Second, MIT graduation was last Friday. Unfortunately, I wasn't in it. In the grand tradition of doctoral dissertations, my defense has been moved back a few months. I'm now shooting for the end of summer. My next few months will be split between dissertation writing and revisions of Midnight Thief, so blogwise, I’ll still be scarce for a while.
But even when time is scarce, there's always time for another social network! I've been checking out Pinterest recently (Here I am!), trying to see if I should integrate it into my social media strategy (Oh, who am I kidding? I just like the pretty pictures.). I thought I'd share some of the ways that it might be useful for book people: specifically readers, pre-published writers, and published writers.
Edit: Since coming across Roni Loren's blog post on copyright violation, I've removed some of the embedded images on this post. For the moment, I'm still using Pinterest, but I'm looking into the copyright issue.
1. Book recommendations
I keep a partial list of books I read in my goodreads account, but I've also started a gallery of books I recommend. It's always fun to pimp books and browse my friends' galleries.
2. Scene setting and character inspiration
3. Writing prompts
There are lots of quirky pictures on twitter as well, and I'm keeping a file of them to use as writing prompts.
4. Communicating your vision to your publishing team.
When I showed my Midnight Thief board to Laura from my editorial team, she mentioned that it would be helpful when they start cover discussions. I imagine that this would also work for indie authors when hiring freelance designers.
So far I've only covered point of inspiration. Are there ways in which Pinterest can be used to build your social media platform? Some ideas for those.
5. Publicizing your blog
Much ado has been made about Pinterest’s value in driving web traffic. It really depends on the kind of site you have. This blog, for example, doesn't really translate into pictures well. However, I also have a politically incorrect humor blog, and quotes from their have translated well to Pinterest. So it really depends on your content.
Beyond that, I've been trying to brainstorm ways to use interest once you have a book out. I can't really do this yet, but some ideas I've had were:
6. Post pictures of readers with your book in the wild
Jody Hedland has a gallery of readers in bookstores on the sidebar of her blog. I think Richelle Mead also had a facebook gallery of readers with books in front of international landmarks. Pinterest would be an easy way to post these pictures.
7.Fan Art
If you're lucky enough to inspire fan art, like Cinda Williams Chima, you could also post these in a gallery.
So does seem like Pinterest has its uses. As to whether it would sell books in any significant quantity, I'm not sure. At least with ideas listed above, Pinterest seems more like a way to interact with an existing fan base than a way to get new readers (with the exception of publicizing blog posts). When you post pictures of your book, it does show up on the main Pinterest feed for a bit, but unless it gets re-pinned, I don't think it would catch that many eyeballs.
But what you think?Have you joined Pinterest? Do you think is useful for authors?
Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.
I don't do a whole lot of visual boarding for my WIPs, and sometimes I prefer the boarding to be private anyway, but sometimes I use Pinterest as an inspiration board, or to save things I'll need to look back at. I have one pinboard for writing, called, unimaginatively, "For Writing." http://pinterest.com/mamablogga/for-writing/
ReplyDeleteLove your ideas (and good luck with your eventual defense)!
Good idea to put clothing and fashion into your writing pinboard, Jordan. I might have to start doing that too.
DeletePinterest as a tool for inspiration. I like that! I still haven't tried Pinterest, but I think like all social media, it has great potential for networking, market research and media monitoring. It's cool that you're using Pinterest despite being so busy. It can be so easy to disengage when you're busy and your mind is on other things.
ReplyDeleteBTW, did you do something to get that reply option (blogger's response under comment)? My Blogger account doesn't seem to have it. I can only respond to comments as any other commenter would. Another blogger told me it just showed up and she didn't have to set it up.
Ashley - It just showed up for me too. If you're using a custom template, then sometimes the changes don't show up. But if you use their usual templates, the change should just happen.
ReplyDeleteMore reasons I need to get on Pinterest! I have a personal account, but I really want one for me as a writer. Just got the hang of Twitter though!
ReplyDeleteYesenia -- Lol. It's quite a challenge to keep up with everything, isn't it?
DeleteYa know...I gotta say thank you, Livia. I know zip about Pinterest, and thanks to you, I don't have to slog around lost for 5 hours on the site before I figure out what the hell is going on. you do an awful lot of ground work, and many, many people benefit from it.
