To Pin Or Not To Pin... (A Love Story About Pinterest)
[box type="note"]FYI: I’m actually in the middle of a self-imposed internet break so I can finish THRONE OF GLASS Book 2, so if I am slow to respond to comments, please know that I WILL be responding to them as soon as I can![/box]
So, about a month ago, I was video chatting with Sooz, and we were talking about our books and publishing and social media (big surprise), and we somehow got to discussing Pinterest. I pretty much live under a rock, so I wound up confessing that I had ZERO idea how Pinterest even works, or why I should even bother joining. So Sooz, being the awesome person that she is, explained it to me like this:
It’s essentially an online inspiration board, where you can “pin” images from around the internet onto your various boards. If you’re a writer, it’s a great way to create virtual storyboards for your various novels.
...About three minutes later, I made an account.
Honestly, I was shocked I’d waited so long to join, because I’d essentially been doing the same exact thing—in private—for YEARS. I have folder upon folder on my desktop, full of images that relate to my stories and characters. The “Pictures” folder within my THRONE OF GLASS file contains FIFTY THREE (53!!) sub-folders, ranging from “Maps” to “Battle Scenes” to “Kissing” to “Furniture.” (Not even kidding.)
So, once I joined Pinterest, I began by swearing I’d only create ONE board for Throne of Glass.
Of course, by the end of the day, I’d made boards for several of my other manuscripts, as well as boards for all my home decorating AND dream home ideas. And then a board for my Epic Womance with Sooz (another awesome part of Pinterest: you can have communal boards). And then a board for quotes that I like. And then I just kept on pinning and pinning.
If there’s one drawback to the site, one con to the endless pros, it’s that: the pinning. You can get sucked into doing it for HOURS. Hours that you could spend working on your books, or having a life, or doing essential things like eating and sleeping (that first day, I spent NINE uninterrupted hours on the website).
But really, the addictive aspect of Pinterest is the only negative (though This Article mentions some things you should consider). And before you write it off as another Social Media Timesuck, let me point out a few reasons why every writer should consider joining Pinterest (though you certainly don’t NEED to).
It’s fun. Yep. That’s my #1 reason.
It is a GREAT way for your readers to see how you imagine your world and your characters. It can bring your book to life in a way that people don’t usually get to see/experience (unless they’re made into movies).
It is also a GREAT way to connect with your readers. You can “like” pins and comment on them (and repin the images/videos that you like), and there’s a really lovely community feel to the site. I’ve had fans of Throne of Glass pinning stuff that reminds them of the book/characters—and it’s just immensely fun for ME to see how they imagine the book.
It is a fabulous way to keep track of your various (visual) sources of inspiration. Plus, you can view them all on one glorious board, rather than clicking through file after file on your computer (which is what I did for years).
It’s an amazing way to glean inspiration for OTHER stories. I had to start up a “Story Kernels” board just to keep track of all the images I found that ignited a little spark in my imagination.
There’s all of this talk about how Pinterest is one of the fastest-growing social networking sites and how much traffic you can generate for your website/blog/etc. But I could spend a whole post talking about that, so I’ll instead just link again to This Article that talks about 13 Things Writers Should Know About Pinterest.
Do you need me to keep going? Because I totally could list even MORE reasons why you should join (great way to pass the time when you're bored/waiting/avoiding the awkward person next to you, great way to cry over impossibly amazing dream homes, great way to realize there are far too many incredible places in the world for you to see in one lifetime, etc.). And in case you STILL don’t believe how cool it is, check out these boards for some of the books by my fellow PC authors:
Leigh Bardugo: Shadow & Bone (Leigh actually has a BUNCH of amazing boards for her books, so I’m just going to link to her main Pinterest page!)
Sarah J. Maas (me!): Throne of Glass
And here’s a list of the other Pub Crawl ladies who have Pinterest accounts (because Pinterest is ALSO awesome just for getting a sense of what someone is like):
And, of course, you can find PC's own Pinterest page here.
Happy Pinning, everyone!