21st Century Literature discussion

Has social media had a mostly positive or negative effect on writers you care about? Do you follow any/many writers on social media? What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of writers using social media (Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)? Does your thinking change depending on which social media platform is being used?

Goodreads is the only form of social media I’m on, ha! But someone here mentioned they follow Jeff Vandermeer and he talked about ivy overtaking his home (which is so perfect for his books) and if anything would get me on social media it would be that. Authors lives that parallel or complement their lives. Or things that make me appreciate them as a human.

I don't care for the mutual back-patting that goes on so often among writers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and to some extent on Goodreads. There is an assumption held by some writers that other writers should auto-praise their books and give each other all-the-stars, just on the general principle that writers should support one another. But that kind of makes all of their opinions garbage-y pablum imo, and keeps me from taking anything they say about books seriously.

The writers I love on social media tend to be talking about other things besides their writing. Anne Lamott is someone I enjoyed following on Twitter (before I quit Twitter) and she seems a lovely person. Joyce Carol Oates seems to be her prickly self online and is also very enjoyable to follow.

I follow Amor Towles and Anthony Marra and a few more. These two talk about their children, their life and it makes them more relatable to me.

I follow quite a few writers on social media, mostly horror writers. I've discovered a lot of great books through their recommendations, and among horror writers there's a lot less of the "log rolling" behaviour that Lark mentioned - i.e. you gush about my book and I'll gush about yours. I also follow some small publishers and critics.

I do follow Jeff Vandermeer and his updates about rewilding his Florida property, pics from his trail cam, and his efforts to combat environmental devastation in Florida. Occasionally, but rarely, he will mention a book.

Lark wrote: "I don't care for the mutual back-patting that goes on so often among writers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and to some extent on Goodreads. There is an assumption held by some writers that o..." Lark, I totally agree with your views about the devaluation of evaluations under this system.

I must be the outlier here, at least of those who’ve commented. I love following writers on social media. Nate Lippens has a fantastic instagram page. I also follow and occasionally engage with Isabel Waidner, Arunava Sinha, Daisy Rockwell, Anton Hur, Sheela Tomy, and a handful of others. I don’t fault writers who aren’t on social media, but writers who engage are able to connect with their audiences daily rather than maybe every other year.

I haven't followed any writers on social media, but I've considered adding Don Winslow who, besides being probably my favorite active crime fiction author is also very politically outspoken. And he lives in southern California like I do.

I follow Dennis Cooper's blog. I know blogs are not that social, but Dennis will respond to every comment posted, and somehow manages to keep track of most of us groupies. I've worked on collaborations and become friends with other blog denizens.

If you didn't know already, Dennis' blog is an incredible resource for edge-y writing, art, music, films etc. I've discovered many favorites through it. Recent posts have featured actress (and painter!) Mary Woronow, pop-up books, and the acid western movie "genre".

Dennis is working on his latest movie, so the blog not being updated as regularly as usual (which was an exhausting 6 days per week). Here:
https://denniscooperblog.com

I prefer mostly to stay in the dark about the authors I read and am not at all interested in following their social media. I like to separate myself from their opinions about politics, religions, issues, etc, because I find one of the main purposes of reading is to escape from the world and its issues and politics, etc. and get immersed in something. And if I do know their opinions and do not like them, I would be tempted not to read their novels.

In terms of pros/cons for the writers themselves, seems like a mixed bag... Almost all the positives seem like they could be serious negatives, as well:
- Direct interaction with audience/readers
- Develop an identity outside of their writing
- Increased promotion/exposure
- Extra time spent managing social media (this just seems like a negative unless the writer really enjoys it)
- Potentially post something offensive or stupid & the entire Internet then gangs up against you (definitely, a negative)

Most of the authors I follow are for one of two reasons: 1) It seems like an easy way to support them; or, 2) I find them or their content interesting. Vandermeer and Cooper definitely post interesting content. I probably follow quite a few (off the top of my head: Waidner, Jennifer Croft, Emil Ferris, Lynne Tillman, Vandermeer... )

What is it about Jeff VanderMeer? I follow him too, as well as other writers like Robert Macfarlane, Eley Williams, David Haydn and Afua Hirsch. But they all post about things other than their writing, so a lot of tips on forthcoming books; classic fiction; issues around race and identity; nature and the environment etc Williams posts wonderful, quirky images and art from various sources. I also follow translators, various editors and booksellers like Stephen Sparks who runs Point Reyes bookshop, and used to work at Dalkey Archive and has links to publishers like Dorothy and Open Letter.

I follow only a few authors on Twitter and Insta, those who treat their accounts as personal accounts and not filled with push marketing messages, although some do promote their similarly situated author friends' works. My faves are David Joy (@DavidJoy_Author), Tiffany Flowers (@Prof_Flowers), Stephen Mack Jones (@verigatenun991), Yrsa Sigurdardottir (@YrsaSig), Abir Mukherjee (@radiomukhers), Antti Tuomainen (@antti_tuomainen), William Boyle (@wmboyle4), Chris Offutt (@chris_offutt). Folks who are making a living as authors, but aren't household names. Have between 2K and 10K followers so still keeping it real.

But I also don't think it's a realistic option for an author (who wants to sell books and have a career as a writer) to eschew social media comms any more than in a past age for an author to keep riding a horse or insist on typing only on a manual typewriter. Marketing is never comfortable but the tools of each generation are the tools one needs to use.

Last but not least, our friend Robin Yeatman (@robin_yeatman) is doing it well.

Bill wrote: "I follow Dennis Cooper's blog. I know blogs are not that social, but Dennis will respond to every comment posted, and somehow manages to keep track of most of us groupies. I've worked on collaborat..."

I agree don't follow it religiously but some great content.