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I love what I do, which includes writing. In fact, I view writing as a calling. I’ve even rather brazenly said that the “numbers” aren’t that important to me. If only one person is affected positively by something I’ve written, that’s enough for me.
I’m human. I admit it. Sometimes I feel “less than”, especially if I allow myself to play the comparison game. It happened to me quite recently when I was going to post a review of a book I’d just read. To my surprise, the author’s books are sporting ratings and reviews in the hundreds – even THOUSANDS. I did a search on a few other authors of my acquaintance and saw similar results. Don’t get me wrong. I am THRILLED with their relative success. But… I’m human, as I said, and I recognized a sense of failure I haven’t felt in a while – and yes, even ENVY.
Then low and behold, a newsletter I subscribe to arrived in my inbox. I’ve been following Dan Blank for a while and enjoy his focus on authenticity in promoting the creative arts. This one was EXACTLY what I needed to hear!
“So many writers and creators I speak with talk about their frustrations with social media, and that hollow feeling they have when they share something online, only to hear silence in return… This can create a sense of isolation. But then that may be mixed with envy when they are constantly shown posts from others that are “going viral.” We can become jealous of the person whose post was rewarded with gushing feedback that is obvious in the number of likes, comments, and re-shares it has received.” (Dan Blank, newsletter, October 27, 2023)
Create a smaller, more engaged community. Of course, there is A LOT more to it than that, but in a nutshell, sometimes LESS is MORE. How much better is it to have a smaller community of people whom you actually engage with rather than huge numbers that are actually meaningless?
I took this advice to heart and decided it was time for a change, starting with FB. The friends list on my personal profile was clogged with people I didn’t actually know, didn’t ever engage with, and frankly don’t care about. I did a thorough slash and went from 2700+ “friends” to 604 REAL friends and people I care about.
It was liberating! (Even though it took way more time than expected.)
Did any of this have an effect on my reviews and ratings on Amazon? NO, but it made me feel good, and maybe that’s all that was really necessary to shake the doldrums.