I always say I’m a reader first, author second. It’s true! And as a reader, I love anything that connects me to books, especially social media. I know not everyone loves social media (there are times I certainly don’t!), but the one feed you have most control over what you see is Pinterest!

If you’ve never used it before, Pinterest is essentially that part of your desk where you’ve tucked all those articles you clipped from magazines over the years, plus all of your cookbooks, recipe clippings, notes and lists, pics of haircuts to show your stylist, the home decor and craft pamphlets you snagged at Hobby Lobby that you might get around to someday, plus the whole of the internet all rolled into one site. Only it’s VIRTUAL so you can organize it the way you see fit and no one will judge your clutter or care if you saved an entire stash of cat memes. LOL!

I’ve been pinning since Pinterest came online (2010). Long before I became an author, I was a stay at home mom with three small kids, and the internet was booming with amazing ideas for keeping them busy, recipe blogs, crafts I wanted to try, home decor ideas, and more. Pinterest kept my interests organized without overwhelming me. By then, I was also a professional crafter with an Etsy shop, and I could pin pics of my work/listings, showcase what I could do for custom orders, etc. Naturally, when I became an author, I put it to work for me there as well.

I’ve recently discovered even more ways to use it as both an author and a reader, but I also asked around to find out what other authors AND readers have to say about using this handy tool!

Many authors (myself included) use it for:

• Keeping all of their inspiration and research for a particular book organized
• Saving those wonderful reviews and interviews from book bloggers for a boost on the self-doubting days
• Storing links to websites we’ve found helpful, classes we want to take, and other learning resources
• Stashing things we might want to use for future books into secret boards
• Sharing a behind-the-scenes look into our writing with our beloved readers
• Pinning all the other things everyone else does from recipes to workouts to haircuts and more, allowing our readers to know who we are as humans and not just as writers of kissing books

Here’s a short list of ideas from other readers polled from the Avid Readers of Christian Fiction group on Facebook:

• Boards for organizing their TBR virtually—read vs to-read
• Pinning blogger reviews to read later when deciding on a book in the TBR pile
• Sub-categorizing boards by author and then pinning all that author’s books
• Saving bookish products/ideas as a virtual wish list
• Pinning reading memes to laugh at later (these are my people!)
• Enjoying some safe, light stalking of their favorite authors
• Following other readers and authors to find new books, then building that TBR into infinity

What do you think about Pinterest? Have you used it for any of the things I mentioned? Do you have any new ways not yet noted? I would LOVE to hear from you in the comments! You can also follow me at https://www.pinterest.com/weaversgrrrl/. And if you keep scrolling, I’m including a handy dandy list from several of our Inspy Romance authors who pin! I also have to give a shout out to one of my favorite authors to follow on Pinterest, Becky Wade. She and Katie Ganshert get into some hilarious who-did-it-best Pinterest wars with their crafting skills!

Now for those IR author profiles (not everyone sent me theirs, so you can check our AUTHORS tab for more):

You can find me and all of my craziness at https://pinterest.com/weaversgrrrl

Valerie Comer: pinterest.com/valeriecomer/

Toni Shiloh: Pinterest.com/tonishiloh

Amy Anguish: pinterest.com/msguish/

Jan Thompson: http://janthompson.com/pinterest

Milla Holt: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/millaholtauthor

Janine Rosche: Pinterest.com/janinerosche

Teresa Tysinger: pinterest.com/teresatysinger/

Janet W. Ferguson: pinterest.com/janetwferguson/

Valerie M. Bodden: pinterest.com/valbodden/

Narelle Atkins: pinterest.com.au/narelleatkins/

Liwen Y. Ho: pinterest.com/authorliwenho

Until next time, happy pinning! Be blessed!