Would it be Worth "Outing" Myself?

Don't get me wrong; I'm nobody on X, just like I'm nobody everywhere. But at least I get *some* engagement there. I get kudos (likes) for my extremely witty comments on other people's posts. (How sad is my life?) 

While I do have an author account on X, I never visit it. I mean, why? I only set it up to get eyes on my books, and that sure hasn't worked. I do have 199 followers, but they're all either authors, book marketers, or scammers. Pro tip: Other authors don't want to buy your book(s). They want to sell their own.

On the other hand, my personal account has 512 followers, and they're following me for no apparent reason. That's organic reach, baby! 

But seriously, I'm wondering if it would be worth it to reveal my pen name there. I used to have an expanded bio on X that fully described the type of writing I do, with a link to my Amazon page and all that stuff, but that option is now gone. A couple of people actually read it when it still existed, and one of them, unprompted, rewrote my novel's blurb for me (long story). Now that X is apparently only giving that expanded option to paying members, all I have remaining is the link to my author site. (Anyone who bothered to view my 160-character bio would no doubt wonder why I'm linking to someone else's website. Maybe I'm just kooky that way. 😀 )

It occurred to me tonight that the whole "personal connection" thing that marketing experts are always droning on about would make more sense on my personal X account than anywhere else, since some people there do already like me. Believe it or not.

Apparently, I can set up a Linktree, whatever the hell that is, in order to include more than one link in my bio, such as my author site plus my Amazon page and anything else that's relevant. I don't know about you, but I get exhausted signing up for a little of this, a little of that. I once signed up at Booklinker and I really have no idea why, nor do I use its created links for anything. I also created an Amazon Associate account, based on another expert's advice (something about the ability to track different ads using distinct links...or something). Now all I get out of that is grief. Emails from the program offering tips, as if I'm someone out there shilling for various Amazon household items. I've really gotta stop trusting the experts.

Another concern...I know there are people in my personal life who are on X; probably more people than I realize. I'd never be able to find them, because unlike me, they aren't using their real names. Since I do use my real name, they have the advantage of reading my posts, even following me, for all I know. Sneaky bastards. 

I've taken pains to not reveal myself as an author to anyone I know in real life. Sure, you say, they could click on the website link in my bio and find out, but they haven't yet, because no one has said word one to me about it. I know how these people are; they're bad at staying tight-lipped. So, do I want to make it easy for them by blatantly putting my author life out there? I do wonder if I'm missing a selling opportunity, though. 

Many authors publish under a pen name, and often it's done because of the genre they write in. I get that. Do they want everyone at the corporate office to hear about their steamy romance novels...and heaven forbid, read them? Probably not if they're climbing the ladder at a buttoned-up company. Too, a lot of authors who write in more than one genre will use separate pen names for each. Me? I'm just freakishly private. I'm not embarrassed, per se, by what I write, except for the possibility that relatives and acquaintances might hate it. I don't relish being pitied. "Oh, nice try there!" High praise indeed. I'd prefer for strangers to hate it, rather than people I care about. 

This might just be a moot deliberation anyway. I'll probably go with the Linktree method, on the off chance that one or two people might click on it. The only other option would be a pinned post, and I sure don't want to be that obvious. Aside from the people on X who like me, there are also people who definitely do not. I don't try to get into arguments with people, but it happens sometimes (idiots). I don't put it past them to bomb my book's page with fake reviews or lord knows what other nefarious things they'd think up. X is a double-edged sword.

My final decision is to think about it...and then most likely forget the whole subject all together. But seeing my KU page reads bottoming out has led to me once again trying to get something, anything going.