How to Use Pinterest as an Author

Pinterest is one of those things that most people have … but very few people use.
Sure, you dink around on it for an average of ten hours a day and now you feel like you’re attached to your account at the waist (you laughed, you cried, you smiled … you don’t take that kind of relationship lightly). But does anyone actually have a reason for being on there?

Most would say no.

As an author, I say yes.

Let’s talk about that. (Look at me, getting all Rhett&Link-ish!)

Let me start with a small but important admission: I spent too much time on Pinterest.

Well, more accurately, I either don’t spend time on Pinterest at all or I spend two hours on it. There is no in-between.

We all admit that Pinterest is an addictive waste of time. However, as an author, you should really use the wide variety of resources Pinterest places at your fingertips.
So. Are you ready to reorganize your boards in a way that will change your waste of time to your inspiration?
If so, let’s begin!

First, what kind of boards do you need?

Before you can organize the actual boards, you need to figure out how you want them organized. What boards do you need? Well, every author is different, but here are the kinds of (writing-related) boards I made.

• Work-in-Progress Boards. In these boards, you’ll contain your inspiration for your works-in-progress. For example, my board for Caught in a Spell.

• Inspirational Boards. In which you’ll store things that might inspire future stories/characters/etc. Personally, I have a board for character inspiration, a board for setting inspiration, a board for quotes, and a board for writing prompts. I may create more down the road.

• How-To Boards. You may call yourself an expert, but here’s a little secret: there’s no such thing as an expert writer! Writing is not a craft you become an ‘expert’ at. You’re always learning. Therefore, I have my All About Writing board and my Character Development board. I also have a History board and an Old-Fashioned Fashions board. You might need a ‘weapons’ board or a ‘nursing’ board depending on what you’re writing about.

• Random Boards. Even the more specifically-writing pinners have random boards! I have one for words and one for names. Then there’s this one. No one really knows what it’s for … Okay, who am I kidding? I do. But you don’t … *mysteriousness*

I also have a lot of boards that aren’t writing-related and my blogging boards (so I can pin graphics and such), so remember it doesn’t have to be all work and no play. 😉

Second, create your boards

Now that you’ve decided which boards you want to create, go ahead and get them created! Don’t worry about filling them with a bunch of amazing pictures yet. Just get your board established.
You may need to rename some of your old boards or leave them up (I suggest making them private to get them out of the way) until you’re able to reboard all your old pins.

(I just created a board for Beyond Her Calling. For the rest of this post, I’ll be showing you bits of my board-filling process.)

Third, organize the pins you already have

Decide on the function of every board and then decide what kind of pins belong in it.
Delete every pin that you don’t absolutely need. Don’t worry if your boards are a little scant. Less is almost always more anyway. You’ll eventually fill them up.

Fourth, find some new pins

Unlike some, I don’t follow people because they have amazing pins. I follow people who I know … and that’s about it. (I’ll probably remedy this someday, but for now … nope.) So I actually have to search for pins I want.
This is a difficult process which I admit I haven’t quite mastered, but here are five tips for finding the images you want.

1. Don’t be too specific. You’re probably not going to find the perfect picture of your character or your character’s bedroom or your character’s dog. So don’t spend too much time searching for perfection. It’s a waste of your life.
2. Really think about what you want. Don’t browse meaninglessly. Figure out what you want and find it.
3. Don’t get distracted. This is basically #2 in other words, but please, please stop with the kittens already! Kittens are cute. Get over it.
4. Read this post by Cait @ PaperFury. It wasn’t extremely useful for me (I’m not the kind to be too worried about aesthetics as long as I’m inspired), but it does have good tips for finding pins.
5. Pinterest really wants to help. This isn’t a tip so much as a … okay, I guess it’s kind of a tip. But what I mean is …

See? Pinterest is begging to help you along. Use it!

Fifth, admire your board!

A well-made Pinterest board is a work of art. Maybe it’s not worth the time and effort to you; to me, it’s definitely useful. So sit back and admire it. But don’t spend too long admiring your boards … because as a writer, your first and foremost responsibility is to write!

Thanks for reading,
~Kellyn Roth

Do you have a Pinterest account? What do you use it for? What kind of boards do you have? Do you think you could utilize the incredible resource of Pinterest better? What do you think of my Pinterest boards and pins and such? Aren’t they amazing? 😉

Also, do you miss me? I admit I miss you! I am pretty proud of my accomplishments, though. I’m finished another draft of Ivy Introspective and am ready for beta-readers. If you’re interested, you can sign up here.