Greetings from the Lake of the Ozarks!

It’s the last week before school starts, and I’m hanging out here with my family. I mostly wrote my newsletter–out today–before we left town Saturday, but finishing up the last few details on that and this blog post today while working in this lovely room is not a bad deal 😎.

So, about that headline. I don’t know how often any of you visit my website, but two weeks ago I noticed that under “My Tweets” it says “Nothing to see here – yet.” Um, what? I’ve been tweeting since (I think) 2008. There’s so much to see. So I checked in with my web designer, who told me everyone’s site is messed up with all the changes to Twitter. She said most of her clients were taking a wait and see approach. That made sense to me.

Then, last week, the change to X. I knew Twitter was going to be rebranded, but I don’t really get it. Now my tweets are… X’s? Sorry, but mostly X’s make me think of big fat no’s.

Like you got the wrong answer on a game show. Or shouldn’t watch that X-rated movie. Or the teacher put an X on your paper.

The other thing that comes to mind is an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend. Maybe you stay friends, but in general, you mostly stay away. And if they’re a friend’s ex… oh, wait. Poor Carson.

I guess if we want to think positively, it could be this kind of x, but I’m still not sure I’m prepared to think of my social media posts as kisses either.

Perhaps I’m being overly resistant to the rebranding, but I just can’t wrap my brain around calling my posts on the platform formerly known as Twitter X’s.

I haven’t decided what to do about the feed on my website yet. To be honest, I’m not really sure what to do about the platform in general. I used to be very active there. I found community on Twitter, connected with some of my closest writer friends, and used it as a source of industry news. I’m not ready to give up on it, but I also don’t post there much anymore. Mostly I’m just reposting content from my other platforms.

Speaking of which, you’ll still find me on Instagram and TikTok. I resisted TikTok for a long time, but I’ve been on for more than a year now, and I really like it–maybe because I’m more comfortable talking to a camera than posing still pictures. (How do people make books look so pretty??) I’ve found that a lot of the writing community that used to be on Twitter has shifted to TikTok. I follow a number authors, editors, and agents who give great writing and publishing advice. There’s a learning curve, but isn’t that the case with any platform?

What else have you tried? Threads? Blue Sky? Something else? I keep hearing about others but am not quite ready to jump on another platform. I also read a recent article about how authors should be using Pinterest. I find that idea intriguing–building boards with images about your books. I’ve already collected them to use in marketing materials. I’m just not sure how to get started or if it’s something readers would actually follow. Fellow authors, if you’re using Pinterest to promote your books, I’d love to see examples! And readers, if there are authors you follow on Pinterest, please also send me links. I’d love to see what authors are doing that works.

As for X, there’s plenty to see there, but I don’t know what I think about it… yet.