After the semi-rant below I should offer some balance. Many thanks to Lorelei King for <a href="http://www.tribalwriter.com/2011/01/28/is-blogging-and-tweeting-a-waste-of-time-what-writers-should-know-about-social-media/" target="_blank">pointing out this article</a> which takes an alternative view on what we should be doing on Twitter and Facebook. Maybe it's just age but frankly I don't feel I have the time or energy to start 'building platforms'. Will happily leave that to others.

For the record when I quit Facebook I had something like 1,200 friends or so if I recall correctly. Those among them who bought my books usually bought them before I joined Facebook. I'm sure I gained some new readers while I was there, though I suspect Twitter has been more effective in that regard. Even so... think about the numbers. I have something like 1400 followers on Twitter, some of whom would have been duplicated on Facebook. In terms of commercial book sales even if every one of those bought a new book it's still small stuff.

I don't doubt social media can help new writers meet useful people and begin to learn about the business. But the basic equation seems to me unchanged: writers writer, publishers publish and market, retailers sell. It's an author's job to support the other links in the chain. But I, for one, can't take their place.