RHYS BOWEN: Our recent Facebook trials when we tried to do a Facebook live event for our group REDS AND READERS highlighted how annoyingly stressful modern life can be. We all are suddenly required to be more tech savvy than we want to be. Mastering Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, not to mention Canva and learning how to create images with stars exploding all over them. Who would have thought it when I sat down with a pan and pen to write my first book?
Every time I have to do a Zoom, Streamyard, Chime etc etc I'm stressed that I won't be able to connect, that I'll freeze, that i'll suddenly notice my bra-strap is showing or I look as if I have no chin. I suppose the positive aspect of all this is that we can connect with readers in a way not possible before. I now speak to bookclubs anywhere in the world. When I do an event for the Poisoned Pen we get about 2000 watching the video , not just from America but from Australia, Sweden, you name it. It is mind boggling how one can have fans from across the globe.
But it is also so time-consuming. I reckon writers these days spend half their time writing and the other half in social media. I try to interact on Facebook every day. I post blogs, I do podcasts and interviews. On Monday I had two Zoom interviews, one after the other. Total of over 2 hours. When I went upstairs I said to John "My cheeks hurt from so much smiling." You can't look grumpy for a second on a Zoom!
So I'm thinking that Shakespeare and Jane Austen didn't have to spend half their time interacting on social media. Okay, that wasn't a good example. Shakespeare's works were performed so he was able to assess the success or failure of his words. Dickens's novels were published in weekly installments so he was also able to get feedback from his readers. but they didn't have to spend half their lives smiling on Zoom.
Of course it is lovely to meet many more readers than I ever could on bookstore visits. But it's made writing into a celebrity thing--that it's not just the words they like, it's the writer they follow. I find it strange and mind boggling that I have about 400,000 followers across social media (Facebook, Bookbub and Amazon). Did I ever, in my wildest dreams, imagine that my words would reach that many people, across the world. I should add that some of those followers are creepy guys from Nigeria, but then some are real African fans so it's hard to weed them out. (but that's why I started the private group TEA WITH RHYS as they have to be admitted and can be booted out if they do anything inappropriate).
I suppose I should be grateful and embrace the convenience. I still remember the days when the copy edits from my publisher came in a large envelope and I had to edit and reprint and send it back. Now it can be done in a day in the review mode. And I get a lot of fan mail because it doesn't require a stamp and a trip to the post office. And Google can alert me to any time my name shows up in the media. All good, but...
Maybe if I were younger I wouldn't have a hard time keeping up with technology, but it seems as soon as I've mastered one thing, something new replaces it. I'm still coming to terms with email. I'm not quite sure of the correct protocol. Should an email be considered a letter and therefor start 'Dear X?" and end with a yours sincerely etc.
Should it start like a chat with a friend? "Hi X! and end with kisses xxxxx
Or should it need not intro and conclusion at all since the recipient can see who it is coming from?
And then there is texting. Don't get me started on emojis or all of the acronyms. I haven't got past LOL yet. I can't see myself ever communicating with things like Wsg? hyd? NTG ISTG etc.
Even more baffling: 459 apparently means I love you!
39 means thank you (three and nine in Japanese apparently)
Do you think that humans are reverting to cave man speak and will lose the art of large vocabulary and polished sentences. No matter, there is always AI to do it for them. And that's another whole discussion.
So who here feels comfortable with technology and is glad of the conveniences we have? And who would like to return to the good old days when we sat down with pen and paper and wrote a letter instead?
The technology can become overwhelming; there are times I wish for more of the simpler but they say you cannot put the genie back into the bottle and I'm fairly certain that technology is the genie. While I appreciate some of what technology has wrought, it can also be mind-boggling and frustrating to deal with. And, although the instant contact that texting provides is both amazing and easy to become used to, there’s still something special about a hand-written letter . . . .
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated the availability of exercise classes from my local YMCA during COVID. It was a lot less lonely and we could still interact with the instructor and class members. My blood club also met via Zoom. My husband’s international car club has a monthly Zoom where members discuss technical issues and don’t need to travel for this gathering. We can still meet with friends. Yet, this so expands our socializing. Alicia Kullas
ReplyDeleteBook Club - typo! Sorry.
DeleteAlicia, that typo made my first smile of the day. Thanks. Elisabeth
DeleteI was wondering what a blood club was!
