As of this month, according to a rough estimate, about 157 million people in the U.S use Facebook. Nearly 15 million Facebook users in the U.S. are thirteen to seventeen years old. Facebook is only one small corner of the social media available over the Internet. Communication between readers and writers, as witnessed by the recent blog tour for Blue Thread, has advanced to a whole new level.
The mechanics of this sort of communication comes easy for some, but, I confess, not for me. So I turned to Whirlabout New Media.
Lucy Softich, one of the founders of WNM, describes the group’s services this way:
Social media allows authors to interact with readers in ways they never could before. However, with so many different types of social media out there, it can be hard to know where to start. Whirlabout New Media is committed to helping authors navigate the sites and communities that work best for them. Whether you’re published, self-published, or still looking for the right publisher, Whirlabout New Media can help you get in on the conversation and promote yourself as an author.
Lucy reads...and thinks.
So does Eliza.
Lucy and colleague Eliza Lane got me on the right footing with a blog, Facebook page for Blue Thread, Twitter, and an author link on Goodreads. I am not one of their star clients (seeing as I’d rather write my books rather than blog about them), but I am one of their most enthusiastic supporters. Lucy and Eliza can tell you more about WNM at Ooligan’s Write To Publish conference all day tomorrow (April 28, 2012). When you meet them in person or virtually, tell them I said “hi.”
My name is Ruth. I write books and articles for children and young adults. Blue Thread is my eleventh book, and the first one in which I have knowingly stretched the truth.