Saturday, August 15, 2009

Will You Be My Friend?

Hell.

I know that must be a photo of Hell because I just joined Facebook. My friend Marion, a writer and one of a few people I trusted to review an early draft of WHTTWOT, convinced me that Facebook is where all the really cool bestselling authors hang out and that I was a fool--A FOOL!--not to be one of them.

I harumphed loudly, but didn't really need a ton of convincing. One of the frustrations of writing any book is just getting it in front of the people you know would appreciate it, letting them know it exists. That was true of Mom's Cancer as well as WHTTWOT. And one of the strengths of Facebook, as I understand it, is linking people who have the same interests and like the same things. In short, networking.

So right now I'm figuring this thing out--how the Facebook features work (I don't find the controls very intuitive), what all it can do. I've taken it for a test spin and linked to a couple of my favorite reviews. I even have a few friends--not all of them relatives!

If you'd like to be my friend, my personal Facebook page is here. Even better, if you wouldn't mind helping spread the word about my book, I'd sure appreciate it if you'd become a Fan of WHTTWOT. Thanks!

(A funny thing I noticed: Facebook allows users to set up Fan Pages for movies, TV shows, bands, businesses, games, sports teams, actors, athletes, comedians, critics, and pharmaceuticals. It seems you can be a fan of just about anything on Facebook . . . except books. I had to list WHTTWOT as a generic "product." I mean, are books already such obscure antiquities they don't even rate a category?)

Sigh. The things a guy's got to do these days . . .
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4 comments:

Markus said...

Hhmm.. Im one of the few persons who still dont have a Facebook account as of the moment. I wonder what would make me change my mind! :D

Anonymous said...

Just became a fan *and* sent you a Friend Request, Brian. Welcome to Facebook -- which, if you think of it, I guess is another part of the World of Tomorrow! (One that they didn't even imagine at the 1939 World's Fair.)

nancy g.

Anonymous said...

http://tinyurl.com/c83ulq

Facebook plans to sell your personal info to marketers to "enhance their revenue stream"

Brian Fies said...

Markus, never bow to peer pressure.

Nancy, thanks for coming aboard! Look at us, living in The Future! WOOOO!

Anonymous: I'm O.K. with that.