WTH Guided Meditation, with Crystal Brown

A special thanks to Crystal Brown, for doing this guided meditation with us!

“Brigitte,” Installment One of Tales from Vlaydor, is available on ebook and audiobook. Follow the link to find them on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=brigitte+devin+davis&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Become a patron today! Visit patreon.com/writinginthetinyhouse

Get ahold of Krissy Barton with Little Syllables editing services. She does free sample edits to see if you and she would be the right fit. www.littlesyllables.com

Instagram: @authordevindavis

Twitter: @authordevind

Check out this episode!

Fall in Love with Books

“Brigitte,” Installment One of Tales from Vlaydor, is available on ebook and audiobook. Follow the link to find them on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=brigitte+devin+davis&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Become a patron today! Visit patreon.com/writinginthetinyhouse

Get ahold of Krissy Barton with Little Syllables editing services. She does free sample edits to see if you and she would be the right fit. www.littlesyllables.com

Instagram: @authordevindavis

Twitter: @authordevind

The following is a transcript of this episode. I complete transcript can be found on the show’s webpage.

[00:00:00] We are taking things a little bit differently today, guys, today on Writing in the Tiny House. Hello. Hello. Hello, and welcome to this kind of different episode of Writing in the Tiny House. 

[00:00:39] So this episode. We're going to slow down a little bit. Friends. This month has already been a huge roller coaster for me, especially with the recent time change that has messed me up. And I'm sure that I'm not the only person here or the only person in the room with you who feels that way. And. In light of NaNoWriMo, in light of some of the more recent changes in my personal life and at work, there has been a lot, there has been a lot to reflect on. There has been a lot to consider. And guys, I want to take a moment today. I was going to talk a lot about NaNoWriMo and I still might, but not in this episode. My goals with NaNoWriMo have been modified just because they need to be. With some of the different things that happened with work. So let's, let's describe what happened with work. This is not excuses, but this is something that I am very excited about. That work, I got asked to host a private podcast, and so I am now the host of two podcasts and getting that underway and getting that up and running and figuring it all out just because I am the only person in my work setting who knows how to podcast, who has ever done that before.

[00:02:15] Who knows how to record. Spoken word and do interviews. And so it's not like someone was there to give feedback and guidance as to what this private show that I am doing for my work needs to be like, and it's been fun to see it grow, and it's been fun to see it take shape. And it was really fun to present that to my coworkers and watch it go live. It's been a fun thing. It's been a fun project, but that has taken time more than anything that has taken mental energy that I was planning once upon a time to pour into NaNoWriMo. And so if you are following me on NaNoWriMo, you will see that my word count is low. As of the publishing date of this episode.

[00:03:04] And I would stand here and say that I'm sorry, but I'm not a NaNoWriMo is a really big project. And if you make it to 50,000 words, that is wonderful. And that is a huge feat and that is something to celebrate. If you don't make it to 50,000 words, if you write anything at all, it is absolutely worth celebrating.

[00:03:28] So that's where I am. I understand that this episode is airing November 17th. And I am going to tell you that it is not very likely that I am going to be accomplishing that 50,000 word count for NaNoWriMo, but it is because of very good reasons that have happened otherwise in my life. 

[00:03:52] The thing that I wanted to talk about most, and this is a little bit of a different episode like I mentioned earlier. This is November friends. This is where we give things. I talked about giving things last week, I talked about the importance of voicing what you are grateful for as a way to manage stress and as a way to bring, focus into what you're doing.

[00:04:18] And I still believe that is true. And that is something that I will always. Practice my gratitude and bringing attention and focused to the things that I'm grateful for as a way to lift spirits and as a way to bring motivation. All of that is real to me. All of that works. Today I want to talk about why I love books so much.

[00:04:47] I've talked about why I love writing. I've talked about the importance of writing all throughout all of these episodes of Writing in the Tiny House. And some of that stuff I might repeat, but there is something that I want to focus on today. I have found that I can know a person more. I can know a person better.

