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Rise Of The Machines: Human Authors In A Digital World (2013)

by Kristen Lamb(Favorite Author)

4.64 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1938848322 (ISBN13: 9781938848322)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Green E Books

review 1: This is the book that I wish I had read back in 2013 when I was launching my Web site and my second self-published book out into the world. I am very grateful to the friend and fellow author who recommended it, and would definitely do the same to anyone who counts themselves in the latter category. The book contains excellent information on how to create a presence online through the use of blogging, social media, and content. Some of the material I was already familiar with, but much of the time I was reading with a pen in hand jotting down useful tips like:Don't hide your name in your social media (which is why my Twitter handle is no longer @siegerat)Don't just blog about writing - find something people will connect with...and other useful tips.There were two issues I h... moread with parts of the book; however, these are simply personal quirks. The potential reader should judge for herself whether or not they would influence her enjoyment of it. Both of them have to do with Facebook. Although I agree that Facebook is a vital addition to the author platform, I have a deeply personal, philosophical objection to the idea that because this is the digital age, privacy is dead. If becoming a successful author means giving up my right to control my data, then I might consider a career change. For me, this is a sticking point, and as a reader of this review might guess, something that is personally very meaningful. The second point has to do with giving Facebook a pass for the algorithm that only rewards a fan page with views if the fans interact. New fans may not be all that likely to interact to the extent needed - and why does Facebook think it necessary to make that decision for the Facebook user? Again, a personal quibble, but there it is. Also, please understand this is coming from a reader who recently wrote two blog posts on the Facebook experiment (evil, evil, evil, evil) and as a result of this experiment is working on extricating herself from the Facebook platform — one of the reasons my friend lent me this book in the first place, to learn how to set up an author platform that doesn't rely on just one social media source.Personal FB issues aside, I found the content extremely helpful. I've gone on Twitter and checked out the #myWANA community, and it is full of fun people, continuing the conversation started in the book. I've got a list of a few more things to do to tweak my online presence. This is definitely a useful and fun addition to my library of writing resources.
review 2: I'll admit the idea of turning into a writing cyborg at first disburbed me. But by the end of "Rise of the Machines," Kristen Lamb convinced me that "the more we embrace technology, the more distinctly human we can become."Until now, I've viewed Kristen as a humorous and insightful social media blogger. In this book, she also proves herself a first-class arbiter of social media philosophy (without losing her sense of humor). She delves into the history of technology, drawing from sources such as Malcolm Gladwell, Robert Greene, and Neil Postman. Did you know, for instance, that Goethe predicted our current dilemma? He saw the future as a "velicopedic age," characterized by speed and the deadening of the human spirit.Kristen calls her solution "WANA" -- We Are Not Alone. It's simultaneously a movement, an Internet community, and an intimate manner of book marketing. She advocates a "holistic" approach to social media, one that sees platform as "a living work of art that is meshed with the soul of the writer-artist."Don't worry if all this sounds big and vague. She covers specifics in sections titled "Learning to Blog" and "Putting Together a Plan" -- ten steps to build an author platform, including crafting a "word cloud" to find all the facets of your "brand" (a term used loosely to mean "who you are").Kristen mostly targets fiction authors, but as a nonfiction writer, I found plenty of tips I'd overlooked. This week I'll be working Kristen's plan as I learn to align my platform to art and soul, share more of myself online (difficult for an introvert, but Kristen provides guidelines), and totally immerse myself in this brave new world!Highly recommended, especially if you're new to online platform building and feeling a bit intimidated. less

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