A Drift of Quills for February 2016 - With Thoughts on BUBLISH!

This month we Quills are writing about social media. What is our favorite outlet and why? I'll go ahead and get started, then follow up with comments from Robin Lythgoe.

An author’s being active on social media is necessary these days. It is a way to get one’s name out and to help to build a following. But it takes precious time from the writer’s craft and we writers are often left wondering if it’s all worth it. Then, along came Bublish (at www.Bublish.com).  Without a doubt, I’ve come to love this tool.
 
These days, it is fairly easy to discover what readers think of works. They tell us, most notably, through their posted reviews. There are also outlets like Wattpad that give them the opportunity to comment on bits and pieces of an overall work and even to engage in discussions with the author. But Bublish is different because its focus is for an author to share with readers the back story behind her creations.
 
The concept of Bublish is that the author takes portions of her work and then shares them with readers, adding comments about those excerpts. The author might explain how those portions of the story came to be, or how real-life events brought the portions about or influenced them in some manner. For example, I’ve written “Book Bubbles” about such things as:
 
How I struggled with the idea of whether or not to include an introduction/preface to my tale: http://bit.ly/1YyN6Xb;
 
What words and concepts I used in the opening scene to create suspense: http://bit.ly/1HtGNzS
 
The significance of smell/scent (an oft-forgotten sense) in my stories: http://bit.ly/1HtJOAb;
 
How I research for information while writing: http://bit.ly/1HtX5sD; and
 
How I use “doorways” and similar devices to urge readers to continue reading: http://bit.ly/1Q5Pinn.
 
And take a look at the “look” of Bublish. It is quite handsome, don’t you agree?

Once a BookBubble is created and posted, the author may share it on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere. Then the magic of Bublish really begins, as the author can follow her metrics to discover how many views there have been of the Bubble and on what outlets, the number of times it was shared by email or re-posted on Twitter or Facebook, the number of viewers who checked out the author’s profile on Bublish or elsewhere, and so on. What’s more, the author can see what retailers those who saw a BookBubble went to so as to check out the work. But Bublish does not stop there. It also allows readers to “follow” the author so as to receive notice every time the author posts a new BookBubble, keeping the author’s name and works in the reader’s sights.
 
I would love for you to follow me on Bublish. Just click the “Follow on Bublish” button at https://www.bublish.com/author/view/6479 and join me for the background to my creating the Oathtaker journey!

So, what social media outlet(s) does Robin Lythgoe, author of As the Crow Flies, favor? Well, let's see now . . .

Oh, decisions! Decisions! There are so many outlets to choose from and so many reasons to choose them (or not)! It’s no surprise that they each accomplish different things, so if I wanted to be technical (I don’t. Lucky you.), I’d list which ones are my favorites for which purposes. But . . .

Find out more here.

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