Author biography boxes are an incredible way to promote blog contributors and their credentials, and to separate posts. WordPress plugins allow bloggers to easily add these items to any hosted blog.

Well, it should be easy. I ran into a few things while trying to do this over the weekend, and ended up losing an entire morning successfully setting this up. Hopefully this post will save you time and headaches when you decide to add author biography boxes to your WordPress posts.

Wordpress Icon Design by AODdesign!

This weekend, I decided it was time to add author biography boxes to posts at Authors & Appetizers.

At this blog, myself and a handful of other people post book reviews, news items, tips and recipes. Even though each post has a small byline at the top, I didn’t feel like that was enough to truly separate the author posts. Plus, I figured it would take about 20 minutes max to find just the right WordPress plugin, activate it and make the posts sing.

It actually took more than four hours.

After Googling several articles using the term “author bio box,” I found a terrific post by Lorelle VanFossen, who offers great advice on WordPress. In Managing Multiple Authors: Author Bio Box WordPress Plugins, she offers up several examples of tested author box plugins for sites with multiple posters.

After reading this post three times – and checking out several of the plugins – I decided that the WP About Author plugin was the best option for Authors & Appetizers.

Once installed, I figured it would be good to go. I would just need biographies from the other reviewers.

Of course, it wasn’t that simple.

The avatars weren’t working for some of the profiles. I went to Gravatar.com and created a new profile pic in the hopes that it would work with my author box.

Nope. Not that easy.

After searching for several minutes, I resigned myself to the fact that I would have to insert some code into the PHP file. I really did not want to do this. Not only does extra code tend to mess something else up in my blog designs, but for this particular code, I was afraid that my own mug shot would show up for all of the author avatars.

I took a break, ate some lunch, then surfed some more. After about an hour, I found an obscure reference that said you needed to use the same email address on WordPress as you do with Gravatar.com.

Duh! I should have been able to figure that one out, but… You know how it is. The simplest answers are the hardest to figure out.

So, I went to WordPress and changed the email that I used. (Later, I realized that I probably could have created a Gravatar account using the WordPress email, but by then, I really didn’t want to change anything else.)

Everything worked great. Once the contributors send their own information – and update their Gravatars – every post will have an author photo, biography and links to their websites and social media accounts.

To sum it up:

• Make sure you have a profile photo at Gravatar.com. Use the same email at this site that you use for your WordPress site. If you don’t have an avatar using your WordPress email, create one. It’s free and will be used across the web.
• Read Lorelle’s post. Thoroughly. Google and Bing for additional plugin resources and reviews. Don’t be afraid to take your time.
• Review the different types of author biography box plugins. They range for super simple to more complicated plugins that require coding. Test them on your site to see which ones work for you. Take notes so you can remember which ones worked best. Be sure to activate only one biography box plugin at a time while testing.
• Update all user profiles with biographies, websites and social media information.
• Share your blog on Facebook and Twitter and get user feedback on the boxes. Track hits and friend requests to see if it makes a difference.

If you have multiple authors on your WordPress blog, biographies are a great way to differentiate posts.

Do you have multiple authors on your blog? How do you add their biography information to posts? Do you add it to all posts and pages, or just to a devoted author page? Do you think author biography boxes make a difference?

Do you hold contests on Facebook? How do you do them? What do you think of the policy changes? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Since I launched Authors & Appetizers, I’ve tried to generate interest in the blog by doing giveaways – particularly on Facebook, where authors constantly hand out prizes to entrants.

Today, I decided to do a Facebook-only giveaway for a new book profiled at the blog. A few hours after I posted the contest, one of my reviewers alerted me to a post from historical romance author Ashley March, who broke down some recent changes to Facebook’s contest rules.

Unfortunately, Facebook isn’t the best for contests – at least for me. Rules governing pages strictly prohibit collecting information unless you use an app. Most authors in my network simply ask people to enter by commenting on the page.

This is a big no-no – and could get your page deleted from Facebook’s system.

According to March:

In essence, the only things we CAN do are:

1) Use Facebook to mention and provide links to contests we are holding elsewhere (unless it’s a Facebook contest; see below).

2) Continue to run “Like Me” contests on our author websites. However, we can only use Facebook to monitor the number of people who become a fan. We can’t use Facebook to advertise the contest because of #6 above and we can’t use Facebook to notify winners. Publicity for “Like Me” contests will have to come through Twitter (yay, Twitter, my new best friend!), newsletters, our own websites, etc.

