Everyone feels the effects of social media overload. I’ve been to many sessions about social media marketing and leave either excited to re-double my efforts or exhausted because of everything that’s out there.
It really comes down to two guidelines that I’ve heard and make sense to me:
- Pursue the social media outlets that you enjoy. (No one likes to add one more thing to their To Do list that feels like a chore)
- Limit your time online so you can still write.
I can get carried away sometimes, so I’m really trying to limit what I do and how often I do it.
I love Twitter because it’s short and sweet, I get good info, and it’s easy to retweet things I want to share. I also just got on Tumblr for similar reasons. But I’ve resisted Pinterest because (a) I’m still not clear on its purpose and (b) I don’t really want to add one more thing to my plate.
However, I felt I needed to at least take an initial peek. I do love the visuals and the streamlined layout. No hodgepodge of images of different sizes – things appear to be very organized and that appeals to me. I’ve set up an account, but haven’t done anything with it yet.
I think the biggest question is why get on? Do you want to market your books? Just share cool things we come across? A combination? I have to say it was really fun to see what other authors had pinned and to get a sense of who they were because of it. Kirsten Hubbard one of the founders of YA Highway, summed it up nicely: “It’s an easy, visually appealing way to collect book inspiration, for starters (some author pinboards are STUNNING). But it’s also a source for discovering simple ways to inject creativity into our lives…” Read more at YA Authors on Pinterest.
Here are some helpful links to get started.
Pinterest Tips for Writers by Jason Boog
And some Pinterest author boards:
Donita K. Paul (from here in Colorado!)
I’m sure they’re out there, but I had trouble finding boards for picture book authors, though I came across a lot of people who have created boards about a picture book author or author-illustrator.
Are you on Pinterest? If so, share your boards and tell us about your experience!
