“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:
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.
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.
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!
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)
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.
Haven't tried Pinterest yet. Like everyone else, I'm short of time. But one of these days...Good overview, Shelley.
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.
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.
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.
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.
JB, somehow I don't think you need any inspiration! You're a writing machine :)
Elise,
I'm glad My info is useful.
Thank you, Shelly. I needed this kick-in-the-, I mean, I needed this reminder to sign up. :)
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!" :)
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!
Maureen - Glad to be of service!
Jenny - there's certainly a lot of pretty available to collect. :)
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.
Toni, here's the link
There are no rules, how to use pinterest to market your book
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