3 WAYS PINTEREST CAN BOOST YOUR WRITING CAREER

 

(wikimedia commons image)

My sister and I were talking the other day about Pinterest. She told me she had an account and quite frankly I was surprised. Janet doesn't enjoy participating in social networking like I do. Her Facebook friends probably number less than twenty, but she likes it that way. That is why I was surprised to discover she even had a Pinterest account. I'm pretty sure she will only use it like a glorified photo album and that's just fine for her.

But not for writers.

 

If we are serious about our careers, writers have to consider how a social site like Pinterest can not only support our writing muse, but also help connect us with our intended audience. Ours is a visual world and here are three ways Pinterest can help us accomplish that task.

PROVIDES STORY LINE IDEAS

I love searching through Pinterest for wonderful illustrations to post to my PB IDEAS board (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/pb-ideas/). Something catches my eye and I pin it on my board for consideration later. I am a visual picture book writer and just studying whimsical or silly artwork will trigger a nugget of a story idea and I run with it. 

When I was writing my fantasy novel I created my LUNADAR board (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/lunadar/). It was there I would skip through the pictures and daydream of a world where my characters could come alive. It help ground me in the fantasy world I was creating until it was as real to me as I imagined my readers would hope it would become for them.

And when I work on my creative nonfiction manuscripts, I sometimes turn to my HISTORY board (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/history/) to maybe discover a little known fact that can become the spotlight of my next book. Why not use a picture based social site for gathering great research pictures?

SHOWCASING ONE'S WORK

Pinterest is a great way for people to take a look at your work. Right now I might only a couple of books available for purchase but MY PUBLISHED WORK board (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/my-published-work/) shows where readers can find my stories, view my STORY CATCHER book trailer, or check out my latest business postcards. My STORY CATCHER FAN CLUB board (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/story-catcher-fan-club/) has info about my picture book and butterflies because they are part of my STORY CATCHER logo. I would love to add Pinterest links of my FREE STORY CATCHER newsletters but haven't figure that one out yet. If you know how to turn a PDF file into a Pinterest pin let me know in the comments or shoot me an email. I would really appreciate it!

If you have a number of books out you could always set up a board for each board and show things like book covers, illustration art, pictures of book signings, Common Core activities linked to each book, etc. The more you are able to pin, the more connected your readers will be to your work.

SHARING WITH OTHERS

I have also created a number of boards to help others like writers, teachers, readers, etc. My FOR TEACHERS board (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/for-teachers/) has a plethora of activities to help support wonderful educators out there. I have a number of "writing" based boards like WRITING (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/writing/), NANOWRIMO (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/nanowrimo/), WRITING RESOURCES (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/writing-resources/),
and BOOK MARKETING (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/book-marketing/). Lastly, for all the lovely book lovers out there I have my BOOKS (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/books/) and WONDERFUL BOOKCASES (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/wonderful-bookcases/). 

The possibilities are endless with Pinterest. Whether you are more like my sister and just want a convenient space to post all your cool pictures or you are a serious professional working on furthering your writing career, Pinterest is definitely an avenue worth looking into!

Blurb: Addie comes from a long line of readers or "story catchers" as her family likes to call themselves. Every time Addie tries to catch a story on her own the wiggly words play tricks on her. She tries different ways to make those words sit still but it will take a little faith for Addie to become the next STORY CATCHER.

Buy Links:Amazon Kindle ¦ Paperback ¦ B&N ¦ Smashwords

JOIN THE STORY CATCHER FAN CLUB! Membership includes:

 
Membership Certificate

Bi-montly Newsletter full of mazes, puzzles, games, news, and other goodies

Reading Log for earning STORY CATCHER AWARD

IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO PUBLISH A BOOK, Part Nine

The whole premise of this series is the fact it takes more than just a good story to get a book published. The people who make up the publishing "village" can include not only the author but others like editors, publicists, marketing executives, and other promotional personnel to ensure the word gets out about a publisher's latest addition to their lineup.

I've been exceptionally fortunate when it comes to working with a smaller publisher. Anaiah Press might be a newer, smaller company in the publishing industry, but their executive staff have more than 30 years of experience in getting the job done. The editing, proof reading, and illustrations for THE STORY CATCHER are done. The ebook and print formatting with Ingram is almost complete. Pre-orders will soon be available. Press kits and news releases are being created. Like soldiers getting ready to do battle, Anaiah Press is gathering the ammunition necessary to ensure my book has a fighting chance to make a place for itself in the publishing world.

Being the author, I must do my part. My connections with a local church provided me the opportunity to put information about my book in the hands of 1500 children. Another connection got me connected with Barnes & Noble and we are finalizing things for an author visit December 6th with a follow up book signing (maybe book launch party) in January. But there are other things I can do to boost the marketing power of my hard work promoting my book. Here are some ideas I will be considering and implementing:

1. FREE STORY CATCHER FAN CLUB...I've already set this up and have signed up a number of new members.  The free welcome kit includes a membership certificate, reading log, short story starring the new member, and a bi-monthly newsletter with book news, mazes, puzzles, games, and more.

2. CONTESTS & GIVEAWAYS...I'm tossing around a couple of ideas for a book launch contest and fan club membership drive. More details as we get closer to THE STORY CATCHER's book release on January 20th, 2015.

3. LINE UP REVIEWERS...I'm really feeling the support of this writing community. I now have 22 reviewers lined up and 3 people willing to provide a book blurb. This generous input will help future readers make an informed decision as to whether or not they want to buy my book.

4. SUBSCRIBER NEWSLETTER...I use MailChimp for my subscriber database and it had an incredibly easy newsletter template I can use to connect with my blog subscribers to let them know about my upcoming book release.

5. CONTACT LOCAL LIBRARIES...There is 1 main branch and 17 area branches just in Knoxville and they all  have the opportunity for author visits and reading time.  I've already chatted with the head of the acquisitions committee and because of my involvement with their annual Children's Festival of Reading, not only is she interested in looking at my book for possible inclusion in their inventory, but she also wants me to participate on their local author panel at next year's festival.

6. SCHOOL VISITS...As Center Manager of my martial arts school, I've connected with my local elementary schools for the past 12 years. I was allowed in schools when no other martial arts school in the area was allowed. Now I can use these connections to help spread the word about my book.

While these ideas are used by almost every author out there in promoting their books, next week I will talk about maybe some off-the-wall promotional ideas authors should consider as well. What promotional ideas have you used to promote your books? What worked for you? What didn't?