Tag: Social Networking

Posted in Social Networking

Friday Five: Thoughts on My Twitterless September

Posted on by beckylevine

So way back at the start of the month, I decided to try an experiment–to go all September without using Twitter. And, look, here we are at the end of that same month.

I have to say, it was a lot easier than I expected.  I’m not sure if that should make me proud of slightly embarrassed at how much time I spent with Twitter before September

Anyway, other than a few reflexive glances down to my task bar for the Tweetdeck icon and a few times when I thought about not tweeting my blog posts or comments, honestly, I didn’t miss it. For now, I’m not going back. No long-term promises, and I’m not getting rid of my account, but if you’re looking for me, you can find me at Facebook.

For my Friday Five, I’m going to do just a little analysis of what this might mean…about me. The thing to remember about Social Networking, I think, is that we can (and should) only do what works for us, not what appeals to others or what they tell us we “need” to be doing. So these comments are in no way judgements about people who like Twitter, who are happy & comfortable there. They’re just some thoughts I had this month.

1.The biggest thing I noticed about going Twitterless was that, overall, I felt less…twitchy. Yes, I’m sure the yoga has something to do with this, as well as my overall commitment to slowing down and taking time to relax. Still, in my online time, it was one less place to click over to, one less place to check in. And that felt…more like slowing down and taking time to relax.

2. I may very well be missing a marketing opportunity by not being on Twitter–a marketing opportunity for me, for The Writing & Critique Survival Guide, for future books.

3. Assuming #2 is true, I’m going to accept missing that opportunity. One feeling that has been hovering around the periphery of my brain lately and that this experiment seemed to bring to the forefront is that I can only do so much marketing. I didn’t like the feeling I had when I thought things like, “Maybe I should just tweet this blog post” or “Oh, the people on Twitter may not know about this review of my book.” Again, this one is definitely just me–I totally get and support the fact that we ARE in charge of marketing for our works, and that–if done respectfully and professionally–it’s a good thing to be doing. It just felt a little too me-focused for my personal comfort zone.

4. I don’t know if I got more writing time by staying off Twitter. But, again, it felt like there was just one less thing pulling me away from that writing. When I started tweeting, I had more time available for that writing, for working on my current WIPS, than I do now. (Life changes…fast!) My list of to-dos seems pretty chopped-up, most days. Taking one thing off it feels good.

5. I’m also going to let go of my newsletter. I blogged about the possibility back here, and people were really nice about telling me I should keep going. So I gave it another try, but it’s another thing that just isn’t getting done and another thing that doesn’t feel like my thing. I am going to keep track of the mailing list–keeping future doors open, but as soon as I get organized enough to get over to the newsletter website, I’m going to close the account. Again…you can find me here and on Facebook!

Am I glad I tried this? I really am–much more than I thought I would be. I encourage you to keep doing what you find fun and useful and, occasionally, check in with yourself and see what’s making you happy and what’s maybe not. And then–if you want–set up your own experiment. Just to see what happens!

Posted in Social Networking

Does Social Networking Sell Books: One Tally Mark for the YES Column

Posted on by beckylevine

One of the big discussion topics around the net is whether or not social-networking actually sells books. For me, knowing that I’ve had discussions with writers, on Facebook & Twitter or blogs, who have then gone out and bought my book, the answer is a no-brainer…yes. The corollary question–perhaps the one that publishers care more about–is how many books?

I don’t know.

As far as I can tell, it’s still about word of mouth, about getting interested in a book someone is writing because I know them–whether in person or online–and then, yes, buying their book. Sure, yes, I guess in the old days, these people could have reached me with a mailer–a flyer or pamphlet, and I think they could, theoretically, have reached the same quantity of people in that way. The difference is, a flyer doesn’t mean KNOW that person. And, yes, on Facebook and Twitter, I do know them. Maybe not enough to bare my soul to (like they’d want that, anyway!), but definitely enough to be curious about their book.

I want to talk, today, about a specific case in point. Yesterday, I bought my first self-published novel.

I know. It’s 2011. Where have I been? Well, I’ve been where I think–if we’re being honest–a lot of us are. I am interested in the possibilities that online publishing is creating. I’m intrigued with looking at what’s happening now and with wondering where it’s going to take us in the next year, five years, decade. I’m watching friends and acquaintances experiment (aka letting them be the guinea pigs!) and hoping that the work they’re doing brings them at least a piece of dream-come-true.

