Social media…the term wasn’t even invented when I was a kid. What am I saying? I don’t think it was around when my hair began to turn gray.
I wish I could go back to a life before email and computer stuff in general.
Part of my rational for that sentiment is because computers are allergic to me. I’m not kidding. Once I walked into a bank and the teller’s computer quit as I walked up to her window. Fortunately all I needed to do was make change for a large bill.
The next day I waited in line to buy a few groceries on my way home from work and the cashier’s cash register stopped working when the first item was scanned. It worked for everybody in front of me.
Both women said the same thing, “This has never happened before. I wonder why it’s doing it now?”
“I walked up.” Was the only common denominator I saw in both instances.
As a writer in the 21st century I have to do this strange dance with social media if I intend to get the messages out that God has given to me.
Publishers don’t have enough financial daring to take a chance on a nobody in today’s market. That’s the simple truth.
If you’ve written something that’s considered to be phenomenal they may make an exception for you, but I have no clue what the definition for that is…and I’m a Webster.
So I have this story about two mice that learn the reason we still celebrate Jesus’ birth like we do. I’m not boasting when I say it has the potential to become a future classic.
There’s this publisher somewhat interested in taking a chance on said story. The acquisition editor, who happens to own the company, insists I have an agent before she’ll sign me up.
So I found one that she recommended to me. Step one is cleared.
Then the editor says she wants to see my social media numbers improve before she takes a risk on this nobody that not enough folks have heard about.
I didn’t even know this step was coming. Life isn’t even close to fair.
Fortunately the agent in the mix has published with this lady and interpreted what she’s looking for.
I need more than 2,000 followers on at least two different platforms to be considered a serious enough author for her to take a chance on me and my future classic book.
If I didn’t know any better I’d think these women are just ganging up on me for their own enjoyment.
So I checked some of my numbers. I had about 1,700 Facebook friends.
It had been a while since I did any friend blitzes so this shouldn’t be too difficult. I searched for folks who had more than 500 mutual friends to be safe from anybody claiming I was scamming people.
After I exhausted those potential friends I lowered the number to 400…and so on.
I blew by 2,000 in a couple of weeks without being sent to Facebook timeout once. For the record I’m now at 175 mutual friends before I ask if someone wants to be my friend.
So far folks think I’m a fairly friendly fella. What can I say, they have good taste.
Then I went to my Author Wade Webster Facebook page to see where I stood with the number of people who liked that. I stood at 680. That number looked very familiar because I hadn’t sent out any like requests to my friends in too long a time.
You guessed it. I sent out as many like requests as I possibly could. Fortunately Facebook kept track of the ones who already liked my page.
I started doing that last week. I just checked and I now have 789 page likes…in only a few short days. Some days are good to me.
What that tells me is that I have the Bestest Facebook Friends on the planet. That’s what BFF stands for…right?
All I know is God has given me the stewardship of that story. That means I have to do all I can to get it out to the public.
Once people fall in love with Eek God’s kingdom will grow like baby mice families all over the place.
That’s my goal, no not the baby mice all over the place, I mean growing God’s kingdom.
Feel free to send your friends to my page to like it. You’ll be helping a nobody struggling future best-selling author want-to-be build God’s kingdom. Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWadeWebster/
Now to figure out that Twitter tweety thingy what-cha-ma-call-it.
I’ll see you later. Wade
