It’s been awhile since I, LDS Publisher, have actually written a post here. My day job is consuming me right now, so I do a lot of book posts and have a lot of guest posting. And this post really won’t be much different because I’m supplying some links to other bloggers who have already talked about Pinterest in depth.
But I feel I need to chime in here because a lot of my day-job clients are asking me how they should best use Pinterest to advance their writing career. And I figure if they’re bombarding me with questions, some of you might be interested in this as well.
This is the advice I give to all the authors I work with:
First. Remember that your main job is to write good stories. That is your focus. Protect it with a vengeance! Don’t dilute your writing time with social media, including Pinterest. Set a specific time of the day or week to deal with social media and stick to it. Otherwise, you’re going to get sucked into the great black hole of the Internet and your writing will suffer.
Second. Understand what Pinterest is and what it isn’t. It is NOT a giant ad for your book. It’s a way for readers to get to know you and the things you’re interested in, which should organically lead to interest in your book. Of course, you absolutely should have boards dedicated to your book(s) but that shouldn’t be all there is. Also, Pinterest isn’t the be all/end all of promotion but it can be a valuable support to the other social media and online marketing you’re already doing.
Third. Is it right for you? Only you can determine that. Do not be pushed into another social media mode that you’re not going to keep up with. Nothing is worse than setting up a Pinterest account and adding one or two pins to some of the default boards, and then never doing anything again. If you’re going to do it, do it right. And as with all social media, if you don’t want it spread all across the universe, DON’T pin it.
With that said, here are some links to really good blog posts about how authors can use Pinterest to their advantage:
- Don’t Think of Pinterest as Social Media by Erin MacPherson (READ this one and click on all the links.)
- 5 Ideas for Using Pinterest as an Author by Amanda Luedeke on JaneFriedman.com
- How Authors Can Use Pinterest to Sell Books (Interview with author Jody Hedlund) on Pinterest Savvy
- How Do I Use Pinterest as an Author? by Amanda Luedeke, literary agent on ChipMacGregor.com
Want more info? Google “how authors use pinterest” and browse.