Art and Tech Savvy? Why Today’s Writers Have to be Both

Ever since I could hold a pencil, writing has been one of my absolute favorite activities. There’s something amazing about creating an entire world of characters who come to life on the page, and having other people read about and love them.

Technology, on the other hand, was never my forte. I was raised to play outside and enjoy musical, artistic, and literary pursuits, but my family never put much emphasis on having the latest tech-y gadgets. When I had to do computer activities in school, I usually recruited some boys to do the dirty work. I wasn’t completely technologically ignorant, but I was decidedly average.

Now, however, as a creative writer who is–gasp–aspiring to write full-time, I realize that my product (i.e. my stories) is not the only important part of the puzzle. In order to be a successful (i.e. financially viable) writer in the information age, creating a platform through blogs, an author website, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media is as crucial as the writing itself.

I know I’m not alone in my passion for literature and my relative apathy for all things tech-y. At a writing conference, many other attendees echoed my sentiments. But by the end of the three-day weekend, I was convinced that I had to build a better platform. It’s especially important for writers who intend to self-publish e-books. However, even writers going the route of agent and traditional publisher need a robust platform. I watched a webinar with literary agent Sarah Megibow, and she stated that one of the “wow” factors with her clients is the author platform. How they blog and interact with their audience sets them apart.

For most writers, the journey of reconciling the right brain (the creative, literary side) and the left brain (the logical, analytic side) is one that can’t be navigated alone. That’s why it’s great to build a team, and capitalize on each member’s strengths. The passions of each team member will combine to create unparalleled synergy. In my “team,” I concentrate on writing, blogging, and social media. Antonio, my own personal IT expert, keeps me up to speed on social media developments. He informs me about foreign concepts like SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, which increases the visibility of my work when key words are typed in search engines like Google. Together, we’re working with a web-design and marketing company to build my author website.

Throughout the process, I’ve learned to embrace those previously uninteresting tech-y things I’d tried to avoid. And you know what? Becoming art and tech-savvy is actually fun. I guess the challenge of being a writer today is pretty much the same as that of life in general: be well-rounded, open-minded, and ready to soak up new knowledge, and you’ll go far! 🙂

Working together is a great way for writers to build synergy, and literally propel themselves forward!

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