Soapbox: Let Loose

Writing a blog that often emphasizes strategies for sustainable creativity, not to mention having just published a book on the subject, has put me in the position of being asked to explain the soundness of my own approach to new media. For example, a friend recently asked me about the strategy behind my constant Facebook profile photo changes and status updates. This gave me a bit of a chuckle, because the fact is, my Facebook “strategy” is simply to have fun. Unlike some writers—who even go so far as to create accounts with “Novelist” as their first name—I take a more laid-back approach. I’ve posted status updates pretending to be a wombat, a toad, and a plastic alien baby. This type of behavior has elicited a host of playful responses and given me the beginnings of two short stories.

But my friend’s question speaks to something we as writers seem to have lost sight of in our quest to gain leverage through the Wild West of new media platforms: that having fun and expressing creativity are sometimes the best ways to advance your career. This isn’t to say that writers shouldn’t have clear strategic plans for their careers and book promotion. But a lovely element of chance comes into play when you do what comes naturally. Sometimes, too, it’s a great relief to relax into a situation instead of trying to be “on” all the time. Potential readers respond positively (and often joyfully) to such displays of calm and confidence.

Simply being myself on Facebook and letting it be a platform for creative displays has also inadvertently resulted in several career boosters. In one case, a noted West Coast graphic novelist whose books have been made into movies pinged me to let me know he liked my work. He never would’ve contacted me via e-mail, but felt comfortable getting in touch through Facebook. That contact resulted in a collaboration on an anthology that might not otherwise have happened. In another instance, I am now working on a graphic novel with an artist I met through Facebook. Several times, too, casual mentions of book tours or other events—almost always in a humorous context—have led Facebook friends to provide me with valuable information.

The idea of fun and creativity feeding into your career—that you don’t always have to be calculating or strictly functional—bleeds over into other platforms. The most lucrative post I ever wrote on my blog was a discussion between my wife and me about which imaginary animals might be kosher (a fish-tailed goat) and which might not be kosher (a snake-bird-lobster). That post not only led to a discussion on Sweden’s national public radio and on a slew of high-profile Jewish Web sites but also in a book deal for The Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals, out next year.

More recently, an interview I did with the owner of a capybara (a relative of the guinea pig) in Texas led to tens of thousands of new readers for my blog. About 4,000 of them stuck around to explore my Web site. Some of them have returned to read more. Some of them will buy my books. Others will contribute to my creative life or career in ways I can’t anticipate today.

Why did I post an interview about a hundred-pound rodent that makes sounds like a Geiger counter when it’s happy? Was it part of a larger strategy? Did it fit into my personal mission statement, or my short-term or long-term goals? No, I did it because I thought it would be fun.

In that sense, doing a quirky, seemingly unrelated interview supports my Web “strategy”: that your public and private personas shouldn’t be too different, that you should try to multitask in ways that allow your career—or public side—to feed your private creativity, and that the only way to sustain both your career and your creativity is to be balanced and happy.

Posting about giant rodents makes me happy. It also gains me readers. What could be better than that?