Balancing real life and Second Life

It came to me the other day. Was I playing or working in Second Life? While some of what I do is fun and allows me lots of creativity without the pay, of course, the hours I spend both in SL and through email with my colleagues from SL, adds up to a lot of unpaid time. Now I'm not complaining particularly because this is what I want to do. I love to write, so my work on the Metaverse Messenger Newspaper and RezLibris Magazine help me fulfill some of my real life interests. But I also do writing in real life (have recently self published a romance featuring a virtual world, "Cloudy Rainbow.") For those who do writing themselves, you know how time intensive it is, fiction as well as non-fiction writing. And since most writers, unless you are exceptionally lucky, do not make a living out of it, a full-time job is usually necessary.

So how can someone balance their real life with their Second Life? Most people agree that real life should take priority, the quality and quantity of time you devote to family and career. But in some people, Second Life begins to compete for attention with real life pursuits and concerns. How does this happen? Well, if you joined solely for fun and spend your time at clubs and dances, you could get hooked on the social aspects of meeting people from all over the world without the commitment of having to interact with them in person. There's definitely some danger in this, as you become more isolated in a crowd of avatars. But what if you choose to get involved in volunteering or working in Second Life, starting a business, offering a service, etc.? You might end up making some real life money and will also meet some virtual friends. But chances are this will also take up a lot of your time, and would that time be better spent at a real life job? Possibly but not necessarily. It depends on what you are doing and what you are gaining (not only in monetary rewards but also in experience and pleasure).

So we need to weigh our real life and Second Life jobs and leisure activities to see if the time we spend in each is equal to the benefits we are receiving and make necessary adjustments. There's no reason why we can't enjoy both worlds a little bit at a time.

Marketing your writing in virtual worlds

When I announced to some of my friends and colleagues in Second Life that I had written a novel, I was surprised to receive several offers to talk about the book at different reader's groups and events. Although I am involved with the AVL (Alliance Virtual Library) in Second Life and am a librarian myself, I didn't realize how many opportunities there were to promote books in a virtual world.

So far, I have spoken at the Reader's Garden on Cybrary City focusing on the virtual theme in my book which is a romance but includes a virtual world (not SL, but a fictional one very much like it), and Sonja Morgwain the Estate Manager there has also kindly asked me to do a talk for her real life library through SL. The Reader's Garden speech was also recorded as a vodcast and appears on YouTube as well as in the January issue of RezLibris, the magazine for Second Life librarians.

Next, was my book talk for my own group at Rainbow Garden's Pet Memorial Center on Cybrary City II where I focused on the pet loss theme in my book. I was very touched to "see" some avatars crying afterwards and have to admit that tears came to my eyes as well during some of the exerpts I read which were fictionalized scenes based on true experiences with my cat, Floppy, who I lost a year ago and who provided the inspiration for the book, as well as for Rainbow Gardens.

Coming up on my virtual book tour, as a change of pace from a book talk, is my discussion of publishing at a library buzz session on Info Island this coming Tuesday, January 13. At this event, I will provide information regarding the differences between traditional publishing and self publishing through POD (print-on-demand) publishers, the route that I took when publishing "Cloudy Rainbow." I will explain the pros and cons of both publishing methods and then answer questions from the audience.

On February 8, I will present another book talk for the romance month slot of activities lined up by the AVL. For this talk, I will concentrate on the romance in my book. Then, on February 16, I will appear at a Poet's Brain storytelling session and am thinking about covering some of the paranormal elements from my book which include a clairvoyant as well as a virtual seance.

My calendar will continue to fill in the spring, and I am considering moving my book talks off the Info Archipelago and maybe catch a stint at Book and Publishing Island or elsewhere in Second Life. Also, I will do a real life book talk at my own public library in April .

I am really surprised and pleased to know that book talks are so popular in virtual worlds.