[00:05:09] If I know what they read. I have friends at work specifically one friend and another friend that starting to perk up and join in the fun a little bit, that many times a week, we stand around and we talk about fantasy fiction. We talk about magic. We talk about stories. We talk about narrators just because this other friend is also a big audio book person, just like me.

[00:05:39] And we talk about stories. We talk about things that trigger our imaginations and we talk about how fun it is to be completely. Surrounded and engrossed into these fun fantastical worlds. The, the book that has been brought up recently is the book Sabri L by Garth nix. It's About a little necromancer of all things.

[00:06:09] The world is wonderful. The magic is creative and this book is narrated by Tim Curry. It's not a new book. It came out a long time ago. I remember reading Sabri L when I was in high school and this friend. Recently picked it up either for the first time or picked it up again. And so we've had a lot of things to talk about.

[00:06:34] And the thing is I love reading books that other people have read because it brings me closer to those people. It makes me know my friend better when I know what she reads. And it helps me know how her mind works and it lets me know where she's been or at least the thoughts and the wonder and the fun moments of these stories.

[00:07:04] She has been in those moments. And it's fun for me to be in those moments too. I have a friend that I met very recently who. Recommended the book, the life of PI, and he also recommended the book, eat, pray love, and I have never read the life of PI before, and I am so excited to dive into this wonderful work of literary fiction.

[00:07:33] A movie was made with this book and I've heard nothing but good things about the movie, but to read a book and to experience these things in the same way or experience similar feelings and reactions and emotions, and to see some of the similar pictures. Possibly. To read this beautiful prose and come to know these characters as this friend has done, makes me come to know my friend better.

[00:08:06] And so this episode is releasing November 17th and that is one week and before Thanksgiving, I don't know. My dear listeners, how many people in your lives are readers, but I encourage you over this holiday season to talk about what people have read and to add that to your, to be read. And I invite you to read these different works of fiction, or maybe nonfiction through that specific lens that your loved one, your friend, your mom, your dad, your family member has kind of been on this path already and pay attention to how it affects your relationship with.

[00:09:02] Pay attention to how it can bring you to understand that person better. I don't know if this is a practice that you do already, but it is something that I practice with all of the people that I hold dearly. If I were to line up all of my reader, friends and all of my reader, family, and present them to you and in a line,

[00:09:28] odds are very high, that I will have read something that they recommended and odds are very high that because I did that, I understand and appreciate and love them more deeply than I would had. I not read those books first. So even if you're not a writer, there is a lot to say about who you are based on the things that you read.

[00:09:56] And so I invite you over the next six weeks to do that. One thing that I usually do in November, and that I have chosen over the past two years to kind of forget to do this. There is a practice in November of doing new year's resolutions. It's not really an American practice or something that I was ever raised.

[00:10:20] doing. But the spirit of November and October is the spirit of the harvest, which just the energy of ripping the plants from the soil and preparing the ground so that the ground is ready to plant in the spring is a common practice for farmers and whatever. You don't always have to wait until the spring to prepare the ground.

[00:10:47] And so there is just a cultural thing of doing new year's resolutions in November. And the friend who recommended the life of PI has a resolution to read 12 books this next year. And I have not sat down to see how many books I intend to read next year. I'm a pretty big reader. At least I'm a pretty big audio book listener, but what are you going to do?

[00:11:18] How are you going to expand your mind? Maybe in these next six weeks, maybe in the next year for 2022. So that you can explore a different book, explore a different point of view and see things as a writer saw those things, experience a story that a writer brings to you. But, and I've said this before, and I will say it one last time.

[00:11:45] I invite you to read a recommendation. From one of your closest friends or family members, and I invite you to see how that affects your relationship with them. So again, this is a different type of episode. I don't do episodes like this all the time. But otherwise this episode is very, it's very much from the heart. It is very under produced. I mean, we're pretty raw and honest right now. And we're going to kind of keep it like this. So I hope that you are celebrating your holidays with loved ones. I pray for nothing but good things to come your way.

[00:12:31] And I hope that you are reflecting on the things that you are grateful for this month. So thank you for your support. Thank you for spending some time with me today, and we will see you next time on Writing and the Tiny House.

