Okay, so maybe Karl Marx was talking about religion instead of social media when he tagged an institution as “the opiate of the people.” But if Karl were alive today, I don’t think he’d argue with calling social media an opiate. Speaking for myself, I swore off television years ago only to end up spending those newfound hours in front of the computer every day. Sucked in again!

How much time do you spend on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, Classmates, YouTube, Flickr, Google Buzz, Bebo, Flixster, MyLife, etc., etc.? And I’m not even talking about the time you spend checking your e-mail accounts, blogs, bank/brokerage accounts, shopping, travel, and all that other “essential” stuff. Talk about a huge time suck.

To be clear, social media is pretty amazing. You have hundreds — sometimes thousands — of personal and business connections at your fingertips. This simply was not possible ten years ago. Old college friends were just that…old college friends. Maybe you saw them at your 10th or 20th or 50th reunion. Now you can see them every day. Perhaps all you learn is that they spend oodles of time fertilizing eggplant in FarmVille. But hey, you’ll have something to talk about at the next reunion, right? (”Hey, Greg…how’d that degree in library science turn out? Oh. Sorry. Nice eggplant farm though.”)

I started to say that social media is pretty amazing. And that it has its place. It’s helped me spread the word about my new book publishing business faster and cheaper and to a broader audience than I could have done with traditional PR or marketing. And I’ve made some new friends along the way. It’s been great. But I really did get sucked in. Here’s what happened: I was spending LOTS of time each day trying to keep up with all of my social media accounts, and then staying up very late at night doing all the other things that are traditionally associated with book publishing. That had to stop. My job is editing and publishing. My job is not social media gadfly — no matter how entertaining, compelling or (dare I say it) ADDICTING social media might be.

Here is a longer version of the famous Karl Marx quote. Again, I have substituted “social media” for “religion”:
[Social media] is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.

It’s your life. Don’t live it all virtually.

Mike O’Mary is founding dreamer of Dream of Things, an independent book publisher currently accepting creative nonfiction stories for anthologies on 15 topics.

Meantime, we’re sitting on all these great stories. Not anymore! Each week, we plan to feature a new story on the Dream Catchers section of dreamofthings.com. This week’s story is “Forever Sharp” by Terri Elders of Colville, Washington, and it will be published in an anthology about great teachers later this year.

2. Goodreads.com: I’m not sure the world needs another online social networking site, but if we have to make room for one more, goodreads.com looks like a pretty good one. It’s basically a place to rate books that you’ve read, share that info with others, and learn about new books you might want to read. Billed as “the largest social network for readers in the world” with 2.9 million members, Goodreads says, “Somehow, reading books seems to have gotten a bad rap. People are working too hard and not making time to read. But every once in a while you run into a friend who tells you about this ‘great new book I’m reading.’ And suddenly you’re excited to read it. It’s that kind of excitement that Goodreads is all about.”

Goodreads also looks like a good place for an author to set up shop. Take a look at the Goodreads Author Profile of yours truly for an example of what an author can do on their site.

Mike O’Mary is founding dreamer of Dream of Things, a book publisher currently accepting creative nonfiction stories for anthologies on 15 topics.

 by Catherine L. Tully

Did you know that you can link your Wordpress blog up with LinkedIn? You can–and it is really easy. As a matter-of-fact, there are a number of cool things you can do with the applications on this social networking site. Be sure to check them out and see if there is something there that can help you save time or be more organized. LinkedIn is a great resource–I strongly advise setting a page up if you don’t have one already.

We all know that computer security can be an issue, but do you really know how to protect yourself? Check out these cyber security tips given here by the Department of Homeland Security.

Learn how to reduce spam, deal with cyberbullies, safeguard your data and how to stay safe on social networking sites. This website really is an amazing resource.

After reading Yo’s post today on how to manage money, I realized something. Many of the things that we talk about on blogs are things we see writers doing wrong. Sometimes they are mistakes we have made ourselves, but more often than not, posts relate directly to actions we see writers taking (or not taking) that can hurt their career. The one I see most often is…

poor time management. I see writers that spend tons of time thinking about or talking about writing…but they aren’t actually writing. Fine, take your laptop to the coffee shop down the street and have a latte with the freelance crowd–but you have to write something to be a writer. Many people like the idea of it, but don’t want to do the work.

