I’ve nuked Facebook again, and this time for good–I deleted my account instead of just deactivating it. I’d love to claim that it was solely because of the privacy and ethics concerns. They certainly played a role, but the truth is that Facebook was sapping too much of my attention and time, and those are my only finite resources. There was also the realization that I posted on Facebook quite a bit, and that every time I did, I was providing them completely free of charge with content to draw clicks and attention. In a productive day, I only have so many words to wring out of my brain, and I’d rather channel them into work that lets me get paid. So: Facebook is gone, and Twitter is on probation. And to protect my writing time, I’ll only reply to emails sparingly, so don’t be offended if you get a delayed reply or none at all.
Oh, and happy 2019, everyone. 2018 managed the rare feat of both zooming by in a blink and feeling like it went on forever. I don’t know what 2019 will bring as far as politics and world events go, but my own goal is to spend less time on social media and news, and more time on writing stories. It’s better for my mental health and my bank account. I don’t know about you, but I can’t weather another year like this last one. Doing creative work in 2018 felt like dragging a piano across a gravel road with nothing but dental floss.
The first novel in my new series “The Palladium Wars” is titled “Aftershocks”, and it will be out on July 1. I am currently busy with Palladium Wars #2 and a new Frontlines novella, as well as several Wild Cards short stories and novelettes. (At least I think the Frontlines story will end up a novella, but those things mutate into full-blown novels sometimes.) People keep asking when a new Frontlines will be out, and the answer is: it depends. My plan is to have a new novella out by early spring, and then a full novel toward the end of the year.
Stay tuned for more while I take a broom to this blog and sweep the dust out of the corners.
Glad to see this. Much more effective to keep up with RSS feeds from people you’re genuinely interested in than the overflowing river of social media.
I’ve taken a sabbatical from FB and it’s been very refreshing not to be tethered to it, although tuning out was like giving up heroin, really, really hard to kick. I do keep it for work purposes, but otherwise I let my notifications go unchecked. Ahhhhh
Good call…FB is evil and insidious. Now pull the trigger on Twitter. It’s even more evil and insidious.
Seriously, happy to see you’ll be spending more time writing for us. Remember, no matter how fast you write ‘em, we can read ‘em faster.
The font you are using is almost unreadable, too faint and the lines are too thin.
I follow you on Twitter but not on FB so fortune fell my way. I enjoy your snark, your insight, your sarcasm and your outlook on life. I also enjoy your novels… I’ll be sure to try Palladium Wars #1 when it hits the cybersphere (my sucky term for “bookshelves”, but it reflects how I actually buy books).
The best thing about the Internet in my opinion, is being able to read, on a daily basis, the thoughts and emotions of favored authors. Because the technology didn’t yet exist, we missed the personal touch from SF’s greats but now we’re able to catch a new generation at a human level. Screw the trolls and keep in mind there’s a huge audience that enjoy your words.
Welcome back to the deep web! I’m keeping my FB around, but I don’t post to it, I just want to keep access to the local Marketplace stuff that doesn’t make it’s way to Craig’s List.
Are you going to look into comment notifications that don’t rely on email? I’ve implemented both WP’s own jetpack system and Discourse in the past, with the WP one being the best, but it does tend to slog a server down if it has high traffic.