Check out this episode!

Give Thanks, Y'all!

“Brigitte,” Installment One of Tales from Vlaydor, is available as an audiobook and an ebook! Just follow these links:

Ebook:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JBGSLDF?searchxofy=true&binding=kindle_edition&ref_=dbs_s_aps_series_rwt_tkin&qid=1636325653&sr=8-1

Audio book:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09L283KLX?notRedirectToSDP=1&ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_taud_tkin&storeType=ebooks&qid=1636325653&sr=8-1

To become a patron, visit patreon.com/writinginthetinyhouse, and I provide an Advance Reader Copy of my short stories as a thank-you for my patrons.

Contact Copy Editor Krissy Barton at www.littlesyllables.com 

The following is a transcript of this episode. The complete transcript can be found on the podcast website.

[00:00:00] Guys, I just got news at four o'clock this morning that "Brigitte," Installment One of Tales from Vlaydor is also available as an audio book now on Audible and I think in two or three other locations. So as of this morning, not only am I an author, but I am also a narrator. But that's actually not what the episode's about.

[00:00:31] We're actually going to talk about NaNoWriMo today on Writing in the Tiny House. Hello. Hello. Hello. And welcome back to the show. Welcome to Writing in the tiny house. I am your host Devin Davis, and I am the guy living in a tiny house who is here to show you the ways to write that work of fiction that you have always wanted to write and show you that you can do it no matter how busy you are.

[00:01:15] It is entirely possible to squeeze in some of those writing projects so that you can get the work done. But today with some of this news, a brief reminder that "Brigitte," Installment One of Tales from Vlaydor, is for sale as an ebook on Amazon.com. But like I said in the introduction, it is also available as an audio book on Audible and I think in two other locations, I will figure that out. If you want to listen to "Brigitte," Installment One of Tales from Vlaydor, you can download the audio book narrated by yours truly. So it's good. I would personally follow the link in the show notes so that you can purchase it through a web browser instead of through the Audible app, just because if you purchase it through the Audible app, you're going to spend a credit. And this is only one hour of audio. So, I mean, if you want to spend a credit, do that, if you want to get it for cheaper, purchase it through a web browser. This is a particularly interesting month because there is a nationwide and for some people internationally wide competition or a big push for people to draft.

[00:02:40] That is what NaNoWriMo is all about, to draft 50,000 words in one month from start to finish. And I'd like to say that up to this point, we are on track. At least I am on track. You can follow me on the NaNoWriMo website. My username is author_devin_davis. So author Devin Davis separated with two underscores in there and you can track my progress.

[00:03:14] It is so interesting that this competition takes place in November, just because of Thanksgiving. Now, I don't know about you, but I am the guy who loves to do like the 25 days of giving thanks countdown. I love to do it. I've done it every year for the last long while, of just taking a moment to reflect on what I am grateful for and sharing that on my social media, just because it is really awesome to bring lights and to bring a big focus onto what you are grateful for. Sometimes I get caught up a lot in complaining and in being unsatisfied and whatever else. It's easy to focus on the things that I don't have.

[00:04:03] And so sometimes in November, it is such a good moment in the year. It is such a good time in the year to reflect on the things that I do have, on the things that are going well and to sit in those feelings for a while and to express them. And to be honest with such a big project, like NaNoWriMo, that takes such a big chunk out of every single day and requires a lot of motivation and requires a lot of self-determination.

[00:04:36] It is such a good driving force for me to remember the things that I'm grateful for. So I don't know about you. I have already spoken about different ways to take care of yourself and take care of your body during this push for NaNoWriMo and really for any big project that you're doing. If you're in the middle of a big project at work, if you're in the middle of a

[00:05:01] a big thing, whatever hobbies you do, it is always good to schedule your time to take breaks, to have healthy snacks and healthy eating habits and to get plenty of rest and different things like that. It is good to take care of your physical self. At the same time. With writing and with any really big projects, but the whole thing can also be very mentally taxing.