I’ve also, I admit, been cautious/hesitant/reluctant to just grab a self-published novel off the shelf and dive into reading it. In this post, I talked about how we, as readers, can know that our work is ready to put out there. Flip the coin and, as a reader, I do wonder how the author decided their book was ready for me to fall in love with. Yes, as hard and challenging and painful as traditional publishing has been, some agent and/or editor has had their eyes and pencil on those books, has said…Go!

Anyway, yesterday I took the leap. I bought a copy of Anathema, written AND self-published by Megg Jensen.

Why? Because I know Megg from the blogosphere and from Facebook. We’ve talked back and forth, she’s been more than encouraging about my book, and I’ve followed her thoughts about her story and her decision to self-publish this book. I know it’s a YA fantasy, a genre I love, and I am seriously hooked by the cover. Because of these interactions, I know that Megg is smart and funny and thoughtful and creative. Yes, I do. Does that mean I know she can write a good book? Of course not. If I meet an author who has traditionally published their first book, do I know that THAT book is good? Of course not, again. But I make my buying decision on the same basis I made this one–my impression of the writer, as I get to know them. Unless you’ve read more books from an author, you take a risk with every book you buy. And even then, we all know there’s no guarantee that Book 5 will get us the same way Books 1-4 did.

Megg does not live in California. I could not have met her through a local writing club, in the YA section of a bookstore, or at a party. I could only have met her online. Through social networking. Which, yes, does sell books.

Will Megg (or I) ever get on the NYT bestseller list? Who knows. (Of course, if it ever DOES happen, you can bet YOU WILL ALL KNOW!) Will she sell more of her books by being “out there” on the Internet. Yeah. I really believe so.

Megg is running a contest through March 11 at her blog. You can win lots of cool things, including copies of Anathema AND an e-reader.  Megg has also offered to give away a copy of Anathema here (paperback OR e-book, your choice) to a commenter.

So…drop a thought into the comments.  Remember, this is not a post about self-publishing; this is a post about the sales effectiveness of social-networking. Any comment will enter you, but I’d love to hear about a book you bought because you knew the author online, or because you heard some online buzz. Also, if you’re published in any way, what do you think social networking has done for you and your books?

Megg’s contest is going until March 11, but I think I’ll wrap mine up sooner than that. Let’s make it a week–I’ll announce the winner Wednesday, March 2nd.

Enter away!

Posted in Social Networking

Back to Goodreads: Unclogging a Piece of Social Networking

Posted on by beckylevine

I hear myself saying this a lot to people–if social networking isn’t fun for you, don’t do it. And I’m serious about that–I have fun here on my blog, fun on other people’s blogs, fun on Facebook and fun on Twitter. And, yes, if you add them up in some fancy mathematical equation, it’s way too much fun.

I don’t know about fun with LinkedIn. I’m there, and I check in every so often, but–honesty–haven’t figured that site out yet. If you have a brilliant epiphanetical revelation for me about it, please do share. So…I wouldn’t rate LinkedIn as high on my fun scale, but it doesn’t cause me any stress either.

Unlike Goodreads. Or, to be more specific, the current state of my Goodreads account. When I first signed up for GR, I did like it. For a long time, I liked it. And then, I think, I let myself be sucked into the social-networking shoulds:

  • You should use X to market your book
  • You should link your blog to X
  • You should friend lots and lots of people at X, especially if they send you a request

Um…

As a small piece of social networking, these should are true.  But, and here’s the important thing, I think–we can’t do everything everywhere!

I like Goodreads because it gives me a place to rave about a book I love, and the site makes it super easy for me to share that rave with people on…yes Facebook & Twitter. I like Goodreads because, when I’m running low on book ideas, I can scan people’s lists and get ideas. Except, as it stands, there are way too many people and way too many lists for me to do that. My site is clogged. So do I use Goodreads for the part that makes me happy? No. Am I using Goodreads productively for social networking? Definitely not.

A while ago, Sherrie Petersen announced on her blog that she was stepping away from Facebook. As much as I like it out there on FB, Sherrie’s post made it clear that this was a great choice for her. And that doing a reality check every now & then about our social-networking habits can be sanity-making.

