Around the Internet
Rachelle Gardner educates authors about Book Piracy...and what you can do about it.
In keeping with writerly concerns, Rachelle also explains how Amazon's new Kindle lending library impacts authors.
Write It Sideways challenges you: Can you really call yourself a Writer?
Finally, for the bloggers among you, ProBlogger offers this post on 10 Writing Mistakes That Will Guarantee Your Blog's Failure (and probably any other writing you do, too--they're good tips).
Google+ for Writerly Networking?
So I'm curious about whether you use Google + and what you think of it as a writerly networking tool?
Here's what my experience has been like: I got an early Google+ invite and created a circle I called Writerly Folks. Then I put myself out there as a writer and added other writers and waited to see what would happen.
Well, I've reached the point where people all over the world are adding me to their circles, often ten or twelve (or more) a day. I add them all to my Writerly Folks circle and then post writerly sorts of posts in that stream from time to time. I do get some +1s and comments, but I'm not sure overall if it's any more effective than Facebook. I also have no way of knowing whether most of these folks are in fact writerly folks.
So I'm quite curious about others' experiences. Please feel free to share in the comments!
Carolyn Kaufman, PsyD's book, THE WRITER'S GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGY: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment, and Human Behavior helps writers avoid common misconceptions and inaccuracies and "get the psych right" in their stories. You can learn more about The Writer's Guide to Psychology, check out Dr. K's blog on Psychology Today, or follow her on Facebook or Google+! 
4 comments:
Very good question, Carolyn! I've done the same as you (i.e. created a writers' circle), but I have no idea whether it "works" - perhaps it's too soon to tell.
People keep adding themselves (including painters because in addition to writing I also paint - of course that's another circle) and one positive thing at least: I come across interesting people. And hope I keep them interested in me with an occasional interesting Google +'d link to something worthwhile, but who knows...Some comment, most don't.
Is it more effective than Facebook? No idea. All I can say is that it's easier to use, since it's linked to my gmail and I see it anytime without even bothering to enter it as it were...
Will ease of use be the winning card between the two media? Some people complain that they can't set up a page on Google+ that looks like the one they've got on Facebook. What is your take?
I've also had a similar experience. But I have had good discussions with people by posting questions and including the tag (Open to all writers) before it.
Example:
(Open to all writers)How do you handle editing during NaNoWriMo?
This typically gets a big response.
I've also posted on strangers' posts that have similar tags, or just seem to be directed to writers at large. I gave a few query suggestions to a woman who asked, "What do you think?" and posted her query, and we ended up in a discussion where I shared advice I'd learned in a couple of online classes.
I find the two platforms have very different audiences. FB has my friends, only a few of whom are writers, while G+ has mostly writers, only a few of whom I know in person. So, I use them for different purposes - I connect with friends FB, and I use G+ to talk to other writers.
I left G+. Oh, I had high hopes. I liked being able to choose who to send your message to.
But I was being circled every day by dozens of men in foreign lands and self-published shills. Many people started posting self-serving things. It got to be a tremendous chore wading through a lot of slop.
I'm sticking with two blogs, a Facebook account for close friends, and Twitter. That's enough to keep up with.
Oh there's a few here I didn't know about--thanks for the links!
Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse
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