[00:05:30] It can be hard to simply push through. And considering that writing is likely not a collaborative thing for you. I mean, I know a lot of people who co write things, or I know of people who do that, I don't actually know people who do that. But writing really, isn't a team sport. And for almost all people, it's not really a team hobby either.

[00:05:57] Especially the drafting part, the first draft and most books die on the first draft anyway. There is a lot of your energy. There is a lot that you put into this. Not only are you scheduling time out of your day. For me, it has been two hours every day.

[00:06:19] And my writing goal is on target right now and it's been okay. But two hours every day is a lot, including the weekends when I have my kids and other obligations. And so it it's worked out, but with this creative process, the story comes from you. For me, not only am I spending two hours a day drafting, but sometimes I need to bounce ideas off of people, or I need to take a break and kind of think about what I'm going to be writing about so that whatever I go through makes sense.

[00:06:56] It's just a lot. I'm grateful that I'm doing it though. I really like the feeling that comes with rallying together. Granted, all of this rallying for me has largely been online forums and on the website for NaNoWriMo, but it's really inspirational to me to be doing a similar thing with a group of people who have such a big goal. 50,000 words, if you're kind of unfamiliar with what word counts kind of resemble, 50,000 words is, is about 200 pages of texts.

[00:07:31] 200 pages of a standard manuscript. And that's a lot, that's a lot to do in a month. That's a lot for anybody to do in a month. I mean, there are people who write far faster than that, or crank out more words than that in a month, but I know far more people who don't. So just in the light of November and in the light of giving

[00:07:54] thanks, if you are finding yourself, Kind of in the depths of despair, if you are losing motivation, if you are mentally burned out. If you are not very excited to continue drafting your book, usually that means that you need to revisit your outline. If you're a pantser and you are coming up on writer's block, then you might want to take some notes from an outliner and just kind of outline the next part of your book, just because that is the perfect way to deal with writer's block.

[00:08:30] Anyway. In face of all of these really big, heavy feelings, it helps me to reflect on what I'm thankful for. I personally don't fully know what NaNoWriMo is going to look like over the Thanksgiving holiday, just because I'm going to be with family. I'm not going to be in the tiny house during that time.

[00:08:54] But everybody knows that I'm taking this goal seriously. And so hopefully I'll be able to sneak away and maintain my goals. So that is my invitation to you. Go ahead and spend time every day. I know that you are not writing 24 hours a day, and reflect on what you are thankful for before you gear up and start drafting.

[00:09:22] And let me know how it goes. Go ahead and send me your stories. My email address is authordevindavis@gmail.com, and I would love to hear inspirational stories from you, or you can send them to me on Instagram. My handle is@authordevindavis.. I'm excited to hear your news. I'm excited to see your progress and go ahead and log on to NaNoWriMo and follow me as one of your buddies.

[00:09:51] So all of that information is in the description of the show notes. This episode is a little bit shorter than what we are used to, but that is okay. Take time for you. Take care of. Take care of your body and take care of your mind. And especially this month, remember the things that you are thankful for, not just because it's a cheesy thing to do, but it can actually help with dealing with stress and dealing with motivation.

[00:10:24] So that is my tidbit for today.. Let's go ahead and hear all about a little syllables editing. 

[00:10:33] Run by copy editor, Krissy Barton, Little Syllables editing is a reliable resource for anyone looking to improve their manuscript. Chrissy does line edits, copy edits, and the final proofread for experienced writers and newbies alike. Krissy offers incredible customer service by always being in contact with the customer.

[00:10:54] And she gives a fast turnaround time. She is always willing to give your work a sample edit for free. So you both can find out if you'll make a good team without any obligation upfront, go to little syllables.com and reach out to Chrissy today. A link is in the show notes.

[00:11:16] so that's it for today. Again, a brief reminder that Bridgette installment, one of tales from blade, or is available to purchase on amazon.com as an ebook. And as of this morning, it has been uploaded to audible and a couple other locations as an audio book. So go ahead and get your copy today. If you are a patron of writing in the tiny house, I provide an advanced reader copy of all of these short stories.

[00:11:44] As a way to say thank you for your pledge. So if you wish to become a patron of writing in the tiny house, go to patrion.com/writing in the tiny house today. a link for that is also in the show notes. Be sure to follow me on social media.