Time for me to back up. I’ve decided I will no longer use Goodreads as a piece of my social network. I’m not closing out my account, but I will be going through my list and deleting quite a lot of the people there. Most. This feels a little bit like crossing people off the wedding list because the park isn’t big enough. (Yes, we had our wedding celebration in a park–where else can you find a big enough BBQ pit?) And that part isn’t the best feeling.

The part about just leaving people on the list whose book recommendations I really, really want to see sounds great. I often get a craving for some seriously great fantasy–I know who’s list I’m going to go to for those. I am on constant look-out for new MG and YA and PB books; I’m going to keep some big readers in those genres. Mysteries, historical novels–I need a steady feed of suggestions.

But that’s it. If you read my blog and if you friended me on Goodreads and if you find out you’re no longer on the list (is that even possible), I still do want to talk. Come find me on Facebook or Twitter, where I’m having actual conversations! For me, Goodreads needs to be the quiet corner of the public library, where I quiet-as-a-whisper pass books back and forth with a few like readers.

What’s overloading your right now? Is there a piece of the social-networking pie that you’d feel happier (and lighter) without? Drop into the comments & share your thoughts. Or don’t! 🙂

Posted in Social Networking

Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Etc…a Semi-Often Assessment

Posted on by beckylevine

I’ve been blogging for several years now. I’ve been on Facebook over a year, I’m sure, and Twitter not quite so long. Every now and then, I stop and just look at what’s going on out there, at the conversations I’m taking part in, at the people I’ve met. And I’m pretty much amazed.

I’ve talked about social networking a couple of times here, discussing its value and its distractions. Since my books been out a few months now, it seemed like a good time for another check-in.

I have to tell you, I’m convinced.

I don’t really know how well my book is selling. I know that it is selling, if only from watching the stats on Amazon go up and down, and down and up. The most that tells me is that every now and then, someone heads over there & buys a copy. I know from my own blog stats that people do head over to the other links I’ve got up (IndieBound, Writer’s Digest, etc.) but I can’t tell you what they’re doing when they get there–browsing or buying.

What I do know is that people I have never met or talked to in person, people I would have been hard-pressed to even find out about without social networking, have bought my book. How? Well, frankly, because they’re nice enough to tell me. Or blog about it. Or recommend it on a discussion forum. Which, every time it happens, honestly makes me say, “Whee!”

Does this mean you’ll see me on the NY Times Bestseller List next week? Um, no. Does this mean I’ll be getting that butler anytime soon. Not so much. Does it mean that social networking has expanded my word-of-mouth capability, so that I have better chances of a second printing, sooner rather than later? I believe so. There are people talking about my book in Virginia, in parts of New England, in Texas. I’m in California. Yes, it helps incredibly to have Writer’s Digest behind this book–you could hide my mailing list in a teensy-weensy corner of theirs and never find it! I also believe, though, that by being out there on the Internet, I’m doing my part.

Honestly, I’d be out there even if I didn’t have a book to talk about. The Internet is an incredible place, or maybe it’s just the writers’ corner that’s so warm and welcoming. I get support, I hear about books, and I listen to jokes. Yes, I get overloaded; yes, I take breaks. It’s a party, though, that I want to come back to. For whatever reason, this in-person introvert is a happily extroverted social-networker.

If I was doing this JUST for the marketing & sales benefits, I think I’d go nuts. I have to remind myself to type in the title of my book the times I do mention it! I think if all I used social-networking for was sales and marketing, I’d need a Dorian Gray painting in my office, to collect all the bad feelings I’d be carrying around and hide them under a happy facade. I can’t work that way, and I don’t want to.

That’s the thing. Once you step out here, you’ll be handed plenty of “shoulds.” You should be on Facebook. You should be on Twitter. Get into a chat. Blog daily.

Sit back and watch your head explode. 🙂

You have to do it your way. And start slow. The one thing I’m learning lately is that baby steps work. Pick one thing and do it gently. Set up a Facebook page and add a dozen people. Sit with that for a while–read their updates, leave a comment if you want, post your own update every few days. Ready for more? Great! Add a few more friends. Or if you like a bit more craziness in your feed, go for Twitter. Post a few times in the mornings before you start work. Skim what’s happening in the updates, and don’t feel like you have to keep up. (I’ll tell you a secret…you can’t!) Play.