DeleteBlood club -- for vampires only!
DeleteIt’s the first time we’ve had a vampire on Jungle Reds! A blood club! My imagination is running riot! Dear autocorrect again
DeleteI can handle the tech - except Tiktok, where I don't want to be, anyway. And I love that for the past four years I can virtually meet with fans anywhere - in their living room book club, in a library in Virgina, in a bookstore, say, in Arizona.
ReplyDeleteI agree that doing promotion can be tiring, especially with three releases a year, but I do like connecting with people who love books.
I do worry about letters. Real, savable letters. The ones I've saved from sisters and friends and son sons over many years are treasures. The letters my parents wrote to each other during the war, my father's long correspondence with his brother-in-law and good friend, a few my grandfather wrote - they are a slice of history.
That’s so true, Edith. There will never be a volume of the collected correspondence of Rhys Bowen or Edith Maxwell and I’ve had some really memorable emails from famous people that I should have printed out and saved
DeleteI worry about letters, too, Edith, and photographs not made up of pixels.
DeleteBecause I do not have fans to satisfy, I limit social media to Facebook. I enjoy Zoom meetings and classes and although occasionally links don't work, mostly they do. Social media is a time suck and it's easy to loose track of your day. In the end, this blog is the way I have connected with all of you so it is good!
ReplyDeleteI play solitaire and connect with NextDoor Neighbor and you are so right - it is easy to get sucked in and lose track of time.
DeleteAcronyms long before texting UGH! Studying the New Deal for American history in 1960s created a hopeless mess in my brain. That part of tech stops me cold. Zoom and I have never worked well together. It blocks me almost always and so I just don’t bother any more. (Except for a coffee hour once a month where the tech person has set up what I call “an idiot’s delight” link.) I admire all of the authors who seem to use social media so effortlessly. Thanks Reds and other authors on the “back blog”. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteThis is social media at its very best!
DeleteSounds like the tail is wagging the dog, Rhys.
ReplyDeleteI used social media in the proverbial Dark Ages of the Internet: Usenet, then CompuServe, then Prodigy, then AOL message boards. An email newsletter that became a printed one. A website with articles. Selling books in .pdf format before ebooks were a thing.
Much easier to manage than the tech stuff today. No smiling involved, for one thing. And I wasn't trying to also write three books a year.
Karen, your comment takes me back! We were early users of CompuServe and Prodigy as well. It all felt so exciting and new -- and now looks like caveman technology in the rearview mirror.
DeleteI think it is good there were fewer social media choices back in the 1990s/2000s. I could limit myself to reading/posting on DorothyL listserv. And in the early 2000s, there were only a handful of mystery fiction blogs that I read & commented on. Several of those blogs are (e.g. Lipstick Chronicles, Murderati) but I am glad that others like JRW or Lesa's Book Critiques have lasted over 15 years!
DeleteDorothyL was my first venture into racial media, Grace. I thought it was wonderful to be able to chat with writers and readers
DeleteRhys, you do mean “social media”, right?
DeleteI feel your pain. This is an example. I want to comment with my name, Faith Lang, but it wants my URL. What is my URL??
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I am so impressed with how much you interact with readers. It makes you a real person, not just an author. It's ok if you don't smile all the time ♥️
From Celia: I hear you Faith. I think? your URL is your website address. I have the same problem despite my Google email etc. I have discussed this with JRW’s and others. I’ve come to the opinion the Google and Apple do NOT play well in the tech sandbox and we are the losers. So I gave the ‘win’ to big g and now announce my id at the start of my comments.
DeleteOn the comment identifier toggle you are offered three choices, the last is name/url. If you type your name only it will show above your comment. The URL is optional..
DeleteYou don’t need a URL. Under Comment as: choose Name/URL fill in your name. Leave the url blank click continue. And then type in your comment. Publish.
DeleteThanks, Brenda!
DeleteI had to learn a lot of tech as a 9-1-1 dispatcher--We had a year from hell when we moved to a new building, got a new computer system, radio system, phone system and the police district maps were changed--ALL at the same time. Talk about an abrupt learning curve!
ReplyDeleteDuring COVID, I became the Zoom leader for several groups, partly because I have a paid account. I learned to do breakout rooms, share my screen etc. I hosted two on-line workshops, a bilingual book group and many many meetings.