[00:11:59] My Instagram is at author Devin Davis and my Twitter is at author Devin, D I'm excited to hear about your news with NaNoWriMo and we will see you next time. Have fun writing.

Check out this episode!

TDE: Let's Die on Some Hills

Purchase your copy of “Brigitte,” Installment One of Tales from Vlaydor today! Just follow this link:

https://www.amazon.com/Brigitte-Tales-Vlaydor-Devin-Davis-ebook/dp/B09JBLF6XD/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tales+from+vlaydor&qid=1635567415&sr=8-1

Also, become a patron today and receive a free ebook of the Tales from Vlaydor installments as they are releases. Go to:

www.Patreon.com/writinginthetinyhouse

Reach out to Krissy Barton for all your editing needs. www.littlesyllables.com

The following is a transcription of this episode. For the full transcription, please visit the show’s webpage.

Devin Davis: [00:00:00] Are you hoping to grow your readership or your following on social media or on any platform really? Then maybe you need to learn about Targeted Daily Engagement today on Writing in the Tiny House. Hello. Hello. Hello. And welcome back to the show. Welcome to Writing in the Tiny House. I am your host Devin Davis.

And today we are actually going to cover a little bit about marketing. Usually I'm the guy in the tiny house living in Northern Utah who takes time out of his day sometimes to tell you all about writing and about how you absolutely have all the time that you [00:01:00] need to write that work of fiction that you have wanted to do for so long.

Especially if you have a nine to five, like me.

 Today we are going to talk about something a little bit different. We are going to be covering kind of a marketing strategy. We write our books, we publish our books and then we need to get people to buy our books.

So here's the deal, guys.

First of all before we get into the Targeted Daily Engagement, let's go ahead and remember that NaNoWriMo started November 1st and I hope that all of you have started this fun and exciting race or competition. I don't really know what type of competition we're supposed to consider this to be. I guess it's a race against yourself.

Just to, because if you manage to crank out 50,000 words during NaNoWriMo, which is this entire month of November, then you get the [00:02:00] prize of a certificate saying that you completed NaNoWriMo. It's really a fun way to come together with groups all across the nation. Some people in the world are also doing NaNoWriMo, who don't live in the U S.

And it's just a great way to make big progress on whatever works you have in progress. And so I am doing NaNoWriMo as of the date that this is airing. If you are not a patron, this is released to the public on November 3rd. And so I have been doing NaNoWriMo for two days already. And if you are interested in kind of following me or pairing up with me, I do have a writing group called Writing in the Tiny House.

And my profile name on NaNoWriMo is author_devin_davis. So author Devin Davis separated by underscores. I try to keep things pretty straight forward and easy to remember. But we [00:03:00] added underscores into this username this time. And so go ahead and follow me and, you know, become my buddy on NaNoWriMo.

And that way we can continue to make progress on our works in progress together. And that's awesome just because we all need more motivation in this world, and in times like these. So yeah, if you haven't started NaNoWriMo yet, we are only a couple of days into the competition. So get going. I hope that you have plenty of ideas.

The trick is simply to get started. That's how it is with mostly anything in life. The trick is to start. And so for me, in order to successfully do this, I have to write about two hours a day, which I think is going to be doable. And that's two hours, not every day. I will have my weekends off and I still need to make time to do this podcast and a couple other things like [00:04:00] that.

So, yay. I am working onTales from Vlaydor, Installment Two, which is entitled Otto.

 I'm excited to get it done. I think that I'm going to get about two or three, maybe even four short stories done this month.

So if you're stressed out, that's great. Go ahead and be stressed. That means you're making progress and you're challenging yourself. Make sure that you're pacing yourself. We don't want you to fry or burnout or lose motivation or whatever. So with this first episode of Writing in the Tiny House, I'm going to be covering a marketing strategy. And to be perfectly honest, Targeted Daily Engagement, engaging on NaNoWriMo on the websites and in the competition is a way to do Targeted Daily Engagement.

