Okay, I finally caved in. I was on the fence for a long time. But I've made the leap.
It seems new social networking sites pop up every so often that writers are advised to jump into. It seems overwhelming to me at times. I don't have to tell you that a writer needs to promote and market their work. It's the snowball effect, and once you are published you push that snowball downhill for it to build momentum. The more momentum the bigger it gets.
It's important to get the word out. Those we reach have gone from fans, to fan-base, to readership, to platform, to tribes. I like to call the people that read my books 'my readers'. Plain and simple, don't you think?
Anyway, to connect with readers, I got the poke from several people. "Join Pinterest!", they said. "You'll love it."
So, I checked it out. It looked complicated, even a waste of time. So after my agent gave me a gentle nudge and told me to look at her page and Judy Hudland's, I decided to take the plunge into another social media group. Once I saw how to create a board and 'pin', I found Pinterest more for my benefit as a place to go and relax. I've gotten a lot of great recipes from honey-mustard meatballs to strawberry pound cake. I've found some fun things to do in the garden. But I've contributed to my writing through this site by finding inspiring old photographs that spark my imagination as I am writing a....yep, an Edwardian / Gilded Age Series.
I'm still not sure how this will all translate into book sales. I do have a 'board' up called 'Novels I have Written', another for 'Reviews', another on Colonial fashion and the Edwardian period, etc. etc. I'm up to 24 boards all together.
So here's the question of the century. How can an author use Pinterest to build their fan-base? What can an author contribute on Pinterest that will benefit others?
I'll share my answers after you share yours.
Here my Pinterest page: Tell me what you think. Hate it? Like it? Can't decide?
2 comments:
I'm pretty sure I'd hate it, only because I'm not a visual person. I don't remember what I see. I get lost. Pinning up pictures sounds like the most boring thing to me in the world. lol I did tell another friend to do it though because she LOVES pictures and things. It sounds like you're enjoying it, as well you should. :-) Also, I agree with you about reader labels. KISS is always a good method. :-)
I haven't used Pintrest for my writing, but I can tell you it is very addicting! It's like a visual form of my 'favorites' list. I can find something online and pin a picture to represent it....but mostly I'm using it for ideas to decorate my new house. maybe when I'm done that I'll start pinning my songs to a board!
I can see how it would be great for finding pictures to represent your novels...the characters, the scenery, the fashions, architecture...endless ideas.
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