Is social-networking worth it? This month’s assessment says a definite yes. It’s worth it because it helps a writer connect up with other writers and readers around the world, to hear what’s happening with them in England or Egypt or Southern California, and to share what’s happening with you.

Sometimes this turns into a sale. Sometimes it turns into a smile, a laugh, or a new friend.

Okay by me.

Posted in Blogging, Promotion, Social Networking

Our Time Online: Where Do You Think We’re Headed?

Posted on by beckylevine

Okay, guys, I know I’m spending a lot of time on this lately, but I had an in-person conversation today with some other writers, and the questions we raised are churning away. And I’d really like to hear what you all think.

Basically, we started out talking about Facebook fan pages. Which I have not really explored. We took a look at some and talked about what they seemed to be doing, and here’s where my brain went:

“Blogs are going away. Webpages are going away.”

I know, huge leap. And obviously none of this is happening overnight. But I am wondering if we’re in another of those transition times, when the online world–and how people use it–is shifting. Yet again.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. A few years ago, webpages were the main place readers went to connect with a writer. They were the primary tool that writers used to get to know their circle, whether it be other writers, agents & editors, or potential readers.

Then blogs came along. And blogs became cool, primarily, I think, because they were less static than a webpage. You could go to someone’s blog every few days (some, every day) and read something new, find out something “fresh.” Newer blogs, like this one, are basically a blog with a webpage attached. It means I can have the “static” info up there for people who don’t know anything about me, along with changing content every few days.

And now?

I’ve talked about the people I’m “meeting” on Facebook and Twitter. I’ve also “met” people on blogs, and I definitely still go to someone’s blog FROM FB and Twitter if I think their updates are fun or interesting.

But I don’t spend a lot of time at those blogs. I add all I can to my LiveJournal feed, and I check in with them as often as possible, and I try to leave comments. And I try to keep my own blogs at least semi-interesting and informative.

After looking at these Facebook fan pages, though, I’m feeling like they have an awful lot of the same features that my blog/website do.

Are these FB pages the replacement? And how long will it be before Twitter has the equivalent. (Frankly, that might already exist without me knowing!) Are we moving, again, away from one use of the Internet and onto another?

So, I have a few specific questions that I’m hoping you’ll help me with. I’m not a Yes or No kind of person, so I’d love it if you just dumped your thoughts in a comment, random or otherwise. And I hope everybody who stops by will look at the comments, for the info everybody is leaving there.

  • Where do you make your first online “acquaintance” with an author or reader these days?
  • Do you spend as much time reading and commenting on blogs as you used to? How do you think your blog-reading pattern has changed.
  • Where do you go to find information about an author?
  • What do you enjoy about blog reading?
  • What do you enjoy about Twitter and/or Facebook?
  • Have you played with following any author Fan pages. What do you think of the process/experience?
  • Where do you think your online community has its strongest base?

Comments are OPEN!

Posted in Social Networking

Twitter Update: My Latest Thoughts

Posted on by beckylevine

Okay, raise your hand if you knew, when you read this post, that I’d say this:

Twitter is growing on me. And, no, not like mold.  🙂

Honestly, it’s still not my favorite social networking place. My brain chemistry is still happier on Facebook, with the layout of the page and the way you can follow comments directly off the original update.

But I’m getting better at skimming through the tweets. I don’t feel, anymore, like like I’m only seeing stuff I’m not interested in and missing the tweets I really want to read. Just to get a little scientific here, maybe it’s one of those ways I can stretch my brain “muscles,” carve some new synaptic paths–which, you know, is always good. If painful.

And there are some interesting things going on out there at Twitter. Here’s what I’ve seen so far.

