WRITERLY WISDOM: Donna M McDine

It's time once again for WRITERLY WISDOM where every Wednesday we will sneak a peek into the world of writing and publication.  Besides sharing the same first name, my next author and I share the same passion for writing as well as the challenge of not letting social networking get in the way of our stories.  You can connect with Donna M McDine on her website, (www.donnamcdine.com), or through her blog (www.donna-mcdine.blogspot.com).  Take it away, Donna...

Social Networking Enough Already…When It Hinders Your Writing

By Donna M. McDine

As a society we are bombarded with technology at every angle. Often times overloading our brains with too much information. No matter what type of business world you travel in, it has become a constant buzz of checking our email and voice mail at a frantic pace, and hanging out on social media networks to the point that our face-to-face communication suffers.

Personally, I’ve come to the decision I need to turn off the technology to rejuvenate my creative juices for my writing. When I say turn-off, I don’t mean completely, but with limitations. I always write my first draft of an article or new manuscript long hand with my favorite pen. In my case, my Graf Von Faber-Castell pen. Yes an indulgence but oh so worth it! Using this method to write away from my computer greatly reduces my temptation to check email every 30 seconds and surf various social media networks.

Over the years I have forced myself to get to the task at hand and write first, marketing second (yes, I know many feel social networking is a form of marketing, but when you spend the majority of your time socializing with peers and not connecting with your readers what’s the point?), researching publishing markets and blogging (which is a form of social networking) and in my opinion instrumental in developing one’s platform. How to build your platform is a topic for another day.

It’s wonderful to connect with people through social networking whom you most likely would have never met otherwise, however if you allow social networking to become your “job” you risk valuable writing time that could result in the next “big” book!

Yes, utilize social networking but with responsibility. Do you want to concentrate on honing your writing skills and writing the best manuscript possible or have hundreds of thousands followers on your social networks with no concrete publishing credits to show for your efforts? You decide what’s important to you. I made my decision to get out from behind my computer and engage in-person with members of my community who are instrumental in getting the books in to the children’s hands, librarians, teachers, parents, after school program directors, etc. The end and continued result is my business relationships have soared.

Good luck and expand your outreach beyond your computer!

About Donna M. McDine: Donna McDine is an award-winning children's author, Honorable Mention in the 77th and two Honorable Mentions in the 78^th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competitions, Literary Classics Silver Award & Seal of Approval Recipient Picture Book Early Reader, Global eBook Awards Finalist Children’s Picture Book Fiction, and Preditors & Editors Readers Poll 2010 Top Ten Children’s Books ~ The Golden Pathway.

Her interest in American History resulted in writing and publishing The Golden Pathway. Donna has four more books under contract with Guardian Angel Publishing, Hockey Agony, Powder Monkey, A Sandy Grave, and Dee and Deb, Off They Go. She writes, moms and is a personal assistant from her home in the historical hamlet Tappan, NY. McDine is a member of the SCBWI, Children’s Literature Network, and Family Reading Partnership. Visit www.donnamcdine.com.