I have seen so much discussion recently about social media and email newsletters. Today, I want to encourage something critical: Focus on your goals as a writer and the experiences you want to have with readers. I worry that focusing too much on what each social network provides (the trends, the algorithms, etc.), has us ignoring our own creative vision. And in the process, ignoring the moments that truly matter in living your life as someone who writes, who reads, and who is in conversation with others who write and read.

I am often in conversation with writers and creators about their mixed feelings about social media, or their downright dislike of it. In some ways, it feels like we are at a crossroads with social media. Relying on it for some important things, constantly distracted by it, and repulsed by it for different reasons. Today, I want to talk about social media as a tool, and how you can consider if and how you use it.