Social Media
So here’s the thing. I love social media. LOVE IT. As in, I seriously need a twelve-step program. But I also have to make myself, you know, write books. So sometimes I disappear. I try not to, but it happens. The more you don’t see me on social media, the more I’m writing (or traveling, which leads to writing).
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Want to find me online? Here’s the run-down.
Twitter. Undeniably my drug of choice. I use that to share or retweet blog posts I like or, less often, chat and just hang out. I read a lot more than I tweet though. I don’t follow back, or send thank you’s for retweets, because I’d be doing that instead of reading or writing. But I keep lists and I try to stay on top of them. I do try to answer when people @ me. And I love, love, love the chitchat and opinions.
Pinterest. How much do I adore Pinterest? SOOOO much! I use it for inspiration all the time, and to collect things that I find beautiful or moving: book quotes, images for the Heirs of Watson Island series and future projects, writing inspiration, things about favorite books and films, random thoughts, and just plain gorgeous images. I’m all about the eye candy.
Tumblr. I confess this is a lot of what I also have on Pinterest, but I love how it all jumbles together into a mind map of my brain and the things I find fascinating.
Facebook. This is mostly a bunch of giveaway posts and various things from Adventures in YA Publishing, but I’m trying to be better about posting things on there to make it interesting. Work in progress.
Goodreads. I <3 Goodreads. I try (and fail) to put most of the books I read on there, but here’s my basic philosophy: If I finish a book, I give it 5 stars. Why? Because I know how agonizingly HARD it is to write a book. Also because when I read these days, I actively look for things that the author did well so that I can learn, which might make me a little prejudiced. I try to friend everyone who friends me, and I do scan my feed. I’d spend tons more time on Goodreads if I could.
AdventuresInYAPublishing.com. This is the blog I started with a friend when I first started to think about writing YA. It’s where I learned to write YA, and where I collected, curated, and wrestled with the information I found about writing, querying, and the publishing process. It’s where I’m still learning from my new blog partners and from great guest authors and the books that I read, many, many, many of which we give away. And the guest authors give away tons of books. And publishers give away tons of books. Did I mention there are giveaways? Oh, and if you’re a writer, or think you might possibly want to write someday, Writer’s Digest was kind enough to make it a 101 Best Websites for Writers site. Which is kind of amazing and wonderful.
AdventuresInYAContests. I’m beyond excited to be a small part of this site, where Lisa Gail Green, Jan Lewis, and I are lucky enough to bring together bloggers, authors, and literary agents who provide actual standardized feedback to the contestants to help them hone the pitches and first pages of their middle grade, young adult, and new adult novels. It’s an incredible opportunity for writers, and we’ve had MANY contestants get picked up for representation as part of the process. Keep an eye out for announcements. We try to do a contest at least twice a year.
First Five Pages Workshop. This is another blog that flat out makes me happy. I started the workshop years ago with Lisa Gail Green. At first it was just the two of us doing it all, and then we added published guest mentors. Recently, we’ve expanded to have a whole slew of authors as permanent mentors along with a new, featured guest mentor every month. That means that each workshop participant gets feedback from at least three authors on the first five pages of their manuscript, not just for an initial entry, but also for two subsequent revisions. It’s the kind of opportunity I wish I’d had when I was learning how to start a story (Um, actually, I STILL wish I could participate as a participant!) and I highly recommend it for any writer serious about getting published. Does it work? We’ve got many success stories of participants getting picked up for representation and publication, and both the literary agents who selected the winners of our most recent Pitch Plus One contest chose past workshop participants for the top two slots. So, yes; it really works. (Yay!)
YASeriesInsiders.com. This is my fangirl site on Tumblr. I founded this with a group of other series authors: Jennifer L. Armentrout, Nina Berry, Anne Blankman, Tracy Clark, Bree Despain, Claudia Gray, S.E.Green, and Kimberley Griffiths Little. But we’re unabashedly all about other people’s series–the ones we’ve loved for years and the new ones coming out. We share stuff we find, of course, but we also get other authors to share secrets and quotes from their series. Lots of secrets and quotes. And some great giveaways too.
Why are there only 24 hours in a day?