ReplyDeleteRe: graduations...my son was not allowed to walk in his undergrad ceremony last summer due to some unfinished credits. He finished at the end of last summer, and WAS NEVER TOLD he'd be allowed to walk this year. He found out when he attended the 2012 graduation w/a group of friends and saw his name in the program...we'd have shown up with fireworks...Oh, well.
(Is possible he was told last summer and kinda sorta forgot...You should run a post on the brains of 20-somethings.)
Helen -- Sorry to hear about your son's graduation! I'm in a similar boat. I don't know if I'll come back to walk next year. But MIT graduation is really painful though -- they read the names of all 1000 undergrads, as well as all the grad students, so it lasts a really long time.
DeleteWow...Maybe hide a Kindle in your robes?!
DeleteGreat ideas here. I have just "accepted my invitation" for pintrest and I plan to use it exactly as you have discussed here. I do think, however, that there is more scope for publicity than you have given credit for here. At the recent "Forest for the trees" at the Sydney Writers' Festival publishers, readers and writers discussed the posibilities.
ReplyDeleteI have written a little post about it, the first in a series, and I invite you to take a look at the summary of the event that is included in the post: http://wp.me/p20KAr-9E
electrucbluegaloo -
DeleteI'd be interested to hear about more marketing applications. Do you remember any examples? I went to your blog but I don't think you've covered that yet.
I haven't started a Pinterest account yet, but it was about a year and a half ago that I first heard of it -- from a 20-something cousin. Then I heard Kim Sabatini was using Pinterest for the characters and setting of her book (TOUCHING THE SURFACE, coming in Oct 2012), so I've already seen the clever uses it can have. If only I hadn't already joined facebook, twitter, linkedin, and google+. Who has time for all this stuff? And especially who has time to do all this and still write? I could see giving up most of those other forms of social media in favor of pinterest. I like the visual aspect.
ReplyDeleteJoanne - I find Pinterest to be less social than the others. There is less commenting and chatting, and more repinning. So I'm not sure how well it would replace the others.
DeleteThis is an excellent post, thank you Livia. I would just add a couple of things. Foremost, I've found a lot of useful info on Pinterest about writing, social media and my other interests, baking, fitness and jewelry making. Plus, when I pin about those, they are the pins that get me followers and repinned. I figure everyone who does that sees my name.
ReplyDeleteBut, I do spend too much time on Pinterest, because I'm interested in all these things. Look at this! And this! Repin this! What's on this website? Etc.
Conda --
DeleteI haven't had much luck finding good writing stuff on pinterest. I'd be interested to know how they're presented, since I'm having trouble w/ translating this blog to Pinterest.
I've been avoiding Pinrest, but I love seeing the pictures here. The waterfall one in particularly great. Good luck figuring out baby names. I like your choice.
ReplyDeleteTheresa -- I like my choice too :-) Good seeing you this past week!
DeleteGreat to hear another writer's opinion of Pinterest! A few months ago I started a collaborative Pinterest board called {Moms Who Write and Blog} http://pinterest.com/lnmontessori/moms-who-write-and-blog/ and it is a great way to showcase other (moms) who write and have a blog. It is also a collaborative board so these moms can pin their writing posts as well as pin other mom writers with blogs... It is more of a challenge to get "repins" because the pins are not so much based on "pretty pictures"; but so far seems a great way to use Pinterest "socially" with other writers! If a Pinterest user is a writer of mysteries, she could create a collaborative board for myster writers and bloggers. Just a thought!
ReplyDeleteI also recently joined Pinterest, but after one frantic session of liking and pinning I forgot all about it. There are a lot of very nice pictures and creative ideas to be discovered there though, so maybe I should put it in my daily websurfing routine, somewhere...
ReplyDeleteI haven't explored Pinterest yet, kind of deliberately been avoiding it as I fear the time-suck factor. Reading your ideas on the ways it can be used makes me think maybe I should take a look on my next lazy Sunday afternoon (Well Friday because I'm currently in Dubai where Friday is the Sunday)
ReplyDeleteI haven't jumped into Pinterest yet. Kind of scared of having it suck my time. Will venture in at some point. I do put up photos that look like my main characters for inspiration. It helps.
ReplyDeleteI've been avoiding Pinrest, but I love seeing the pictures here. The waterfall one in particularly great. Good luck figuring out baby names. I like your choice.
ReplyDeleteMedia Monitoring