What!? I am on TikTok?!

Down The Rabbit Hole I go

Author

A.B. Queen
July 17, 2023

Hey everyone!

A.B. Queen here with a new batch of updates for the week.

What I Am Working On ✍️

The Curiosity Collection Book #2

I am actually making some progress on this one. Though, I must admit that it feels a bit like 1 step forward and 2 steps back. This is probably due to the idea that I am adding a few thousand words (about 2-3 chapters) to the story. So, while I have moved forward, I am going to keep the progress bar the same.

The Curiosity Collection Book 2 Progress (56%)

Short Stories

I am almost complete with my longhand short story. I have about another page or two and I should be complete with the 1st draft.

Longhand Short Story Progress (90%)

Postcard Series

Postcard #3 has dropped. Feel free to check it out for a quick and fun read.

New Article

I have also posted a new article on the site along with Medium. Why Writers Should Read Comic Books.

What I Have Learned 🧠

TikTok and the Ins and Outs

Well, kind of. I mean, yes, I have officially created a TikTok account (nothing posted yet). First time I have ever had one, seems simple enough and pretty intuitive. However, those aren’t important subjects I learned this week.

While I always find it fun to learn new software and tech, what I also like to take away from starting something new is the time commitment of said tech.

There are many reasons why I avoided TikTok for the longest time, probably not so different from other humans who avoided it. The sad truth to it is that it will be an important marketing tool for my books. After all, #booktok is an incredibly powerful hashtag for exposure. With that aside, my hunch of why to avoid it was correct:

HUGE TIME SUCK

Yup, TikTok is a major time suck. I created an account in the morning, and by the evening I was able to see how much time I had spent on it, just surfing videos, not even creating anything. It was way too much!

Sure, one could argue it was for research, but in all honesty, it wasn’t. I fell down the TikTok rabbit hole of the craziness of human society. While I will place a timer on TikTok that locks me out after so much time. This will help me use it for promotion and creative purposes, while also helping me focus more on writing and productive tasks.

Though, I do need to mention something else I learned while watching endless clips of the human race. There are some amazing people out there! While we all doom scroll at night before bed and see the horrible headlines of the news before sleep, I also found that there are some amazing humans and acts of kindness out there. Sure, it may be tailored and produced to what people think we want to see, but if it brings even a split moment of happiness to your soul, it was probably worth it.

So, TikTok isn’t a huge waste of social media time, as long as that time is spent properly.

While I could go on about the ups and downs, ins and outs, good and bad of social media (and maybe I will write an article about it), I want to leave you with a single quote that resonated with me this week:

“There's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for.”

- Samwise Gamgee

What I am Reading/Watching/Listening

Novels 📚

As always, I am still working through multiple books right now.

  • Star Wars: Fatal Alliance = 5% Completion (Paperback)

  • Timeline - Michael Crichton = 80% Completion (Paperback)

  • The Psychology of Zelda - Anthony M. Bean Ph.D. = 50% Completion (Audiobook)

  • Firefight - Brandon Sanderson = 50% completion (Audiobook) May pause this one until my next road trip.

Show/Movie 🎥

  • So I Married an Axe Murderer

    • I have been feeling that 80’s and 90’s vibe this past week. I have always enjoyed this movie. The Secret of My Success

  • The Secret of My Success

    • Been a bit since I have watched this one. Another one that I used to enjoy here and there.

  • Silo

    • Finally had a chance to finish this season and I was not disappointed. I need to go out and buy the books now.

Music 🎵

  • Back on a Huey Lewis and the News kick.

    • Never disappoints.

What Inspired Me

My Sister

My sister has gone through some things in the past couple of years. She always has three different jobs (minimum 65 hours a week), plus facing some pretty nasty cancer, family concerns, and the pushback of the world, she always has time to dream. She is always working on her goals and a way to better her life. It is pretty amazing to witness and can only be seen as inspiring.

My Item of the Week

My air purifier. Really putting in that effort during these crazy poor air quality days.

Now is your best chance to find my book, The Curiosity Collection: The Rings of Flight available for a promotional price at @Smashwords as part of their Annual Summer/Winter Sale! Find my book and many more at https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos/ all month! #SWSale2023 #Smashwords

Also, if you would like a copy of The Curiosity Collection: The Rings of Flight from another store I have placed the links below:

The Rings of Flight by A.B. Queen