Since the first day I decided I was going to actually make a go of it as a writer, and later on as a photographer, I put off the problem of promotion and distribution. Blogs and social networking were not nearly as ubiquitous and I honestly just figured I would write until I thought I was good enough and then try my luck at sending manuscripts to publishers. Even when I started to see blogs get noticed and book deals start to pop up I never put myself in the place of those bloggers. First off, because I couldn't come up with as much content as they all seemed to be able and second, because they were all selling memoir or humour or lifestyle writing and I just wanted to write stories.
In the past few years my views on promotion for writing haven't changed with the times. Once I'm satisfied with something I'm just going to try to get it in front of people in the industry the old fashioned way and if it doesn't work out that will be that. As far as photography goes, I'm much more scattered. I still don't like the idea of blasting my name out there on social networks and email campaigns or even contact cards. But, because of the nature and variety of photography I think I'm going to have to step up. There's either toiling in obscurity or there is spending more than half your time on promoting what you did during the other half.
I've absolutely accepted the reality that I need to pull my best together and get it seen by an audience. I'm not convinced, though, that anything that happens through social networking updates and links and shares and follows really makes a meaningful dent. I've seen a ton of photographers adopt Twitter full on and it's pretty obvious that they take it seriously and devote a lot of each day to making sure nobody forgets about them. I've unfollowed every single one of them. It's annoying. And even though self-promotion doesn't need to be a secret, when it's so constant and one-sided it just gives the impression that the whole "social" aspect of the network has been co-opted by a crazy end-of-the-world-sign-carrying dude with a megaphone on the street corner. I'm intent on getting my official website together in the next couple of months. I'll have a website to show. I don't think I want to print a typical "book" simply because of the cost and the variations that I'd need for the different audiences I could be attracting. But, something printed on a smaller scale and adeptly designed is definitely going to happen.
I don't think that constant chatter in any medium is going to pay off with real work. The world of artistic commodities is changing quickly and there is a lot to keep up with but I think that it's too easy to forget that the substance of the thing is the point, not necessarily how many random sets of eyes you can attract to it. Rather than driving myself a little crazy comparing and contrasting different methods of showcasing and networking and promoting my work I am going to take a step backward and let a little of the next new thing wave pass me by. If the work doesn't stand on its own there's no future in it.
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