A few years ago, I opened an Instagram account. I kept it private for a while. Then, a month before my novel, The Quiet Edge of Memory, was released (I know; I didn't market far in advance), I set my account to public to draw potential readers in before my November 2025 release date. Slowly, my follower account climbed, A handful of likes came in. Hang in there, I thought. Keep the hashtags up. Get out of your shell. More followers will come.
I'm an introvert, so going public was a leap for me. I created some reels about my novel. I posted a cover reveal, a first page reveal. And I even shared some creative journaling pages. I used hashtags to draw my target audience in. I watched YouTube videos on how to make high-quality content, what video apps to use, how often I should post, etc. Release day was creeping up on me, and if I wanted people to know about my book, I had to put myself out there, because going indie means marketing was all my responsibility.
But I got sucked down the rabbit hole. I scrolled, and it was hard to stop. I compared myself to other Christian authors' posts. I spent too much time ensuring my IG posts were aesthetically pleasing on Canva. I kept putting in those hashtags, and I kept telling myself things will pick up. Keep trying. Keep promoting.
A few days ago, I posted a video about a last-minute trip I took to the city with a friend. I'd put my novel in a Little Free Library and documented the places we went. I used very broad indie book hashtags. My reel got over 300 views. Whoa. Okay, maybe I finally caught on. However, the engagement for this post was low.
Then it hit me: Life is happening as you try to get noticed on social media and doom scroll.
I was tired of trying to fit in with the trends, which is something I've never loved doing, hence my blog title. Who cares about what music was popular for reels? Why care if my journaling pages looked vintage or pleasing to the eye? Why was the combinations of hashtags I used in a post such a big deal when they were relevant to my content? (Pro tip: Using adoptee and Christian lit hashtags together is pointless.) I just wanted to create content that was 100% me.
I also wanted to reclaim my time. So, I deleted the Instagram, Facebook, and Discord apps from my phone. I cleaned out my YouTube subscriptions and favorites and cleared out my Watch Later list. I wanted to detach myself from social media to leave room for more life experiences rather than looking at the world through a screen.
Spring weather is officially here, and I want to go outside more, devour my TBR pile, be wildly creative in my journal, study Korean more, be present, and stop feeling the pressure of depicting myself a certain way. I'm not for the tapping, the ASMR, the sameness, and consistently sharing my life online. My book isn't trendy, and I'm okay with that. I'm okay with social media not being for me now, and I'm ready to look for alternative ways to market my book.
And I could totally do without those bot accounts.
If you've quit social media, feel free to comment and tell me about your decision to walk away.
