Privacy vs Visibility: The Double-Edged Sword of Social Media for Writers

Balancing Privacy and Visibility in the Digital Age

For many writers—including this one—the act of writing is as much an intimate and private act as it is expressive. We are observant, quiet thinkers. Stephen King once referred to writers as the “secret agents of the arts.” While some people like being among other people, and sometimes the center of attention, we feel most comfortable working behind closed doors and away from all the noise of the outside world. In today’s digital climate, however, that is becoming more difficult to do. As much as we’d rather avoid it, social media has slowly become a tool we can’t succeed without. As much as we’d rather avoid it, social media, when used correctly, can empower and expose us as writers, offering opportunities which were previously unheard of. With this opportunity, however, comes exposure and a level of public engagement that for some, like myself, can feel uncomfortable or even overwhelming.

Social Media: The Necessary Evil

It’s no secret that social media has changed writing as we know it. Platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are now large parts of a writer’s presence and marketing strategy. With the click of a button, you can share your work with thousands of people, find like-minded creatives, and build an audience far beyond your local bookstore or circle of friends. I’ve garnered most of my readership for this blog through Facebook and Instagram, and I appreciate every one of them.

As much as some of us would like it to be the other way around, agents and publishers today often look for writers with an existing following. Readers expect authors—and bloggers like myself—to be accessible online, responsive, and engaging online. I do my best at this personally. Most of the engagement I get is on Threads, and I enjoy talking to people there. My Facebook page for this blog is slowly gaining a following thanks to support from some of my awesome personal friends. As much as I would have preferred a more private writing experience, the reality is a social media presence can make or break a writer’s career in today’s world.

The Upside: Connection and Opportunity

Building an Audience: I’ve seen evidence of this one myself. Social media allows writers to cultivate a following both before and during publishing. As someone who primarily blogs and seems to have trouble with Google, social media has helped me share my writing with others and create a loyal readership. I have a dedicated group of Facebook friends who I can always count on to read my blogging content. Even if they don’t directly click the Share button on one of my articles, I’m sure some of them end up talking to their friends about something I might have hinted at in one of my articles and they’re like, “You should check this blog out,” and they share a link. I’ve even found readers sitting at bars and they have used social media to share my content with friends. As much as we writers may not like social media, it is an invaluable tool for networking and building an audience. 

Networking: Writers can connect through social media with other writers, publishers, and fans, which opens doors for collaboration, endorsements, and events. This is another point for Threads for me. I have connected with many fellow writers on that platform and built some amazing relationships. Social media can be scary, especially if you’re an introvert like me. But it is great for building relationships once you break down that wall. 

Instant Feedback: Social media platforms offer direct communication with readers and peers, providing valuable feedback and encouragement. I have received some of my most treasured feedback from followers on Threads and Facebook. Their encouragement has kept me going, even when it felt like nobody cared what I had to say. If any of them read this—and I know some will—thank you. 

Marketing Made Accessible: Personal branding and book promotion are easier than ever, requiring little to no budget. I share my articles from this platform on my social media pages and it drives a lot of my traffic. I’ve met a couple of fairly new writer friends on the Threads platform who now read and promote my blog content, and in kind, I will do the same with their books. Even when you live in the Midwest, snowballs aren’t always a bad thing. The marketing snowball is my favorite kind.  

The Downside: Erosion of Privacy

Though social media is great for driving traffic and building a personal brand, every post you share comes at a cost. The expectations that come with increased social media presence—like having to be constantly visible or the pressure of needing to have something witty or insightful to say every day can be exhausting. This is especially true for writers like myself who long for the days of old, hiding in the shadows of solitude and introspection.

 Loss of Privacy: Sharing things that are deeply personal, as I often do on this platform, blurs the line between a writer’s public persona and their private self. Writers, especially the more introverted ones, may feel pressured to reveal more than they’re comfortable with. When I first started maintaining this blog, I didn’t tell people about my lifelong battle with cerebral palsy. I had done that with my first blog, which I’ll link here since some of the content is overlapping anyway. It affected my publishing habits because after a while, I felt like I was complaining to the world, and that’s not what I meant for that platform. I feel like now I’ve found a balance between striving for success despite a disability and just being a passionate writer who wants to share his craft with people. That has led me to sharing more, not worrying as much about the vulnerable side of it. Find your balance and don’t let your fear of exposure distract you.  