However, I don't really consider myself a techie. I would rather read a paper book (or IRS tax instructions) than scroll through stuff on line. I get why authors feel the need to use social media, but for me the books are the important thing. That said, I am grateful for this blog and my connection with Reds and Readers.
Wherever I go I see people on their phones (not talking). I wonder if our phones or computers are like a drug they engage us and take away the boredom of siting in the the doctors office, the line at the grocery store, being alone at the coffee shop. People don't talk to each other as much anymore.
ReplyDeleteEspecially young people. My grandkids text each other not chat on the phone
DeleteSo true. I was in Manhattan a few weeks ago and the new skill is looking down at your phone and walking fast while apparently using some other sense so you don't crash into the crowds around you who are also glued to their screens!
DeleteI can't imagine having to keep up with the tech to the extent that you published writers do -- it is challenging enough just to manage those technologies I choose to use. Still, some of those new things do bring a wealth of opportunities, too. In particular, I have been deeply appreciative of Zoom lately. Our son has moved to Japan and once a week we catch up over a scheduled Zoom call. I am amazed that we are able to talk in real time, seeing each other's faces and hearing each other's vocal inflections, from opposite sides of the world. And without "long distance call" charges!
ReplyDeleteI talk to my brother in Australia. It’s amazing!
DeleteOh heavens - but it is good to know none of us is alone in the battle of the texts (and all else).
ReplyDeleteI can't even get my name right!
DeleteI do love tech to an extent--keeping up with far-flung friends and family, opportunities to interact with groups like this blog, but I'd still read the Reds' books even if you all didn't engage with facebook or Zoom meetings, for example. I do miss letters. Long after my grandmother had died, my aunt shared with me a letter my grandmother had written to my uncle during his service in WWII. Oh my! Reading that letter was like hearing my grandmother's voice again. Or a letter saved from my mom--you hear their voices so clearly. I don't get that through texting or emails.
ReplyDeleteThis particular Anon is Flora
DeleteFrom Diana: Technology has been a boost for me, though we all have to watch out for these sketchy trolls and scammers I online.
ReplyDeleteWhen I arrived in England to stay for a while, there was no Internet nor cell phones with the text capability. I remember going to a dress shop and asking them if they had a FAX so I could send a fax to my family in the States to let them know that I arrived safely. Remember that I cannot use the phone and the teletypewriter for the deaf device was not available where I was in England. I also sent a postcard and a letter. My mom mentioned that my postcard and letters Arrived BEFORE the fax arrived. Yes, I gave the dress shop money for the cost of sending a fax because the post office did not have a fax unless I missed it?
After we got the mobile phones, I went to Europe and I was able to send texts on the phone to my family back in the States. That was great!
Though I love technological advances like these, I still love writing letters with a pen and paper. I STILL send Christmas cards in the mail, although I know several people prefer to send Christmas greetings by email.
A friend is getting married and she is sending handwritten invitations. Another friend sent wedding invitations by email.
I remember the days of having to send faxes. So challenging.
DeleteRHYS: I do feel for you having to balance your daily schedule with writing vs social media time.
ReplyDeleteBut as a reader/fan, I am so glad the pandemic gave us many more opportunities to attend virtual book launches, conferences from across the globe. Online venues to learn about new books/interact with readers on First Chapter Fun (373+ episodes so far) and the Back Room has been a real plus. Thanks to HANK and Hannah Mary McKinnon and Karen Dionne for continuing to organize & host these events.
For a lot of us there's been a steep learning curve: "downloading apps" and saving (somewhere please) eight million passwords and and and. But I love being able to keep in touch with friends and family. So easy now and I don't have to interrupt their day with a phone call or write (and mail) a letter. Especially during covid lockdowns it was a godsend. What I really hate are those sicky-sweet greeting cards accompanied by tweeting birds and music. Just send a smiley-face emoji text and I'm happy to hear. I already spend too much time waiting for pages to download. Grump.
ReplyDeleteI love my Jacquie Lawson cards, Hallie and the advent calendar
DeleteI know, they are so sweet and well meaning. They just take so long and they're so generic, but I suppose that's the definition of a regular greeting card, too.
