Blogoversary; Damian Dibben Guest Post
Hey Guys!
Today I am really excited to welcome Damian Dibben, author of The History Keepers series, back onto the blog! If you’ve been with me for a while, you may know that Damian Dibben was actually the first author I met through blogging and I ended up spending the whole day with him during his offline book tour. Not to mention, of course, that his books are excellent and ones that I truly enjoyed! Today he has written a guest post for you all about social media and bloggers. Hope you enjoy it!
Social Media has Risen
BLOGGERS ARE BEST!
Even though kid’s and young adult books account for almost a quarter of all book sales, they manage only a fiftieth of space given over to reviews in national newspapers. A sad state of affairs. On top of this, many book reviewers are authors themselves (a peculiarity in the arts) which can lead to odd biases. Bloggers have redressed the balance brilliantly and given children’s authors the voice they deserve. They’re democratic, impartial, informed and most of all, truly passionate. And like kids themselves, they don’t stand on ceremony. That can be daunting, but always refreshing.
How else has the Internet changed the landscape of books? In my personal life, I was always on the fence about Facebook (though clearly dazzled by it as a phenomenon of our times). I somehow felt embarrassed at having the intimate information of others at my disposal, as if I was peeking into their houses at night. As a writer though, I love it. Timeline has become an invaluable tool, allowing everything to be collated and documented, photos, films, links, uploaded in a click and magically sorted in the most engaging and simple way. (I always remember Steve Jobs talking about calligraphy, the inspiration he got from simple type on page). Twitter is another thing: I am on it, but don’t quite have a handle yet. I feel like a twelve year old at a grown up party, not quite sure what to say – or who will listen. Though of course, keeping within 140 characters is a brilliant discipline for any writer.
Has success in social media become as important as writing a good book? Writing an engrossing, exciting, original story must be the first and greatest priority – but thank god for social media – and double thanks for bloggers – for starting debates and getting good books out there when they come along!
What an interesting guest post! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us Damian! Do you agree with Facebook as being invaluable with its timeline? Do you have any advice for Damian on how to approach twitter and fit in comfortably? And do YOU think social media is as important as writing a good book?
Clue!