ETA

3) Announce that you’ll run a contest AFTER you get a certain number of “Likes.” Then run the contest on a separate tab through the third party app or on your own website.

4) As far as I know, these rules apply only to pages. Unless it’s hidden somewhere that I haven’t seen, you can still run contests through your individual/personal accounts. (However, this seems like a very fine line to me and one I’m personally not going to cross.)

In another post, erotica author Celia Kyle didn’t seem too worried about the changes. She just plans to work around them.

She offers tips in this post at her My Geekery blog.

Facebook has had strict contest rules dating back a few years.

In 2009, eConsultancy offered up a post on Facebook’s contest rules changes. Even then, Facebook wanted a custom contest tab on each page. Most authors I know don’t use this. They simply offer up a contest on their page – sometimes in conjunction with contests on blogs and Twitter.

It certainly doesn’t make marketing any easier using Facebook, which changes features and design more than I change my underwear (and that is quite often). Using an approved Facebook app may not seem like a big deal, but some apps stink. I’ve used apps that completely ruined my page. There appear to be a number of contest apps available on Facebook, but I have no clue which to chose. The only I like does polling information instead.

Mashable offers up a terrific PR Pro’s Guide to Facebook – and it has great information on contests. It features a paid service that runs contests on Facebook and other social media platforms:

There are plenty of benefits to running Facebook contests. Most importantly, they give people a fun way to interact with your client’s brand and a reason to come back to visit and see who gets the prize. But if you’re going to run a contest, Jim Belosic, cofounder and CEO of ShortStack, a self-service Facebook tab building platform, says that Facebook has some strict rules that your client must follow:

▪ Companies are not allowed to run contests in which people enter by commenting or posting to the wall.

▪ Companies are not allowed to use the newsfeed to announce contest winners.

▪ Companies are not allowed to notify winners through Facebook, such as via Facebook messages.

▪ Companies must run their contests through a third party app.

ShortStack allows users to build custom Facebook tabs without any developer experience. You can easily create branded pages using a template, and then there are a host of customization options from there. Using ShortStack’s contest widget, which launched earlier this week, you can quickly set up a contest and not worry about figuring out how to follow Facebook’s rules, as the ShortStack platform takes cares of meeting those requirements for you. ShortStack’s interface allows you to design a contest submission form, customize the look and feel with images, incorporate contest rules and other information, set launch dates and duration and manage several other contest functions. Within the next few weeks, ShortStack will also roll out photo-upload submission capabilities.

Note that beyond contests, ShortStack also lets you add a range of other tabs to your client’s Facebook page including contact pages, YouTube channels, Flickr feeds and polls. Service plans start at $9 per month.

If you plan to do contests – or offer them already – be sure to read Facebook’s updated guidelines, also posted below:

Promotions Guidelines

Date of Last Revision: May 11, 2011

These Promotion Guidelines, along with the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, the Ad Guidelines, the Platform Policies and all other applicable Facebook policies, govern your communication about or administration of any contest, competition, sweepstakes or other similar offering (each, a “promotion”) using Facebook.

If you use Facebook to communicate about or administer a promotion, you are responsible for the lawful operation of that promotion, including the official rules, offer terms and eligibility requirements (e.g., age and residency restrictions), and compliance with regulations governing the promotion and all prizes offered in connection with the promotion (e.g., registration and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals).  Please note that compliance with these Guidelines does not constitute the lawfulness of a promotion.  Promotions are subject to many regulations and if you are not certain that your promotion complies with applicable law, please consult with an expert.

1. Promotions on Facebook must be administered within Apps on Facebook.com, either on a Canvas Page or an app on a Page Tab.
2. Promotions on Facebook must include the following:
   a. A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant.
   b. Acknowledgment that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.
   c. Disclosure that the participant is providing information to [disclose recipient(s) of information] and not to Facebook.
3. You must not use Facebook features or functionality as a promotion’s registration or entry mechanism.  For example, the act of liking a Page or checking in to a Place cannot automatically register or enter a promotion participant.
4. You must not condition registration or entry upon the user taking any action using any Facebook features or functionality other than liking a Page, checking in to a Place, or connecting to your app.  For example, you must not condition registration or entry upon the user liking a Wall post, or commenting or uploading a photo on a Wall.
5. You must not use Facebook features or functionality, such as the Like button, as a voting mechanism for a promotion.
6. You must not notify winners through Facebook, such as through Facebook messages, chat, or posts on profiles or Pages.
7. You may not use Facebook’s name, trademarks, trade names, copyrights, or any other intellectual property in connection with a promotion or mention Facebook in the rules or materials relating to the promotion, except as needed to fulfill your obligations under Section 2.
8. Definitions:
   a. By “administration” we mean the operation of any element of the promotion, such as collecting entries, conducting a drawing, judging entries, or notifying winners.
   b. By “communication” we mean promoting, advertising or referencing a promotion in any way on Facebook, e.g., in ads, on a Page, or in a Wall post.
   c. By “contest” or “competition” we mean a promotion that includes a prize of monetary value and a winner determined on the basis of skill (i.e., through judging based on specific criteria).
   d. By “sweepstakes” we mean a promotion that includes a prize of monetary value and a winner selected on the basis of chance.

