Social Media

Friends and Readers of Beth Fish Reads

Blogs

• Beth Fish Reads: I read all comments and try to respond to all direct questions. When I do respond, I will reply in the comments to the post, in an email, or on your blog, depending on the circumstances. If you leave a comment on Beth Fish Reads, I will visit your blog, not necessarily immediately, but I will visit.
• Commenting policy: I read many more blogs than I comment on. When I am strapped for time, I read but don't comment; when I have the time, I like to comment, even if just to let you know I was there. I try to get to everyone in my blog reader at least every 10 days.

E-Mail: Reach me at BFish.Reads [@] gmail.com I have a full-time job, which limits the amount of time I can spend on e-mail. I answer all personal e-mail if an answer is required. I answer pitches if I am interested in the book. I do not answer pitches for books that do not interest me. If I don't respond to your e-mailed pitch, feel free to try again when you have another title for review. I do not intend to be rude, but I get about 800 e-mail messages a day from clients, mailing lists, publicists, and friends and family.

Facebook: I have a Facebook account as Beth Fish. I look at my wall a few times a week. I am not active on Facebook and have an account only so I can participate in promotional events with publishers. If you send me a friend request, I will friend you back (eventually).

Twitter: I am very active on Twitter as @BethFishReads. I used to automatically follow back every legitimate tweeter. Now I find I can't read every Twitter notification (more e-mail; see above), check out the profile, and then follow back. My current policy is this: If you send me an @reply or mention me in a tweet and you are a book lover, industry professional, publishing company, bookstore, book blogger, writer, author, foodie, or just someone I might like to know, I will follow you back.

Ning Sites: I have accounts at several ning sites under Beth Fish Reads. I rarely sign on to those sites anymore; when I do, I check out any friend requests and accept. I rarely answer e-mail sent from ning sites.

GoodReads, Library Thing: I have accounts on GoodReads (Beth Fish) and Library Thing (BFish). I used to keep up with Library Thing, but now I update only sporadically. I'm not sure I have any books listed on GoodReads, but I intend to import from LT one of these days. If you send me a friend invitation for these sites, I will accept!

FictFact I'm BethFishReads on FictFact and I'm happy to follow you there. I haven't added all my series to the site yet, but hope to over the summer of 2011.

Lunch I have a page on Lunch.com as Beth Fish Reads that I rarely update. But if you're curious you can check me out there.

Tumblr I am Beth Fish Reads on Tumblr and my blog there is called Beth Fish Reads Even More. I hope to post some fun photos and maybe talk about my lacemaking over there. So far I have very few posts.

Click for more

Publishing and Twitter: A Good Mix?

If you're one of the many book bloggers on Twitter, you know that there is more to it than just announcing your every action. There are literary chats, debates about the worth of book reviews, discussions about books and authors, and Twitter-based book clubs. Twitter provides a means of connecting with authors, book publicists, and publishing companies.

But here's something even experienced Tweeps might not be aware of: John Baird, an author from Seattle, is experimenting with writing a novel on Twitter. Every day, he presents his novel in a series of tweets. The Man Who Does Not Exist is also on John's blog, where you'll find posts that take you through the novel from the beginning to the latest tweet.

I read through the first chapter of the novel, which establishes the setting and introduces us to one character. There is enough mystery to make the reader want to know more. Basically, we are in the wilderness, following a man who seems to have been on his own for a long time. We don't know why he's there and how he got there. All we know is that he has or keeps a journal, he reads Wordsworth, and he suffers from some kind of fits. Although the text could use the firm hand of a good editor, the core of the chapter has potential and serves well as the introduction to a novel.

You can read the story in daily tweets by following @johnmbaird, and you catch up with the action by visiting John's blog.

Let's Discuss

John is involved in an innovative experiment of using the new(ish) social media as a publishing tool. Although I find it a bit a difficult to keep up with the story (Twitter goes down, I fail to pay attention, I'm involved in another conversation, I'm off the computer for a while), and I often forget or don't have time to read the installments, the project got me thinking: Is this a trend? Are there other authors self-publishing in 140 or less?

More important: What do you think? Will Twitter become a source of new talent for publishers and acquisition editors? Does John's experiment sound intriguing? Is he on to something or is it just too difficult to read a story in tweets? Would you consider reading or writing a novel on Twitter? I'd love to hear your honest opinions.

Click for more