Giving Readers Novel-Boards on Pinterest

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By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

I adore Pinterest!

There's just something about seeing pictures that pulls me in. And that's really what Pinterest is all about. Pictures.

Think of Pinterest as a giant, unending virtual pin board. There are pins (pictures) of everything you could ever imagine. If you ever need help with wedding planning ideas, you'll find more than enough pins. And if you're bored (ha-ha!) and need ideas for how to make good use of mason canning jars, well, there are even pins for that.

As a writer, I love being able to have online pin boards of things that relate to me as an author. I've tried to shy away from making Pinterest an eclectic mixture of my personal tastes. And have chosen to focus instead on the things that define ME as an AUTHOR.

Therefore, if you browse my boards, you'll see that I have boards about reading, writing, inspiration, creativity, dream writing spaces, and even fabulous bookshelves.

As a mother of five, I also have several boards that relate to reading with my kids as well as teaching children to write.

I have boards dedicated to coffee and chocolate which everyone knows is the most important fuel of the writerly life. *wink*

I have a board displaying pictures of my readers (so make sure to send me YOUR picture!). And I have a board for romance (since that relates to the types of novels I write).

And finally, I have boards for each of the novels I've written.

Here's where I stop and preach to my fellow writers for just a minute. Pinterest is NOT a place to spam our books to our followers. Just like any other social media, our followers will gag if all we do is promote our books (and after gagging, they'll promptly unfollow us).

However, I don't think having novel-boards on Pinterest is spam. In fact, I think novel-boards are actually one of the coolest things EVER.

What are novel-boards?

Basically, they're boards that summarize the characters and events in a novel via pictures and snippets below each picture. (I also make sure to put the book blurb at the top of the board and make it clear that the board is a novel-board by using the word Novel in the title of the board.)

Novel boards are a great way to tease readers before they read the book. For example, I have a board of pins put together for my upcoming release, A Noble Groom. I use the pictures to briefly tell the sequence of the story and give the readers some ideas of what takes place in the book.

The pins are hopefully a way to intrigue a would-be reader, to get them interested, even excited about the story.

But the novel boards can also be a place readers can go after finishing the book. Often if a book really resonates with a reader, they'll search out the author's website and want to learn a little bit more about the author and book.

If you'll notice a section of each of my Pinterest novel-boards is on my Reader Page. From there, readers can easily click on the link and delve further into each book via the historical photos, character likenesses, and extra resources.

Of course my novel boards aren't perfect. It's not always easy to find pins to match the story. And it's also challenging to get them in story order (since Pinterest still doesn't allow you to re-position pins on individual boards once you've pinned them).

But I'm also learning that with each book I write (while I'm in first draft mode), to bookmark pictures and even pin some onto one of my Secret Boards, so that I have them closer to the book release when I begin putting the board together.

So, dear readers, I encourage you to take a look at my A Noble Groom board. Let me know what you think! Does looking at the pictures spark your attention in the story? And what do you think of this fabulous pin developed by my publisher? Isn't it fun!?!

What do YOU think of Pinterest? Are you using it, and if so what do you like best about it? Do pictures speak louder than a thousand words for you?