  • I mentioned that I’d heard there were more agents and editors on Twitter than on Facebook. So far, this seems to be very true. Obviously, this doesn’t mean we writers jump all over them, but it’s interesting to hear what they’re saying to us and to each other. Also, agents do send out tweets that they’re open for questions–which does give us a chance to find out some specific info we’ve been wondering about.
  • This week, Jessica Faust and Kim Lionetti of the Bookends agency are doing twitter-pitch contests. They look like a LOT of fun. And let’s face it–really good practice. You’ve got a couple more days, and you can find out the details here.
  • Mary Hershey and Robin LaFevers of Shrinking Violet Promotions are trying out Twitter for a month. They’re challenging some of us to turn the tables a bit–instead of tweeting about what we’re doing, to tweet a question to everyone else about what theymight be doing. The other day I asked people what their favorite character in their WIP was doing, and I got some great answers.
  • There’s an interesting site called TweetChat. They set up occasional “conversations” on a specific topic. I believe there’s a weekly (?) poetry chat, and I stopped by once for an interview (where a moderator and everybody else tweeted their questions) with my friend Susan Taylor Brown. It was a bit chaotic, but fun, and I’d like to try a few more.
  • Follow Friday. I’m just gathering a few names to do this one tomorrow. Every Friday, tweeters (I refuse to call us twits!) send out a few ids of people they enjoying following on Twitter. It’s a nice way to check out other people you might want to follow, and it’s one of those good Sally-Field moments, too, when you see your id in someone else’s FF.
  • Retweeting. I do like this one. If someone tweets a thought or a link that you like or find interesting/helpful, you can retweet it. (If you download Tweetdeck, which I prefer to the Twitter page, there’s a button that makes this REALLY easy.) Basically, it means that the people who are following you will get to see the tweet, check out the link, even if they’re not following the person who originally posted it. It’s a nice feature–it means I get to see some good tweets I might miss, and it gives me a chance to “introduce” people to each other.

There are still a few weird things about Twitter. I’d still LOVE to find an app that threads the conversations for me–that shows updates and all subsequent comments in the same place. If you hear of anything like that, puh-lease send me a note!

I’ve got things set up so my tweets go automatically to Facebook. I like this–saves me retyping. BUT it happens automatically with my retweets as well, which gets confusing on Facebook. I’ve passed on a few announcements of someone else’s success or good luck, only to have my Facebook fans congratulate ME!

A few weeks ago, I started getting a LOT of what I call “icky” followers. Some of them were people who have nothing to do with writing or other things I’m interested in–the Twitter equivalent of the door-to-door salesperson asking me if I want to buy a dozen eggplants. (Note: I could be a vegetarian if I only liked vegetables!) But others were definitely gross, porn-type tweeters. Okay, no, I’ll call them twits. They weren’t tweeting to me, but they were showing up on my Followers page. The Followers page is where other people can go and see who is following you, in case there’s someone they might like to add to their own list. For me, this mostly means other writers are coming to see who’s following me. And then they would get, yes…ick.

If this happens to you, there is a way around it. There’s an option on the first page of your Twitter settings called Protect My Updates. If you check this box, then you get an email telling you someone has asked to follow you. You then have the option to accept them or decline them. There is a potential downside to this that Susan Taylor Brown (a social-networking guru, as well as a wonderful writer) was telling me about. She’s going to send me a note later describing how that all works, and I’ll update the post. So stop back in for the full story! UPDATE! So I went back & forth with Susan a few times–because she’s a VERY patient teacher (check out her online social-networking class here), and I am not the most fast student on this stuff. The basic thing seems to be that, when you protect your updates, you are creating an additional step for someone to follow you–some people may not bother, which might lose you followers. Also, they can’t see your updates when they go to your profile, so they can’t get an idea of the kinds of things you’re tweeting about. Same possible result–people may decide it’s not worth the effort/chance to follow you.  I can’t tell if that’s been happening to me or not. I am still getting people asking to follow me, and I’ve only said no to a couple–really just the eggplant salespeople! But, obviously, I wouldn’t know if people were passing me by. I know I’m supposed–in terms of promotion–to be in this for the numbers, but it’s hard for me to think that way, so I’m not too worried. Susan suggests also that these “icky visits” may go in waves, so I may try unprotecting for a bit every now and then and see if it makes a difference.

Finally, I found a couple of recent posts about the actual USEFULNESS of Twitter.

As a side note, I’ve personally had a couple of experiences on Twitter AND Facebook that have proven to me these are places I need to be. They may or may not lead to anything concrete, but I’ve gotten opportunities from both that I would not have gotten without being out there.