DeleteThank you, thank you, Rhys! Just what I think and so well said. I did like early "personal tech" - DorothyL. Book blogs. I did and do like e-mail, of course. And my work in research required expertise with information systems, sure, and so I acquired it. But I honestly do not want a 4 page personal list of passwords to manage and maintain. And I have at least different 6 medical portals. One more demand to register for one and I burst into tears! This is not how I want to spend my time.
ReplyDeleteMy husband goes bananas over medical portals. I don’t know how a lot of old people manage
DeleteOh, the medical portals drive me crazy!!! But I highly recommend using a password manager. I don't know how I ever managed without one.
DeleteDeb, thank you.Great suggestion. I will be looking into a password manager ASAP. Don't know why I didn't do it before. (And more to the point, why didn't my DH, who actually loves tech and has become our self-taught tech team?)
DeleteMy user name is from another blog (Chet the Dog) but should work here. Professionally I have been deeply involved in high tech matters for over 40 years. Personally, I am both in awe and wary of what tech, specifically social media, represents and can do. The key is to remember that these are intended as tools to assist and improve life, and to the extent that they are used for that purpose, they offer terrific potential. But when they take over your life, that is where the problems begin. Ultimate control must rest with the individual, not with the social media.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to vote D on your question. All of the above!
ReplyDeleteI am not a techie, never will be, but I'm glad we have it for an option. For years, it allowed me to work remotely to my office in Miami from wherever I lived. That was a good thing. It also lets me connect with readers and other writers and I've made some great friends whom I have never met. Reds and Red readers, included. Then there are the plethora of classes and courses available now that would have been impossible before. All good things. But on the flip side...
It's time consuming. I probably do spend an average of two to three hours daily on social media, online marketing, etc. And yes, those creepy guys! It seems most everyone had an angle Online.
Oh yes. The classes! I’ve taken great watercolor classes online
DeleteOoh, I want to take one of those!
DeleteRhys, you may be onto something: a new planet of the apes, but bionic apes who have given up the bother of old fashioned communication because they sre wirelessly connected and don't need to speak words!
ReplyDeleteOh, it's all so great, this ability to keep in touch so handily, despite the occasional challenges thrown at us. I'll just mention a few of many delights...
ReplyDeleteMy brother in Germany and I talk once a week (like Rhys). I think of my dewy youth, when long distance phone calls were planned by letter and it cost something like $1 a minute between Toronto and Montreal to talk with Grandma on Christmas Day.... !
Listserves. In 1999 I linked into an early early Listserve (I can't even remember its name now) and joined up with few-and-far-between readers of the mid 20th century writer D E Stevenson. We were -- every one of us -- thrilled to bits to find we weren't the only person in the world who still read her books. 25 years on (can that be?) we're still going strong, now on Groups.io, and in a few hours we'll be having one of our occasional inter-continental Zoom chats. Technology is our lifeline.
I'll just add this about Dickens. When he decided to do the mid-19th century equivalent of a Poisoned Pen presentation, he actually booked passage across the none-too-safe Atlantic, sail to New York, and then travelled from city to city by steamship, canal boat, stagecoach and rail. Twice. Whew!
The plus side holds the fact that I can see and talk with my grandchildren and great-grandchildren who live in another state. I can follow musicians and authors I like. I can put library books on hold and see the latest community activities. Negative side - I have a "dumb" phone that I rarely carry with me. Don't feel comfortable with "big brother" knowing where I am at all times. Also, I had my car totaled by a teenager who ran a very red light (4 cars in the intersection turning right in front of her) because she was on her phone. Yesterday I had a woman who looked directly at my car that was in the lane headed towards her, then proceeded to return to her phone and slowly walk diagonally in front of me. That is, sadly, not an isolated experience. So, I reckon there are some pluses, but a whole lot more negs that can often be life-threatening. -- Victoria
ReplyDeletePat D: I have been cursing technology for days now. We got a new TV. It's not like the old one. I haven't been able to put PBS Passport on. Roku has disappeared and Sling is dominant. I hope Frank can correct this or else something bad may happen to the TV.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings about the advent of technology. Obviously, I wouldn’t be able to communicate this way without it.
ReplyDeleteI’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to meet new and established authors through virtual interviews.
It’s nice to be able to see them and hear their voices. I particularly enjoy the Poisoned Pen discussions which often veer off into subjects totally unrelated to the book that the authors have written but adds a dimension to them that you wouldn’t get in a written interview or review.
