-Creating an Internet Presence-

By Kimberly Blackadar

If you googled my name a year and a half ago, you would have found some ancient race results from my old running days. But that’s about it! I mean, I didn’t even have a Facebook page until 2009. (Shocking, I know.)

Basically, I had zero internet presence and could have been placed on the “Most Unlikely to Succeed as an Author” list. All I had going for me was an unpublished manuscript and a desire to write.

Worse than that, I had kept my book a secret. So imagine my friends’ surprise when I not only got a Facebook page but started posting about my soon-to-be-released novel.
So—there are two very important lessons to learn here. For starters, don’t keep your writing a secret. Talk about it like you would a hobby—or even a job. Also, take advantage of online social networks and blogs. Here are some of my favorite sites:

• http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php (A facebook fan page is a great way for friends—and strangers—to connect with you, the author.)
• http://www.gather.com (Gather is great social network, full of published and aspiring authors.)
• http://www.wordpress.com (Wordpress is a great site. It’s free, easy to set up, and has many themes for your blog.)
Once your novel is published, try out these sites to promote your work:
• www.booktour.com (Enter your calendar of events on this site. It automatically links to your Amazon author page as well as other online calendar pages.)
• www.freebookfriday.com (With a staggering number of hits a day, this is a great publicity tool for authors. The site’s founder is an author herself.)
• www.debutauthorsblog.com (Of course, you’ll want to have your book featured on this site as well.)
Well, I hope you can learn from my mistakes and create an internet presence before you publish your debut novel. Trust me, it would be much easier that way.

This guest blog post is written by Kimberly Blackadar, author of Nothing but Trouble after Midnight. Follow the link to tomorrow’s blog post: http://inthesparrowsnest.com/ And if you missed yesterday’s post, follow this link: http://beverlystowemcclure.blogspot.com/