Distraction: The endless scrolling that comes with today’s social media and smartphone technology can deviate focus from creative work. The infamous “doom scroll” can lead to procrastination and burnout. If you’re looking for bad news or negative feedback, you’re bound to find it. To this point, doomscrolling hasn’t really affected my production other than the distraction of the scrolling part, but there are days, particularly when depression hits me the hardest, when I look for bad news, expecting to find it everywhere I look. Now that I’ve admitted it to myself in writing, I think it may have had more of an effect on my early writing and publishing habits than I first realized. Long story short, don’t doom scroll, folks. It’s bad for your mental health, and it’ll be bad for your career in the long run.

Criticism and Toxicity: Social media creates a double-edged sword of feedback. Criticism can be a mix of constructive and cruel. Negative comments or online harassment can take a toll on mental health and creativity. This hits home for me. The fear of negative exposure was my biggest barrier to beginning my blogging journey. 

The Comparison Trap: Seeing the success of others can also be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it can inspire you. On the other side of the coin, however, it can also give rise to self-doubt and impostor syndrome. When I started this journey, I didn’t really have a niche to speak of. The mental health niche kind of found me, and i stopped comparing myself to others except my past self. That’s my advice. Only compare yourself to previous versions of yourself. Strive to be better every day. Look at yourself in the mirror every day and ask, “Am I a better version of myself than I was yesterday?” If you can say yes, then you’ve accomplished something no matter what else happens. At the beginning of my journey, I compared myself to other writers, comparisons that were often unfavorable. I would spend all my time trying to emulate my favorite authors when writing fiction—-mainly Stephen King and writers like him—and other bloggers when I’m writing a piece like this one. These comparisons would cause my work remaining either trapped in the binding of a notebook buried deep in my desk or in digital purgatory in my computer files. Once I realized that my voice was valuable the way it was and that I didn’t need to emulate or compare myself to anyone, it was easier to hit that “Publish” button. 

Emotional Burnout: Social media can be emotionally taxing no matter what platform you’re on or what kind of presence you have. I touched on toxicity earlier. It can take an emotional toll logging into one social platform or the other, hoping to engage with your fans, only to find that one person or group of people who go out of their way to annoy you, tear down your work, or in the worst cases, harass you for money or favors. When these things happen, you lose the desire to engage in social media, robbing the fans you’ve garnered of the opportunity to interact with you. Find a balance and only interact with people who enjoy your work or offer constructive criticism. That’s the best way I’ve found to find a balance.

Finding Balance: Tips for Writers

Set Boundaries: Decide what parts of your life and writing you’re willing to share. Stick to that comfort zone until you feel right stepping out further. 

Schedule Social Media Time: This is one I had trouble with at first. But I remembered something from my everyday job that helped me. I used to manage the socal media pages for the company I work for. They had time slots blocked off in my schedule every day for that job. I applied the same logic to my writing process. Block off time in your day specifically for social media engagement so you can let your followers know you are there for them without interfering with your creative process.

Curate Your Feed: Follow accounts that inspire and support you. This may include reducing your visibility both of and to family members and friends. Don’t allow your social media feed to be a negative influence on your creativity.

Remember Your “Why”: Don’t lose sight of your voice or your purpose as a writer. Ensure social media remains a tool rather than an extension of your identity. I had trouble with this when I started out too. It went back to my irrational fear of overexposure. I was so focused on my social media feeds and what people would think that I forgot the most important part, my writer’s voice. To this end, I tend to lean on my introverted nature and King’s characterization of writers as “the secret agents of the arts” during the production process, I like to separate engagement from productivity, and that helps me get away from the constant scrolling and focus on my craft. 

Conclusion

Social media is truly a double-edged sword for writers. It offers a platform visibility, connection, and opportunity, but it also requires constant engagement and vulnerability. By acknowledging these challenges and setting boundaries, we as writers can harness its power without sacrificing our beloved privacy or our creative spirit. In the end, the key is to use social media intentionally, letting it amplify your voice rather than drown it out. 

How do you use social media in your workflow? Do you find yourself bogged down in the constant call for engagement? How do you find the all-important balance between productivity and availability? As always, I invite you to leave your thoughts in the comments below or send me a message via my contact form. I’d love to have a conversation with you.