NOT YOUR USUAL SUSPECTS

A group blog featuring an international array of killer mystery, suspense, and romantic suspense writers. With premises and story lines different from your run-of-the-mill whodunits, we tend to write outside the box. We blog several times a week on all topics relating to romantic suspense and mystery, our writing, and our readers. We welcome all comments and often have guest bloggers. All our authors can be contacted separately, too, using their own social media links.

We find our genre delightfully, dangerously, and deliciously exciting - join us here, if you do too!

NOTE: the blog is currently dormant but please enjoy the posts we're keeping online.


Julie Moffet . Cathy Perkins . Jean Harrington . Daryl Anderson . Nico Rosso . Maureen A Miller . Sandy Parks . Lisa Q Mathews . Sharon Calvin . Lynne Connolly . Janis Patterson . Vanessa Keir . Tonya Kappes . Julie Rowe . Joni M Fisher . Leslie Langtry

Friday, March 16, 2012

Pinterest: Inspiration for Authors

“No! Not another form of social media to soak up my writing time.”

To be honest that’s what I thought when I first heard about Pinterest. I’m chronically short of time these days, so I turned my back and tiptoed away. But Pinterest was determined to nab me. I started to see posts about Pinterest in my blog feeds. Curious about this new “thingie” that seemed to be stalking me, I read the posts about this shiny new toy. I was intrigued. Hooked,
darn it!


“Okay,” I told myself. "Maybe Pinterest would be helpful with the new series you're percolating. You could use it as a visual storyboard."


My experience with Pinterest:


1. I requested an invitation from Pinterest, which turned up in my inbox in a few hours.

2. Once I received my invitation, the actual joining was easy. (You need to be either a Facebook or Twitter user to join.) During the sign up stage, tick the subjects that interest you. Pinterest automatically sets you up with people (friends) who have common interests to get you started. You can unfriend people later if you change your mind.

3. Since my main purpose in joining Pinterest is as a source of inspiration and a visual storyboard, I haven’t bothered searching out people to friend.

4. Each of the heroines in my new series now has a board, and the pinning process has helped me consider different facets of their characters. It’s a work-in-progress.

5. I started a board for my blog, and it occurred to me I could do a board for my latest release, Cat Burglar in Training. A brainwave struck, and I added a link for this board to my website as an added extra for readers to check out. Cat Burglar in Training Pinterest board.

Images of elements from Cat burglar in Training, ranging from ball gowns, cars and jewels to peanut butter, plus the cover populate this board. The purpose of these boards is to direct traffic to my website and my book.

6. The Cat Burglar in Training board pleased me so much I started one for my paranormal MiddlemarchMates series too.

Conclusion: Pinterest is fun. It's perfect for those who are visual during the creative process. There’s no pressure to visit if you're short of time. When I do visit, I find the process relaxing and inspirational. Win-win!

For those of you who are unconvinced here is a link to a useful article:
Pinterest: 13 Things Authors Should Know by Rachelle Gardner, agent

Do you Pinterest?

19 comments:

Unknown said...

I don't Pinterest. Yet.

I tell myself I don't have time for anything else but I see people talking about it everywhere I go. It sounds like a lot of fun and I love the idea of each of your characters having a board.

Marcelle Dubé said...

Thanks for this post, Shelley. I've been seeing mentions of Pinterest popping up everwhere, too, and you've managed to provide a great overview.

Toni Anderson said...

I've just signed up and I do like it. Haven't had time to go nuts yet. I am SO visual this is going to be a total addiction. Need to figure out how people can pin my books though--and NYUS. Help, Shelley!

Taryn Elliott said...

Holy Addiction, Batman!!
I love it! I use it for storyboarding and ideas as well. I'm a really visual author so it gets me all sorts of inspired.

Yay! another author to file. (there's a lot of us on here)

JB Lynn said...

I know I'm in the minority, but I don't like it. I'm not a visual person and I just get terribly overwhelmed. Too much stimulation for me.

Elise Warner said...

Haven't tried Pinterest yet. Like everyone else, I'm short of time. But one of these days...Good overview, Shelley.

Shelley Munro said...

Shirley, the thing I like about Pinterest is that I don't feel any pressure to visit if I'm busy. It's something I do at the end of a day when I have time to wind down and let my mind wander.

Shelley Munro said...

Marcelle,

I'm glad I could help. They say that Pinterest is already the third most popular social media site after Facebook & Twitter. People tend to spend longer on the site - at least fifteen minutes each time. I know I spend at least that long when During my visits.

Shelley Munro said...

Toni,

I have a shortcut button set up on my computer menu, but there is a way you can get code on your page, which enables people to easily pin your images. I'll post an article to our list. I haven't had time to investigate this too much yet.

As for books, some authors pin all their covers to one board. Personally, I think this smacks of promo and haven't done this. Check out the link to my Cat Burglar or Middlemarch books and see what I have done.

I'll investigate and see if we can do a NYUS page. There is a setting for allowing anyone to pin images to your boards.

Shelley Munro said...

Taryn, it is fun isn't it? I think people either love it to bits or just flatly dislike the idea. My hubby shakes his head and can't see the point.

Shelley Munro said...

JB, somehow I don't think you need any inspiration! You're a writing machine :)

Shelley Munro said...

Elise,

I'm glad My info is useful.

Maureen A. Miller said...

Thank you, Shelly. I needed this kick-in-the-, I mean, I needed this reminder to sign up. :)

Jenny Schwartz said...

Shelley, I can understand the 15 minute visits...Pinterest hooks me with one great image after another. I just wish I had your discipline to use it effectively in my writing prep. Instead, I just collect pretty pictures...I swear, I must have been a magpie in a previous life "ooh shiny!" :)

Donnell Ann Bell said...

Thanks everyone, and Toni for telling us about this blog. Gosh, is this a tool to help us write, I'm confused. I already spend too much time on FB and Twitter, and need to become a hermit. Or is Pinterest meant to take the place of FB and Twitter? Thanks!

Shelley Munro said...

Maureen - Glad to be of service!

Shelley Munro said...

Jenny - there's certainly a lot of pretty available to collect. :)

Shelley Munro said...

Hi Donnell - no Pinterest isn't meant to take the place of Twitter or Facebook. It's a different beast entirely since it deals with images. Check out the link to the article and that gives quite a bit of info.

Shelley Munro said...

Toni, here's the link

There are no rules, how to use pinterest to market your book

More Popular Posts