Personally, I feel like I need a lawyer just to hold a contest on the site for fear that they will find some nit-picky thing I did wrong and close down my page. That isn’t what social media is about. It is about sharing, connecting and having fun. Certainly, the legal dogs want Facebook to not be liable for contest flubs, but this falls into the realm of ridiculous – like the constant feature changes.

Over the last year, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve posted less and less.

And less.

To be honest, I could not stomach the thought of looking at my blog.

It’s not that I don’t like Market My Novel – or any of my other online ventures. It’s just that one more minute – one more millisecond – in front of the Mac would drive me completely and utterly insane.

In my day job, I work as a multimedia producer. Basically I’m an online Gal Friday. You need it, I can do it – or figure out how. Writing, blogging, podcasts, Slideshares, presentations… I do ‘em all. I’m online all day, every day. Some days are good, some days, I think I should just throw in the towel and work at a fast food joint.

Add to that I deal with constant Internet connection issues, dislike where I live physically and feel trapped in a spiral of yuckiness that never seems to end. A poor economy with limited salary potential certainly doesn’t help.

It took an article on life burnout by Cindy Murphy to realize that I was not only a burned-out blogger, I was completely drained from life itself.

(I had a terrific ending here, but my iPhone once again locked up and I lost my net connection. Luckily the above partial draft was saved. This is a constant happening in my world. Thanks, AT&T, for your crappy service. End rant.)

For authors, blogger burnout can quickly spread throughout every stream of life and lead to total burnout. Authors not only have to write for their blogs, they have to develop quippy marketing copy, keep up with fans on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks, constantly update their media kits and answer questions for virtual interviews.

All that writing can suck the creativity right out of you. When that is gone, it is tough to write. Writers who have developed a severe block are not pleasant to live with – and that block leads to decreased confidence in the writing ability, which leads to a depressing outlook on life.

As part of my personal battle with burnout, I’ve created the “Burnout” category here at Market My Novel. Here, I will share articles about burnout. Authors and experts who want to share their own stories and tips are welcome. Queries should be sent to angela AT angelawilsononline DOT com.

Here’s to washing away the burn!

Recently, Shelley Hitz at the Self Publishing Coach blog interviewed me about writing and promotions.

You can read that interview here:

http://www.self-publishing-coach.com/angela-wilson.html

I would love your feedback!

Savvy book marketer Dana Lynn Smith offers a free ebook with terrific marketing advice from 52 experts – including yours truly.

The book, Savvy Book Marketing Secrets: 52 Experts Share Insider Tips for Selling More Book, includes articles on these and other important topics:

• Getting Endorsements for Your Book
• Make Your Books Available in Multiple Ebook Formats
• How to Sell to Libraries
• How to Build Your Author Platform
• Promote a Book with Twitter: Top 10 Strategies for Authors

You can also read my article, “What Novelists Can Learn about Marketing from Nonfiction Authors.”

Special thanks to Dana for putting together this fantastic, free resource for authors!

Download your FREE copy today!

Thanks to author Barbara Barnett for today’s column!

I had the best of the best among agents in Katharine Sands—and the best publisher for Chasing Zebras: The Unofficial Guide to House, M.D. in ECW Press. ECW assigned a responsive and enthusiastic publicist for the book (who was also the developing editor for it). So now what? Sit back, relax and wait for release date? No way; no how! One of the first things I learned post manuscript phase, while I awaited the galleys to come back from the printer was that a large part of any successful book publicity effort would require my own tireless efforts in addition to everyone else out there promoting my book.

My agent advised me early on to be proactive in promoting the book—not to rely only on my publishers resources. Six months before the book came out, I created a website and planned to start promoting Chasing Zebras as soon as it became available for pre-order on Amazon.com. Twitter, Facebook, my website and my WordPress blog, as well as my House feature at Blogcritics became essential tools in my book marketing arsenal. Katharine put my name and the book out there wherever she spoke at book and writers conferences, and just chatting with friends who were House fans.

