A Virtual Conversion

Posted by Simon on 3rd, December 2011 at 07:46:48

It took quite a while, but I have become an internet convert. 

The thing was only really getting going in Britain when I started writing, and I remember thinking "I'll get round to that sometime, it's just some minor oddball thing, hardly a priority" when someone suggested I bag thetvdetective domain name and get myself a website.  I'm now very glad I listened.

For a scribbler, perhaps more than for most folk, the online thing is so important. Every week I get inquiries about doing talks, or festivals, or teaching work through the site.  And also comments from readers too, which can be very uplifting.

Many times before I've gone on at length - as can be my way, as well you know - about how lonely this writing lark can be.  The books are out there, and .... what?  What's happening?  Is anyone reading them?  Even enjoying them?  Or just propping open a door with them?

The net helps to ease the fear of no one noticing your work, when people get in touch to confirm they (a) have actually bothered to read your books and (b) are kind enough to say the experience has been a passably pleasant one. 

I'm often asked for advice on how to get published.  Part of that is getting yourself a good internet presence.  If an agent, or publisher, is interested in you, the first thing they're likely to do is look you up online.  And no website, Facebook etc. means you're far less likely to be approached.  It just looks as though you're not truly committed to the dark art of the writing thing, and that's what will be expected of you.

There's also fun to be had online.  Getting published is hard, with one great exception - the net.  There, you can publish away to your soul's content.  I very much enjoy my Tweeting, even if some of what I write does seem to perplex the poor folk who read it. 

Don't worry, what's going on in my head often baffles me too!  I just quite like sharing it (inflicting it?!), but do occasionally live in concern of a knock at the door of Hall Towers, and some men in white coats saying "We read what you posted online, would you mind coming along with us please..."

But I can't let this blog go by without the excuse for a little Hall sermonising / ranting / pontificating / being a grumpy old git.  So, a quick lesson for some.  Shocking as this may be - the net is not a substitute for having a life! 

If you've spent hours on your computer, try popping outside (you can see outside via a window, if you need your memory jogging).  Fresh air is a simple beauty; breathe deeply of it.  Take a walk across some fields, through a wood, along the coast, or around a river.  Listen to birds singing.  Feel the earth underfoot.  Look up at the joy of the sky, instead of down at your phone the whole time.  It's called the real world, and you never know, you might like it!

On the off chance you don't already follow me on Twitter (and you're clearly now gagging to do so), there's a link to my site towards the bottom of the home page -  www.thetvdetective.com/

I suppose I should first issue a health warning re. what nonsense I can babble, but I suspect you're already prepared for the kind of ramblings you might hear.  It's quite a challenge to compress my mental tangents into 140 characters or less (as the rest of this blog so amply demonstrates), but one does one's best!

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