If you’re looking for me, I’m still at http://www.facebook.com/beckylevine and http://twitter.com/becky_levine.

Posted in Online Class, Social Networking

Online Social Networking Class

Posted on by beckylevine

Susan Taylor Brown is teaching an online social-networking class the first week of May. I know Susan, and believe me, she knows this stuff. She’s great at helping people work through both their nervousness and the actual tools. And the cost of the class is incredibly cheap.

If you’re interested in signing up, there are a few spots left, and you can go here for more info.

Posted in Social Networking

Facebook and Twitter

Posted on by beckylevine

Well, I’ve been tweeting for a few weeks now, and on Facebook longer than that, and I thought I’d take a few minutes and do a comparison here–at least from my perspective.

Overall, I’d say I like Facebook better. I am TOTALLY open to persuasion from Twitter-folk, (like this post from WriterMomof5) as to why I am wrong and what I’ve missed about Twitter.

Here are the pros and cons as I see them.

Twitter

Pros

  • Twitter seems to have more people. I could be wrong about this, but it seems really popular right now.
  • It’s very easy to “follow” people on Twitter–there is no approval issue, and they don’t have to follow you back. In fact, Chuck Sambuchino at Guide to Literary Agents has this post, talking about how agents may prefer Twitter for just that reason.
  • I seem to be running into more info/links about the publishing industry on Twitter than I do on Facebook. This may be coincidental, somehow connected to who I’m following, but maybe not.

Cons

  • I don’t really like the layout of Twitter. Everything shows up in one place, and I can’t easily see how one tweet follows another. I downloaded Tweetdeck, which makes it a bit better, but not completely user-friendly. Or maybe just not Becky-friendly.
  • It seems like people do more tweeting on Twitter than they do updates on Facebook. And it’s not easy for me to sort out the tweets with substance from those without. Now, I’m not complaining about the substance-less tweets; I do my own share of those and many I find fun. But I like to be able to do a quick scan and mental sort as I read.
  • People cheat. Okay, pet peeve here. But all the squawk (pardon my pun) is about the 140-character limit. As a writer, editor, and word-player I kind of like that challenge. I’m not so pleased with the people who just go ahead and spread their news over 3 or 4 tweets. Yes, I’m being petty. Or anal. Take your pick–just do it in less than 140 characters!

Facebook

Pros

  • This is completely emotional, not factual, but it feels cozier. This  may be my group of “friends,”  but maybe it’s a factor of it NOT being so easy to hook up with people. Of course, I’ve friended people that I don’t really know, and vice versa, but there’s always some reason–I can see from their other friends what genre they probably write in, or I know them through an offline friend…something like that.
  • All the replies to a status update (the equivalent of a tweet) are kept with the update. One of my in-town friends and I were just talking about this, that you can get a real mini conversation going and follow it easily, seeing everyone’s comments one after the other. It seems more fun this way.
  • Different posts and announcements look different. They’ve got little icons, etc, to differentiate–say–an update from an event. This helps with my skimming.

Cons

  • The quizzes. Facebook seems to have gone crazy with this lately. I went a little crazy with them myself, when they first showed up, and I have fun checking one out every now and then. (Did you know the female historical figure I’m the most like is Elizabeth I?!) There are just too many of them, though, and they can pretty much take over the page at any given time.
  • The gifts. It’s really sweet when someone sends me a virtual cupcake. This, too, can go quickly into overload, though, with people sending around pretend flowers or green things. Yes, I can turn mine “off,” but Facebook shows you all the things that all your friends are sending around. Again, this takes up a lot of page space.
  • This last one is just from the new Facebook. They’ve moved the birthday announcements to the bottom of the page. They used to be at the top. My guess is that they do this so you have to page down and look at the ads. (Don’t worry–I’ve tricked them. I DON’T LOOK!)

I’m wondering now, looking back at the post, if I’m whining. If you’re all thinking–then why is she out there? Well (she says with a bit of an embarrassed wince), it’s fun. Oh, yes, there’s the whole marketing thing and promotion whatchamacallit, but those are extra. I do love being connected with other writers & seeing what they’re up to (even if it IS just getting a third cup of coffee for the day).

It’s just that, you know, I want all the social networking sites to do it my way!

