Pinterest for Publicity

One of the most helpful tools I have discovered is Pinterest.  However, poor Pinterest has been getting bashed a lot lately. Some people claim that Pinterest is "just for bored women to look at wedding dresses and recipes."  This is not so at all! Pinterest is a very valuable tool for those of us who are writers. It is not just for dresses, or recipes, etc.  And it is most certainly not just for women! I know several very manly men that have Pinterest accounts.  Pinterest won’t make you less of a man, but it can make you awesome.

So just what is Pinterest?

According to Pinterest itself, “Pinterest is a tool for collecting and organizing the things you love.”  You can follow people and topics that interest you, discover new things, and collect what you like as “pins” onto your “boards.” And while it is true that you can find droves of gaudy wedding dresses and recipes for anything from boozy popsicles to brownies made from black beans, it is much, much more than that. Pinterest is truly a priceless tool.  You can use this resource in a wide variety of ways to help with your career as an author.

1.Find friends

There is an abundance of writers, readers, and book bloggers on Pinterest.  And because of Pinterest’s social aspect, it is easy to connect with other members of the literary community.  You can follow people or just specifically follow their boards or, a lot of times, you can follow a link to their websites. The Well-Read Wife did an excellent list of writers, bloggers, and book lovers who have Pinterest accounts.  You can find it here.http://www.wellreadwife.com/2012/01/26/directory-of-book-bloggers-on-pinterest/

2. Find inspiration

Pinterest is chalk full of inspiration.  You can find loads of inspiration for settings or characters, etc.  And if your brain is weary of writing and in need of some refreshment, then you can browse all sorts of artful things on Pinterest.  You can follow fashion and DIY, or even science, sports, travel, technology, or cars.

3. Build your story

Pinterest is great for doing research.  If you want to write a story that is set in Ireland but have never been there, you can create a board and pin images onto it.  That way, when you’re deciding how to describe a setting, you can simply log onto Pinterest and draw details directly from images on your board.  You can repin images that already exist on Pinterest or even pin brand new images from all over the web.  If you’re writing a fight scene and you’re studying various types of mixed martial arts, you can create a board for that too.  Pinterest lets you keep all of your research in the same place and it lets you access it easily.  And if you don’t want other people to see what you’re working on, you can pin your research onto something called a “Secret Board.”

3. Market your books.

Pinterest can also be helpful for publicity.  You can pin images of your book cover and link it back to your website.  Pin quotes from your book to get people curious.  You can even pin posts from your own private blog.

4. Support fellow authors.

This is really awesome. I saw something recently on the internet that intrigued me. A group of authors all got Pinterest boards so that they could pin each others’ novels, that way all of their followers would see the novels too. Isn’t that a great idea? It would be super fun to do and it might possibly be a good way to help each other out with publicity.  So, if you comment on this or email me a link to your book or your blog, I will gladly pin it on my board. And of course, you are always welcome to follow me on Pinterest if you want at http://pinterest.com/hannahlokos/. Yes, I do have a dress board and I do pin recipes, but I use Pinterest for what it is: a tool.

Until next time, happy writing. And…happy pinning!

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Hannah Lokos is an author and a full-time college student.  Her novel, a unique piece of historical fiction that combines romance with Greek mythology and conspiracy theory, is scheduled for release by Champagne Book Group in early December.  Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, email her (hannahlokos.writer@gmail.com) or visit her website at www.hannahlokos.com.