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Comment by Regina Y. Swint on April 15, 2012 at 9:18am

Thanks, Emily.  I will definitely check out Backseat Saints, too. 

As for me, I migrated from MySpace to FB to SheWrites.  I joined MySpace for the blogging, and made lots of connections there, but once it became a little too dramatic for me, I just stopped signing in.  People got away from the writing and blogging, and I'm too old for drama. 

As for FB, I enjoyed many of the same connections from the MySpace page, but then many of the conversations started getting on my nerves, posting tons of stuff that seemed trivial to me, going too far off topic from original posts, or just being mean to other people.  I was sort of starving for conversation about things I cared about, specifically, writing.  I stumbled on SheWrites through a recommendation from a publicist.  Glad I found it.  Whenever I want to unplug from FB madness, then I get find constructive writing chat over here.  Maybe I'll find my way over to Pinterest, soon, and see what's going on over there.  So many people seem to have such good things to say about it.

Comment by Celine Keating on April 15, 2012 at 8:58am

Emily, just wanted to jump here b/c your comment about your "stalking" made me laugh. Life on a farm sounds so exotic, that I hope you're writing a blog about that - or at least some poems!  

Comment by Emily Kennedy on April 15, 2012 at 7:10am

Several of my writer friends have two FB pages--one for "open friendships" and the other for book promotion.  I only go to the latter when requested by an author to help him/her promote by "Liking."  I recognize that the author page is a terrific marketing tool.  I also don't come here as much either.  I am not always in "book, blog, poem promotion" mode.  But, the reason I started with SheWrites in the first place was to meet other writers and communicate with them.  Living on a farm is quite isolating, and before SheWrites, I wondered if I were going to lose my mind!  Fortunately SheWrites came just in the nick of time!  Haha!  (I will have to write about my first feeble attempts to connect with other writers.  I know the early ones--before SW--must've thought I was a stalker, I was so hungry for a writer friend!)  LOVE my friends who have gotten to know me.

Comment by Emily Kennedy on April 15, 2012 at 6:48am

Great Regina!  Joshilyn has a new book out, but I have not bought it yet.  Just finished backseat saints.  It also had a wonderful voice, but the subject matter (physical abuse) made me pause before finishing.  Joshilyn said her inspiration for this came from a woman's shelter.  Just wanted to clarify for Judith that I don't exactly see Facebook and Pinterest as social media to "use" for my writing.  I actually like both.  If any of you find me there, you will see that writers who have joined me have built real friendships, probably like some of you have here.  I just find FB talk friendlier and people more open to diverse conversations, not just about writing and publishing, though we cover those areas thoroughly.  Pinterest is FUN fun fun, and several of us have pushed from SheWrites to FB to Pinterest.  I "use" Pinterest for my own pleasure and that of my friends--same as FB--but I recognize that it is a valuable tool for recognizing writers and their works.  If it becomes an apparent marketing strategy for people, I am afraid it will go the way of MySpace.

Comment by Regina Y. Swint on April 14, 2012 at 5:39pm

@Emily...I'm not on the Pinterest site, but I agree with Judith and all others who said that we have to find ways to use this and other social media to help us best connect with potential readers and other writers.

By the way, I love Joshilyn Jackson's work.  I read one of her books while I was deployed to Afghanistan.  I found The Girl Who Stopped Swimming in our MWR tent.  It was a great read during a time when I really needed a great read.  I posted a mini-review on my website.  Thanks for the tip.  I'll go check out Between Alabama.

Comment by Judith Marshall on April 14, 2012 at 4:30pm

Your so right, Emily.  The snowball effect of Pinterest is amazing.  It's taken off faster than any other social networking site.  We authors just have to figure out how best to use it.  I, too, have pinned some of my favorite books.  Anyone have any other ideas?

Comment by Emily Kennedy on April 14, 2012 at 5:47am

I have pinned several of my fave books.  One author, whom I met at a conference, knew that I loved her cover art.  I emailed her and asked permission to pin it.  She said, "Sure!  Any publicity is great!"  Several people have pinned that book cover from mine and so on.  I don't have any idea how many people have read the book, but the snowball effect surely has generated interest.  The book, by the way, is Between Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson.  Love that cover!

Comment by Lynne Favreau on April 12, 2012 at 4:40pm

Definitely Shawn. Pinterest is not effective for one-to-one contact, and the feedback is minimal. Though you can comment on pins, it is all about the pictures not the words.

I see many writers trying to figure out ways to exploit the site's popularity but don't see it being a big piece of the authors platform.

I'm there anyway because I use it for recreational purposes. Since I'm there I build boards geared towards readers. That way those that happen to find me, anyone perusing my boards will see I'm an author, see my web of authors, my book recommendations, my favorite book covers, etc...

And of course my love of all things orange.

Comment by Shawn Lamb on April 12, 2012 at 3:46pm

Lynne, for me, a group I'm involved with held a contest for the 1st book of my YA fantasy series and used my book covers and artwork of the characters. I had a the copyright mark placed on everything associated with Allon that was original work.

The interest raised was minimal compared to other contests I've held on other site, like Goodreads. At least with other social media, I get feedback and make connections.

Comment by Judith Marshall on April 12, 2012 at 3:12pm

I agree, Lynne.  Pinterest is but one tool in the social networking arena. We all have choices on where to spend out time and energy when building our brand.

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