Preface:

There are many different and incredibly difficult problems that creative people, like myself, face in this world of ours. Some of them are physical and some psychological. Last week, I talked about Imposter syndrome which is a psychological bane. Today, I’m going to talk about a big one that a lot of people might not realize is a problem or a bane of our creative process, and some may argue that it is an asset. In moderation, it can be an asset, but more often then not it hinders us, causes us to doubt ourselves, and makes us think that we’re not good enough. That topic is Social Media.

The meat of the issue:

For the sake of the argument, I’m not just talking about Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or Mastodon. I’m also talking about Tumblr, Ko-fi, Patreon, Pinterest, and even SubscribeStar. All of these social sites that you post your content to, or get inspiration from, are all good in moderation, but the problem comes when we stay on them for too long that we don't create, and we base the worth of our work on algorithms that don’t promote or even show it to the friends, family, and fans that follow us. I find myself in both camps on any given day. I can spend hours just answering messages from friends and posting content (snippets, updates, blogs, promos, etc.), then hours mindlessly scrolling throughout the day to get more ideas, and trying to shout into the voice to get things seen.

The Solution:

The hardest thing for a creative person, I’m talking to myself here too, is to realize that your worth and the worth or quality of your work is NOT tied to the likes, follows, views, and comments on your posts. Your worth was established LONG before that. You are priceless, your work isn’t as awful as you may think it is. Don’t listen to the negative voice in your head. Keep sharing, but if the numbers are getting you down, take a break…

Wait... I know what you're thinking:

I can almost hear one of you saying, “but Jenn! if I take a break the views get worse, the algorithm will push me into a corner from which I will never come back from.” Yes, I know how it is. I’ve said that very line, this month actually, and I have taken a break from time to time, some intentional, some spontaneous. I need to do it again soon, because I’m drowning in the numbers after posting about my next release, The Haunted Angel and getting little to no engagement. I will be taking a break around Easter, but I’ll be scheduling posts and that will be another feat and a half.

what else can I do?

A lot of people do it in different ways. Some take breaks, some hire someone to handle it for them, others try to deal with it by scheduling and only looking at posts once a week, others simply post less and go to in person events more. I wish I could do that, but my social anxiety, location, budget, and other such nuisances hold me back, but having a community to lean back on is essential. Yes, it may be hard to do so, but you are NOT a burden. People that are there will want to be there to read your content, to talk about it, and to show you how much they love it.

That's all I've got...

Anyway, that’s all for today. Thanks for reading, don’t forget the preorder for my next book The Haunted Angel is live and you can get paperbacks and hardcover here on the website. eBooks can be preordered on Google Play or Kindle. It is not going to be on KU as I cannot post it anywhere else if I go KDP select.

That’s all folks!

~ Jenn, @ Born Angel Author