Blog Talk Radio anyone?

 Today is IWSG day--the first Wednesday of each month. IWSG stands for Insecure Writers Support Group and was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. You can follow other IWSG members here  and on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG.

Our purpose is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Join us!

The past few weeks have been a whirl wind of activity. Standing face to face and eye to eye and toe to toe with promotion and social media has been a real learning experience. I'll be the first to admit, I'm not good at it. The experts tell us to establish relationships on Facebook and Twitter. To say witty things that get attention and make people laugh. Things that make people want to respond. That's hard. I'm okay with people I know--I can be funny. With friends, my jokes come across as just that--jokes--not rude or hateful sarcasm. How do you distinguish between sounding funny on social media and sounding mean? That has to be an art.

Yesterday I did an interview on Blog Talk Radio promoting my short story, If You Believe, which will release by Helping Hands Press tomorrow, I think. It was one of the scariest things I've ever done. I felt as if I was using words for the very first time. I can't imagine how I sounded--wait! I CAN imagine! I'm a Texan who has lived in Louisiana for the past 30 years. You probably know how I sound now too.  Remind me not to do radio interviews again--and tack TV onto that too. I don't think fast enough for either. I'm not a 'small-talk' person. In fact, I'm incredibly shy. I think it would have been better if I'd been able to look into the face of my interviewer. A friendly face is encouraging. Right?

Anyway... that's where I am. Learning how to promote and talk about my books and stories and ... I don't like it very much.

If you want to hear my blog talk interview, you can go to the link below. My mind went blank a time or two. I'm sure you'll be able to tell. Thank goodness my host was good at covering my silence.

 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gelatisscoop/2013/09/30/jessica-ferguson-author-of-if-you-believe

 

Oh.. but I love Pinterest. Check out my boards. http://www.pinterest.com/jessyferguson/boards/

 

Have you ever been on the radio? Any tips? Share some of your social media secrets.

I. Need. Help.