I would think that a virtual book tour might be more flexible than some of the rigorous travel schedules some of the authors have had, plus reaching more readers and a lot less expensive for those who are paying for their own expenses.
Living in New England does not give me a chance to see a lot of writers I like in person, especially when they live and tour primarily on the west coast or somewhere else in the world.
I was fortunate to go to a local bookstore a few years ago and meet and talk to Rhys and some other authors who were also there. I was impressed by her thoughtfulness in offering me an autographed bookmark to give to a friend who couldn’t be there. It was a little thing for her but meant a lot to my friend.
Nothing can take the place of seeing someone in person.
When people actually write a letter they don’t usually just dash off a quick response, they put more of themselves into what they are saying and it is a more intimate way of expressing themselves.
An email just feels very impersonal and if you don’t proofread it autocorrect can provide a very different message (see book/blood above) from what was intended.
If you have technical or power issues you can still write a letter.
My conclusion is that everything has an appropriate usage, don’t use technology exclusively, the next new thing isn’t always an improvement and don’t give up traditional communication because you can’t always get it back once it is gone.
OMG, don’t get me started on technology. Sure, it got us through COVID, but it’s taking over our lives. I teach college writing and I’m beginning to HATE technology. AI is just another type of plagiarism and does the University say that? Nooooo! We now have our own GPT (AI software that writes for you). As you can imagine, students are stunned when I tell them they have to write their essay from scratch by themselves.
ReplyDeleteAll of my classes are online and designed to be accessed using Canvas (a computer interface for online classes) but I recently learned that young students access the class and do everything on their phones! Can you imagine writing a college essay (or anything other than a text) on your phone? I’m spending the first part of my summer vacation redesigning my classes for next year so students will get alerts on the phones with links to the actual course materials.
Lately I’ve been daydreaming that Doctor Who drops me off in the 1960 so or 70s so I can live the rest of my life without technology. I’d miss my Kindle and audiobooks but life would be so much easier… and just think of all the good music! LOL
Have you noticed when you are on public transportation everyone is looking at their phone, almost totally unaware of anyone around them or they are talking into their phone not the person next to them.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know how authors keep up with all their social media accounts and still have time to write books! More and more I hear authors say they are on this long list of social media platforms, but you can find them mostly on one particular one. And then they add “all of the information about my books and events is on my website.” So while it’s fun to get to know them through what their cat is doing or what have you on the socials, if I really want to know something I google their website.
ReplyDeleteI have a love/hate relationship with technology. When it helps me and works well, I love it. But as soon as any little thing goes wrong, I hate it.
ReplyDeleteIt's allowed me to work from home, and I couldn't do all the reviewing I do without it.
But I do feel like it has helped me become more isolated. I need to figure out how to fix that.
I do love being able to keep up with people, and I love all the friends in the writing/reading community I've made over the years on the blog and social media platforms. But the downside is that it is so time consuming, and there are many days when I just want to go live in a cave and WRITE! I do seriously try to limit my time online every day.
ReplyDeleteDitto to Debs's comment. Love Skyping at least once a week with my sister in Olympia, WA; hate having to keep up with so much communication. But the biggest technological blessing of all is looking and finding endless quantities of information up on Google. Life without Google would be so much poorer.
ReplyDeleteI have not read all this, so may be speaking out of turn, but we invited an author to our book club. It was ‘supposed’ to happen, but didn’t. We were so excited, fund-raised the whole she-bang. In the end, a Zoom call would have made out day. Just a chat around the table, hanging out with friends – 10 of us. So thank you to all of you who take the time to do it – you may never know how important it is to lowly fans.
ReplyDeleteAnd now, back to the too many people and too much noise. Lobsters are up and my legs are dead!
Put your feet up on Monday!
DeleteBarely hanging on here and sometimes I am just so over it. I remind myself that it's the price I pay for being able to do what I love...write. :)
ReplyDeleteI love technology when it works; when it doesn’t I am easily irritated.
ReplyDeleteAs a hearing disabled person texting was a godsend. Now that I have cochlear implants I don’t need to rely on texting but I do love the ease of connecting with people AND I find most people respond immediately to my texts!
And thanks to whoever commented earlier and explained about the URL option only requiring a name. I’ve been posting as anonymous and adding my name.