I did my first podcast in July 2010 with Jennifer Wilkov’s Your Book is Your Hook on the Women’s Radio Network. I was terrified the entire 20 minutes of the interview, but it went reasonably well, and I was primed for more of this! My ECW publicist arranged a radio interview and sent out dozens of books to media outlets, hoping for a notice or a review. But that is needle in a haystack territory.

Eventually I realized that despite 1100+ Twitter followers, nearly 1100 Facebook fans, and 15,000 to 20,000 page views per week at Blogcritics, if I wanted my book to take on a life of its own eventually, I really needed to hire an outside publicist.

In October, about six weeks after the book’s launch, I hired a local (Chicago area) book publicity firm.

They sent out more books, made dozens of phone calls and email follow ups, organized book signings and a few personal appearances. But the most important thing they did for me was to get me on TV!

Chasing Zebras is an “Unofficial” guide to the hit series. It’s neither sanctioned by Fox (which airs the show) nor NBC/Universal, which produces it. I would not have thought of contacting Fox Affiliates or the Network and ask them to let me plug Chasing Zebras, although it would seem a natural fit. Only goes to show you what I know!

Despite my initial reservations, my publicist (O’Connor Communications) believed that Fox affiliates would enjoy having me on to talk about the show, that night’s upcoming episode—and at the same time, promote the book. And this is why you hire publicists!

They contacted Fox affiliates all across the country, and I had invitations to do live, in studio interviews at numerous stations. I could have, if I’d had the time and an endless flow of travel funds, traveled from East Coast to West dropping in for five-minutes chats at a dozen Fox stations.

Instead, I concentrated on the Great Lakes area, and appeared on Fox Chicago, Detroit, and Milwaukee live. In addition, the Fox Madison, Wisconsin affiliate taped a February sweeps House special report for its prime-time evening news, featuring my book and blog! How many books did those short appearances sell? I don’t know, but I do know that my some of my regular readers YouTube-ed them, reaching an average of more than 1,000 views on each one! There’s an intangible benefit in this sort of publicity that goes beyond number of books sold.

Publicists are expensive. Often very expensive, and you may not get a dollar for dollar payback in royalties. However, they have contacts and reach beyond what we, as authors, can access. It’s something I’ve learned to consider as an investment. Every interview, every clipping, every review, goes into my file—ready and waiting for my next book project’s pitch, where it can make or break my next book deal!

You can buy Chasing Zebras at all online and most local and retail booksellers.

About the author

Barbara Barnett is Co-Executive Editor of Blogcritics, an Internet magazine of pop culture, politics and more owned by Technorati Media. Always a pop-culture geek, Barbara was raised on a steady diet of TV (and TV dinners), but she always found her way to TV’s antiheroes and misunderstood champions, whether on TV, in the movies or in literature.

Barnett’s regular column, “Welcome to the End of the Thought Process: An Introspective Look at House, M.D.” features insightful episode commentaries and interviews with the House cast and creative team. It is the place for intelligent discussion of the hit television series starring Hugh Laurie.

Barbara has had an eclectic career. With an undergraduate degree in biology and minors in chemistry and English, she pursued a PhD in Public Policy Analysis after spending a few years working in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Her first professional writing gig was with a food industry trade magazine, and although it wasn’t exactly like writing for The New Yorker, it completely hooked her on the profession of writing.

She also writes lots of other things, including technology (from a non-geek perspective), the movies, politics and all things Jewish. Based in the north shore suburbs of Chicago, Barnett is married with two brilliant children and a dog. Chasing Zebras: The Unofficial Guide to House, M.D. is her first (commercial) book. She hopes it’s not her last.

Visit Barbara’s website at www.barbarabarnett.com.

Over the years since our firm’s (www.thebarrettco.com) very first best-seller book PR project in the 1990s (Oscar winner movie producer Marty Jurow and his autobiography “See In’ Stars: A Show Biz Odyssey” from SMU Press), we at The Barrett Company have been contacted via email or phone by hundreds and hundreds of authors interested in publicizing their books.

One of the very first questions I ask an author is if they have done at least some basic homework beyond Amazon to get some knowledge of the publishing marketplace and where their published work may fit into it. I’m never surprised to still find that many trade publisher and self-published writers really have no grasp of how the whole process works in getting a book to the competitive marketplace. Many of these very talented non-fiction and fiction authors have been too immersed in getting their book published, quite knowingly a very intensive and very detail-oriented process – - with little time for anything else. Fair enough.