The other thing that can be a real time waster is social networking. Don’t get me wrong…I believe strongly in the power of Facebook and Twitter, but not at the expense of your writing time. I don’t do these until I’m done with my queries or actual work. It’s easy to let your time get sucked away if you don’t set some limits.

The time you spend writing is time that you are investing in yourself and in your career. Get that part down and you’ll be well on your way. Other things can always be added to your routine, but the bottom line is…writers write.

by Catherine L. Tully

There is so much to know when you are freelancing, and while it is important to learn about the things you should be doing, it is just as vital to understand those things you should not be doing. Here’s 5 of them to keep in mind:

1. Manic follow-up. If the writer’s guidelines say 4 weeks, give them at least 5, preferably 6. If they tell you they haven’t had the chance to look at your query yet, wait a while before checking back. Don’t pester the editor–it can get your query deleted. Seriously.
2. Social networking. Ok, let me explain. Yes, you should be doing this. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are your friends. But not at the expense of your work. Remember that these social networking sites don’t do a thing for you if you aren’t actually working at writing. While you can get work there, you have to get that work done as well. Schedule time for it–then stick to your schedule.
3. Copying. Just because your friend got a query accepted by sending in a paragraph on a subject written in a snippy tone doesn’t mean you should do it. Find your own voice. It will get you more writing work than anything else. It takes time to cultivate this, so start now and let other people do their own thing.
4. Emphasizing quantity. Are you trying to get 20 queries out every week? Perhaps you are biting off more than you should. Instead, make sure that each one is meticulously researched and polished. Call to make sure you are sending it to the right person. Take the time to do it right and you will get much better results than if you send out a bunch hoping for a hit.
5. Sending in a first draft. Don’t do it. Just don’t. First drafts are never the best writing you can do. Make sure you take the time to hone a piece before sending it off. If you do this every time, your writing will improve.

Have you heard of Ning? It is the latest thing to hit the social networking field, and it has a different twist. Centered around common interests, this site fills a unique niche and is catching on quickly. CNN reported that Ning has had 4.7 million unique visitors since January. If you are interested in social networking, this is a good site to check out. There are plenty of groups centered around writing and it is easy to find one you like.

Do you use twitter? If not, it might be worth looking into. I resisted at first, but have found that in some ways it is better for networking than facebook. (Although I must admit to liking facebook more.) On twitter you can find professionals that you might not normally have access to and link up with them. Plus, you can get the word out to a large number of people about what you are up to in your writing career.

That said, be nice too. It is considered “polite” to mix self-promotion with helpful advice, quotes and other fun stuff. And if someone follows you, it is always a good idea to thank them for it. Personally, I have my privacy settings on so that I have to accept someone who wants to follow me, but do what you are comfortable with.

The learning curve on twitter is a bit more steep than facebook in my opinion, but there is a help page that really does the job. Start there for the skinny on things such as finding people, following and direct messages. You don’t have to dive in and start tweeting away, but not having this social marketing site in your toolbag means you are one step behind as a writer. It’s worth a shot.

(And look me up! I’m catherinetully on twitter. Tell me you are a FZ reader so I know who you are…)

I came across Magazine Circus today and signed up for the ride….it’s a social networking site for those in the magazine industry. It has a news & views section, discussion area and a member list….looks interesting. I haven’t had time to explore it in depth, but thought I’d share with FZ readers so you can check it out too….

For my money, the real value for books like these is as much about showing you that other people can and do earn a living doing nothing but freelancing as it is giving you the advice on queries, research, taxes and all the other stuff. One day somebody will write the definitive book on how to avoid writing, blow off deadlines and ignore your creditors, and we can all learn some lessons in reverse. For now, I highly suggest books like Bly’s, but please take that dollar amount with a grain of salt until you can look back on your career from the time you first cracked this book open and laugh about whether that figure applies to you or not.

Maybe I am a bit biased against dollar amounts on the cover–if only because I keep finding used books with titles like “How to earn $25,000 a Year as a Photographer”. HAH! How dated is THAT one? Why not just call it “How To Take Pictures While Starving.”

Buy for $11.56