What about you? Are you on FB or Twitter? What’s your preference? Usually, I try and keep things mannerly here, but today is your chance to argue–convince me what I’m missing on Twitter. 🙂

Posted in Marketing, Promotion, Social Networking

Social Networking: GoodReads

Posted on by beckylevine

Last month, I put up a post about various links to people “talking” about social networking. Included in the list was Martha Engber’s post about GoodReads, which included a brief discussion on how authors can use the site to market their books.

Right after I blogged about this, I signed up for GoodReads. (You can see the button to my GoodReads page over there on the right–it took me WAY longer to add that button than to complete my GR profile, BTW!) I admit, signing up was, for me, sort of an exploratory mission. I’ve never been one to catalog my books in any ways, and I was just stepping out of a review job and was looking forward to NOT writing up my opinions for a while.

Well, of course, I found myself having fun. I do like listing the books I’m reading, and I like checking out the updates I get about my Friends. I haven’t started using the site as a source for my own to-read list, but that may be because I’m knee shoulder deep in reading research books for The Critiquer’s Survival Guide right now.

The other thing I haven’t yet dug into is the marketing/promotion aspects of the site that Martha talks about.  I’m curious, though, so I spent a little time today browsing the web to see what other people think about GoodReads. The overall consensus seems to be that it’s a wonderful sort-of online book group, but there isn’t that much talk out there about using it as an author, not just a reader.

I did find a few links, in addition to Martha’s, for you to check out.

I also took a first step and browsed the GoodReads Help pages for info about the author’s program. The best thing I saw is that, yes, it’s free to set up your own page, if you’re a published author. Always a nice feature. You can list all your books (or just the ONE that’s coming out next fall!),  put up an excerpt of your writing, add y our schedule of events, and run book giveaways. 

Here are a few links to GoodReads information about how authors can use their site:

Finally, just so you can take a look at a “final” product, here’s the GoodReads Author page of one of my favorite mystery writers, Dana Stabenow.

Are you on GoodReads? How do you use it–for fun as a reader, or promotion as a writer? (Or both?) Or do you belong to one of the other book-based social networking sites–LibraryThing or Shelfari? What do you think of them? I’d love to hear your take on these sites in the comments!

Posted in Marketing, Social Networking, Somebody Else Says

Somebody Else Says: Social Networking Links

Posted on by beckylevine

One of the very cool things about writing my critique book for Writer’s Digest is the timing. They’re doing a lot of reorganizing, shifting themselves–as I understand it–from several distinct businesses into one integrated community. I think I, and the book, are going to benefit greatly from this, not to mention having a fun ride along the way.

The whole online community thing is an amazing tool or toy, depending on how you look at it or how much you know about it. I feel as though I’m walking into a giant ocean, putting each foot down ahead of me very carefully, to see how deep I’m getting and to identify what’s actually swimming around out there. I know I can avoid the sharks, and I’m kind of excited that I might get to see some of those bright, colorful fish that hang out in the coral.

In other words, I’m still learning!

So I thought I’d post a few links today to help you dip your own toes in. See what you think. And throw some of your theories, hopes, and worries about social networking into the comments!

This first one’s a bit intense, with a bit of a 1984/Big Brother feel to it, and the participants throwing around a lot of jargon and TLAs (Three-Letter Acronyms). But if you substitute “I” for “We” and pretend their talking about individual writers instead of big corporations…well, there’s some interesting stuff. Thanks to Jane Friedman for the link.

http://www.foliomag.com/video/folio-roundtable

Martha Engber was doing a little research on Good Reads, which I’ve been wondering about lately. She’s got a good summary of how it works for marketing, as well as finding great book recommendations.

http://marthaengber.blogspot.com/2008/11/goodreads-offers-good-reads.html

Mary Hershey and Robin LaFevers always have great info at their Shrinking Violet Promotions blog. In this post, they “reprint” Robyn Schneider’s “Facebook: A Guide for Authors.”

http://shrinkingvioletpromotions.blogspot.com/2008/01/more-marketing-tasks-facebook.html

And Michelle Rafter has a post about how freelance writers can work with LinkedIn.

http://michellerafter.wordpress.com/2007/12/07/how-writers-can-use-linkedin/

Enjoy!