Websites and Facebook and blogs, oh my.

Over the past few weeks, I've been trying to figure out the value of different types of online presence. Agents, publishers, and even other authors say that if you want to sell books, you have to have an online presence. At the very least, a website.

Then they get into the details. The website has to be professionally created and updated on a regular, if not a daily, basis. And you should have a blog tied into it so you can update that often. And have a presence on Facebook and MySpace and other venues. And participate in social chat sites. And plan to spend at least an hour each week on each of these.

So, tell me something. If I spend an hour each week on all these social activities, when do I get to write? My time is not unlimited. Nor are my funds. If I can't write, I can't sell books, thus earning my income to afford the fancy website and updates. But the flip side is, if I don't participate and have a major online presence, I don't sell books either.

And thus the conundrum.

So if someone out there has a brilliant idea to get past this, please, let the rest of us in on it. Or just me. :)