Reading List: Superhero Fiction

I’m prepping for this weekend’s class on Blogging and Social Networks and, as always, there’s lots of new stuff that I need to fold into my existing notes. Pinterest is a big one — it’s become a big deal since last time I taught the class and so I need to talk about it.

So what is Pinterest?
Pinterest describes itself as a virtual pinboard. You can think of it as a way to save links and organize them by image or you can think of it as a way to save and organize images. I like it because people often put together collections that are beautiful, disturbing, evocative, or worth reading.

What makes Pinterest interesting?
It’s interesting partially because it’s a new way of sorting information. Some of us think in images rather than text, and this may be more accessible for them.

It’s also interesting because it’s become identified as a woman-centric social network – or at least that’s something the media has focused on, to the point where a male friend stated definitively and somewhat defiantly, “I don’t know a single man who uses Pinterest, but every woman I know does.” (Reported figures seem to actually put women at 60-82% of the users). Women adopt new social media more readily than men, which may account for some of it, but the odd tone that some of the reporting takes on makes it a phenomenon worth taking a look at.

And it’s interesting because it’s growing FAST to the point where it’s the number 3 social network.

How can writers use Pinterest?
Well, an obvious one is a board that features their book covers. For example, Stephen Hunt’s Books Worth Reading (by me) displays 24 covers, including foreign language editions. It’s a nifty way of showing one’s output.

You might choose to create a gallery of fan art as both a way of gracefully acknowledging fans while driving recognition of the stories they illustrate.

Pinning research is an obvious thing. M.K. Hobson’s pinned reference images for her book, The Warlock’s Curse, and there’s plenty of interesting stuff to look at there.

Using it isn’t difficult, not is incorporating it into your website. There are plenty of WordPress plug-ins for Pinterest already; I use one to provide additional visual interest to my website.

Why might you want to avoid Pinterest?
Plenty of questions have arisen about Pinterest and copyright, although the company has been responsive to concerns and revised its terms of service as a result. While some avoid Pinterest for these reasons, some advocate embracing it, as Trey Ratcliff does in his essay, Why Photographers Should Stop Complaining about Copyright and Embrace Pinterest, pointing out that it drives website traffic.

Enjoy this essay on how writers can use Pinterest and want more content like it? Check out the classes Cat gives via the Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers, which offers both on-demand and live online writing classes for fantasy and science fiction writers from Cat and other authors, including Ann Leckie, Seanan McGuire, Fran Wilde and other talents! All classes include three free slots.

Prefer to opt for weekly interaction, advice, opportunities to ask questions, and access to the Chez Rambo Discord community and critique group? Check out Cat’s Patreon. Or sample her writing here.

One interesting way to spread your social media presence is to use video clips via YouTube. YouTube allows you to post and share videos, which most blogging platforms allow you to embed in your posts. Like any social media effort, this takes time. You should consider whether or not the benefits outweigh the amount of your valuable time (which should be used for writing primarily!) creating videos and using them for blogging via YouTube requires.

Benefits of blogging on YouTube for writers:

• adds visual interest to your website
• creates a channel to pull in potential readers
• allows you to rehearse readings
• maximizes those read-aloud revision passes

Adds visual interest to your website: Images are a plus for a website, breaking up blocks of text and making the page more enjoyable to your reader’s eyes. Embedded clips that she or he can click on are even more enjoyable, providing the benefits of an image while also allowing them to interact with the page by clicking on the player.

Creates a channel to pull in potential readers: When you create an account on YouTube, you are creating a channel for your videos. Other YouTube users can subscribe to your channel. When they mention your videos on their social networks (and surely the clever content you create will make them want to pass it along!), viewers drawn to your channel learn enough about you that (hopefully) they’ll want more, clicking through to your website or seeking out your work to buy.

Allows you to rehearse readings: Most of us don’t do much public performing, and we all know practice makes perfect. Recording yourself reading a piece, which is one of the simplest ways to create content (you could put the audio over still images if you’re shy of showing your face) and listening to the playback is a great way to learn your strengths and weaknesses and find things you should work on for public readings.

Maximizes those read-aloud revision passes: Reading pieces aloud is a vital part of my revision process, and one I urge on those capable of following suit. And if you’re going to be reading aloud anyway, why not get the most for your effort and record it as well?

Here’s a sample video that I did that promoted both Armageddon MUD and a story of mine:

That video is an early (and somewhat mortifying) effort, but it was also pretty easy to do. It was recorded using my computer’s webcam. Nowadays I’d add better editing and titling, at a minimum, but at the time it was cool, particularly since we were the only MUD I know of doing anything like that. Next week, I’ll talk about the basic mechanics of recording for video podcasts via YouTube and the tools you’ll need.