Writing and Publishing Information and Advice

The IndieReCon online conference I mention two posts ago was an inspiring and information-filled three days. I couldn't keep up with all the great advice and videos and I've still one or two to access today. Some are more relevant to different authors but all have nuggets of practical advice that I'm aiming to put into action at some point.

I've also mentioned Pinterest before and Jay Artale's video on this was excellent. I hadn't realised just how much it's taken off for authors and it's one of the fastest growing sites. I still love the visual aspect of it. You can read Jay's presentation here.

Another very useful session was with multi-million selling American authors Bella Andre and Barbara Freethy - I've heard them before but listened to their fascinating discussion about being two of the most successful self-published authors and their tips on moving forward.

Have a look at the whole programme if you're interested in any of the other sessions - they're going to remain accessible for a while yet.

Rosemary

Pinterest

It's a while since I mentioned Pinterest on the blog (I think!) so I thought I'd update my thoughts on using this platform. Unlike many other social media sites, Pinterest is mainly visual - and that's what appeals to me as I love looking at images, whether that's photos, film or TV. Although I have several boards, I could easily spend even longer on the site at times as it's so interesting.

Evidently, it's now becoming the third most popular site with authors, after Facebook and Twitter. It's a simple idea: once you've signed up, you create boards of images - as many as you like. These can be anything at all you have an interest in from writing and food to history, and everything in between. The idea is to follow other boards and hope that people follow you. Whenever you pin an image to your boards, it's shared on the main entry page where everyone logs in. You can also share your images to Facebook if you wish.

You can either upload your own images to your boards or re-pin from other boards, which is kind of the idea behind Pinterest. The most useful idea for authors is to create a board for each of your novels, using images that have something to do with the setting, theme or characters, or anything else you can think of. It's also excellent for creating a mood board for a work in progress as images are often the best inspiration. You can find my boards here, if you want to see what I mean.

Let me know if you're already on Pinterest and we can follow each other!

Rosemary

Pinterest

It must be over a year since I last mentioned Pinterest and social media has moved on as always. I tentatively joined at first, unsure if it would be just another time waster. In the past few months, however, I've been really enjoying it and hope to use it even more.

If you're a visual person, like me, you probably like looking at pictures and images, many of which can be hugely inspirational for writing ideas. I wasn't using the boards properly but I've now started a new one for each of my novels and pin anything relevant to that story on the appropriate board. I also have a board for Inspiration; Victoriana; Regency; Scottish Scenery; Scottish Historic Sites; Writing.

It's great fun, although I tend to limit my time on it at the moment and I keep learning about new ways to use Pinterest. One of my daughter's good suggestions was to begin a board for the Victorian crime novel I've yet to finish and fill it with pictures that might inspire ideas - photos of the area and any items from the period. This can be kept hidden if I don't want to share it for now. 

The idea is to follow other people's boards and for people to follow yours, then you'll see a good variety of images when you log in and you can re-pin any of them to your own boards. You can also search for subjects and re-pin anything that catches your eye.

There's a good overview of the reasons why we should use Pinterest in this blog post on Word Serve Water Cooler, if you're thinking about trying it!

If anyone wants to check out my boards, you can find me here (they're still a work in progress!): 

Enjoy if you join and don't forget to follow me so I can follow back.
Rosemary

Picnics, Photos and Pinterest

We had a lovely day out at the weekend with our daughter - a picnic to one of my favourite hidden places, Inchmahome Priory. With historical connections back to the 1200s, and a visit from Mary Queen of Scots in the 16th century, the island on which the ruined priory stands is a peaceful little haven from everyday life. Although busier with families on these hot summer days, once setting foot on the daisy-carpeted island the calmness descends and the children's voices become lost in the sound of birdsong.

I always feel the strange peace beginning on the very short journey across to the island, on the little boat that takes only 12 passengers, and a sense of leaving real life behind. It's a place that needs to be experienced to appreciate its atmosphere. For a writer of fact and fiction, it's a haven for creativity. Apart from the ruins, the unusual tree formations, wild flowers, hidden paths and surrounding water offer much scope for imagination. One little girl was looking for fairies, and I've already started a fairy story!

The only intact part of the priory is the small Chapter House, and I was lucky enough to sit within its coolness quite alone - apart from the stone effigies lying beneath the window in eternal rest. It wasn't difficult to imagine the Augustinian canons sitting around the room discussing the business of the day. I'm posting only a few of the many photos I took, just to give a flavour of the place.

I don't know if anyone has looked at the next new social media 'time waster' - Pinterest. Quite a lot of the authors from one of my publishers have been joining up, so I jumped in and created a few boards. This is a completely visual idea, where we can create as many boards as we like for different subjects onto which we 'pin' pictures. I'm not even going to try and explain it yet as I'm still learning and I want to read the copyright clause! One of these days, we'll have online overload.

Rosemary