If an author can plan and execute their own PR plan for a book, which to be successful includes, but not limited to – - how to “sell” their book to the book media, write and distribute their own press releases to the print, electronic and growing digital medias, research and determine who it would be best to send their book to for review, if he or she is able to “self-train” themselves for medias interviews, arrange their own suitable book signing venues, determine how to enhance their book’s web site to make it more media friendly, is able to research and determine how to conduct their virtual book tour on the Net and also able to develop the ability to reach out and set-up their own interviews with the producers of meaningful radio and TV shows (“Charlie Rose”) and editor / writers at key national US magazines from “Men’s Health” to “Cosmopolitan” and others…then they do NOT need the services of a professional book publicist.

For any real and successful DIY media campaign for a self-published book author, it comes down to the media contacts he or she may have, be it for national TV shows such as Today or The View or in radio for shows like Coast To Coast AM with George Nouri for a science fiction / fantasy book author or maybe Good Day USA for a book on the U.S. political landscape these days. Their own PR campaign also depends on how they can put together ways of capitalizing on the social network portals like Facebook, Twitter and others to their best advantage to spread the word on their book. Obviously, this is going to take a great deal of time during business hours and oftentimes after business hours too.

First off, I would advise any author new to the world of book publicity to reflect upon what their publicity goals are and to ask themselves: are these realistic goals? One of the most common first questions book PR people can be asked is, “Can you get me on Oprah (I personally handled PR for Ms. Winfrey’s 2007 ABC series “Oprah’s Big Give”)?” Well, of course we can, since we have relationships with the show’s producers. But an author must truly realize it is the producers who ultimately decide to book the writer to fit perhaps any theme the show may be exploring such as child abuse, cheating spouses and maybe adoptees looking for their natural parents and so on and so on.

Now, if an author is being published by Simon & Schuster or Globe Pequot Press, the publisher’s publicist (my firm is a consultant to some big box publishers) will service the reviewers at such key outlets as Publishers Weekly, Book List and the others, but it can often stop at that point since they have other book releases that particular month to work on to expend their monetary and time budgets. So, what happens often is that good books get “lost in the shuffle” through no fault of their own.

If an author has a publisher with a PR department he or she should keep in constant contact with the publicist handling their book. Book reviewers and long lead magazine editors often plan 5 to 6 months ahead of publication month and TV shows too. Many, many big box publisher authors have engaged us to work with their respective publisher publicists to make sure all the bases are covered when their book comes into the marketplace. There is a lot of planning to be done and it’s never too early to start.

As a book publicist I welcome most calls I get from prospective new clients. I have listened to some of the most hilarious to the most sad stories all wrapped up in a book that is coming be it non-fiction or fiction covering – - biographies, politics, health, advice on getting remarried to maybe a thriller / new detective series.

If an author is interested in engaging the services of a professional book publicist he or she should make sure they get a free consultation with the publicist in-person or on the phone. Also, from there, a written plan or proposal should be provided to the author from the PR professional spelling out in detail what they feel they can do to help the author reach his or her goals in getting themselves known…to expand the awareness of their work.

About the author

Mr. Barrett formed The Barrett Company after serving in top PR and media relations positions with the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) for more than ten years, where he was in charge of media relations for The Tonight Show and Johnny Carson and also, Today, among other well-known NBC shows such as Unsolved Mysteries, Fame and numerous highly-rated NBC specials, including The American Film Institute Awards and The American Movie Awards. As a film publicist in Hollywood, Charlie has worked with Dennis Hopper, Robert Stack, Tatum O’Neal, Steve McQueen, and Candice Bergen.

Charlie began his media career as a reporter with The Associated Press in New Haven, CT and later served on the editorial staffs of both The Hollywood Reporter in Los Angeles and Billboard in New York. He has also authored numerous articles for magazines and newspapers on the performing arts and travel as well as appearing as a regular contributor on major US radio talk shows discussing celebrities, films, television and books. Charlie was voted the Book Publicist of the Year award by the Southern California Book Publicists Society. TBC is a member of The Publishers Association of Los Angeles, The Academy of TV Arts and Sciences (ATAS gives the Emmy Award) and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (the Oscar).

