A few months ago I was contacted by Trish Collins at TLC Book Tours about reviewing the book Social Media Just For Writers by Frances Caballo. I received a copy of the book in exchange for writing a review here on the blog, and I'm so glad I signed up to participate in the tour! I ended up enjoying the book immensely and, most importantly, I found it very helpful.
As I've written on this blog before, most recently for December's Insecure Writer's Support Group meeting, participation in social media is not something that comes easily or naturally to me. I've always been an introverted and generally shy person, so while I've created social media accounts in order to increase my presence online, I haven't exactly been jumping up and down at the thought of posting on any of them.
But one of my goals for the past several months has been to become more comfortable using social media, so this book couldn't have come at a better time for me. Caballo includes chapters on all the main social media sites, with additional chapters on the two kingpins Facebook and Twitter, and presents useful tips and advice in an engaging and easy-to-read manner.
The most helpful part of the book to me was Caballo's discussions of the most helpful apps to use on all of the various sites. I was actually surprised to learn that LinkedIn has a "goodie bag" of applications as I've really never used that site enough to learn about its features. Of course, there were also lots of suggested apps for both Facebook and Twitter, and I am looking forward to trying them out.
I also appreciated the chapter on Pinterest, as that is a site I have been meaning to use more so I can see what all the fuss is about. Caballo discusses how Pinterest can be used with SEO as a tool to drive more traffic to writer websites and blogs, and I thought her ideas were interesting and definitely worth trying out.
Ultimately the whole book is about how writers can make the best use of the resources available online in order to market their books. Caballo also includes a chapter on offline promotion which provides ideas for more traditional marketing practices.
I think this book is a great resource for indie or self-published writers and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in increasing their online profile and utilizing all that social media has to offer.
You can learn more about Frances Caballo and her work here: website, Facebook page, LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, and Pinterest.
If it can help me with Twitter, that would be great! Still no idea what I am doing.
ReplyDeleteOoh that does sound like a very helpful book. Will be checking it out. :-)
ReplyDeleteI could use that information. I'm being guided by the Force with all social media.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book. I'm often overwhelmed by all the social media options. I've been picking and choosing what works for me right now but I'm open! :)
ReplyDelete@Alex, I have no clue what I'm doing either LOL.
ReplyDelete@Misha, I hope you like it!
@Al, LOL, I need the Force too.
@Madeline, I'm totally overwhelmed by all the options too. I seem to always be jumping back and forth trying to do all of them.
Thanks, Julie, for this review. @Alex: You will find the 2 chapters on Twitter in my book very helpful. Next week, I'll be posting a blog that updates information on some apps in that section. I actually tried and included information on 108 applications (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and for Twitter I noted my favorites. There's been a change, however. FollowFridayHelper no longer exists. Feel free to contact me with any questions you might have.
ReplyDelete@Frances, you're very welcome, and thanks for the additional info.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book- might have to check it out and see if it can help me in the crazy social media world. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteI need help with LinkedIn, so this sounds perfect for me.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a very helpful book. Thanks for sharing about it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info, Julie. It's incredibly how quickly things change. I have a dormant Twitter account.
ReplyDelete@Tonja: I encourage you to revive your Twitter account. My book is selling all over the U.S. and the U.K. and it's all because of Twitter. It's truly worth the time and effort. Confession: It's my favorite social media platform.
ReplyDeleteLOL. I still haven't figured out what I'm supposed to do with my Google + account.
ReplyDelete@Luanne: Be sure to go to your profile, click edit, and scroll down to "Contributor to." Then list your blog and social media sites. Then take a further step by adding an AuthorRank widget to your website. It's easier than it seems. (I'm not a website technie and I was able to do it.) Copyblogger wrote about AuthorRank today so check out the blog post. Combined, these steps will enhance your SEO. Aside from that, simply post daily on Google+ and allocate a few minutes a day to be social.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely sounds good! I will have to look at that. Considering I give talks on social media locally, I'm always looking to increase my knowledge on it.
ReplyDeleteShannon at The Warrior Muse
It sounds like a great and handy book, especially for those writers who are befuddled by social media (which is most of us, hehehe)
ReplyDeleteThanks! This book sounds very helpful. I've gotta be the world's worst tweeter, and still don't "get" why people I don't know want to be my "friend" on Facebook...
ReplyDelete@Rebecca, you're welcome! I hope you like the book if you decide to check it out.
ReplyDelete@Annalisa, I am terrible with LinkedIn, so we are in the same boat.
@Susanne, my pleasure!
@Tonja, if you decide to start using Twitter again let me know. I am still working out how to use it myself.
@Luanne, LOL, honestly Google+ is the one I'm most puzzled by. I can't see any point to it but I'm going to work on it.
@Frances, thanks for sharing these tips!
@Shannon, oh, that's awesome you give talks. I hope this helps you!
@Lynda, yeah, I've noticed that too, it seems like most of the writers I know have similar issues with it LOL.
@Susan, LOL LOL, I think I can give you a run for your money as far as the world's worst tweeter LOL. :D
I'm so glad you do use social media and that I get to interact with you. Pin is my last holdout. oh the time!
ReplyDelete@Julie, thank you! I'm so glad we get to interact as well. :)
ReplyDeleteYou are a lot more outgoing with social media than I am. I'm not even on Twitter. Great review, and the book sounds very helpful. Julie
ReplyDelete@Julie, thanks! LOL, I am trying with Twitter, but it sure doesn't come naturally LOL.
ReplyDelete@Susan @Julie: Guy Kawasaki (author of Enchantment) describes Twitter as a new platform. He's right in many respects. People are always sharing the latest news in a variety of industries: social media, writing (conferences, new books, etc.), PR, etc. So share what's new, promote your books, and help other authors promote their books too. I also like to say that Twitter is a social media channel that Miss Manners would love because people are very courteous. Twitter users thank each other for following and retweeting and they reply to some messages or give them a favorite status. It may seem daunting but once you start using it, I bet you'll love it.
ReplyDeleteI'm sort of afraid to use Pinterest ... I think I'll get addicted!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a part of the tour.
@heather, thanks for including me, it was fun! :)
ReplyDelete