In Which I Join LibraryThing and Shelfari, And My Head Explodes From Social Networking

[dr_pretentious]

My publisher's promotional guide is going to be very useful. When I have uninterrupted computer time but not enough free brain cells for writing, I work my way through the more mechanical of its suggestions. I don't need the full range of my abilities to create a username and password for yet another social networking site.

What I'm going to do with all these social networking sites once I've caught them is another question entirely. Fortunately, there's some lead time before the book comes out, so I have a chance to find my footing.

Are any of you on LibraryThing and/or Shelfari? Any suggestions for how to make the best use of them? For that matter, I've had an account on GoodReads for a couple of years, and haven't used it since about the second week I had it. With all these apparently obligatory forms of promotion, I must be the one using them. I absolutely cannot afford for a dozen or so networks to be using me.

The more strategic of the promo guide's suggestions will require more full engagement of my brain. Those will have to wait until the manuscript is delivered. Soon, soon! The manuscript is so close to done now. I will try not to think about how long it's taken me to get this far, or how much faster I could write before the kids were born, or any of that counterproductive stuff. Full speed ahead!

Comments

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

I just downloaded an app to my Droid that says it will scan bar codes and enter book data into LibraryThing for me. If that doesn't work, $15 seems like a totally reasonable investment in organization. And I can totally see how LibraryThing could be a good preparation for moving. Every time I've moved my books, even when it was just across the hall to another room, long-term library chaos has ensued.

[citabria]

Right -- we're now at the point when phones can do that stuff! (I'm a little behind the times.) Cool!

One of the other things I did while cataloging was put most of my books in numbered boxes, each with a separate list of the authors inside (never fear, I occasionally give them food and water) and room for more of those authors' books. While I started getting sloppy about keeping things updated about a year ago, I still feel like I'm capable of catching up.