The Barrett Company is well known and regarded among the world’s media outlets for its credibility and creativity. Through years of client assignments TBC has developed remarkable and successful PR campaigns for a wide range of authors/publishers, Hollywood creatives, companies and celebrities, which have paved the way for the firm to produce media, consumer and trade events of all descriptions both in the US and overseas, from Book Expo to NATPE (the renowned annual television program executive conference) to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, The Frankfurt Book Fair and The Cannes International Film Festival. The TBC web site is at www.thebarrettco.com.

 Today on the FSB Associates blog, Ken Ishii explains why social media is so important to authors today.

If you think e-mail marketing is the only “social media” activity you need, think again. More people are using social networks for news and networking, rather than checking emails, Ishii reports.   

These few graphs from Social Networking Your Brand explain it brilliantly:

Social media gives sellers, in this case authors, an unprecedented opportunity to connect sympathetically with fans and newcomers alike. Networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr offer previously unavailable access to reader likes and dislikes and, most importantly, give rise to formations of meaningful relationships with like-minded communities.

If you’re new to social media, you might find the weight of information daunting at first. On or offline, balancing relationships with people is never an easy task. Like forging a friendship in the physical world, getting people to open up to you takes time and nurturing.  If you’re introduced to an established circle of acquaintances however, your road to success becomes a much smoother ride. Like in any relationship, the bottom line is trust. Your reputation is gold. Without it you’ll be in a virtual room talking to yourself and the four sides of your screen.

Remember when a website was all you needed to fulfill your online brand?

Social media has changed all that. Now, you need a brand on the most popular networks, like Facebook.

Fan pages – or Like pages – are an amazing Facebook tool that connects you to fans – and vice versa. They are a one-stop shop for news and information about yourself and your books, and great places to host contests.

Your website is your online brand. On Facebook, a page is your Facebook brand – and it’s public, so search engines can find it. These free, innovative pages can expand your network – and make readers even more interactive.

A big bonus to using Facebook pages? People are more likely to get your updates, rather than finding them on your website or via RSS. Seriously, how many fans think to check your site daily – or read everything in their RSS? If you use email marketing, there is no guarantee that your message will reach your audience. Emails change constantly, and the SPAM filter is just waiting to devour your message. 

Why Facebook fan pages work:

Link Exchange. You can link your page to other pages. The American Lung Association finds other pages by groups with similar missions and links them to their page. You can create several pages, one for yourself, then separate pages for your books or serials, then link them together.

Contests. Author Cheyenne McCray ROCKS her Facebook page with contests. Throughout December, she runs a daily contest that asked readers to answer a question in the Comment area. Each commenter was entered into the contest. Her daily updates appeared in her followers’ feeds – which is great for consistent, constant branding and free advertising. Plus, the contest was all in one place, not spread out over several blogs during a virtual book tour.

Book news. Keep fans up-to-date with your releases. Author Avery Aames constantly shares news about her books, as well as the works of her fellow bloggers on her page. Her feed is an amazing resource for readers of her genre – or others looking for gifts.

Discussions. Fans can talk about your books, characters, cover art and more. The television series Bones – which is based on the Kathy Reichs novels – has an amazing discussion section. 

Event notifications. Got your tour schedule? Send event notifications to fans. You can send to the group, or to individuals. When possible, try to send notifications to people in the specific area where you will be. Also post those notifications on CVB and Chamber of Commerce pages that allow open comments.

Blog synchronization. Using the “Notes” application, you can sync your blog with your Facebook page. Whenever you post to your blog, it automatically shows up in Facebook.

Analytics. Facebook now offers analytics so you can see who is dropping by your page. This information is incredibly valuable when creating marketing plans.

If you haven’t already, start a Fan page. Visit http://www.facebook.com/pages to get started!

Need a tutorial? Check out this video by David Brazeal of Learfield InterAction.

motobaccocontrol from David Brazeal on Vimeo.

Need a fast way to promote your book with a widget, but don’t like the options available? Check out the GetGlue Book Widget.

I discovered this item while booking a Simon & Schuster author at Authors & Appetizers, my new book blog. Using your ISBN numbers, you can pull together a widget in minutes to share online, according to this tutorial from Adaptive Blue blog. There are one-click installs for both Typepad and Blogger, and cut & paste code for WordPress. Thus far, I have not been able to get the cut & paste to work in my WordPress blogs.

You can grab more information about the widgets here. (I tried pulling up a Digital Book World story about the widget, but like just about everything else today, it just refuses to load.)

Do you use GetGlue Book Widgets? If so, what has the experience been like so far? Share your thoughts in the comments section.