I'll cover more on that in just a second. But while I was in Hawaii a few weeks ago, I was staying with my good [00:05:00] friend, Crystal Brown. She is a yoga instructor in Hawaii, and I got her to record a guided meditation. And so a little bit later with this NaNoWriMo competition when stakes are high and we are stressed out and we want nothing more than to just finish and cross that finish line. The final episode in November of Writing in the Tiny House is going to be a guided meditation so that we can all be a little more grounded and cross that finish line a little bit more gracefully. But until then, let's talk about Targeted Daily Engagement.

 When we go to advertise the things that we've done, when we go to post on social media and we do all of these different things. We are self promoting. I hope that if you are a serious author that you already have a website started and going, I do. My website is authordevindavis.com. And [00:06:00] if you go there and you visit that website, you will see that it is pretty basic. Author websites don't need to be elaborate. They don't have to function in a really big elaborate way. What you absolutely need on an author website is who you are, what you've written and where those works can be found, if you are hoping to sell those works.

And for me, because I'm also getting into narrating audio books, I am going to be posting some of the stuff associated with that as well. So it doesn't have to be big. You do not need to reinvent amazon.com. You don't have to have a shop. You don't need to have like a store on your website where people can find your books and purchase them directly from your website.

Unless you want to figure out a way to do that. If you have your stuff on amazon.com or in Barnes and noble and on all of the different places, it is perfectly okay to provide links on your web page to [00:07:00] get there. So we have a link forBrigitte, which was released at the end of October, and a way to get to Amazon.com in order to purchase an e-copy of Brigitte.

And I have a link to Writing in the Tiny House. I have my picture. I have a brief bio. I have a link to a page with some of my audio book stuff. It's not uploaded yet. It's not posted yet, but I have a page made for it already so that people who are interested in hiring me to do their audio books can see my audition reels.

So you need to have a website. Secondly, if you are doing Targeted Daily Engagement, you need to be active on social media. And this is how you do that. The thing is, on social media, we get inundated every day with people who are self-promoting. We get inundated with ads. We get inundated with [00:08:00] people who say some dumb thing and then a link to go buy that dumb thing.

And to be honest, people are put out by it now. Targeted daily engagement is a very organic, but a very positive way to draw attention to what you are doing, to your website, to your works in progress, to everything that you're doing as an author or as a business owner. What you do is you get onto your social media platform and you modify your profile to reflect every thing about the one thing that you are willing to promote. So for me, the easiest thing to promote is this podcast. And so under my profile information, I have my author website, which has the podcast. I have all of the Writing and the Tiny House Pictures.

I have the same author photo as my profile picture, as my profile image, as I do [00:09:00] for my author section of my website. And it's the same picture that I include in the, about the author section of my book. If you purchased a copy of Brigitte, at the very end, there is an about the author section and it is that picture that I have on everything.

 It is everything that you are hoping to promote. So all of the personal stuff, you get to kind of put that aside, or you get to make a separate profile for you to promote your business or your writing or whatever it is. You are hoping to sell your services. You're writing.

Whatever it is. Then you go to what some people call the watering holes. You go to the forums, you go to the groups. If you are focusing mostly on Instagram, you go to the hashtags, you go to the people who are actively involved in what you are doing. People who are interested in what you [00:10:00] are selling or in the activity that you are promoting.

Service that you want people to know that you do and you go there and you find the questions and you find the topics of conversation and you post every single day relevant, meaningful stuff that is not self promoting. That is not directing people or saying, go visit my website and spend money. Content good content.

And. It will help people find your website. It will help people find your product and it will bring people to whatever you are doing. So with me, with targeted daily engagement, I am promoting a podcast about writing. I'm also. Promoting my writing. And so I get onto the Facebook groups specifically for me, it is Facebook that I mostly focus on just because I [00:11:00] have been getting more attention there, but really I encourage you to find.

Anywhere to try a lot of different things because so many of them can work. I focus on Facebook. I focus on Reddit. I have tried to focus on Instagram that it has been harder to do on Instagram. And so, I mean, I still post to Instagram pretty often. Because it's easy to post on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter at the same time.

