Hi. This is Christen from Litfuse Publicity Group. By day, I’m the Nester – keeping the Litfuse Nest in order. By night, I’m like you, an aspiring author. One of my favorite things about starting a new WIP is finding pictures of my characters and settings. I spend hours pouring over magazines trying to find the perfect look for the characters in my head. Currently, I have a file cabinet full of characters sitting in my garage – taking up space.

Enter Pinterest. It is my new filing cabinet, per say, for characters (and settings and costuming and etcetera etcetera etcetera).

What is Pinterest? I am so glad you asked! Get ready for mind-blowing awesomeness…

According to the Pinterest website it is a Virtual Pinboard. Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes. Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

As a writer I love it because I can create a “pin board” or scrapbook for each book or character. The world wide web is my “magazine”. I’ve downloaded the “pin it” button so I can pull pins from virtually anywhere and create visual boards I can access anywhere, at anytime. Gone are the days of me lugging around a large notebook filled with photos and research – ok most likely not, but still the option is there.

Why jump on the Pinterest bandwagon? I know, I can already hear you groaning. Pinning to an online board condenses your ideas into one spot. Plus, you might just develop a new obsession hobby (beware, hours of your life may disappear – don’t say I didn’t warn you). But, more importantly join Pinterest because it’s one more way to create a new level of excitement in your readers. Invite them to follow along and “see” your work in progress. Host a contest and allow fans and readers to “choose” what a particular character looks like or decide a setting for your WIP. You may also gain new readers and fans because of the extreme viral-ness of Pinterest. Since your pins will be public, anyone will be able to view your pin boards – easy (and free) marketing!

So go dive into the endless pool of possibilities that is Pinterest. I’ll meet you there.

What about you? Have you gotten obsessed with pinning yet?

*NEW* Inquire about our specially priced My Book Therapy marketing and publicity packages., by emailing amy@litfusegroup.com today!

Litfuse is a firm that provides a wide variety of services for authors, ranging from blog tours, media PR, social media, campaigns, Facebook parties, interactive websites, blog development, personal assistants, event planning, marketing, and more. Learn more at www.LitfuseGroup.com.

NOTE:  Read MBT info about the Pintrist Copyright Pinterest and Copyright Issues