Engaging With Writing Forums

I’ve joined writersforum.com, both to connect with other writers and get the word out about my own writing.  I’m not spamming folks with talk about every blog post I make or how they just have to buy my book, for that would quickly grow tiresome.  One of the main complaints about authors on writing forums is that they do nothing but plug their book(s), and it fades into background noise.  People ignore those folks after a while, making the whole enterprise pointless.

I see marketing my work as part of what to do on a writing forum, but not the end-all-be-all.  I’ve engaged on what I think makes good characters, how I develop plot points, and how outlining versus spontaneous writing works.  It allows others to know who you are and let’s you get to know others.  That makes it so much easier for them to not only accept but celebrate your writing when you release.

Unfortunately, it’s also time consuming.  I started off posting and replying several times in my first weekend, but the weekend is easy, especially when excitement is fresh.  I still work a full time job, so getting on during the week is challenging.  The weekends are challenging when my family is competing for my time(and they’re my priority).  I guess this whining is to say I’m still trying to find the right balance to get my work out there.  I get how this could be a full time job, and I ain’t there yet(because I like to eat and own a home, and my other job pays for those wacky things).  If y’all could just buy my books, I could focus more on selling them.