But the point is to find the discussions, the point is to find people searching for help and become the life of the party, bring value to those discussions. And then when people see that you are somewhat of an authority figure on this or that subject, they can find. Your profile and see what you actually represent, and that will direct them to your website or to whatever it is that you have [00:12:00] built into your profile.

And they did that without you doing the obnoxious self-promoting. And with that. Pushing people to click on this or that. And it is without spending money on Facebook ads or on amazon.com ads. If you want to do those things any way you can, but that is not a part of this targeted daily engagement thing that I'm talking about.

There are a lot of different facets to anybody's marketing strategy and targeted daily engagement can be a big part of anyone's marketing strategy. It is a very good one. To build a presence to build a following. If you're doing a podcast to build a listenership, if you are doing reading and writing and things like I'm doing to build a readership, it is a really good way to bring people into the circle and to get them to stay just because their introduction to you and to what you represent.

Started [00:13:00] off so positive to begin with and you weren't being a salesman in order for them to get there. There's nothing wrong with being a salesman. But like I said social media is inundated with self-promoters and some people have turned sour from that. So this is a way to do that without the self-promoting specifically.

So that means that when you're on. The Facebook groups or Instagram or whatever, most people are going to be asking for help or insight to a problem that they have. And so that means that you can go on and share facts. It also means that sometimes you go on and share opinions and. There is always the chance that somebody is not going to like what you have to say.

So I've run into this already a couple of different times where I get on and say something completely truthful, [00:14:00] but it would be kind of beyond the scope of somebody's experience in the group or whatever. And so they they choose to. Proved me wrong, which is fine. I mean, you can say whatever you want on social media apparently.

And we have found out that. Sometimes it's not about being right. It's about being loud. And so with all of that, you get to decide on if you get to engage in arguing, or if you get to be the people who are building an obnoxious thread filled with research on this and that in order to prove that you are right.

Or you can step back and you can take a breath and you can let that thread eventually kind of Peter out in die. The thing about social media is everybody can get on and everybody is very, very brave when they are allowed to be anonymous. There is also a lack of context and a lack of tone when all you are reading is text and sometimes memes.

And [00:15:00] so there is plenty of room to be. Misunderstood. There's plenty of room to be offended. And there is plenty of room to pick fights or to have fights picked with you. So what I recommend in cases like this, just because it is bound to happen. Especially if you are sharing opinion. And you are sharing opinions about something where there are a million different right ways to do it.

I recommend stepping back, calling a friend and kind of belly aching to that friend and letting the thread on the post die. I don't feel like there is any reason to die on a hill about this or that in regards to social media, especially if you are trying to build a following based on good impressions and based on establishing yourself as a professional and as a reliable.

Source in whatever field you are going to [00:16:00] be talking about. So I don't necessarily find value in dying on Hills, even though I have been so tempted to do so. I mean, yes, being a writer is great at the same time. I am a business person and Going into the business side of things is something that a lot of aspiring writers have not researched yet.

 Sometimes there are differences and it's fine. We had some things happen just this morning and it's. So that's, that is what targeted daily engagement is. And if you do it every single day for 15 to 30 minutes, I am not going to stand here and predict for you what type of good things that it will do for your following and for your growth.

But there are plenty of podcasters who do this, who have seen a 25% increase in listeners per month. Through doing targeted daily engagement [00:17:00] and targeted daily engagement is free. It costs your spare time, but it is lights on the wallet. So that is what targeted daily engagement is all about.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Again, Brigitte the first installment of tales from Vlaydor is available to purchase on amazon.com unless you are a patron to Writing in the Tiny House, and then you will. a free copy of Brigitte very soon. If you are interested in becoming a patron and supporting this podcast, I will give you a copy of each installment of Tales from Vlaydor as they happen.

Devin Davis: Just go to patreon.com/writinginthetinyhouse and make an account and a pledge. Follow me on social media. My Instagram handle is at @authordevindavis and my Twitter handle is @authordevind. And thank you so much for joining me today [00:18:00] and hopefully I will see you on NaNoWriMo.

Have fun writing guys.

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