At the mention of social media, an author’s mind jumps to Twitter and Facebook. However, image-based platforms are now giving these two major sites a run for their money. One such platform is Pinterest, which apparently popped up out of nowhere and within no time spread to every imaginable sphere. The reason why Pinterest suddenly became so popular is that it is so much fun. It is a combination of a social media website with an online bulletin board. Think of it as having many corkboards created by users. Every corkboard has a certain theme dictated by interests of the people who populate that board. These boards are pinned with photos, lists, videos, and links of things that relate to the themes of the boards. By now you are wondering, that’s great but how can it be used by authors?

Book planning

When you are writing a new novel, you have to create many scenes and characters. You can use Pinterest to get people to help you with the creative process. People can help you to get answers for many things that you might be researching for the book. You should create a board for every relevant aspect of your novel. For instance, you could have a board for the scenes that your novel will have. You can also have a board for your characters. If there will be any major event in the novel such as a wedding, you can also create a board for that. These boards will help you to gather great ideas for your novel.

Collaboration

Pinterest is not just about pinning items on boards for strangers to view and comment on. You can also use the boards collaboratively with other people such as fellow authors. You simply have to follow each other and ask a person who owns a board to add your names to the board. After that you can start sharing ideas that will help you in your book writing or marketing efforts. You can also add people who will read your drafts to give their opinions on your story as it develops.

Create a blog pinboard

If you have a blog and constantly create posts regarding your works or any other interesting things, you can spread the story to Pinterest, depending on how well you illustrate your blogs. You can pin some of the photos in your blog on Pinterest and add some fantastic captions. People who click through will be interested in knowing where the photos originated from, hence they will find their way to your blog.

Create boards related to your writing

If, for instance, you are a science fiction author, you can create a board with a science fiction theme. These boards will help you to attract like-minded people who can not only help you with your ideas but also help in the promotion of your works.

Personalize Pinterest

As an author, you are your own brand. Therefore any pins you make should be personal and they should introduce you to readers and make them want to know more about what you do and your works. Your pins should highlight things that you consider important in order to help you find people that share your interests.