I often complain about getting lost in the rabbit hole, that warren of blogs, websites, podcasts and webinars that suck away my time. I blame those holes when I lose a day of writing, my productivity drops, or my email overflows. I find them addictive and not in a good way. But today, I salute them.
If you have ever searched the internet you know what I am talking about. Perhaps you start by looking up an actor and finding their IMDB filmography. Pretty soon you are wondering who it was that starred with them in last year’s blockbuster and off you go, down the hole. You look at the film, then the co-star, then some of the co-star’s other films and co-stars and perhaps a few links to locations, directors, musicians, spouses. You get my drift. You’ve just learned twenty fascinating but useless facts and lost three hours of your life.
Every email, blog, and website is full of links to other emails, blogs and websites, and the rabbit hole is all about following those links, chasing the shiny object, losing hours of your life. Sadly, I am all about the shiny object.
[bctt tweet=”The rabbit hole is all about following those links, chasing the shiny object, losing hours of your life. #amwriting” username=”madisonmichael_”]
However, there is a flip side, when the rabbit hole actually teaches you something – facts and skills that are useful. Last week I received a note from Tom Morkes, CEO of Insurgent Publishing, describing how he was mentored by bloggers while he was deployed in Iraq. As a rabbit chaser, of course I clicked on the embedded link, which took me to the sign up for the Success Mentor Summit. Lots more shiny objects in a single location. I took the bait, in case you were wondering.
Tom’s email got me thinking about how much I have benefited from virtual mentoring by people like him. The mentoring has come from reading blogs, buying books and training, following links, listening to podcasts and watching webinars. For an indie author and solopreneur like me, this online world has been a goldmine. So today, I am taking time to praise the rabbit hole. People like Tom make it an entertaining and educational place to explore.
[bctt tweet=”Today I praise the rabbit hole…an entertaining and educational place to explore. #amwriting ” username=”madisonmichael_”]
Here are a few of my favorite warrens. Visit a few. Have tea with the Cheshire Cat, or pick up a mentoring tip or two.
The Best Rabbit Warrens for Reading
My obvious first choices are reading choices – Goodreads and Amazon have to top the lists here. Goodreads is wonderful as a sharing spot between friends, a spot to follow favorite authors, to see what is trending. It’s beyond a wealth of information. It’s the Facebook of booklovers – come friend me over there and we can share books.
Amazon is also a place where you can follow authors you love. What makes Amazon a unique and worthwhile warren is the algorithms it uses to make recommendations. I don’t know about you, but I t always love the books that Amazon thinks I will love. I have no idea how it’s done, but the recommendations are spot on.
My Favorite Spots as a Blogger
For the blogger in me, I love learning from Sarah Morgan’s site. Her pictures are great for starters and when she writes, it feels personal somehow, like she knows me. Her knowledge of blogging is outstanding and you can see she has learned from experience – often the hard way. I love that she has made technology a bit more accessible, too. Her “Dare to Blog” course is a goldmine. Sarah teaches me oodles and feels like a friend. Runners up in the blogging space – Problogger and CoSchedule. If you haven’t tried Coschedule’s Headline Analyzer, you have no idea what you are missing. Stop by their warrens. Their links will keep you searching and learning for hours – hell, for weeks!
Rabbit Holes for Writing
For the author in me, I gravitate first to Kathy Steinemann, better than any thesaurus ever made, and Romance Writers of America. The RWA Romance University has helped me tweak my work for the better more than once. As a writer/publisher, I rely on Joanna Penn and Jeff Bullas. After all, what is the point of writing if you never reach readers? Speaking of reaching readers, if you are new or struggling, Nick Stephenson’s “Your First 10K Readers” has to be the definitive starting point. For added traffic and technical expertise, I have to give a shout out to Jeff Goins and Neil Patel too. See what I mean about losing hours?
For my social media needs I have recently discovered Rebekah Radice, but I have been a big follower of Chris Syme. Check them out if you want to get a great start down the deep, deep hole of social media. Let me know when you come back up for air. Warning: it may be years from now.[bctt tweet=”Finally, as a team of one, I have learned to rely on some brilliant writer/marketers. #MFRW #amwriting” ” username=”madisonmichael_”]
And for Networking….
Finally, as a solopreneur, a team of one running my writing and publishing business, I have learned to rely on some brilliant writer/marketers. Most are famous in this business with huge followings, but a few are just people, like me, who learned from each other and managed to eek out a living doing what they love. Check out the blogs and books of these wondrous women: Linda O’Connor, Tina Gayle, Jenna Bayley Burke and Kayelle Allen. These are my role models, the people who keep me moving forward even on hard days, who review my work, give me feedback on my covers, and most importantly, these are ladies who share. They share my Facebook posts, tweet and retweet my announcements. They spread the words of Madison Michael to their readers. They are generous of spirit and I salute and thank them.
I try to do the same for them with my blog every Tuesday, with retweets and shares of my own. We are quickly becoming a team. They are my favorite rabbit holes to fall into – the company is great, the books are delightful to read and I come out knowing a bit more. This is the warren that rejuvenates me, leaving me ready to work a bit harder and write a bit more.
At least until I fall into that next rabbit hole.
You might also like more about my shiny object obsession:
- Confessions of a New Author Part 1 November 17, 2016
- Confessions of a New Author Part 2 December 1, 2016
- Confessions of a New Author Part 3 December 15, 2016