Is Myspace a good promotional tool for writers?
I wish I had more time in the day. If I did, I'd read more, learn to cook more meals, and perhaps make more friends on Myspace. But I don't have that much time, thus something gets cut. That thing is usually Myspace.
I find the site incredibly time-consuming and distracting. I like to hop on and hop off, but I guess you can't do that if you are using it for promotional purposes.
Some authors that I work with ask about Myspace and whether it is worth it. I really don't have an exact answer although I think most free, online platforms can be worth it if you have the time to devote. Especially an online platform that boasts as many members as Myspace.
This recent article from Mediabistro.com tries to gauge the effectiveness of Myspace. Shout out to Elisha, A.K.A E-Fierce, author of The Sista Hood, who was interviewed for the piece. (I met her on Myspace!)
I'd like to hear from those authors out there who are on Myspace. What has it done for you? Share!
posted by Felicia Pride @ 5:08 PM
7 Comments:
Felica,
Hi. I have a MySpace page and, yes, it is time consuming. But it's worth it in my opinion. Since I joined I've accumulated a few hundred friends, far less some authors who have thousands. Many of my MySpace buddies are fellow authors who I've been able to network with. I've also gotten some promo and reviews for my book by reviewers and freelance writers also on MySpace and been able to take advantage of other promo opportunites posted on the bulletin boards by other members. I've been contacted by MySpace friends who've told me they bought my book because they recognised my name and book cover as being one of their "cyber friends". I can also announce my booksignings and book news to all my friends who in turn may repost the announcement to all their friends and so forth and so on. The potential to get your book in front of a large number of people is mindboggling. So, for me, it's been worth it. Plus, it's free ; ).
Angela Henry
Author of the Kendra Clayton mystery series!
http://www.myspace.com/anghen
Now that's what i like to hear. A free promotional tool that's working for authors. Thanks, Angela!
Felicia, now you KNOW I've been working on this problem for the past year. If you want to be a beta tester, let me know. The site goes into beta in four weeks.
Hi Felicia,
Yes, myspace is time consuming, but I've met so many authors and people who love to read. Not sure how much it will help my booksales, but it definitely is helping to put the word out. Plus, it's free....gotta love that!!!
Peace, love & hairgrease,
Sybil Barkley-Staples
She'll Learn (ISBN 0970380380)
Candy for My Soul....coming soon
www.geocities.com/sb_staples
www.myspace.com/sybil_atlpen
I absolutely LOVE myspace! I'm an addict, I must admit. I even have 2 pages because the attention for the book, Neurotica: An honest examination into urban sexual relations, was being shared with my OUTspoken word poetry. Both have been doing well, and I constantly receive friend requests from friend's friends :) It's a great networking tool, but it's probably better if you get someone to manage your page for you so your audience doesn't see you as "too" common. Mystique is important :)
momowilly
Author of Neurotica: An honest examination into urban sexual relations (ISBN 1-4116-7677-7)
available at amazon.com!
www.momowilly.com
www.myspace.com/momowilly
www.myspace.com/momowilly2
I didn't want to set up a MySpace page but my web page was taking a while to get going. After three people pestered me to get a page set up, I decided to give it a shot. I mean it was free and all. I started knowing zip about HTML but was able to get myself up to speed enough to put out a MySpace page that works.
So far, I have secured several interviews, gotten some very good publicity advice from several writers/publicists, increased awareness of the magazine where i serve as contributing editor, interfaced with a number of people who tell me they have bought the book or plan to do so. Let's see, got connected with an upstart Speaker's Bureau (and made inroads with a few other folks in this area), reconnected with a number of people I lost touch with over the years, was able to score invites to some networking events that will help me in the future ... and the list goes on and on and on.
There are pluses and minuses to having a large vesus a smaller size - now that I'm coming close to 6,000,I do miss the fact a bit that I can't connect individually with everyone who is on my friends list. But I do reply to ever email and send
A few pointers - I found it helpful to give me the option to approve all comments. Every once in a while, someone sends me a totally vile or offensive comment that I'd rather not have posted on my site. (My book is satire so my definition of offensive is pretty loose but it's amazing what some people think is funny.)
Also, MySpace's search function is lousy. I found I had good results though going to google and typing in say "U2 MySpace" or the name of any author, band, etc. where I was trying to find people with like minded interests.
Also, I purchased a Friend Bot Adder, which I use very carefully to go through select sites where I'd be adding all these people manually anyway. Somewhere around 350 MySpace says I've hit my limit for the day - that's when I move on and do other things until the next day. It's like having a built in timer that tells me when to quit - great way to manage time here.
It is time consuming but I knew it was going to take me at least as much time to promote the book as it did for me to write this. So, I had budgeted the time here to get the word out.
The key for me (and why I listed my age as 96) is that I see this as a networking tool for my book and not a dating/personal site. The fact that I have made a few friends is a side benefit - hence, my blog focuses on topics related to the book and not my personal biz. That also keeps me focused here.
Another free resource is Amazon Connect. That page is even easier to set up and I found it really makes my Amazon.com listing stand out some.
Becky Garrison
www.beckygarrison.com (still under construction)
www.myspace.com/redandbluegod
Thanks for such a thorough response! Glad myspace is working for you.
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