updated. This is of course contingent on me having nice pictures to post, so stuff may more regularly be hitting the stories than the grid; but when I have pretty print editions to share, that of course will be on Instagram.
- I will no longer be regularly participating in posting challenges such as #TimeTravelAuthors.
That last one is a tough one for me because #TimeTravelAuthors has been a great space for me over the last 2+ years, but it’s gotten too time consuming to keep up with the prompts, and then I feel obligated to go on and check for replies, which keeps me tied to social media more than I want to be. #TimeTravelAuthors has been a great group, though, and I encourage anyone who writes any kind of time travel and uses either Mastodon or Bluesky (and possibly Twitter? They used to be on Twitter too, not sure if they still are though) to check them out.
If you want to hear from me more regularly, I recommend checking out my Patreon, as I have shifted my monthly status updates to being available for the free tier. I post once a month, sometimes twice a month, about what I’ve been up to creatively. I’ll also try to make an effort to post here on the blog more regularly, though that’s contingent on having something to say π I’m more inclined to just babble about what’s up on the Patreon where it’s not cluttering up my actual website.
Over the coming months, I’m looking forward to bringing you a bunch of new stuff. For one thing, we’re over the hill on JLTFT and on track for a spring release. If you’re not reading it on Patreon, keep an eye on this space for official publication news. Remember that I’m planning on enrolling it in Kindle Unlimited, so it will be Amazon-exclusive, but if you’re not an Amazon user or if you want a DRM free copy, you can preorder it now on my online store and you’ll get the finished ebook as soon as it’s available. Though I’m mostly closing my online store in early October, I will leave the preorder live until that point and will probably use this method for preorders moving forward.
In addition to JLTFT, I’m also planning on bringing you a new anthology in 2026, pending all the participating authors’ availability. My hope is to have it released in time for SWP’s 10th anniversary next October, so watch this space for info on the theme, cover reveal, participating authors, and more.
Once like JLTFT is done, I’m excited to switch gears back to my pen name and get to work on the next installment of my cozy fantasy series. Serializing on Patreon has worked so well for me with JLTFT that I expect I will do that with my other books moving forward.
So, yeah, a lot going on in the coming months, plenty of things to focus on without the distraction of social media to bog me down. Watch this space and Patreon for updates, social media for important news only, and I’ll talk to you all soon!